Welcome to the commentary magazine. Barely podcast today is Friday August seventeen, twenty twenty I'm John Paul boards. The editor commentary magazine with me avoid senior writer Christine rows of high Christine John. That you have added a green, well paid job, an associate editor no arrived when I know a hydra. There is too much to talk about. Today we have the attorney general all of the New York state actively seeking to disband the national

Rifle Association, using the fact that it was chartered in New York is a non profit. One hundred forty eight years ago as the means to claim some form jurisdiction and the utterly preposterous claim that, because of the financial malfeasance of its directors and has become- and it has become a non functioning organization- this- the most successful lobbying organization in the history of the United States of america- you don't have to be a fan of it. All its directors or its leaders are anything like to look at this as one of the most insane examples of press, Hungary, overreach political interference and the suppression of speech. Almost over a comic

nature so is the first thing we're gonna start with okay. So what is the play here? Latisha James has been investigating the for a long time, Some of it may even prominent members within Europe, and I believe that there is some malfeasance here sure, but she is. Gone so far that it seems destined to fail in the courts and backlash against her and This is a political move and the politics of guns favour gunners out. Well, out on gun rights, almost as a single issue, an energy there's like five million members of the inner edge, write, something like that, but many many more gun owners and the attempt to liquidate this organization. Seems like it's more likely to light a fire after them, then the anti gunboat which never materialised well, in that the interesting thing about choosing this particular moment is that

This is the sort of unusual moment in America in America, where even black Americans are registering to legally own guns at much higher numbers. All of the unrest we ve, seen in the wake of the George Floyd protest, has led. Skyrocketing numbers of of new gun purchases, the FBI now has the backlog of you. No background checks is trying to do. People are now act, eagerly going and buying weapons to protect themselves, and it seems again is it said beside the energies. It problems the fact that you chose this particular political, moment to do. This is even more unwise on her part. I may look in New York state. Obviously There is an all that much support, particularly her beside the aisle firm for four gun rights all I want to remind you that in two thousand and whatever was there was a young democratic Congress.

Named grab Christian Jello brand, who was chosen to replace Hillary Clinton as a senator from New York state by in in large measure, because she was a gun right supporting Democrat. So let us let us not forget that within living memory, one of them more radical candidates for the democratic nomination, twenty twenty one of the focus of the woke in some ways was a pro life pro gun Democrat in her first. Carnation as a as an elected political official. So Near says: I entirely you know absent outside their sectors. There are millions of people, upstate are hunters and all that, but totally in her world. This is all makes her hero and she's. Now that the Euro, because she's gonna about this

but you're right that, naturally they have just done something that will raise. You know tens, if not hundreds millions of dollars for the IRA and make the claim make the energies claim that they are coming after us to come after you seem to have some teeth. I mean if the claim here is that they are defending the membership of the UN, against the depredations of its managers, how that is a matter of public the interest of the power of the public interest when it is a private lobby were innovation that has with which the government should have absolutely no have very little control right. I mean really here because it up it's a private organisation in that sent by the way the other thing

that's a jump all over the place is there is a long history of nonprofits being run as the private piggy banks of their boards and those organizations and those of the people, Oh on them, then the management getting run out of out on a rail in part because of investigations of tax fraud and all and those organizations continuing to exist very happily and begin and end succeeding, with new leadership and all that, and so this notion it she opened her opening gambit, isn't the error rate must be disbanded, protect. The members of the error rate from Vienna Ray is some kind of an orwellian pair.

There's this long been this movement to an intentionally conflate through gun laws, gun gun station and the end our attitude to to portray the an as almost some sort of aspect of the federal government that that keeps guns, you have circulated and in use- and- and this is this is kind of that. You know that the combination of that of that confusion- that Central Asian, because it's it's it's easier in a sense for some attorney general to two to simply target the and re than it is to to get Congress. To go about passing the be the kind of gun restrictions. People claim they want to see right, but there is. There is a lack of ideological consistency here in this moment, as Christine said, there is sort of now. Let's move,

for his gun rights in response to the deal on the police Movement Anders. This is the perfect time to introduce a topic that I want to talk about, which is related to this, but very unrelated, because there is a fantastic and everybody. Listening to this progress needs to read it: a fantastic story in the New York Times, airport and valuables, which takes the perspective of the business owners who were true, were trapped by the chop movement, the Chad's, independent occupied zone of controller. What have you were now suing the city and it describes the d from their perspective, how they were extorted and they were attacked and litter they had guns held to their heads and had to appeal to armed gangs for protection in this lawless state of nature that those stated City of Seattle incubate it- and there is a quote from a council woman- could Sharma salons who actually has a national profile she's, not none, nobody. She was

did a lot of rallies with Bernie Sanders. She's a self described socialist, nodded democratic, socialist, a socialist, and this issue is reacting to this rise of these armed militias that were providing security for these businesses. Instead of the police- and this is what she wrote about them Quote- elected committees of self defence have historically played a vital role, stirring general strikes, occupations and mass movements in order for the working class marginalized people to defend themselves and carry out necessary functions in place of the forces of state so gun rights are okay Sworder, as long as it's absolutely anarchic, if you're the Biden campaign You bet you didn't need this right. What what did you lose? This catapulted back into the unto the down the back foot and and now they're gonna, have to answer the it's the bitter clinkers problem right, like is now they ve put a whole bunch of people on the defensive and basically said you're you're exercising a constitutional

right the because we don't like this argument- is lobbying authorization and its power, we're gonna, try to undercut. I mean in the same way that better and better stepped into it when he went on cable nuisance, and actually we do want to come for your guns, it it does come and give the lie to the gloss that I think certainly It media and allow democratic and allowed themselves to to promulgate. The earth I mean it will say: it's also if Europe, if you're a progressive, it's a worrisome trend. That is a bad precedent, because you could do the same thing to plan parenthood right. You could say that plan parenthood. If your pro lifer Lehne Parenthood actively threatens the lives of the people it serves by offering them abortions right, you can make that. I don't happen to agree with that logic, but I do think that it could be and argued

that you couldn't legally make right. If, if this is the tactic, that's gonna be used against the energy could just as easily be used against progressive organizations and how they serve their constituents, but must go back to write to you. You look. Let's go back to the politics here right. What is Joe Biden me to do? He needs to have the votes he needs to sort of match. He was basically got the nomination. Implicit implicitly, without anybody really sore saying this, because he was the only candidate in the field who might conceivably appeal to the Trump voter and peel enough away from the Trump voter to revisit two thousand and sixteen get some of those people back at them, not to vote for Trump then, when the three states, the Trump One and take the presidency back. For those voters gun rights arm. You know, probably that.

It is said that any issue is motivating for them. Gone rights is probably the most modest hitting issue, for them are for a lot of them. So what did you need this for these people? Not think tactically at all like what? What what an? What on earth is she doing doing this on on on August Sab three months before the election, every electoral thing that we know learned over the last twenty years, as Noah certificates are the past twenty five years. Is that await awakening? The sleeping giant of the gun owner is devastating to democratic electoral hopes, one thousand nine hundred and ninety four two thousand and ten, two thousand and fourteen Obama having to say that he loves guns a couple of times than public. In order to counteract to be

anti gun action on his part and then import yeah. So an Hilary didn't Hillary Clinton talk about how she would shoot as a kid. Gather they want. They want a hunting bill, I'm shooting and until now, they just don't like you know magazine right away, you know here should be there too many bullets in the magazines. That's bad. So, but this isn't about gun rights per se. This is about a particularly powerful interests group that doesn't, a line with democratic interests. So it's you. No doubt it was no longer experts say it's an assault on it on an anti democratic interest groups and their speech

Ok, that's the way. We should emphasise that there is probably corruption here. The what we're talking about is the overreach of trying to dissolve the organization, not the oversight of this organisation right. Well, you know, but, as I say, if there is tax fraud, if your innovation is is, is misusing using its taxes. Obsessive individual officers of the organization are playing games with the tax status than yeah. I mean there are part of the suit suit against way, lop ear and three or four other management figures of the top. That's that's it. That's an issue with different vintage, the idea of saying that, because they have mismanaged the organization innovation, which is a hundred and fifty years old, must end. Has five million or however many people followed ok members, then it must disband is psychotic. I'm, U government going

after an organization of five million. People who have willingly and without without any form of abortion rate in had joined the organisation. Who what one country are we leaving it sure indict way lop here. If you have the goods to indict him- and I am u announcing at a press conference that you wish to disband you know a form of voluntary associations in the United States protected by the first moment, not speech by the way Let's leave entitlements speech, which is what they will, which is what they focused with, which is what the end are apparently is focusing on in its counter suit, but Association Freedom of assembly they are allowed to associate with each other without government interfere. Doesn't mean by the way that the NRA you you get attach them steps?

It's a whole complicated. Other issue like go after its taxing them status. Go ahead. What do I care? You know I mean, but that is not to say that the government should be going organizations, have them disbanded unless they are the mafia less, they are little, criminal organizations that I know that a lot of liberals think that the error is a criminal organisation like the mafia, but it isn't an and what it advocates there is centuries of yesterday that says that the second member, the constitution, exists to precisely to prevent actions with from taking place. There are sites. Are recent epical radicalization that results from this sort of thing I mean? Did they don't seem to think that their actions have any sort of reciprocal effect on their opponents, but an there's, a classical liberal responds to this, which

yours John. This support, and this is an assault on the constitution, silver reach. What have you and then there's another element of the conservative right, which is like great? Let's do this to the planned parenthood: let's go after the southern Poverty LAW centre, which has incorporated Alabama easy. We can do that right because your, right which, as glades, it's bad for everyone when that starts to happen, but it the logic of it, is understandable in this. In those situations, I agree it does radicalized people otherwise would have that sort of mainstream. The were liberal response. Will let's talk about this in terms of the tax question, because everybody remembers that in twenty ten there were about Lois. What was her last name, I can as you say, Loss Lowery, but you were learner most learner earnest learner, not both lapping european,

Lois Lane we write loathly right, so low learner, happy at the IRS goes after conservative organizations to take their tax exempt status, and what was interesting about this case is that as people learned, no, you don't have aim constitutional right have taxing them status. You have concentrated free speech reasonably all this, but being tax exempt is something that over which the irish government, Treasury have very serious way, I mean they're definitions and will in the code, but if they say you violated your taxes and status by lobbying for candidate or by whatever. There is almost no appeal, because you can't claim that your first Mehmet writer,

interfered with exactly, even though the net effect of going out an organization, removing attacks than tat could be that it would close down, but in theory, doesn't close it down. It just means that it people will give it give it money, can't get a thirty five or thirty nine percent off there I you know off the dollar but they would otherwise paying taxes so that that's how it works like you go at their taxes them status, and that is that The thing that the code in the law allows you to this is that this is the iter elected attorney general in one of the fifty states in the country announcing that her intention is to close an organization that lobbies the government

gun rights I mean I chilling abhor. I would know what what what vocabulary you want to use, but the idea that the Democratic Party in the blue left- has been moving in. A fantastically illiberal direction, is only like mad confirmed the thousand fall by by something like this. Because the notion was when I was growing up when not Were marching in Skokie and ghetto people were I'm porn movie, theatres and neighbourhoods, and all that was you. The liberal position. Was you defend noxious speech because if you dont defend noxious speech, there won't be the defence of.

That's not noxious but might be controversial is something that you have to defend all forms of speech. That was the that was then that the ultimate liberal, and now you know there's about twenty two people on them on the left, who committed to that and everybody else, Closing the American Civil Liberties Union they no longer have to me is the real bellwether of how this has shifted to an in an illiberal direction. Is that the very organizations that were defending them? he's right to frontier workers since go gale annoy are now have now become the vanguard of this illiberal attitude in this sort of You know monitoring, speech and actually choosing which speeches is to be allowed in and punishing the rest. So that's yeah, that's that's disorder and even the people who have long been on the use board and whatnot and who have resigned and publicly spoken out about this over the years, and it is a real it's. It's disturbing Additionally, I can we do with it.

Open letter from the Asia. You guys, I think, was twenty seventeen after Charlottesville about how certain our absolute is approached to free speech rights is said. Dangerous, too, were the health of the Minority the foundation of the republic. So me, what's right, let's talk about speech. What about the M failures position on campus tribute In these you know in these, in these cases of universities spring railroaded on campus, which they supported, and all of that. So let's. So that's one move by government on sort of private industry right or that private. But you know privatisation, So now we have also last night trump that this sum, announcement that shouldn't tik tok thee. Social media

little movie platform on by a judge subsidiary of the training Communist Party, the trains military junta that, whatever the hell it is like it I sold in forty five days yet and we chat, which is the Essential cannon on private communications became ass in the chinese language and what's the other organization, ten cents. Apparently the current his errand companies that they will that they will be banned from all forms of of commercial or business transactions in the United States. Should Tik Tok not be entirely divested of any connection to its

chinese owners, but these are just a few points of clarification about Tik Tok, because there is already a May media narrative about Tik Tok that I think we need to put some Holden, because extremely misleading one is that Tik Tok adjust. It's fun, you know, funding video exchange social media platform. That is not what Tik Tok is the reason Tik Tok started to create controversy among Americans who look look at these new acts is that there is actually it didn't come from from any of its competitors came from it, a guy who reverse engineers absent. What they do, that this job he went on rennet, because out of curiosity, he tried to reverse engineer tiktok and find out what was happening and he wrote this sort of terrifying description of what he found and it is not like Facebook. It is not like other social media platforms like Twitter, it does harvest a vast amount, more data, it's actually develop its structure is. Is it intended to.

To mass in obfuscate what it is collecting it can do a great deal more and does collect a great deal more information than that social me companies that Americans very comfortable in familiar turning their private data over two. So that's one thing: Having said that, it doesn't, I don't agree that an executive order of this vast and broad sweep is is the answer to that problem, but I do think it's really important that we- and can t talk is something different and we really don't even know how much of the information that it gathers does somehow end up back in the has the chinese government so that there is a real there should be a real concern about what Tik Tok is doing at the same time that I think Trump is just trying to his broad reaction to this. It's not gonna solve that problem and its also that india- and this was the problem of all executive orders- that it's it's completely ephemeral. You know I mean what's with theirs, but there's no reason to think it would have any lasting

impact on our honour on our forward leaning policy against China, especially considering that its being championed and authored by Trump Who will now? You know, because of his association with it, I'm all sorts of people who I think might have been open to the idea of cracking down on on Tik, Tok and similar Chinese. Attack. Apps, would, I know all I M with Christine on this under percent. It is. It is something that needs to be confronted, but you know, as with other issues, trumps championing of this here will tend to poison the the prospect of of doing anything, meaningful That is why there is also a horrible precedent. I may I share Christine's suspicion with this as well as many others in chinese money is as its finger chinese monies in just about every technology platform that we talk,

these days, but the president doesn't have the authority to ban this thing. What he's doing here is making it extremely difficult for american companies to invest in or do business with these two parent companies Tennyson and whatever the one that that Tennyson, it's like a game company took up his bite dance. So he's too big overarching platforms, thing sang and give Europe a american firms cannot do business with these companies are working days. Unless there are sold to an american interests. You can apply that kind of logic. Real broadly ended I'm really underhanded political maneuvers with companies that are, for example, have foreign holdings just about every him up.

A lot of major american companies have foreign holdings in the effort to repatriate capital, which is something I cannot imagine a democratic of administration person very aggressively which would seriously undermine the competitiveness of american firms, but it would be very palatable in a populist moment, came up broad, top earners my dance earned three billion dollars. That's a parent companies hectare, three billion dollars last year, so big this is it. This is these are: art sums of money and we know from how the NBA and Disney and us her american companies, have been acting with regard to China, that that money talks, even if it's not about the data gathering in the end, they d the foreign policy implications or the privacy implications, just as a matter of of the money issue that should should racism

concern, and I suppose I should say by what I need to say. I need to say that we have a piece in our July argues issue. Bye, bye, bye, rob long, defending Tik Tok has a as an entertainment media you can just tell him thing without had all well. He can then. I want by the way the interesting part politics here. Domestically are- and I know this from a bunch of people who have the kids who, on Tik Tok that their families, Oliver America, whose teenagers are panicking because they spend all this time and effort. Putting up these you now fifteen seconds

things on Tik, Tok and now they're worried that they're gonna vanish there. You know they ve been unaware, save them. They don't know how to keep them. They don't know where those they don't know where they are thereby disappear times to be that way, that's but they'll get going of ticked. I understand recycling. Having said that, having said that, this is one of those weird things where you could A kind of strange blow back from Tik Tok users and their families were like the hell is going on here, but then them their banning it. Now there you're a bottom, maybe parents would go fantastic their banks. Could I can't make it to put funds from down by, but that's where the other administrations messaging about? This has been oh poor, because they could, I cylinder, grew sweep of the executive order. But what they could have said is look you're all right.

Why this is a dangerous have to use. And then the text me to do that discussion has been happened, has been happening mainly by people who do the actual work of programming like there's talking about that. They haven't talked about it for months. They talk about how easily Tik Tok spawns two people finding out how it does things in changes, the code they ve been having this discussion, but both because there was that Tik Tok protest against the Trump rally and with which they wasn't member. There was that all these people were, since a fun, Tik Tok telling people not to go to the trouble, I mean it's. It's definitely been embraced by the generation of Americans who really dont like Trump that much, and so there is the idea that you should defend it, because because you want to be able to have this outlet for your political expression. I dont by inciting you actually can there are lots of other ways used to be fine, that someone can develop a tick tock like that, in fact Facebook just has and people here's that instead without the risk of of the national security risk, which I think Trump has not adequately outlined before it,

bring this executive order emerges from pure much was robs rubs argument. I think, is very interesting one in that. You know his point in the peace that has for us is that is that Tik Tok, because it it features these american teenagers being creative and making videos in their homes it it's it's it's an expression. Of like positive American Soft Power International, because it shows the ingenuity and it shows the the comfortable textiles, that that that better of origin, the kitten in Amerika, and I think that's true. It is a soft power boon in that sense, the problem is it if it is a hard power expression for China and that that is that is if that is a very difficult.

They got a tiny gets out of olive everybody enjoying look at each other's fancy. Kitchens and creativity is not what they are getting out right. I mean thereby really stalking horse. If you want to see it that that start. This is the parallel begun rights debate. Here we have no interest in this platform. We don't understand it, we don't use it we're not addicted to it. We don't get it and so whatever who cares, but this is in another Sort of sleeping giant that we don't really understand what we're weakening your Tennyson, which is one of these things that is being targeted by the semester. Administration is gaining company, it has it. It has stakes in a ton of games that we don't use, but that kids are addicted to like call of duty and fortnight. And thou Orient, and instead that we sort been a little bit aware over nine hundred percent aware of it, but the people who are really into it are really really into it and can be. Mobilized to export, to act out politically in a way that we do not necessarily know how it will manifest we're see coming

but there are single issue gaming single issue, gaining dollars they release was no doubt. This is no joke. This is a serious thing that now a like we are talking, About twenty million gamers who may in forty five days find there. You know where are they called? I've been a multiple user online. Whatever these things were there playing against each other in the thousands may find them totally disable, and I know we make jokes were living in their parent baseman and have to come up the basement, then then there now, though, really be Ryan. So you think there were riots before they'll be right, but you know it's not that it is once I get it is this notion that Americans are spending this year? Twenty twenty dealing with the fact that government

some ways is being more intrusive than it has ever been before in their wives, and it is an uncomfortable fact for a lot of people that government is being so intrusive and if there is one thing that tromp has going for him, it is the notion that all things being equal, he represents the faction that thinks the government is. You know, doesn't think the government should be intruding this much on how people live and if he then interfere if he is pushing a button that says no, this diversion for your kids at a time when kids don't have anything else to do and no this games,

did you do when there's nothing else? To do that? I am using I'm waving my hand and making those things inaccessible to you in some large GEO political game that you do not understand that totally vitiate his advantage and that's an easy thing to to turn to politically to go against by saying not trumpet such an authoritarian that he's come in and in saying you can't posting on Tiktok and you can't play called duty. I don't even know what the gains are there the ten percent as part of, but so I don't know. I think this is a MRS are larger thing than people realize thing didn't think you already have such a blunt instrument to deal with what is in fact a very complex issue in their there. There actually procedure their ways that the administration could have gone about this. That work

mean largely behind the scenes in their ways the Congress could deal with this as well with oversight, but that didn't happen. We're in an election year and its trump, so all of those things are going to leave all the end result on either side he's gonna be bad for Americans like either. We won't understand how that this is a sort of dangerous app and keep using it, because we ve owned tromp or No trumps gonna have his way and have made the sweeping an unlikely, ineffective power grab that that isn't gonna help. The problem was meant is all. There is also the historical precedent which is a complicated one, for this is nineteen eightys, the United States, sanctioned Sheba because a subsidiary of Toshiba sold a certain type of equipment to the Soviet Union that this that the soviet military used or was feared. The sum military,

Can you use to make a new kind of submarine blade on the odor for a submarine that would be undetectable by sonar and that the equipment were made, it possible to create these sonar invisible things that you couldn't see the thugs and this was deemed to be a terrible national security threat and- and this went on for years in the Senate was actually pushing the administrations.

Yet more aggressive, and there were some point at which the administration, which was very tough on this reversed field, because it started getting worried that its relationship with Japan was going to be harmed with them when they were driving. We're gonna drive Japan, potentially into assessor how they full blown for war trade war, and was this the thing that we wanted to have a framework? We have already said Jim Toshiba years earlier that in a way that raised prices on japanese computers and had a kind of protectionist effect

in the eighties and on and main frank computers and stuff like that that, but we have here, is a sort of like there's no political consensus either like there. There was a kind of political consensus where the democratic, more protectionism relegates relegates the more hawkish than the Democrats or everybody came out from their own perspective. Trumpet is creating a kind of fact on the ground and we know he's doing it, for what we know is doing for electoral reasons, there's no reason to set a forty five day timeline for this right. There's no reason said any time line for it and if you want to do it in a way to matter you build a consensus you bring in and get once again you bring in the heads of the intelligence committees, and you do you, like you, say, look. This is what we have then. This is why we need to make sure that Tik Tok is functioning all that well in the United States. Just the way,

that we all seem to agree that, while we shouldn't be in charge of five g, which seems to be a consensus position but developed over many years as the five g were coming five g phenomenon, something that is of interest to both parties. So I mean maybe he's right- maybe maybe China, but it just seems like not just a blunt cement, but again like we're we're banning all transactions. I mean you know that is look I'm as hawkish on China's people can get, but you know that is a form of embargo. That's like an act of war, That's it I mean it's. It's almost that EU embargo in industry. I thought even like tariffs right as you know in hand and the retaliation could be severe.

But you look. This is an ongoing challenge with dealing with with with China. Is that their integration into our markets and technology is so total that any incremental steps to push back are often going to be insufficient and every opportunity to every you, you're not going to want to die on any hill really, but as it comes up because there are always going to be very large consequence, that's why the if you're an NBA player you can't put free. I'm counting on your jersey right of appeal. What right, but but under those circumstances, and again, this is where the trumpeters and by the way, the Obama administration, before it uniquely ill, prepared to deal with the politics of the twenty first century, which is, if you were going to say what we can

have half measures. You know we are. We are in some kind of weird arms. It's that were losing. You need a political consensus right. You can't do this. You know on the first day night, you know, with a wave of your hand, you need a political consensus that this is not a short term approach, its vital. You know something I could do for the next couple of months had something that we're gonna have to do for years and have a kind of revolving, including by the way, if for some reason Had this idea that we really need to face China down now on these economic matters from like with that with it, with a with the making of medications.

If we need to pull that away from retry me, so they no longer make you know, are no longer the manufacture of medication. There's a lot of stuff. We have to help set up in the United States, and that will happen in which the government will have to be involved. Sorry, libertarian will have to be involved in creating a new supply chain to replace the supply chain that exists. You can't just say we can't take drugs from China anymore. There's some vagaries here that maybe I don't even understand a maybe Christine, can educate me here, because this is not entirely unprecedented. I think it was twenty nineteen, the american officials ordered a company called caught. Com Tech company, limited to sell its majority stake in aid, the gay dating app grinder and risks

will there because of a very narrow national security threat that represented? It was believed that the Chinese from the onus could using information a game from that up to blackmail, Americans, insensitive positions and industry government, the defence sector, and that succeeded. So this is similar there at their saying that you, these companies have to sell their stakes right, but the threat that tiktok This is far less clear to me. Then. The notion that individuals who maybe aren't out as gay would be blackmailed by a foreign power that something that foreign powers have done forever. So what is the threat that Tiktok poses to national security said? This is part of the then the problem

the same question that was raised by waterway the threat is pot, is a possibility right now, but given the amount of data that's being collected in the way that the app itself as engineered and the fact that the company that that created, it is Instead, it has no wall between itself in the Chinese Communist Party. We don't know you can't point to a specific thing. You came in point to something at that specific, in the same way that member the fears about some of those cute ups that when you don't give you years or carriers or whiskers that there is a fear that it was being that day was being harvested too for facial recognition to develop more. Sophisticated facial recognition technologies, we actually dont, know what Tik Tok Tik Tok can do now. It hasn't really done anything yet. But what concerns what? What sort of its alarm bells for four programmers here in the: U S who looked closely at it was that its it again, it's got.

A great deal more granular information, including things like IP addresses, your wifi information stuff that Facebook doesn't gather its gathering. So the first question a programmer ask is: why does it need this and what is it going to do with it? So that's why the trump responses to blunt instrument, but but we also are seeing kind of a rush to respond in mainstream media and in some of the attack journalism. I've read to say well, there's no problem here: they're aided somewhere in the middle and wait to get to that middle. We actually do need leadership from private interests, also. I would look to Congress to its oversight function to deal with, as it would be. A much under way it would take longer, but we actually get to the heart of the matter is suggested here. That description to me sounds like in education campaign around the sap would fail, because that does not sound like a imminent threat.

Sounds paranoid no offense, but- and I am grateful that the only reason I agree with you, but that argument sounded paranoia. It sounds like a potential threat, not an imminent threat. And one that is aimed directly at a group of people who could represent an electoral problem for Republicans that otherwise do not now young people disengaged voters. This could really make politics more of a threat to them than they had previously believed its end and ring reengage on this issue, because giving Europe the view exe The nation of the threat that represents to me sounds like its it doesn't. It doesn't dispel the narrative which is nonsense. I know it's nonsense, but doesn't dispel the narrative. The Trump is doing this

this is not about. The rally right now remain right, yeah! Ok, I don't know what you're so distracted, making Tik Tok videos that they forget to go to the polls. That's really the soggy. The other thing that's going on this morning is that that we got the job figures this morning, suggesting that one point, eight million jobs were created in July and where it where it were in the horns of a dilemma, because, just as we are being told that The corona virus is is, is getting so much worse, that it's going to destroy our economy and that, therefore, what was gonna happen in July was going to be a terrible calamity and a tunnel wholesale halt in job creation. That appears not to have happened, because

economists were expecting the wedding promising to expect one point: five million new jobs and one point: five million new jobs were created great this first year, very dirty calculation. So it's better than people thought and again the corona case, numbers are going down and given the size of the surgeon case, members, the death rate has not been I mean it's terrible that everybody guys it's impossible to talk about this in a way that will give anybody ammunition to tell you that you're a monster in the Euro area. All deaths are terrible

you are no longer in a position either because of the coming election or the nature of the mainstream media, or that the nature of the media's wished to attack trump and defend Biden and help I'd get elected or just the general tenor of the way. Everything is discussed to say, you know what there was kind of pretty good news this morning. All things considered, employment rate is at ten point. Two people were worried at them in March that we would have a third of the country unemployed. That does not appear to be the case. It never got that bad things are better than we thought they were going to be a terrible, but their better than without ever gonna be, but we are apparently just simply not allowed to even make those kinds of calculations or the web or that the tone of the way things is discussed.

Simply makes that impossible, so that the New York Times of new unemployment, reclaims decline, but remain alarmingly high. That was yesterday's news on today's news. Is you know we'd, despite virus surge? U S added jobs in July, but at a slower pace, because you know like that. So it's, like you didn't know. I wasn't reading implemented at a slower pace because of restored lockdown measures, not just in the states Cases were rising, but in the states where they were declining or a stable, like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut. Anyway. We don't know why. But I'm just saying that we hear and then I was where I was the net right. They set this. What this report says is that this began to slow as case rates rose in Texas, Arizona, Florida, California name,

Impose lockdown, but so too did the states where the cases where rising. I think my what I would propose this theory see you guys respond to it with you There is such a wall of pessimism and glue the spare living in the slaughter despond.

In a way that clearly would down to the benefit of the challenger in the presidential race that what if cognitive dissonance starts to set in October, where for actual for a lot of people, things are getting a lot better and all their being told is that everything is terrible and that they start having Lee. I dont think what I am hearing is what I'm feeling or perceiving this very hard for us to live in Europe because we're it's. It's not gonna, be any better. I don't really think that that the Charles Brown Football further for the Democrats and for the liberals is the bubble that they live in the bubbling they create in the perception of bubble debate that they start believing that they themselves have created in which they are not going to know how to talk about the country, as it recovers,

and that they are going to they're going to double down on the idea that everything is worse and they are going to start looking irresponsible. You know, I don't know, anti optimistic something and there they are going to miss the change in the national mood and Trump gets real at it's? Not just the partisan divide, it's mostly a partisan, divided stuff. It's Democrats and versus conservatives Republicans, but also like an elite opinion elite opinion consensus for this non noons news consumers, if you read the Atlantic, the Atlantic now caters elusively to Pandemic point disaster port. It is really endlessly pessimistic projects into the future far into the future in ways that can't possibly now in order to create

scenarios in which you are back in the darkest of dark days of lockdown than starting in September October November. Work you have to open. If you want to see people in your house, you have opened up every window in the DE compressed, your entire home, because the virus is going to be raging again. Projections about how this pandemic unfolds, even three weeks into the future, have proven ugly, poor, and yet they continue to do it. So there must be some market incentive here. People must really really wanna hear bad news and be steep themselves in this phenomenon and talk about a couple of months of months ago, this punk doomed scrolling, where you are just bombarded by the worst possible scenarios, and you just bathing suit

yourself in this terrible bad news. There's something psychologically gratifying about that that I dont get. But it's it's something that elites critically democratic leads appear to want and yeah. You can absolutely see that manifesting in some sort of of reality distortion field in the in the fall. Ok, let's move on to one other things we should. We should end with this binds gas filled week that you know under under under ordinary circumstances, in a different political world would be the story of the week. Is that Biden said these three bizarre things common in him saying that the unlike, unlike Latinos Black,

said no diversity right or they have no. What what they're all the same, unlike Latinos, were alive, who are really different and there's a lot of glee on the right about this in and also anger, because wise and binding contrast with the news of his wife, the way an conventional candidate who made these mistakes will do making them in their defending amateur sport and all that, but you know there is that there is the simple fact that Biden is offending people theoretically, who have nowhere else to go like if he, in fact is offending

african Americans by saying what he saying it's only they're gonna turn around vote for tromp, so maybe conservative should like withhold. There lay a little bit because it's not gonna help for them, but one one big differences, reason he might not be getting treated the same way trump. Why does it trump would say something and then try lit out some more, whereas Biden at least has someone else responding to his guests on his own twitter feed right, one of his death verses immediately on twitter going. Actually what I meant by diversity is this: that the Euro complicated dawns, explanation for every Gath Trump is just drop. Weather is on twitter, or a press conference I agree that now, because they re at his reaction to that was by a job. I no longer worthy of the black vote. Think us literally what he said but like I agree, it's not going to turn away black voters, but

is another data point in the case that Biden is serve out there, not not able to control what he's doing right now. It just it it's another. It makes him looking up to get and by the way on this particular point. Clearly this, is something that Biden feels, because this is it. This is a faithful echo of his statement, a month ago were so when he said, if you, if you, if you vote for tribunal black. So this is so easy to second point before but don't ask about cognitive tests, because then you might be cocaine attic if your button

whenever I go, my man, but a real here come on man you earlier his version of like old man. Bonnets. However, we're ties that bind those gaps. Memory errors made by this Trump said that bind wants to hurt God and we're talking about how Biden would be bad in the debates by wants to hurt God an interesting can I just say that in the world of you know S got a logical understandings and eight how we harmonise x and how we understand. Guided guy, I mean I, I guess you know people can her gods, feelings right, and then that is something that God did. Sir almost says

Yeah, you know in the old testament, but he wants to hurt cod. When we met me, maybe the single dumbest thing the Trump has ever set you now is not the man who you expect to have direct line of communication gone up with God right and with this system. That is just so off Breyer I mean you to her. God is what I'm saying, and I'm gonna end on bad note in relation to Trump, which is that b moving serve like English. Anti wisdom is that this has been a bad weak trumpet. The poles are tightening trumps now, either seven points or eight points.

Me was ten or eleven points up in this is terrible, a young whenever, wherever it is and its tightening the fighting is coming and biting his knees and yet We are once again looking at national balls and were not looking at state poles and the state polling continues to be absolutely horrendous, were from where is the two poles is weak in Michigan, have trump down by ten and eleven and in the logic of what Michigan was in twenty. Sixteen with is that Michigan was the state that he wanted a James Gang Gigantic colossal surprise. If those holes are anywhere near accurate, he's dead, he's dying. Because if he loses Michigan by that's how he will lose Pennsylvania and an Wisconsin

in the same as they move together, they will move together again, according to general theories of how the like state seem to function so maybe people shouldn't be crawling so much about the web Where should be growing so much about the change and left wingers should temper their panic. So, the entirety of the trunk. What the reference there is just so magnificent that I think we need to really isolate it. He says the following quote yet anyway, here is some stuff for the Christians Biden was hurt, the Bible he wants to hurt God to and also take the guns, all the stuff. You people like all right let's go have watch, oh you people, he didn't. He sent you. People live

As I mean- and this is what this is all upon- that my former colleague get hot air, whose notes accurately that he goes right for the subtext. He does not do political message rope. He just said This is what you people want right here. You go whatever I dont care, it's so condescending and really dumb. I just think I just sing. I think our parliament makes this point also like all this trouble to get back into the debate more than aids he needs to debate early. All of this like where people get the idea of trumpets gonna do well in the debates is of a very mysterious to me, given both the action. In our view and Chris walls interview I mean I know the dynamic as different as attack against by. Although you know, debates are really function that way entirely and that, if it Biden is,

imperatives debate are sourced, so I don't know you know I mean it could be an interesting race to the bottom to see you know who Google's and blunders and says that dumber thing in the debates, but the notion that the notion that you really want trumped up there. Well answering the tough debate performance. It is a really mysterious thing. I think I mean because you know when I was trumpet and Hilary heat he couldn't best her on anything factual, but he did so much better than than anyone But have thought you know, and you got under her scare you think due to buy now he could successfully unnerved him with the way he under Hilary, so didn't really matter what he said of substance it matter. It was the topics of it. You don't think good bye and could go

under his skin. I'm it again so this was eight years ago by, but that's his brand is that while the internal constantly. Acting as if everybody's got an under his rights, it would be wrong to tell Like you know, Biden, just need old, Paul Ryan for ninety minutes and advice, presidential, Baden, twenty dwell and it was increased We have noxious and really effective. And yet European aims right that we debate really debates there. There there there gotcha moments or whatever you have it, the classic dynamic. Is that the incumbent? Always you know it's now many cycles in which the incumbent there's really badly in the first. It coroner Reagan

Bush in two thousand for a bomb in two thousand twelve like these have not been good for the incumbent. As they are so totally unused to being in this position and they do live in a bubble in which everybody listens. Lemon is very respectful and all that, and if you do something for the fences and every line, you're gonna strike alone, So listen. I hope everybody has a great weekend all my colleagues rarely get everybody. Listen. She never greatly again, don't think about everything terrible go have fun if you again, because we need that fund, brave, restated now, I'm John put words, keep the camel burning.