The director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at AEI and National Affairs editor, Yuval Levin, joins the show today to talk about why experts didn’t see last Friday’s jobs numbers coming. Also, what the Chinese surveillance balloon says about American national security and the Biden administration’s handling of it.

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  1. filmklassik Inactive
    filmklassik
    @filmklassik

    Quick correction:  America’s high-speed, high-altitude aircraft known as the Blackbird was not “a government secret for 30 years,” John.  Indeed, its existence was made public in a speech by LBJ on July 25, 1964 when it had been under wraps for exactly — wait for it — 4 years.

    • #1
  2. Noell Colin the gadfly Coolidge
    Noell Colin the gadfly
    @Apeirokalia

    To Abes comment: Going to first principles and seeing how they sound to people in order to get policy changes probably won’t work for a few reasons.

    1. The “real” working class, I’ll define as the 40-70 hour a week farmer, small businessman, electrician, construction, manufacturing type worker are not vocal. They are not responsive and wont give politicians or polling people the juice they need to implement or consider commonsense policy.

    1.5. I don’t think things have gotten bad enough to make the people above REALLY angry enough to really care beyond annoying libtards at the family dinner table.

    2. The “tech/big city” working class controls the narrative. They aren’t particularly first principle people to begin with. Sway towards the left, are so insulated by their 120-500k jobs they just think in terms of utopian “why not do x that isn’t common sense”. (example, the problem with homelessness is they don’t have a home, so just give them a house). They are vocal, have the ability to shift public thought through their jobs, much more able to give politicians the juice they need to hear.

    3. The argument is over in my opinion. The noncommon sense ideology has won in the culture and is clearly reflected in our electorate. I’m paraphrasing the intolerably spineless and nimrod laden Dan Crenshaw  “The new deal/big gov is here to stay and you need to deal with that fact.”

    ———–

    So if you’re to go to the people and ask them, you are going to have to “attack” point 2. and get them on your side; but it is like talking to 5 year old’s which is about as productive as trying to get Patrisse Cullors to file her taxes properly.

    The other way is to maybe pull a DNC and fund the most radicle changes so things get bad enough to were someone with some first principles can come in and fix things. Even though she doesn’t want it, I nominate @lucretia to fix things…

    • #2
  3. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    filmklassik (View Comment):

    Quick correction: America’s high-speed, high-altitude aircraft known as the Blackbird was not “a government secret for 30 years,” John. Indeed, its existence was made public in a speech by LBJ on July 25, 1964 when it had been under wraps for exactly — wait for it — 4 years.

    That’s funny. The podcast is literally called “Does anyone know what they’re doing” – or talking about?

    Politics should end at the water’s edge? Republicans shouldn’t correct the record when the administration lied? and Why does a spy balloon bring up the topic of what spying the US is doing? The Balloon is the topic, what the US does is not open to discussion or debate…

    • #3
  4. Noell Colin the gadfly Coolidge
    Noell Colin the gadfly
    @Apeirokalia

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    filmklassik (View Comment):

     

    Politics should end at the water’s edge? Republicans shouldn’t correct the record when the administration lied? and Why does a spy balloon bring up the topic of what spying the US is doing? The Balloon is the topic, what the US does is not open to discussion or debate…

    Agree, though I’d say it’s definitely up for discussion or debate but as a separate conversation. What the US does should be assumed anyway so it’s more of a constant we can basically disregard for the time being. 

    I bring the below up as it has some similarities with the current situation just swapped with sea for sky and China with US. 

    Does anyone remember the finer points of the ocean drone the Chinese stole from us a few years back? Odd no one has brought that up.  
    I think this was the one: https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2016/12/16/china-grabs-underwater-drone-operated-by-us-navy-in-south-china-sea/

     

    • #4
  5. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    Noell Colin the gadfly (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    filmklassik (View Comment):

     

    Politics should end at the water’s edge? Republicans shouldn’t correct the record when the administration lied? and Why does a spy balloon bring up the topic of what spying the US is doing? The Balloon is the topic, what the US does is not open to discussion or debate…

    Agree, though I’d say it’s definitely up for discussion or debate but as a separate conversation. What the US does should be assumed anyway so it’s more of a constant we can basically disregard for the time being.

    I bring the below up as it has some similarities with the current situation just swapped with sea for sky and China with US.

    Does anyone remember the finer points of the ocean drone the Chinese stole from us a few years back? Odd no one has brought that up.
    I think this was the one: https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2016/12/16/china-grabs-underwater-drone-operated-by-us-navy-in-south-china-sea/

     

    OR the Hainan Island Incident, that kicked off the George W Bush administration – when Chinese fighter planes crowded, and then crashed into a USN EP-3 Aries, forcing it to land on Hainan Island?

    The airplane hadn’t violated Chinese airspace at all… I dont think they’d allow an errant weather balloon to lazily wonder over their ICBM silos at all… Let alone for a week.

    • #5
  6. Noell Colin the gadfly Coolidge
    Noell Colin the gadfly
    @Apeirokalia

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    Noell Colin the gadfly (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    filmklassik (View Comment):

    Politics should end at the water’s edge? Republicans shouldn’t correct the record when the administration lied? and Why does a spy balloon bring up the topic of what spying the US is doing? The Balloon is the topic, what the US does is not open to discussion or debate…

    Agree, though I’d say it’s definitely up for discussion or debate but as a separate conversation. What the US does should be assumed anyway so it’s more of a constant we can basically disregard for the time being.

    I bring the below up as it has some similarities with the current situation just swapped with sea for sky and China with US.

    Does anyone remember the finer points of the ocean drone the Chinese stole from us a few years back? Odd no one has brought that up.
    I think this was the one: https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2016/12/16/china-grabs-underwater-drone-operated-by-us-navy-in-south-china-sea/

    OR the Hainan Island Incident, that kicked off the George W Bush administration – when Chinese fighter planes crowded, and then crashed into a USN EP-3 Aries, forcing it to land on Hainan Island?

    The airplane hadn’t violated Chinese airspace at all… I dont think they’d allow an errant weather balloon to lazily wonder over their ICBM silos at all… Let alone for a week.

    The problem here is there are just too many unknown things for us to properly calibrate our outrage.
    Two extremes:
    A) We knew about the balloon for a long time, have intel on what it is looking for and where and fed it false or misleading information to counter the Chinese.
    B) A Veep style level of incompetency leading to someone leaking it and trying to get something done about the balloon.

    If A then I’m confidently happy. If B then then I’m angry.
    I don’t think it is either one all the way, so where is our rage really supposed to be? Probably never going to get that answer as a matter of “top secret” national security… Mega eyeroll. PS the discussions around covid spending going on at the moment seem to be a little more important if you ask me. Balloon is a distraction worthy of Abe talking nonsense for 30min about inconsequential things we will never know the answer to. BUT heaven forbid he spend 2 min talking about Planned Parenthood clinics receiving $80 million in COVID relief or something along those lines.  

    • #6
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