Ricochet Comment of the Day
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
Jul 13, 2011 at 4:36am
From Crow's Nest:
From the Crow's Nest book of leadership principles:
"I don't expect you to be an expert at everything. I expect you to know what the relevant questions are, who to ask them to, and when the answer doesn't make sense."
One of my early Commanding Officers taught me that. Not said it to me as a once off. Showed it to me in his every action. He taught it by word and deed. It stayed with me.
Okay, let's apply it. Have a look at today's headlines. Now tell me:
1) What are the relevant questions?
2) To whom have they been asked?
3) Do those answers make sense?
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Comments :
Jun '10
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
Question #1 What is the plan for the debt ceiling and when will it be put in place? Who to ask? Congress & the President now—voters next November. Does this answer make sense? SS checks hold up is a petty political ploy. Question #2 Is the assassination of Karzai's brother going to put our troops at greater risk? Who to ask? Leon Panetta and Hillary Clinton Does this answer make sense? It frightens me that I don't know.
Apr '11
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
At times the military is very pragmatic and interested in ground truth and does just that. But the services are also full of group think, PC, [edited for CoC], interest groups and gross incompetence although there is a difference between the services with the Army and Navy the most political. [edited for Code of Conduct]
Those headlines are a tower of Babel. If it was as easy as Crow's Nest says we wouldn't (always and forever) be yet again in the mess we are.
If you need an example look at the mind bogglingly wide variety of raucous responses to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's latest debt ceiling plan which after all the kerfuffle may only be a trial balloon or just irrelevant.
Edited on Jul 13, 2011 at 6:42amMar '11
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
Hi Viator,
I cannot understand how you have managed to misconstrue a very practical lesson in humility into one in which I somehow have defended the Absolute Truth that flows on high to us from our Mighty Specialists.
The context in which I made the remark, and which I stand by, was Aaron's statement that our leaders are often expected to be experts at everything, and that is unrealistic. I was agreeing with his proposition!
If you read a bit further in the original thread, you'll see that I clearly articulated the need for our leadership to 1) surround themselves with good advisors; and 2) Not simply trust their advisors advice out of some knee-jerk sense that "they're the expert. They must know" but instead to exercise their own prudent judgment to the best of their ability, in full knowledge of the facts as they are available (and the whole truth often isn't).
Moreover, I just posted an extremely lengthy defense of a certain kind of anti-intellectualism on the basis of the idea that extremely intractable problems are not easy to solve, despite the Oracle of the Day telling us otherwise.
Feb '11
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
"Not simply trust their advisors advice out of some knee-jerk sense that "they're the expert. They must know""
See my post on trusting experts--and which experts to trust
Jan '11
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
Headline (if believed): Rebels deny talks with Gadhafi
1) Then why was it reported yesterday that a deal is trying to be struck to get Gadhafi to step down? Are the rebels the ones seeking the deal or is this being done within the U.S. State Department? Assuming it's 'us', how much U.S. tax payer money is being discussed in bribing Muammar to 'step down' into a privately secluded island with full amenities? Would it be cheaper to do it this way rather than funding this unauthorized conflict? Isn't there moral hazard in doing this; I mean there's a expanding track record of the U.S. finding itself in negotiated scenarios where we pay people/groups not to do undesired things, isn't there?
2) The very first question was asked of the the rebel leader [sounds Star Warz-ish], Mahmoud Jibril. And it seems that it conflicts with what French Prime Minister, Francois Fillon, had said. The follow-up to that question needs to be asked, again(?) of the French PM. The remaining questions should be asked of our president or Ms. Clinton.
3) So far, no! But the others questions should be asked.
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
My first question is who decided these should be the leading stories, and why?
I haven't asked anyone yet--I suppose I would ask the news editors--but I'd sure be curious to know whether the answer made sense.
Jan '11
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
Headline: Is Obama winning the debt-limit fight?
1) Well, the headline is a question in itself. Here are some others:
2) Yes, the first and second questions were just asked in this piece. The remaining questions are probably being pondered at this very minute by people far more in tune with these things than I am. I can safely assume that Brooks has already submitted something to the editor for his next column.
3) The answers do make sense in a political world where all but a small few Senate Republicans completely lack a vertebrae and the general voting public gives you this kind of thought process to work with
Jul '11
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
People and parties of all sorts of names can really be divided into those who wish to control people and those who do not.
1)Regarding the debt ceiling, who is trying to control my life? Is it the party scared to raise taxes and desperate to control spending excess or the party with the media as a cheerleader asking for phantom cuts that will never come and tax hikes that I will feel very soon?
2)Ask Mr Obama(who is a skilled liar) and the GOP leaders who are entrenched career politicians.
3)There are no answers from Mr Obama since nothing is on paper at all, just flowery words in the air. Ultimately an answer will make sense but if it falls in to the me being controlled category then it will not feel good.
Jan '11
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
No headline just one question for anyone interested in answering it.
If a debt ceiling showdown still happened to occur and the emboldened House Republicans were pitted against the fearful Senate Republicans in a game of chicken (and the political fallout that might ensue), would you be prepared to see significant electoral losses in the Senate if the House actually could gain seats?
No, one more question: if not now, when; do we have to become Greece first?
Sep '10
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
With regard to what makes headlines and why, I've always assumed that this was decided by people who were primarily interested in attracting the largest number of views. For instance, it is easier to get everyone's attention by talking about Greece and their debts even though the real problem is the ammount of that debt that is held by large German and French banks. It is easier to talk about the latest murder, assination or whatever enormity du jour you choose in Afghanistan, Pakistan etc than the motivation of the various factions in power and seeking power. With regard to poiticians making decisions I'm certain that they talk to their advisors and it wouldn't surprise me if they seek out contrary opinions as well but at the end of the day I'm sure they do what they think will be more likely to get them re elected than anything else regardless of philosophy or moral rectitude.
Aug '10
Re: Ricochet Comment of the Day
If still accepting nominations for "comment of the day", I liked this tweet from @iowahawkblog:
"A good economy causes liberal arts majors, not vice versa."