What if Rome wasn’t just ancient history—but a blueprint for how empires corrode? In this hard-hitting solo episode, Pacific Time host Greg Amrofell records from Italy, tracing chilling parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and the unraveling of American democracy. As Trump federalizes the National Guard, threatens war with Iran, deploys ICE raids, and criminalizes dissent, Greg calls on the West Coast—and its allies—to go on constitutional offense.
We revisit the original rebellion of 1776, reflect on HBO’s John Adams, and examine how authoritarianism gains ground through chaos, distraction, and cruelty masked as strength. From invoking the Posse Comitatus Act to launching a West Coast Congress, this episode lays out a tactical and legal playbook for states to reclaim their power, uphold the Constitution, and fight back—before it's too late.
Highlights:
- Rome’s collapse as a warning for the U.S.—and why "SPQR" still matters
- Watching John Adams on the plane and re-reading the Declaration of Independence
- Trump’s provocations: arresting a senator, deploying Marines, undermining due process
- War with Iran as a cover story for escalating domestic authoritarianism
- Ten bold state-level actions to provoke court fights and assert sovereignty
- Praising Newsom and the West Coast AGs for resisting federal overreach
- Legal framework: 10th Amendment, Posse Comitatus, Insurrection Act, and the 25th
- Call for a West Coast Congress to coordinate climate, civil rights, and economic defense
- ICE obstruction laws: extreme taxes, quartering bans, liability expansions
- Reimagining National Guard units as State Constitutional Defense Forces
- Reclaiming the American flag from authoritarian co-optation
- A rallying cry for police, veterans, judges, and public servants to honor their oaths
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What is Pacific Time: The "What if...?" of West Coast Independence?
What if the West Coast could chart its own course? What if our innovations, values, and creative energy weren’t diluted by national politics? What if West Coast sovereignty was a dream and a strategy?
Welcome to Pacific Time, where host Greg Amrofell—a relentless provocateur who has lived his whole life up and down the West Coast—invites you to imagine bold solutions. We explore how to make the West Coast better if it's undistilled by the faltering American experiment..
Each episode features meaningful conversations with thought leaders, innovators, policymakers, and visionaries. We’ll tackle the big questions of sovereignty, and self-determination, imagining and sharpening the West Coast’s cultural identity, economic potential, and environmental leadership.
Pacific Time is for the intellectually curious, the disillusioned optimists, and the dreamers who refuse to accept that status quo in America is the best we can do on the West Coast. Here, we cut through the partisan noise and welcome transformative ideas from a broad spectrum of iconoclasts. We ask how we can work together to elevate the West Coast and get past the narratives that marginalize us “Out West” on the “Left Coast.”
It’s time to reimagine what’s possible. Let’s ask, “What if…” and find out.