The podcast takes up Joe Biden's determination to cut carbon emissions in half in nine years and what such a ludicrous promise means politically. What does it tell us about what he thinks his job as president is and what he wants the history books to say about him? Give a listen.
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Welcome to the commentary magazine, dearly podcast today's rugged April, twenty third, twenty twenty one. I am John POD words, the editor of Commentary magazine the seven.
Five year old, monthly of intellectual analysis, political probity and cultural criticism from a conservative perspective, we ve
join us a commentary magazine got, will give you a few free, reeds and ask you to subscribe. Our may issue is up with all kinds
glories and wonders for you, and also
with glories of wonders for you today we have executive editor, I bring Waldheim Hydra scene.
The writer Christine resonate Christine hijacked,
Does he have editor nor Rossman high on our agenda?
yesterday Earth Day, Joe Biden announced that America is going to have some its carbon emissions
by twenty thirty and get to net zero by twenty fifty, which, of course, is a
but the unreachable indeed even delusional goal. I assume that this is based, in some fashion, on on Jeff case promise in nineteen sixty one that we were
We would send a man to the moon and return him.
By the end of the decade? But of course there
was a prescribed.
Limited a technological challenge involving at a specific use of rocketry.
Do you know and ingenuity or something like that, and this is a wholesale revision of the entire
the way, the american economy and the
daily life of Americans proceeds agenda and is: is it
unreachable.
So where this gets me is is is this idea? Biden is seventy eight years old and though he says he is intending to run again in twenty twenty four. We all understand that that is at best a fifty fifty proposition, and probably that is real
the best that he could hope for, and so he has decided in conjunction with his people that he is going to swing for the fences and try to get as much giant stuff
as he can or be credited with as much giants of cancer did his very likely or possible. One term presidency is viewed as significant and not simply as some kind of a train,
the national meaningless thing.
Since, of course, when we think about one term presidencies, we think about Carter and we think about the elder Bush and and and now will think,
Trump, and these are not presidencies that you. What would want? I
history. If you wanted to have a position, history books to emulate- ah so his, but his version of swing for the fences, then, is he's gonna announce this achievable goal, while simultaneously
we spending for five six trillion dollars on other or trying to spend on other. Does it RADA, child tax credits, all this money for
unions for child care, all the stuff in the infrastructure bill, all the stuff of the corona viruses leave package,
and it is conceivable that, if you wanted to say look the most important thing in the history of the world is climate change and we have to
do something dramatic and serious about climate change in the next ten years of the planet is finished. Therefore, we have to put everything else.
Hold. In order to do that, because it's gonna cost a hundred trillion dollars.
That would be a serious challenge but saying you can do this while simultaneously spending federally
hundreds, a billion dollars more on child care than on fixing bridges marks it
whereas disingenuous or, as I say, as some kind of bizarre thing, where he there just throw it everything up there. So that's my that's my proposal to base its labour choice between guns and butter or saying, ok, we'll do.
Which was a famous nineteen sixties, thing that Lyndon Johnson decided that he would do guns and bought a right that was the Vietnam WAR and giant social spending which proved to be.
Inflationary and and and damaging to the public we'll over time, but nonetheless he was
anxious and cognizant of the tour of the decision he was making now to make a decision, and he,
It just seems, like you know, with a compliant press, he can say anything and everything will be considered. Just a wonderful you don't change for social Betterment Camden,
I mean anybody who seriously looks into the problems associated with that the hundred percent renewable goals, for example, New York City, has committed that by twenty twenty five four years from now, every government entity every government building every government car is going to report
by renewables. Are you do that? Will you gotta be a by a lot of canadian energy, so they're going to buy a lot of canadian hydroelectric energy? Even apple likely prove insufficiency, gotta, get it from somewhere else and then there's this competing values problem. The first of it is that we encounter the limits of physics when we try to make a living.
I am batteries that are sustainable large enough to hold the power that you need from renewable sources, so you have resource usage problems there, because it takes a lot of
materials to make those batteries, most of which come from the developing world and get us
it means a lot of land to get him.
And then you also have to use a little land to make. You do not have to have sufficient energy so like a solar power,
plants requires a whole lot acreage and
a variety of other land use problem, so environmentalists come into conflict with conservationists when they try to actually create this hundred percent. Renewable landscape
as they should- and these are competing values on most of which you know
are not resolved because to resolve them would be to enter into conflict with one another and they all want.
They want to solidarity movement. So when a political movement, so they
are actually resolve any of these issues and just make these lofty pledges and people. Don't they
people are gonna, really minded when they don't come about it. Just it's just a statement of principle not seen off my actual policy preference and that
that's actually set. That's a really important point for the both for the way that the media has treated this global summit in a recently, but also
where was actually going on domestically, so we had at
Ricky and Alexandria Cause Yogurt has re, introduce their their green new deal the other day, and you know at Marcie tweeted out at the time. It's his sweet said this on April, twenty it says were reintroducing the green new deal. The past two years are proof that it's not just a resolution. It's a revolution for jobs, justice and the boldest possible climate action. The
the green new deal is here said the use of those words it it's a revolutionary thing in its not just about the climate is about everything. Everything is about justice and climate and and so there's
hence in which Unburdens left flank he's gonna he's got people who are self proclaimed
revolutionaries demanding all kinds of things that he politically is not going to be able to deliver. Particularly,
he's gotta, assuage the agriculture sector and farmers and and other constituencies better. That are all
asking for money from the federal government. Now, so he's got a domestic political positioning problem at the same time that there is a global that the issue of who is creating the world's worst
Lucian is pretty clear and it's not the United States right there. It's developing economies, its China, India, its places where the West's demands that that they pull back and live more simply are just not gonna fly
comically for those nations. So what what is going on here I mean- by which I mean Biden, cannot by Dick TOT lower american carbon emissions by half a president.
It does not have control over the? U S economy and that fashion. How many automobiles are there in the United States, while you guys talk, I'm gonna look up how many automobiles or on the United States and others also had gently lifted up the getting to net zero by twenty. Fifty is served COMECON, preposterous for other reasons, the first of which is you can't project,
out that far into the future, what will even be a concern for Americans? That point, who knows that that will be talking about climate altogether by them,
either because catastrophes haven't come to past or entirely different. Solutions have have arisen
ok, so there are two hundred and eighty seven million automobiles in the United States
which my guess is the two million or electric. Maybe
Finally, I would even now- but I mean so you're talking about
two hundred and eighty million cars now if they stopped making cars that you weren't electric just today by twenty thirty, how much of the? U S, fleet of cars.
A net zero were halved in their carbon emissions. I mean this is preposterous. I saw last night a bit of a special about Gretta ton Burg. You know uh before
birthday- and you know, she's, going to run on a ship and all this and then some
A british climatologist explains that you know if we could just slow other ships down if the ships went half as fast. The carbon in other the contain arise, cargo ships that but by which a most of the goods in the world are transported large.
Large goods obviously transported across the seas and all that, if we could just slow them down to half speed, we would vastly reduce carbon emissions. So let let us game that out a little
Ok, so basically, all deliveries of goods, including perishable goods, should take twice as long. I wanted to go with me. It's not gonna happen, because, obviously it's not gonna happen. I just mean logistically what could be on those ships? The people might need in faster time, medicines, ah, Madame
Oh, you know, cribs, ah, all kinds of stuff that people might need, let's say, you're, trying to rebuild a city or someplace that has been destroyed by its who know me, or you know, a far worse, greater someone that how about lumber suddenly now that ship was to go. You know at half speed up from wherever you get the lumber to taking it. Where you need to
go to help repair, something that's been in an emergency. This is the level of thinking that we are talking about here. These kind of like magical solutions. If we good just slow the economy down in a world that is, you know, has seven billion people in it. Then we could do this, and so this is. These are the people to whom Biden is now attempting to appeal? Not that I don't think that he doesn't mean it, I'm sure he thinks that it would be wonderful if we gotta if we have their carbon emissions by twenty thirty. How about a different tat have a different tack like gum
how about you, spend five trillion dollars on cold fusion orange. You know I'm on whatever that I'm just spit bawling, but it seems to me to be his,
rational to say, we need to find a form of renewable energy or net cart, were much reduced carbon energy and we're going to devote two trillion dollars to the programme. You no confusion where we want to call it, but that's not what's being said, nothing is being said. It's just a kind of one thing is beings:
there's a very typical swamp politics as usual for a binding ministers in their claims to want to be much more ethical than its predecessor. That's that its energy Secretary Jennifer Grand Home as our friends at the free beacon found
He owned a lot of investments in one of the companies that the by demonstrations and visiting and touting one of these electric battery companies it has and ensure they have not confirm that she's divested herself.
That, I think, is around five million dollars in electric battery company called the protein era. Is it there's there's money built into the infrastructure package for four companies like that, there is at least
he kind of certainly a whiff of impropriety about some of the ways in which these green
who deals, are actually going to benefit democratic party, members and and leaders and Democratic Party, in a way that I think, all Americans, regardless of how you feel about it,
You want to drive electric car not should be concerned, because that is thou swamp. That's all the swamp has long been working. It's it's not the way most Americans one.
See deals being made so that people like ran can liner pockets online, but further grass roots doesn't know or care about any of that stuff.
Then the movement itself is dominated by people for whom the eye
Here that industrialized industrialization and progress technological progress is the cause of this problem. So therefore cannot be the solution.
The problem and a fine large. Their advocacy generally tends to lean into reducing their quality of life. Have you seen places like California, which, for some reason now,
everybody listen! This glorious state which is endowed with so many
amazing resources and human capital, but they don't know what to do with one of the world's largest sending economies by itself.
Has rolling blackouts? It's like Venezuela and people just kind of live with it, because you just have to accept that fact that we have to pay back our quality of life, even though technological advancement and consumer demand fuelled by consumer demand has done more to advance green objectives per se than any other government mandate.
Or we tax behaviour that is actually part of the necessity of of of maintaining a middle class life in America like you, live in an outer suburb where their better schools and you have to drive a long way to your job. And now the transportation secretary wants to tax you per mile that you drive versus the people in cities, you don't even own car
the day it there are definitely like the lifestyle choice. Aspect of this doesn't get enough tension. I totally agree with you not there, but I think your nose onto something larger there too. I think it's all part of this idea of undoing things that
You know, let's have some sort of meanness at their core, some sort of and unfeeling disregard,
for four people and is really no end to it right you don't you can you can slow the ships, but you also
blow the speed limit. Of course right, if you cut those has that will take care of some problems and we do not have far fewer fish
automobile accidents in a country that has a lot of them right? It's no coincidence that the last general secretary
Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, is now
I'm an environmentalist right, euins awards for writing books about in the environmental trauma that he presided over in that the West presides over and how important it is to scale back the qualities of life because for killing the planet. We know the great store.
Worry about perestroika. Gorbachev comes a year into his premiership the when he takes a trip to Canada.
And he has taken somewhere in Canada to a vast farm industrial farm
where they produce an enormous amount of wheat or something for export.
And he's looking a desert, swaying to him. You know how it works when the threshing go, how the ship it, what all that stuff and then he says well how many people are working in the field,
roads and the manager of the firm says nobody, because this
one thousand nine hundred and eighty four one thousand nine hundred and eighty five
it was already automated. No words are either all of the everything that was going on was automated. It wasn't,
you know farmers in the fields with a sigh either even running, attract or something like that,
There is a mass of automated farm and that a court
into Gorbachev as when he knew that the Soviet Union was finished
because in the Soviet Union it would take effect
some people to produce the materials and in other states that were being produced by no one that pink take that the crown by no one. This was considered or deemed. This was the great strength by which the United States and the West and Capitalist West destroyed the greatest evil of our time, which is productivity, growth, innovation in these sectors and the sorts of things that do
not leading us toward a more pre industrial way of life, which is the fantasy that a lot of environmentalist and not just environmentalists and a lot of people seem to have these days that you do everything is so terrible, more also teach humanized. If we only lived,
though we were living in the eighteenth century while having computers- and
being on the internet and watching Netflix in all getting to do all of that, but none the less still living. You know communitarianism life around a village green where we planted are gonna, ruin
beg. As you know. This is that this is a very deep strain in our thought, and it's like who speaks for progress
now I mean who says you know how we're gonna get out of this. We're gonna innovate the crap out of it. If we really believe that we have a problem, the West's core strength is its capacity to innovate and to change the rules by which things work by coming up with a better, more productive, less costly,
solutions and that's been going on, including in the environment, for many many decades look at Pittsburgh. Look at you, don't look at the ways in which call towns and steal cities and all of that have reduced their emissions. Look at the kinds of differences that scrubbers
make an all kinds of that like that, and, as I say in some fantasy, you would have you know Manhattan Project for cold fusion, or something like that that that's what would be more in keeping with the way that we,
Two things are that we could actually realistically look
to meeting some goal of reducing carbon emissions. If you believe it's important the story of the development of the token that grafter is actually rather indicative of farm problem is
with after the cold war was internationalized.
Became an international project. Wasn't it
Innovation anymore was about the global community, which has spent
last twenty years innovating by committee, therefore deciding spending much of his time deciding
where the thing should go more than actual
What are you? What are you referring to? What told the token that reactors, which is what you're just guy, describing na a process of
fusion in rank deteriorate, murderer, helium three, which exists off planet and that sort of this very, very signs fictional. But it's not physically impossible. It can be done
then we ve been researching us for quite a long time. The problem is that it's not a process of innovation, we're not in the competition here. It's all internationalize, it's all about
the community of man, coming together to make this thing happen and therefore it never happens. There's also had a very quickly. The same applies to the Paris Cortright persecuted was about everyone coming together to stop doing things.
And if you, and if you weren't, involving passwords but were actually committed to reducing,
You carbon, you had a better outcome. You,
more likely to reduce carbon. Then you are by getting together with with that group,
what MRS this is. Actually, I'm glad you said that, because the there is also a problem here with perceptions of how elites are both talking about this problem and tackling it.
With the reality of how they in fact live their lives, so Bernie Sanders putting out tweets about. How would you know the climate? Is such an emergency, the duties
Three houses of such an emergency cell to them
of Ale, see who spends your entire life on Instagram. Won't you know what emits as much co2 as the airline industry uses a lot of electricity server, farms that power all of this internet technology that we all use so that the idea that there's like us, a particular lifestyle.
EL choice that doesn't have anything to do with class or educational or says economic background is so offensive to me, because the people that they are constantly chastising
they are the ones who and if they can afford a vacation where they can put their family on a plane and go to Disney World. It's rare these people flyer on a private jets going to Paris
and also in all these other. You know it and talking about all the changes that have to be made, and yes, I know that's how it's always been, but I find it particularly gracious at the things it
We cannot change dramatically and radically aren't the things that I
plead they use on a regular basis, or they require to live their lives of comfort. It's what people who art like them require like a car that actually can get them to and from their job, which might be fifty miles away from their home. Look I mean in the interesting thing is that it's always a great gotcha. Look at the first, the first one of the first great gauchos was Lord David Larry David's Ex wife, huge environmentalist too. Of course, wooden travel anywhere, but on a private play
her reputation didn't really recover from that, even though you know, even though she still a big environmental and everything like tat, but she was sort of like seemed like a relatively saintly person, and then it began to occur. To me,
Well, then it was otherwise I mean,
The other way to look at this is that they say that we need to save the planet, but they travel on private planes cuz it's course: that's not going to make the difference right, how what they do on private planes is going to make the difference until there is gigantic civilization. Why change at which point
they. Of course wouldn't, but until then, what they do is not is a drop in the bucket right that that would be the way that they look at it, except that every human being is a drop in the ocean,
in any event, in his own way, so if they can't bear not front flying on private planes find so they don't for flying private planes, but some families need three pick ups and some of those pick ups that maybe someone could pick up a pick up for a thousand bucks. That's you know from nineteen seventy nine. If they
a place where, even let's, like forty years old, even if they live in a place that some you know where that that pick up, didn't rust and was captain relatively good shape. But it's gonna emit worse. It's gonna have worse emissions than a car. Today they also have to live, live in the terms under which
they live, they can use of other pick up. Should they have one now, nobody should have more than one car if your PETE, but a judge, your floating, the idea that people need to you no pay attacks per mile to drive in the United States. Gee! That's nice! Aren't we dealing with the fact that we understand that for for people of my modest or limited incomes they often and also because housing is so complicated now they often have to travel, as you say, Christine thirty or forty miles, to go to a job so they're, so you're now can increase the cost of them getting a relatively low wage job at one
might be better for them than the job that's closer by by penalizing them for being poor and not having the same life choices that you have
that's where liberalism
one of them. I think I've always thought you know one of the that one of the things that makes theirs
scored. When liberals attack conservatives is the social hypocrisy, art,
right conservative say should live
way. You know you should lay a boar.
While lifestyle- and you know don't do all this and then their cod having affairs or you know, leading US secret life or something like that. That contradicts what they talk. When public policy
It has had real political consequences are played a real role in helping Democrats when the house in two thousand and six, the congressional, a page sex scandals and things like that.
Which exposed a certain number of false republicans. As as hypocrites who were trying to tell other people had a live while they themselves didn't. You know, abide by the rules that stuff is is it can be a very telling and its importance and in our people have have learned from that and-
At some point, you know: Goldman Sachs Partners,
giving money too.
Environmental activists to to try to penalize poor people for having a relatively cheap energy, because that actually makes their law
It was more sustainable. Ah, you know more back. Let the pot the bad the backlash possibilities and we ve seen them time and again in individual place.
As an individual cases, the war. Yes racking, had the warning that right. That has had a long enough to dwell on now that it's just lifestyle, hypocrisy, its intellectual hypocrisy, to the point where they are sort of recognising their vulnerability on it. When it did the technology that resulted in the french revolution. The last decade produces a lot of unlocks alot of natural gas and natural glasses. A clean
burning fuel, it submits call a bridge fuel abridge tool to a cleaner, burning future right and their waging a war on that they don't like that, because any emissions are bad right. Well, what about nuclear?
our which produces no emissions welder against that as well, because the prospect of accidents are very scary, even though their eggs
Ordinarily rare, it still super super scary,
beginning to wake up. I think to the vulnerability that
have on this dogma, because they're so rigid and so inflexible that some of them, some of the activists class, are now beginning to say yet fractions a bridge too far. It still hydrocarbon the nuclear know. What's the argument against that kind of hard to make it
we're going to see some fritters at least on the left. There isn't a Republican can make not just the the very compelling lifestyle argument, but also a very compelling argument that triangulate the issue Democrats sent out well in there. I think that's actually,
that's a good point, because it it explains to me. I was wondering why, in her reintroduction of the Green New Deal ABC was focusing so much on racial justice, housing, justice. Everything is climate in the same way that everything is infrastructure.
But she was talking about the lot and there's a sense. I had that she's in some ways, they're gonna try to cloak a lot of what they want to do. That is in fact, an attack on lower class people's way of life as actually what's best for them, because it's part of a broader racial justice message dry. So you can attack.
Yet, even though it's gonna actually compromise the day to day lives of lots of working class people, it still what's best for them
and they're telling them. This is what's best for you because it will achieve racial justice, and some of you might be minority race
minority rights like there's a weird kind of messaging that they're doing now that I think they think will make them
vulnerable to attacks about this, but shouldn't you know when you get to that meeting with the whole injustice aspect of it made in the more. I think about Johns point about innovation.
American innovation is now strongly problematic for the left. Actually, because for one thing it's jingoistic right, we its it it. It feeds this myth that that we have about
Ourselves is you knows as pioneers in solemn problem, solvers and- and you know why
of leaders and and and that's a problem
then the whole, but where we were exceptional, then the whole system that feeds innovation and, as you know,
intellectual learning in the rest of it, that's riddled with all sorts of inequalities. Problems right,
do you not even so you're you're, you're you're, going to be data system
Our ties, his white males and women did don't get going too.
Damn courses within that's the kind of thing that we're talking about solving here and finally,
You innovate your way out of a problem. You don't get to scold anyone, that's that's, there's no fun it. If you don't get to Hector people, you don't get to control, tell them what they can't do and and that's the big drawback right. Well, look. You know, I've learned a lot about these issues and how they function.
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a president who appears to be and ran on the notion that he was going to restore normality to american political life, and
and serve essentially as a bridge the future given his age, and all of that is not conducting himself with the kind of prudent, careful, calculated, quiet approach that view you would think
word now at the were now the hundred day point had two billion two trillion dollar piece of legislation.
We have another one coming down the pike. That's gonna, be that or maybe as much as double is that we have this
in carbon emissions by twenty thirty, we have very
raw offers to IRAN to bring them.
Get ready said he was gonna, restore the the the
RON deal but
They also said that they were going to eliminate certain types of
sanctions or prohibitions on iranian financial activities in the west. For those, apparently
been negotiated away unilaterally by Robert Mally, the the chief negotiator,
in Vienna. Talking with the Arabians, are, however, it as it were doing this with the Iranians, and so is Biden, has Biden betrayed the essential promise that he made running for president or look he's got the situation that he's got his.
Is going forward, because that's that's what that's what President's do yet, but ass it might. We can ensure that question, I think, until the mid term elections and then the next presidential election, but I do there is definitely a sense
this is someone who ran on like I'm the ground
who who used to run the local? You know housing s, HAT Housing board. You know
retirement community and I'm calm, and I'm thoughts on that crazy guy. We're going to deal with all this crazy stuff and restore normalcy, and instead the minute it gets power. He like Chuck's at all, drive to Vegas
sorts gambling wildly, and I feel I couldn't without aid. That is not on message and- and I think people are right now at a stage of being kind of like unsettled. Is this: if a lot of it works? There might not be a problem with it, but I feel like the fact that he is now so radically gone to the left. At the same time that you watch the media, which should be holding into account for when he said versus when he's doing doing, things like apple,
quite recently announced it will no longer call the border crisis a crisis. So there's a kind of state media aspect to a lot of how his coverages is being filtered. So Americans aren't even really getting the full picture of what's happening because we're changing the way we talk about these things so
not so sure that this won't resonate in the mid terms- and certainly you know
It's gonna have an effect on calmly Harris if she's the presumptive nominee into an ok. You don't forget to pick something up with jobs with this, which is that the director of the National intelligence Avril Haines yesterday said on.
Today that all of american foreign policy, including intelligence, was I'm going to be redirected towards issues of climate change. Can someone explain to me what
means I dont understand. I want you to know what are the? What are the worthy intelligence
implications of climate change? I mean they saw aside from saying if you believe that climate change is going to introduce instability into parts of the world where there's gonna be more flooding and stuff like that of theirs. That idea right, which is
which has been sorted extent in the entire fighting over water resources and other writers. We're ok, ok, but we just tend to think of national intelligence. As being you know,
How are they analyzing the current situation in acts as regards what is going on? Why is Putin menace?
Ukraine is a menacing Ukraine.
Because he really does want to go in and am now and in every take
whatever do everyone's do there, or is this a faint or dodge, because he is actually consolidating power by essentially killing off election? Avowedly, like that's something, a question that you serve, one
intelligence agencies to use its sources and methods of everything. I got to figure out. What
We have two, so we know what to take seriously and what not to take seriously what
is going on at the wheel on lab, who was responsible
Why is this said? Industrial accident arena essentially rub a scientific accident. How are the Chinese doing acts? What are the north
Koreans doing in relation to their nuclear programme. Like that's what intelligence
supposedly for what is it so
We are now looking at this and we are now going to assign tasks of government that cannot be suspended because of more fashionable concerns. How are they gonna do both an at, particularly at a time when the world is actually more confusing and in which we are being challenged in weird ways and other places, particularly in the south, China, Seas and elsewhere, where we need better intelligence of a more class
sort and not funky, fund intelligence on on? You know how somebody may you know steel may occupy you know of a port in order to steal stuff, because climate changes screwing up their economy.
This sort of reminds me a little bit of my experience as a graduate student of international relations in two thousand and eight to twenty ten, roughly and learning about theories of
national relations, which essentially explained why nations do things and provide some predictive prescriptions about what they might do in the future, so that schools like realism and institutional, as are many constructive, ISM uneven Marxism, which all provide some prescriptions for ever predictive. You know of remedies for how an extra
drugs when a nation does why it does it wondered whether strategy is and how to pursue it and one of those?
Schools that I was taught was in school
national relations around feminism, and it was the most tortured
and unconvincing attempt to get me to believe that
could determine what a nation's grand strategy wasn't. How was would pursue it based on how it regards the role of women.
This only makes sense to you in
So far as you, you tell yourself, you have to believe it. It's not compelling on its face now compelling on its merits. It is compelling only because it is a statement of principles and display of your adherence to, as you said, fashionable tenets of political reality, but were teaching these things to kids. You have kids, the young girls are going into the workforce in my case, going to the diplomatic corps with this constantly fatuous belief of something
the next, how is that advancing anybody's interest rate will least, that was theory being taught a graduate school? This is the doctrine that has been promulgated by the director of national intelligentsia. Think a came from while raising it.
We're all this book. Stuff is very difficult to argue with only because it adopts an appropriates. The language of the governor of the gender studies
conflict studies a grievance studies in the classroom. They adopt these Polly Syllabic Jargon and pseudo academic concepts to force you to stop arguing with them with this reminds me of it is. I think I have the details wrong. It's been a while, but so you'll correct me. I hope I didn't the director of NASA.
Under Obama say that he was devote his energy trade is fighting Islamophobia, something yes
climate change, it's ok, yeah!
yeah Melvin Irate. Isn't he the right word? It's it's right, just anyone the thing about you know approach does approaching problem solving as this messianic.
Mission is that you yeah you you get to ignore all like the real world problems, while while it, while you you know, have these
Oh elevated pie in the sky ideas I mean, and the fact, by the way, that our intelligence at the moment isn't right now more geared to the horror
What's going on with the lesson of only by the way, it is just that it's just a terrible stain on a symbolic, I have to say it
if Trump, our president- and this were happening, it would be-
much bigger deal. It would be a bit of the fact that the U S is who is is letting this happened right before its eyes. Killing their burden is killing is, is, is, is greatest adversary here, while the? U S is, you know, refocusing its intelligence on climate is just scandals, then he should add that involving said that he would banned in his hunger strike this morning, but we did in coincidence, by the way, with Russia's announcement. We have to see what it was wholly battling. To expect Johnny
troops that had been amassing on the orders of Ukraine for several weeks. Can I just say that these these theories, in particular the one that Noah was subjected to as a grand student about you know have feminism, is, is a lens through which we should do our foreign policy. It doesn't just allow us it does just that. Make us ignore things that are right in front of us that we should be dealing with that are crises it forces every crisis through that lends in this is like this
speaks of the surf critical raised. There is well in a way that out the force
is a narrative that requires that you set aside facts that are right in front of you, so for the feminism member. Just being, I did feminist
is my minor feel is grad student and we would read these books and you always do
when Syria women studies, class verses history classed as a books would basically say,
you would only let women rule the world. It would be peaceful, newtonian nirvana. It would just be so wonderful and I would of course
where's my hand, but there
I've been women rulers and we know them to be as blood thirsty, hidden brutal as the men. It doesn't make sense, but it couldn't make sense. It had to make sense through that lends indeed, the assumptions that come with the theory are the starting point in a sense, in a way that they should be
her analyzing a situation you can bring those in as part of your analysis and reject them, accept them, but that's not how it works, and so yes, I agree with no that's. That is not. That should not be the starting point for how we look at national security or or foreign interests, road guys, in line with the whole idea of of of live,
in a world that does that rewards and advances innovation, let let's, let's just reflect just for a second on how,
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I want to switch gears and go to a weird little story. I sent you guys just before when I'm on the air that I found
totally by happenstance.
Involves something you would think you would never care about which is who's gonna, be the director of the european tour of beauty and the beast now being stage going through you going through
the United Kingdom and Ireland. Ok, who's gonna! Do that you don't care right
the guy who was going to do it? His name is Rob Ross and Rob Roth directed the original production of beauty and the beast on on Broadway and Rob Ross. It was a terrible production by the way they look like one of those bad shows at Disney World that took bad
like that, to lead them to the notion that needed to do something innovative and therefore they created the wine came the most successful, theatrical,
action ever and one that is totally. You know innovative and amazing. So rob Roth. Did this stood out when I, almost thirty years ago, stage movies,
Broadway and apparently was gettin himself, a new job staging the tour through the UK, and he was on a plane or something oh yeah. He was on a plane on April sixteen
A passenger seated near him: this is a story from playbill was able. He was writing an email,
a passenger seated near him, was able to transcribed the contents of the email? That Roth was typing while he was sitting on this plain and apparently he said that Scott ruin the now
now disgraced. Only Europe's out famously awful mean producer. Who has now been the subjects of new stories about how terrible Bossy is and then was greeted one of the things that happen. If the story
in the Hollywood porter was a a very flamboyant broadway actress than Karen alive. Oh, who had quit the business couple times before now choose quitting. This is the third time in order, because that business wasn't gonna deal a Scot room. She had other do a Scot Rudin she'd
She wasn't heard. The show that she was in will arose had nothing do Scott Scabbard, but she was gonna quit in order to make a point about Scotland so apparently wrought his writing. An ear
EL that says, ruin
deserves an honorary tony award for somehow getting that horrible woman to quit. Acting God bless you Scot Free or service to American Theatre, Gay
right, innocently, private email. Somebody was
looking over shoulder or whatever a Ross has now resigned as step down from the beauty and the beast or whatever it says. Someone is stepping down. That means that you know they're they're, jumping before they were pushed obviously Ross confirmed the contents of the email and then said the statement upon
the duration of recent events. It is clear that I am not in a position to lead this production this time. I see now that the sentiments included,
a private email, that when public were thoughtless and insensitive- and I am profoundly sorry that my comments have caused unintended pain. I deeply regret making light of bullying, which I know to be a horrible experience for the good of the show in this wonderful company of artists. I've made difficult decision to step aside as director, so let us now go to where this has led us. So it is now acceptable for a person to steal to ease to copy a private correspondence as it is being written and then retail it. And then this ends the career because universes, like potentially correcting folic rob brought, has has a really thrilling career after a lousy production, including the based on Broadway. He hasn't done that much
so this was like they were probably thrown him a bone to. Let him even do this, this tour? Ok, I'm done, but the story spot. What the any most important point, which is he was expressing, is expressing a private appeal
in and by the way is one I share. I saw her performance and on Broadway and MILAN reason, she's, just not shoot she's, not good me she's fine, but she certainly was not you know, but I had expected to see I'm so, but it's still his opinion. It's a private opinion privately expressed in power
right. So it's a very strange inversion where we have a lot of you. No social media has allowed. The amplification of a lot of has has made public lots of people's immediate private thoughts and off into their detriment and John runs and run a whole great book about this. The are you being shamed so,
but but this actually, when you sent us that story, I send you the image of the guy for him from the lives of others, because there's a weird Stasi, like reporting quality to this, these kinds of upset. This guy is not a major celebrity he's, not he's a producers behind the scenes.
And anyone who has been in any sort of performing arts or theatre setting knows that you can have extremely tough task masters who might be called bullying if in other contexts, but in fact or just high
demanding and highly temperamental people, that is not a defence of people who fully their employ.
Is obviously, but he wasn't even the bully. He was just someone who is kind of offering his opinion about the bullies, understanding of someone's acting talent or lack thereof that is concerned.
Concerning the minutes, it's inflates informing on fellow private citizens. What gets to me about the story is the coward.
What what does he apologizing for its? Were you use it
time and again if they they come out with these absolute.
Lee? Needless apologies scared for their careers.
Does it take so much to just say, look at my pen.
I wrote it I'll, let you know,
I feel bad that got out because that, but that wasn't my doing- and you know my
in my opinion, my work as my work. I stand by my work and I ll stand.
My opinion out of it out. I will just say this is the time in no danger of losing a job in show business. Everybody that I've spoken to about current level says that she's incredibly, amid look her correct. She she keeps quitting curl profession, not because of Scott Reuben. Now
quit her profession in this public way because of her disgusted, somebody with whom she is not in business
not like the celebrities who quit twitter, you know very dramatic Chrissy taken is like I can't take it anymore. The hostility of and she's back to exert, but I've been bought. My point here is that is that I do
I do not believe that Rob Roth was expressing an opinion about Karen alive. Oh that was controversial in many circles, so it you know, and he wasn't expressing publicly. He wasn't defaming her publicly. He wasn't saying anything about her publicly. You now talk about the there, but for the grace of God
though I or or you know, we are all and I think the lives of others, which is which is the best movie of the twenty first century movie made in West Germany or Germany, obviously, in two thousand six about a
about a senior agent of the Stasi, the east german secret police in the early nineties, sixties, who starts?
spying on a woman that he is wildly attracted to and her
quisling play right, husband, who is our boyfriend? Who is a m who, like is as unacceptable playwright in the world of power in the world of the east, german totalitarianism and and how this guy starts develop a conscience it's one of the great movies ever made. It is the great movie, the twenty first century, the wives of others. You should go see it and it is about a surveillance society and how every one in the society achieves a level of distrust toward everyone else in the society that cannot be overcome because it is organised to provoke and an end.
And and control people through distrust and and the threat of destruction ride this case. This is career. Destruction in the case of you know, he's Germany, its prison and torture, and you know all of that
it's a pretty anyway. It was a great analogy agenda and I just think you know what
Where is the outrage at the person who retail the email,
isn't everybody on earth terrified that this is gonna happen to them, because they get me one
it for it. I do not actually prompted thinking about that story. The high school student who saved the little video clip of the classmate who'd said the inward and he sat on that clip for a couple years until it would be useful for him to deploy it and derail her college hopes any end
He was given this absolute adoration by the New York Times. You knows his whole story of what they were like. He was led to ex expand. You know and
later on all the offences she had committed and to express no remorse like use, even given
opportunity like I did you take this all too far. No, absolutely not like our society or certain segments of elite opinion reward the title tailing they reward it. They reward it with. You know
does puff pieces, they d or they call it. Oh you know the little guys take is to feeding the silly powerful guenaud producer.
It's seen as a general good when, in fact, is the opposite for the way. I just want to make one more point, and then I got to go to another spot, but that is in the in the world.
Of show business. Karen Alito is more powerful than Robert
Currently, though, is a Tony award winning actress starring in in a major broadway production. That is one of the few productions it's gonna come back when the pandemic is over.
The power dynamic here isn't that he's powerful and she's, not she's, more famous she's, more successful and her and her words and everything carry much greater weight than this hack director who had one show on Broadway twenty, eight or twenty nine years ago and who, as I say, got through
bone so that he could direct some bus and truck tour of the one show that he produced that ran for a long time. So that's kind of an amount.
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under German. As of this morning, given new southern California is going to face a recall one of her patent, one of his potential challengers, according to the paperwork she will fail. Today is television Start Caitlin Jenner, who will be running as a republican to govern the state of California, transgender woman, one of the most famous athletes and America household name, both names household names, I M, so excited for the partisan role reversals, we're about to experience as Republicans, meaning that skeptical of transgender us.
And certainly of state mandated protections for individuals undergo that kind of therapy, or even surgery and Democrats who have made this a tenant
Moreover, religious faith practically and made it,
bearing minor portion of the population, the new civil rights movement
to see all of that reversed as democrats struggle to message against this woman and her choices and her politics and her beliefs and her bankrupt and everything that makes her unfit to be a representative of this, the Muslim
state near Calais? Ok, can I just say I was kind of business either. I should still slightly traumatized by the fact that Caitlin was appeared in an extremely revealing course. It I'm a cop
vanity fair when you know too, to reveal herself in unlike no one, wants to see grandma and, of course it I don't care what your journey at his side and I'm still like, processing that that said, it's gotta be glorious ray, it's a heavy. I actually, I would take issue the idea that that all Republicans have a problem with do a transgender people, most Joan most have a problem with the state mandating certain the expression of certain,
protections and believes that threaten the privacy, rights and individual freedoms of other American that the it's basically rights battle in one of these cases in the locker room battle, the bathroom battles
and I also like the fact that the other thing we should mention is it for a republican party. That's always called a bastion of white male supremacy. It Senator TIM Scott is gonna, be giving the red the reaction next week to two bindings congressional address
so the party has a lot of opportunity here to embrace the difference is always had some difference, but it's gotta as a real
ending measure. It's fantastic and you know Caitlin would be better than Newsome. So I think you know the most fierce opposition. The potential for fierce opposition from Republicans that she could face, I think, would depend on her to regulations from what kind of,
republican. She is where she stands on Trump and the steel, and
You know are fraudulent election system and things of that nature, because if she doesn't, she gets that crosswise of those folks then built they'll be happy to fill. It has I mean, but she's been a creature Hollywood that for a decade now, I imagine she's internalize the latter. There are at least can speak the language of that particular second of signing,
in two thousand and three when Gray Davis was recalled, and there was a special election. I happened to be in California the week before the election,
And there was this jungle election. There were like fifteen people in the election, and there was one debate
and I was a car driving and for some eyes it may not.
Televised amendment. Some bizarre rules had been structured whatever, but I was in a car and I pulled over to see the work to listen to the debate and, of course, the two stars of debate were the eventual governor, Arnold Schwartz, a mega right one
the biggest movie stars in the world and are an end, my my old and dear friend, Oriana Huffington, who is running against him and who was the person who decide to take up these questions of whether or not our old Schwarzenegger had been
behaved in a disgusting fashion,
I'm movie sat and things like that which had been the subject of a story in the early times, and here we were ordered state. The country recall the governor, you know solemn moment. All of that- and here was the tone of the debate on an old you'd know that did the debate. You thought that tend the movie, so you can
we hope this wait. What way without or other you know, you also hello, use your boots. Also, you crack me up,
the time area they love talking to you. What are you doing this? Was it went on for like twenty minutes it was. It was one of the greatest comedy routines
in the history of the United States over judge, I love this country. Only this country can produce that debate, but that debate was a presage right, presaged the republican debates of twenty sixteen, but there was only one because, as we know from the great
Notable great rivalry, soap is rivalry. Cartoon between buds, bunny and daffy duck in vaudeville were bugs. Bunny is always getting all the applause and daffy gets. No applause. Daffy, of course, has to swallow all this sum gasoline and then light. Imagine blow himself up and then bug says daffy. They love you. They dates credible. You know their screaming for more and daffy. Who is now a ghost Tito floating up with a halo and his head says
can always do it. What what turns out you can only do once so I'm looking forward. I don't know who is gonna, be Caitlin, generous interlocutor whether there will be safe from what lunatics are gonna run in this race that will that will create. I just I am just saying you know how they rebooted coming to America and other saved by the Bell and pump keeper. All these things are these the classic, California things
the nineties? This is my report. This California recall governors to partake it's his. The report that I have been waiting for, and I thank you know for bringing it up. I thank everybody for less thing have a great weekend for aid Christine and now I'm John passports keep the candle burning.
Transcript generated on 2021-07-26.