1. Experts
I do not follow Cenk Uygur closely. He’s a middle-aged progressive media personality who hosts a popular YouTube show, occasionally runs for office, and is generally disdainful of the main body of the Democratic party.
All of which are markers for a particular type.
Yesterday Uygur had some nice things to say about Elon Musk.
What an amazing thing to say.
Let’s start with the specific and work outward to the general.
First, what in Uygur’s background could possibly give him any insight into “cutting the Pentagon”? The guy has a law degree, but does not seem to have practiced much law. He has run a couple of failed political campaigns. Most of his career has been spent in radio, cable-access TV, and streaming media.
“The Pentagon”—shorthand in this case for the full Department of Defense—is an operation that employs nearly 3 million people. It manages not only a massive HR operation but the also the longest logistics train on the planet. The lead time for the planning of weapons systems runs from years to decades.
And every decision must be made with an eye toward the state of the art for warfighting, which is constantly evolving.
Can you imagine the hubris, the idiocy, the sheer entitlement of a fiftysomething content creator who thinks he should be “in charge of cutting the Pentagon”?