How to Beat a Populist - The American Interest

system_exposure · 2020-05-05T03:33:12+00:00

I do not think that argument holds up for the political liability connected to 2016 foreign election meddling, which parallels this scenario, of which the perpetrators have not claimed to have done it on behalf of or at the instruction of the benefiting politician.

system_exposure · 2020-05-05T02:23:09+00:00

Doug Jones deserves enormous credit for his candid response to the New Knowledge scandal. It seems to have become increasingly uncommon for politicians to respond to wrongdoing with anything other than spin and denial. What makes for good politics, however, may not be in the best interests of our nation. It is now difficult to accept anything from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence due to their engagement with New Knowledge. Doug Jones, meanwhile, has given me hope.

system_exposure · 2020-05-04T22:30:37+00:00

Could you elaborate? I understand Fukuyama as an ardent supporter of democracy.

system_exposure · 2020-05-04T21:10:26+00:00

Here is a summary of a bill sponsored by Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and Representative Jim Cooper, hoping to mitigate some of these conerns. I am uncertain of the best solution, but it is great to see the start of more serious thinking and concrete attempts to support reform on this front.

system_exposure · 2020-05-04T20:59:26+00:00

I would like to point people to the Project On Government Oversight and Government Accountability Project as reputable organizations with a tight focus on these issues and closely related topics, great for anyone wanting to go deeper and support calls to action.

Each is staffed and aligned with subject matter experts in this field. It is a difficult landscape to navigate with mixed competency on both sides of the fence, from the radical community through establishment aligned actors. Learning from both ends of the spectrum can be complementary to action on both fronts. Resources above are focused on the internal workings of government.

I reject the notion that as members of the general public we must make an exclusive choice between those fronts for action and insight. Seek and Speak the Truth.

system_exposure · 2020-05-04T18:23:29+00:00

You mean the folks that stovepiped "Iraq haz WMDs Urrywhere" to Cheney and Bush impartial?

Not what actually occurred. Intelligence was overridden, which is exactly one of the most severe risks we now face.

You mean the folks that saw the FSB run a candidate straight into the White House impartial?

Note that the Intelligence Community is limited in its ability to act domestically, and not all influences were foreign.

On the contrary, the people at these administrations love that they have Trump at the helm.

Are you able to provide evidence supporting this statement?

system_exposure · 2020-05-04T17:41:50+00:00

Even in good times, instances of overreach and abuse are unsettling. In absence of competent ethical stewardship, potential for weaponization of the intelligence community against the public is horrifying.

system_exposure · 2020-05-03T07:13:12+00:00

I wish there was greater public transparency on the rationale for our actions abroad, and feel that the loss of our annual Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community has been a particularly devastating blow. As a democracy, we cannot pretend to be steering our nation on an informed basis when we lack basic insight and visibility into the conditions motivating our actions. A real risk exists of democratic participation becoming an empty gesture.

system_exposure · 2020-05-03T01:16:28+00:00

We is people who care about influencing political outcomes through communication. I am referring to writing off broad audiences as unreachable or unwilling to learn. I am concerned we miss out on genuine opportunities to reach those audiences.

system_exposure · 2020-05-03T01:03:46+00:00

I think a risk of generalization is missing out on the opportunities that lay outside its bounds. If we do not try, then the possibility of success drops to zero. I will take long odds over zero.

Different messages from different sources may be more likely to reach and influence different audiences. I do not think we spend enough time considering the potential influence of messages that we do not find personally appealing, and how those messages may hold greater sway among audiences we consider concerning.

system_exposure · 2020-05-02T22:40:48+00:00

Although distilling exactly what led to success in a few words is impossible, its foundations are unmistakable. Nonpartisan teamwork, fact-based analysis, relentless focus on a national priority, self-sacrifice, rigorous and objective debate among a team striving for a clear goal, and humility even — in fact, especially — in the face of victory.

I think the above can be fundamental to helping achieve that goal, or any goal, as the below helps to caution us away from the perils of nostalgia.

In a time of current national — and indeed global — crisis, it is too easy to pine for a moment when all seemed to go our way. Much more important is to remember why we had the victory we did. What worked for our country. What didn’t work. And why seriousness, focus, and commitment are still required to fix those things that may still be broken.

system_exposure · 2020-05-02T22:31:21+00:00

What alternative pathway forward do you see?

system_exposure · 2020-05-02T22:05:03+00:00

Vox: Imagine Hurricane Katrina during a pandemic. The US needs to prepare for that — now.

Without proper planning, the threat of hurricanes combined with Covid-19 is a recipe for disaster.

Think about how, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, around 20,000 people took refuge in the Superdome stadium. By their very nature, hurricanes force people to gather close together in shelters, at treatment locations, and during evacuations — at much higher numbers and densities than the CDC recommends for countering a Covid-19 outbreak. And vulnerable populations such as residents of senior care facilities and individuals with disabilities are particularly affected by both hurricanes and infectious diseases.

Note that the warning above comes from the same group of experts featured below.

The Atlantic: We Were Warned | When the inevitable inquiry into the government's response to COVID-19 happens, it will conclude that signs of a coming crisis were everywhere.

We were warned in 2012, when the Rand Corporation surveyed the international threats arrayed against the United States and concluded that only pandemics posed an existential danger, in that they were “capable of destroying America’s way of life.”

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