VivaBarnesLaw
Politics • Culture • News
The Barnes Brief: Friday, February 28, 2025
February 28, 2025
post photo preview
Art of the Day

Schedule

Future

  • Friday at 9ish pm eastern: Betting w/ Barnes AMA
  • Saturday Night at 9 pm eastern: Movie TBD
  • Sunday at 6 pm eastern: Viva & Barnes, Law for the People

Book Recommendation: Have in a Heartless World by Christopher Lasch. The Family vs. the State.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/724188.Haven_in_a_Heartless_World

Art of the Day: The last photo of my father with the family around Christmas 1985. I sit right in front of him, with my brother and mother next to him, and my sisters Martha, Brenda and little Laura rounding out the family photo. My father loved Christmas, and lived for it, and it remains my first thought whenever I think of him. I think about this as I try to defend a father stripped of the chance to even talk to his son; I can only imagine what horrifying effect such an action could have had on my father, and it reminds me why taking on difficult cases against difficult odds remains critical to defend people like him from the harms the more powerful can inflict. The family remains the haven in a world especially when that world turns heartless.

Wisdom of the Day: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” Frederick Douglas.

The Library: Five Curated Articles of the Week

  1. Zelensky Exposed
  2. IRS Leaks
  3. Trump tariffs
  4. Bureaucracy Revealed
  5. Epstein files hidden

*Bonus: Math to the rescue?

 

Top 5 Cases TBD Sunday

  1. Senseless in Seattle
  2. Big Tech vs. Parents
  3. Hollywood drama: Privacy in Discovery
  4. SCOTUS: Trump
  5. SCOTUS: Prosecutorial Duties

*Bonus: Washington Right to Parent

 

Closing Argument: Senseless in Seattle

 

  • The upcoming trial of Kurt Benshoof is a most peculiar one – the government seeks to imprison him for a decade or more. What purports to justify this? Benshoof texted his son, sought legal claims to his car, home and custody of his son, and texted and called his son’s mother concerning his son. The government labels this “stalking” and “harassment.” Why? Because Benshoof’s real crime is his beliefs.
  • Anyone familiar with family disputes and divorces knows that people involved in such disputes can be quite unkind to one another, but rarely is it prosecuted as a crime. Benshoof’s case reveals a new front of the culture conflict: weaponizing the legal system to take away the parental rights of dissidents in a war on the family, and especially a war on fathers.
  • Benshoof objected to trans ideologies being taught to his son, objected to vaccine and mask mandates on his son, and objected to his son being given the Covid 19 vaccine. As a consequence, his son’s mother got the son vaccinated in secret, without the father’s notice or knowledge, and without informing their teenage son of any of the risk of the vaccine.
  • After the father protested, the mother took him to court. The court also did not like Benshoof’s beliefs about Covid, the vaccine, and trans ideologies being taught his son, with guardians ad litem reporting him as a “transphobe” that should be denied contact with his son. The court ultimately agreed, and prohibited Benshoof from even contacting his son or responding to his son. When Benshoof responded to his son and told him he could live with him if he wanted when he was upset, the government charged Benshoof with the crime of stalking and harassment for talking to his son and for any attempts at communicating with his son’s mother about his son. How? Because dissident belief is now “abuse”. Dissident belief is now “stalking”. Dissident belief is now “harassment.”
  • This is why the Benshoof case is consequential beyond him. It’s the fundamental right to parent one’s own children without the government dictating what beliefs are ok to share or not share with your own children, what values they will be imparted with, and whether they have to be the guinea pig in a medical experiment.
  • I took on the case despite the difficult odds – a Seattle jury pool and judicial officials hostile to Benshoof and his beliefs and fully onboard the woke cultural revolution to impose on kids – because the family is still the haven in a heartless world, and we need more fathers to care for their sons, not fewer.
community logo
Join the VivaBarnesLaw Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
75
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
Stacey Plaskett texting Jeffrey Epstein

I’m sure you’ve seen this in the news already, but just in case you haven’t. From the recent disclosures, it seems Stacey Plaskett was texting Jeffrey Epstein in real time during congressional hearings, getting advice from him when asking questions from Michael Cohen.

The same Stacey plaskett who was begging for support from Jeffrey Epstein barely 6 months earlier.

00:01:31
Swalwell Vlawg

Here it is. Enjoy!

00:09:41
November 14, 2025
My presentation at the New Orleans Investment Conference

Here it is. Constructive criticism very much welcome.

Let me know your thoughts.

I needed slightly more thorough summaries of the 3 Operations.

Should not presume as much knowledge of current events - not everyone lives on the internet in the political - law sphere.

00:21:14
February 17, 2024
Appearance on Richard Syrette

I did a quick hit on Richard Syrette yesterday. Gotta keep Canadians apprised of the U.S. madness.

Appearance on Richard Syrette
The Barnes Brief, Podcast Format: Monday, July 17, 2023

Closing Argument: Birthright citizenship is deeply American, and wholly Constitutional.

The Barnes Brief, Podcast Format: Monday, July 17, 2023
Declaration of Independence

Audio podcast style.

Declaration of Independence
Board Discussion: Trump's Direction Change

Curious the board's thoughts on the reasons for Trump's last six months or so, commencing in May with his reversal on the Epstein Files, followed up by bombing Iran, walking back Russian rapprochement but turning to sanctions against Russia instead, excising Musk & reducing DOGE, hemming in Kennedy, isolating Gabbard, allowing Gaza to continue until Qatar bombing, backing off China tariff policy, prioritizing Lindsey Graham while primary-ing Massie & MTG, backing Bondi as she does so little & Patel as he takes more trips to Boondoggle Ranch than arrest anyone from the Obama-Biden corruption machines, and so on and so forth.

My speculation is Trump has been infected with Hubris, a common trait of end-of-empire declining powers and those leaders who think they overcame the impossible because of themselves alone. Alexander Mercouris thinks he's more insecure than people know, and doesn't have the strength to challenge the citadels of American power, or their policy prerogatives. Other ...

Board Poll: Movie Night

The list from the Top 10 All Time Favorite Films of my own library. Pick your favorite, and top vote-getter wins to watch with open live chat at 9 pm eastern tonight. No runoff; #1 gets it!

Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene 11/13/25
🚨I am introducing a bill to END the mass replacement of American workers by aggressively phasing out the H1B program.

Big Tech, AI giants, hospitals, and industries across the board have abused the H-1B system to cut out our own people.

Americans are the most talented people in the world, and I have full faith in the American people. I serve Americans only, and I will ALWAYS put Americans first.

My bill ELIMINATES the corrupt H-1B program and puts AMERICANS FIRST again in tech, healthcare, engineering, manufacturing, and every industry that keeps this country running!!

If we want the next generation to have the American Dream, we must stop replacing them and start investing in them. 🇺🇸

post photo preview
The Barnes Brief: Weekend of November 14, 2025

I.   INTRODUCTION

A. Art of the Day

Working away in the hidden office, devouring intel and discovering information, to share with the world. My office looks like this, but replaced with digital feeds over the physical ones of yesteryear, processing the running feeds into recognizable patterns that can both explicate and forecast alike. To all the hidden offices uncovering what his hidden for the world.

B. Wisdom of the Day

“You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that, for bureaucrats, procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.” Thomas Sowell.

C. Cultural Recommendation

The Dark Side of H1B Visa exposed by a recipient, Raj Kuppa. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25843858-the-dark-side-of-h1b-visa

D. Appearances

II.    THE EVIDENCE

 *Note: A reminder — links are NOT endorsements of the ideas contained therein. The Library is big, and it mostly consists of ideas I do not personally share.  

 

Only for Supporters
To read the rest of this article and access other paid content, you must be a supporter
Read full Article
post photo preview
The Barnes Brief: Wednesday, November 12, 2025

I.   INTRODUCTION

 A. Art of the Day

Icarus, who sought to escape through wings that could him fly like a bird, but came to believe he alone was the source of his greatness, and flew too close to the sun, to fall and collapse from the sky. The great warning of Hubris.

B. Wisdom of the Day

“As soon as you believe you are God is precisely when God will remind you that you are not.” Robert Barnes.  

C. Cultural Recommendation

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by my old Yale freshman mentor, Paul Kennedy. A sign of great danger is when the leaders get infected with Hubris. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/840043.The_Rise_and_Fall_of_the_Great_Powers

D. Appearances

  • LIVE w/ Baris: Debriefing elections 2025.
    placeholder
  • LIVE w/ Duran: Hubris infects the west.
    placeholder

II.    THE EVIDENCE

 *Note: A reminder — links are NOT endorsements of the ideas contained therein. The Library is big, and it mostly consists of ideas I do not personally share.  

A.  Daily News of Interest

  1. Lauren Southern discloses governmental effort to entrap her.
  2. Ed Dowd: economic troubles & market bubbles.
  3. Californication collapse. https://chroniclesmagazine.org/reviews/the-nightmare-of-californication/
  4. Trans fad fades. https://www.skeptic.com/article/transgenderism-is-in-rapid-decline-among-young-americans/
  5. Big Tech manipulation of elections. https://dailycaller.com/2025/11/07/2026-midterms-robert-epstein-google-big-tech-trump-admin/

*Bonus:  YouTube revenue falling for content creators.

B. Daily Deep Dive: AI –More Artificial, than Intelligence?

  1. The bubble to end all bubbles. https://www.wired.com/story/ai-bubble-will-burst/
  2. Circular self-dealing. https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/this-is-how-the-ai-bubble-bursts
  3. The infrastructure problem. https://www.derekthompson.org/p/this-is-how-the-ai-bubble-will-pop
  4. Could blow up credit & equity markets. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-10/podcast-yes-it-s-an-artificial-intelligence-bubble-here-s-why
  5. The hallucination problem. https://drainpipe.io/the-reality-of-ai-hallucinations-in-2025/

*Bonus: AI not creating a productivity boom. https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/23/developers_genai_little_productivity_gains/

C. Cases of Consequence

  1. Bear lawsuit. https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/boardofgame-alaska-bear-killings-complaint.pdf
  2. Discovery petition over Texas flood deaths. https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/naylor-v-camp-mystic-lawsuit.pdf
  3. State control over interest rates. https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/national-association-bankers-phil-weiser-opinion.pdf
  4. Election Day to SCOTUS. https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-1260/364840/20250710101559188_Amicus%20Brief.pdf
  5. As forecast, no gay marriage to Scotus. https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/11/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-case-on-constitutionality-of-same-sex-marriage/

*Bonus: Courts usurp power. https://tonyseruga.substack.com/p/when-the-courts-become-congress-the

III.                       Best of the Board

From the commentary on policies to improve affordable housing.

 

From @Ryanpd911

  • 1 - no corporation or entity can own more than 3 single family residence and no corporation can own more that 2 other corporations who own more then 2 single family homes.
    2 - cut regulations on the timber industry
    3 - give tax breaks on concrete construction (less need to rebuild after fires or natural disasters
    4 - deport all illegals make it unlawful for them to own any property in the US
    5 - mandate that all public schools offer shop and each shop class must build one stick and frame house and one concrete house per year and offer trades apprenticeships senior year.
    6 - ban all foreign countries and corporations and citizens from owning land or critical infrastructure or food production in the US
    7 - make a law that 1st time homebuyers first loan is 1/2 the going mortgage rate.
    8 - End corporate farming and put limits on how big farms can be and limits on the number of animals, get back to family farms. All family farms get mortgages at 1/2 the going rate.

From @ashman454

  • evoke/cancel all the stupid green energy rules that applied to everything from appliances, hvacs, vehicles and housing.
    also limitation on corps buying up huge housing section to rent...rent apartments fine, but limitations on condos and single family homes being bought up and owned. y big corporations

From ltdpilot

  • allow buyers the option of continuing the interest rate of the seller

From srgravesfamily

  • 1/ Make it easier to buy a "contact for deed" or "rent to own"
    2. Property taxes and home insurance is a big part of the problem (not to mention HOA fees)>
    3. Lower interest rates for first time home buyers or make mortgage assumptions easier again like they used to be.
    4. Starter Homes!!
    5. It would also help if young people didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for health insurance and high interest student loans. This eats up a big part of the income they could use for a home.
    6. The builder who said that the supply problems need fixed it absolutely right. My brother-in-law is a builder as was my father. This is a big part of the problem.

 

From @EdBiagini

 

  • Robert I have many ideas on this because I am a small home builder in Orange County NY, I’d be willing to send you something via email if you would prefer. First, my biggest obstacle is zoning regulations. NY is a home rule state, so I have to deal with a zoning board, planning board, and town board in each individual town. The average lot size around here is 1-2 acres, some towns it is as high as 5 acres. My father was a builder and in the 70s lot sizes were significantly smaller. So if I subdivide a property I am getting much less bang for my buck because I get less lots per subdivision. Second, the building materials market is highly consolidated. There are a small number of manufacturers for drywall, shingles, lumber, insulation, siding, etc. Even the building supply houses have consolidated with Builders First Source being the dominant player. There is almost no competition and, in my opinion, there is price collusion. The administration needs to investigate this (they just did this for meat packers) and bust up these huge players. If home prices decline much further I won’t be able to build because my margins are already tight, I need input costs to come down. Third, mass migration, both legal and illegal has increased housing demand. H1-B visa holders are allowed to get FHA loans, which is insane to me. The administration has to get serious about mass deportations. Fourth, large investment firms own a significant share of single family homes. A young family can’t compete with Black Rock when they buy up entire subdivisions. Fifth, homeowners insurance has gone through the roof. I don’t have a solution for this aside from getting input costs down to lower repair costs. 50 year mortgages would for me because it will keep prices elevated, so long as it increases demand. But I’m skeptical, gen z already feels screwed and telling them they need 50 year mortgages is just kicking them while they’re down. I would prefer prices and inputs come down so gen z and millenials can own homes and start families.

IV.    Closing Argument: The Hades of Hubris

  • The Greeks warned of it. History repeats with lessons of its own. Scholars and literary authors list it like the heel of Achilles and the wings of Icarus – how the great and mighty fall. The Bible identifies it as the great calamitous sin – from Lucifer’s fall to the Tower of Babel’s collapse, from Goliath’s loss to Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment. Hubris, the “haughty spirit” that beckons a deep fall, now infects the leaders of the west, even the President himself, and now its consequences threaten us all.
  • The clinical definition of hubris typically develops in individuals who hold significant power. Its characteristics encompass:  a magnified, embellished view of one's own capabilities;  obsession with personal image; contempt for criticism; loss of contact with reality; a reckless, uncalculated disregard of risk; a denial of dissent. An infection of the soul, an illness of the mind, rather than a permanent trait of a stable personality.
  • The tell-tale signs of Hubris include – recent overwhelming success or power; dis-sociality disregarding others from one’s own traditional community; disinhibition into impulsiveness without calculated regard for risk; condescension, and even contempt, for others and any form of criticism; a belief in oneself above others beyond reason or wisdom.
  • The decaying, declining empires frequently feature hubris, as Professor Paul Kennedy first penned in his Rise and Fall of Great Powers. The empire’s hubris -- overconfidence in their “specialness” tends to overextend themselves in risky expressions – manifest in multiple manners, such as imperial overreach; mismatch between resources & risks; overestimation of their own capabilities; military operations globally as a nation’s global military deployment exceeds its resource capacity; persistent debt and deficits, in public and private sectors, including in balance-of-trade and budgets, as dependency on foreign adversaries rise; diverting resources to overseas adventurism diminishes the public infrastructure, human and physical; a declining industrial sector, replaced with financialization and services, often shifting its dependence on real goods and labor, it’s true capital, to foreign nations; deepening internal divisiveness, as competing interests vie for diminishing resources; bureaucratic infighting as the parasitic state replaces the functioning private economy for material wealth and moral purpose; a moral decay in the institutions of society, religious, social and communal, as the material foundation for that moral prosperity fades and fractures.
  • What happens when you survive two impeachments, four indictments, and near assassination? Could the seductress of Hubris distract your soul and deceive your mind? Does this not well capture much of the modern west, and even Trump’s six-month flirtation with Hubris as his north star?
  • The cure remains the same as the Scripture teaches and the Greek myths proclaim – a needed nemesis to teach us humility as the answer to hubris. Avoid the fall; abandon the arrogance, and listen again, to the people who truly were his wall against wrongdoers.

 

Read full Article
post photo preview
The Barnes Brief: Friday, November 7, 2025

I.   INTRODUCTION

A. Art of the Day

America in black-and-white, from another time and place, with the wooden shacks, old-time automobiles, along a stretch of highway looking like Route 66, hugged by small gas stations, old diners, and convenient motels, where Americans go about their day, underneath the open skies, along the open road, inviting and welcoming to a time past we spiritually seek to return.

B. Wisdom of the Day

"The Russians are slow to saddle up but ride fast once they do." Otto Von Bismark.

C. Cultural Recommendation

Kevin Phillips reminder that past can be prologue. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/565270.Arrogant_Capital

D. Appearances

II. THE EVIDENCE

 *Note: A reminder — links are NOT endorsements of the ideas contained therein. The Library is big, and it mostly consists of ideas I do not personally share.  

 

Only for Supporters
To read the rest of this article and access other paid content, you must be a supporter
Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals