Strategic Patience Is At An End
Buck kicked off Monday’s show by going after “what’s real and what’s not” in the stepped-up coverage surrounding North Korea following a visit by Vice President Mike Pence to the Korean DMZ, which included frank statements from the VP to the effect that “Strategic patience in North Korea has failed.”
“This is more a change in policy and tone than a change in posture vis a vis North Korea,” Buck said.
Buck then played an interview with National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster during which the latter was asked, regarding North Korea, if a military option is on the table.
“All options are on the table,” said McMaster, “undergoing refinement and further development. What is clear is that as long as their behavior continues, even if it’s a failed missile, they learn lessons. Denuclearization is in the best interests of the region.”
“Getting North Korea to denuclearize is going to be very difficult, by the way,” said Buck. “They view them as existential.”
Buck then went on to criticize the policy of ‘strategic patience’ eschewed by Pence.
“It’s not much of a policy or strategy at all,” Buck said. “Anyone can do nothing.”
“Isolation is not the same thing as a stop in [North Korea’s] programs,” he continued. “With each missile launch, [the Kim regime] learns new things about its missile program.”
“This is not a situation where we can sit and run out the clock,” Buck urged. “That was the Obama administration’s approach on Syria, on Afghanistan, and North Korea. ‘Look at how smart we are, we haven’t started a nuclear war. We’re brilliant.’ They didn’t seem to understand inaction and brilliance are not the same thing.”
“Trump leadership is at least leadership,” Buck said. “The UN is a joke. It’s useful for food and aid, but the UN Security Council? Come on.”
Punish the Abusers, Keep the Powers
Buck then took a call from Andy McCarthy, Contributing Editor of National Review and a former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to discuss the latest in intel intrigues involving surveillance and unmasking.
Buck led the discussion off by asking what the status was of the story involving Susan Rice abusing FISA or any other apparatus for political purposes.
“Things seem to have gotten quiet on that front,” said Andy, who added that he believes that in the current political climate, that’s bad news for the Left. “There’s more and more indication that the intelligence-collecting powers of the government were exploited by the Obama administration for purposes of doing monitoring on their political opposition. The interesting question now is whether that started with Donald Trump or whether it predates Trump. There’s a growing body of evidence that it predates Trump.”
Buck then asked about the forthcoming debate over FISA, which is an act that’s due to expire this year.
“I think [it’s] extremely important for keeping the country safe,” said McCarthy. “Most intelligence collection in the foreign realm is not directed at people who are under the jurisdiction of the courts. It’s targeted at people who do not have America’s best interests at heart. This is a realm that should be controlled not by legal processes but by political processes. If they are abused, it’s not the answer to curtail the powers, it’s to punish the abusers.”
The Looming Disruption of Self-Driving Cars
Buck then took a call From Salena Zito, columnist for the Washington Examiner and author of a recent piece on de-industrialization in Ford Heights.
Zito discussed numerous trips she’s taken across the country to similar “forgotten zones” of flat or contracting economic activity.
“I’ve been covering this phenomenon since 2006. I remember driving across the country and realizing that the Republicans were going to lose the House in 2006. That’s why that vote keeps going back and forth, the Republicans weren’t getting the message.”
“And what is that message?” asked Buck.
Zito said it was Trump’s America First approach that resonated.
The two then discussed the looming disruption of the economy by technology.
“25% of males in this country are employed transporting something from one place to the other,” said Zito. “Self-driving automobile technology is poised to put all those people out of a job. There are some disruptions coming in industries that are essential for employment in this country. Hundreds of thousands of people’s profession is driving people around.”
“And coding is not for every brain. I know that was supposed to be the blue-collar replacement, but not so much.”
Escanaba in Da Spotlight
Finally, Buck brought in Tom Rogan, a columnist for National Review and Senior Fellow for the Steamboat Institute, who recently wrote up a story about the economic resurgence of Escanaba, MI, a Trump-leaning town which has become a hub of growth.
Buck asked what factors contributed to their resurgence.
“They have a great setup in terms of their community college,” Rogan said. “The leadership at the top, the president is very bright, entrepreneurial. But the courses that they offer are specifically designed to fill gaps in the marketplace.”
Two of those majors were mechatronics and water treatment.
“These are high-skill, technical labor positions. The individuals who graduate are able to find jobs. Especially in water treatment, where there are 15 times more jobs than there are graduates. Business owners are joined together to address in a concerted sense what they need to change to make things better.”
Buck asked what Rogan felt were the lessons that other small towns should take away.
“The key element is that you need a sense of the community organizing, local businesses, medium to large size, and even small, discussing issues of concern, and coming as a group to their local politician. That gives them more weight of voice, more influence.”
“The other thing is asking, what is the community college designed to do? Does it innovate? Does it offer unconventional programs that are designed to get jobs for graduates on a low-cost basis?”
“If you asked Escanaba, what is the role of government? I think they’d say limited,” said Rogan. For himself, he offered the solution of more PELL grants for community college education.
“You get more bang for your buck.”