Law and Legitimacy

Norm devotes the second hour to his thoughts about what the January 6 Committee should be asking now. Why are we a nation divided, and why are we armed to the teeth—white and black—and openly talking about civil war?

Read the opening monologue on the Norm Pattis Blog here: https://www.pattisblog.com/blog/7241/why-the-january-6-committee-will-get-it-wrong/

For the remainder of the second hour, Norm discusses what he sees as a possible result of the January 6 Commission's congressional hearings: Donald Trump is reasonably likely to be charged with wire fraud.

What is the commerce clause? What is wire fraud?

The issue of the "stolen election" is complicated. But there is a legitimate question as to whether Donald Trump had a credible belief that he was cheated out of a second term. Norm unpacks why and how.

Then, Norm takes a much-appreciated call from a listener who is advocating for getting NPS syndicated. We agree! And we appreciate the support.

Like, share, and subscribe! Norm is live every weekday on WICC 600AM/107.3FM. Stream Norm live at https://www.wicc600.com/. Follow @PattisPodcast on Twitter.

Mike joins Norm to provide listeners a brief respite from the normal wear and tear of western civilization in decline. Or does he? Either way, Mike pops in as he does every Monday and engages Norm about the intersection of law and professional sports.

On the menu is an observation and analysis of the recent announcement of LIV Golf, the newest emergent competitor to the PGA which has made a big media splash in recent days. Also on the menu is a review of the Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals series and ABC's obligations to the FCC when the crowd decides it's just too fun not to chant "Fuck You Draymond" on live broadcast. The dessert menu includes a biting criticism of the Washington Commanders behind its $100,000 fine of Defensive Coordinator, Jack Del Rio, for his remarks regarding the summer riots of 2020 and the events of January 6th.

Like, share, and subscribe. Norm is live every weekday from 12pm ET to 2pm ET on WICC 600AM/107.3FM. Stream Norm live at https://www.wicc600.com/. Follow @PattisPodcast on Twitter.

Jimmy Vallee joins Norm and Mike for a Sunday Special long form.

Jimmy Vallee is a member of Law and Legitimacy alumni at this point, having appeared several times before today's session.

Public radio does not afford the sort of patience that something like digital asset regulation merits for proper examination. So that's what we've aimed here to remedy.

Jimmy Vallee is the managing principal of Valhill Capital, a Texas-based family investment firm with an investment thesis centered around blockchain and cryptocurrency innovation. Specifically, Valhill Capital views the blockchain technology Ripple and the digital currency XRP as the key drivers that will enable blockchain and cryptocurrency to deliver on its promise to unlock economic opportunity all over the world.

The problem? The Securities and Exchange Commission initiated a lawsuit against Ripple Labs in December 2020 alleging that Ripple's digital currency, XRP, is an unregistered security in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act.

It gets complicated, which is why Norm and Jimmy begin the conversation with the context of society's increasing digitization, from base level information digitization (e.g., Uber) to value digitization as seen through the emergence of blockchains and cryptocurrencies.

The Ripple/XRP case is unique in that it stands as a beacon to justify at least the perceptible corruption and hypocrisy that has come to define our country's current crisis of legitimacy.

Norm and Jimmy unpack the comparison between Etherium's treatment as a commodity—outwardly ratified by the SEC—and the interesting public sector-private sector overlap between key individual players in the Etherium rise to apparent regulatory capture.

Jimmy also discusses a unique legal feature in the SEC v. Ripple case: attorney John Deaton's attempt to intervene as and additional defendant (!) on behalf of a class of XRP holders.

What is the deliberative process privilege? Is a congressional hearing a battleground that would favor XRP under the circumstances? And with the case scheduled to conclude in November 2022, how important will the 2018 Hinman speech be to the outcome?

Visit crypto-law.us and click "Connect to Congress" to help John Deaton and Ripple in getting congressional attention on this matter.

Like, share, and subscribe. Norm is live every weekday from 12pm ET to 2pm ET on WICC 600AM/107.3FM. Stream Norm live at https://www.wicc600.com/. Follow @PattisPodcast on Twitter.

Norm is joined in the second hour by a guy he met on an airplane, Mark Meckler. Mark is a co-founder of the Tea Party and is the founder and President of the Convention of the States.

Mark is originally from southern California, he is a lawyer who was one of the first internet privacy attorneys in the country, and one of the people who led the Tea Party movement in 2009.

The Tea Party has its origins in the TARP bailouts of the Obama administration. The Tea Party was originally designed to restore "first principles" of the United States and fiscal responsbility.

Norm and Mark discuss what Mark calls the ongoing moral collapse of America, the enumerated powers of the constitution, and what became of a historical, grass roots political movement and how the current moment compares to the ills the Tea Party set out to originally address.

Why should we care? We live in the longest surviving constitutional republic in the world and we should understand from whence it comes lest we lose it altogether.

Norm queries: is the constitution a moral document? What did John Adams say about the constitution and who it was for?

Have we lost our way?

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Norm opens the show talking about the opening to the January 6th Commission hearing and his disappointment with the framing.

We learned nothing from the first night.

The J6 hired an ABC executive to produce the hearings. We're not getting answers.

Are we moving toward two societies? Those plugged in and those unplugged? There are rootless people in our society who see that there is no place for them within it.

Norm discusses the legal underpinnings of House Committee formation and the standards by which they are supposed to abide. What we have is yet another partisan body seeking to justify a pre-determined conclusion by any means.

There is a crisis of legitimacy in the United States. We have become so suspicious of each other that something precious is being lost.

Like, share, and subscribe! Norm is live every weekday from 12pm ET to 2pm ET on WICC 600AM/107.3FM. Stream Norm live at https://www.wicc600.com/. Follow @PattisPodcast on Twitter.

Ray returns to the Norm Pattis Show to discuss his path to becoming an ordained minister, the role of religion in American society and public life, and share a few stories unique to himself and to his relationship with Norm.

Ray gets very personal, sharing the story of his psychological break, his temporary institutionalization, and the story of his journey into the faith.

Norm, admittedly preoccupied with our quest for eternity and the spiritual history of western society, presses Ray hard in an effort to understand Ray's experience and perhaps distill commonalities for us all.

Like, share, and subscribe. Norm is live every weekday from 12pm ET to 2pm ET on WICC 600AM/107.3FM. Stream Norm live at https://www.wicc600.com/. Follow @PattisPodcast on Twitter.

Norm is joined in the first hour by Jimmy Vallee, Managing Principal of Valhill Capital.

Jimmy joined the Norm Pattis Show a few weeks ago, but the two were cut off. Norm invited Jimmy back for a more robust discussion.

The two discuss the fundamentals of cryptocurrency, from function and technoligy, to the general ambition of blockchain development.

Jimmy has been very active in the securities side of cryptocurrency, specifically with Ripple, negotiating with the Securities and Exchange Commission about how these sorts of use cases should be regulated.

Hear how the regulatory environment is developing and how that will inevitably lead to the demise of many less reliable tokens and coins.

Regulation is said to be done in the public interest and for the public good. Norm asks whether and why the regulation is necessary. Jimmy discusses the opportunities for fraud via the "pump and dump" model and other examples.

Like, share, and subscribe. Norm is live every weekday from 12pm ET to 2pm ET on WICC 600AM/107.3FM. Stream Norm live at https://www.wicc600.com/. Follow @PattisPodcast on Twitter.

Norm goes the second hour alone and takes the opportunity to talk dynamically about the danger identitarians pose to the fabric of American culture.

Norm begins with an examination of a recent Wall Street Journal column, "Why Black Americans Are Buying More Guns".

Plaintiffs in the two most recent second amendment cases (D.C. v Heller; McDonald v. Chicago) have one characteristic in common. Do you know what that characteristic is? And how might that characteristic be belied by the narrative we're forcefed daily about gun violence and racism in America?

We have challenges to overcome.

Like, share, and subscribe! Norm is live every weekday from 12pm ET to 2pm ET on WICC 600AM/107.3FM. Stream Norm live at https://www.wicc600.com/. Follow @PattisPodcast on Twitter.

Norm opens the show discussing the history of The Weather Underground, the Richard Nixon impeachment behind Watergate, and why Americans should be suspicious of the modern moment as we approach the the J6 Congressional Hearings.

Norm also discusses what the recent election results in California may mean for the future of progressive district attorneys all over the country.

Then, Norm fields an interesting couple of questions from a caller. So much so that Norm spends a great deal of the remaining first segment discussing the two major views pertaining to our philosophy of history: the materialist view and the idealist view.

Is where one sits the sum of who one is? Is artificial intelligence the proof case?

Computers have beaten grandmasters in chess and other impressive feats, but does that mean that the sense of self simply a function of complexity?

Computers don't (yet?) evaluate their own states of mind. How does that impact modern American culture?

Norm shares a personal hypothetical related to this recognition to share that he is not satisfied with the materialist's explanation of the world.

Like, share, and subscribe! Norm is live every weekday from 12pm ET to 2pm ET on WICC 600AM/107.3FM. Stream Norm live at https://www.wicc600.com/. Follow @PattisPodcast on Twitter.

Norm is joined in the second hour by long-time friend and client, and friend of the Law and Legitimacy podcast, Jacqueline Polverari, an advocate for those individuals needing assistance with reentering society after nonviolence felony convictions resulting in incarceration.

After spending time in a federal corrections facility, Jacqueline discovered the immense difficulty inherent in transitioning back into normal life, and the total lack of support available to those similarly situated. She found her passion and a unique purpose in that struggle, and now works to assist those who have paid their debts to society and are looking to regain what was lost via incarceration.

Like, share, and subscribe! Norm is live every weekday from 12pm ET to 2pm ET on WICC 600AM/107.3FM. Stream Norm live at https://www.wicc600.com/#. Follow @PattisPodcast on Twitter.