Joe Rogan Experience #767 - Mike Baker

2016 presidential candidates characterized negatively

Hillary Clinton mishandled classified information worse than others

Clinton's email server setup was implausible and suspicious

DOJ won't indict Clinton due to political considerations

Clinton protected by political system unlike outsiders

All major 2016 candidates have serious problems

Trump lacks substantive positions and principles

Trump unfit for presidency during global crises

Ben Carson holds unscientific views and has odd religious imagery

Mocking Carson's Jesus painting as inaccurate and absurd

Political polarization prevents compromise and unity

Political system lacks serious candidates with character and experience

Modern media scrutiny prevents qualified candidates from running

Obama responsible for drone strike deaths

White House lawyer without security experience decides on drone strikes

One-world government conspiracy implausible due to agency conflicts

President cannot manage all U.S. operations globally

Benghazi response delayed due to election concerns

Political operatives prevented military response at Benghazi

Benghazi decision prioritized politics over military response

U.S. repeating Soviet mistakes in Afghanistan

U.S. government repeats failed strategies due to hubris

U.S. nation-building in Afghanistan based on flawed assumptions

U.S. withdrawal from Iraq created power vacuum for ISIS

U.S. intervention in Libya created chaos without national interest

ISIS exploiting Libya chaos created by U.S. intervention

Middle Eastern populations too backwards to adopt Western values

ISIS executes children for listening to Western music

U.S. military presence causes locals to target villages

Military action creates dispersed terrorist problem

U.S. must maintain global leadership position

U.S. withdrawal from global leadership creates power vacuum

U.S. global leadership preferable to alternatives despite flaws

U.S. government generally well-intentioned despite mistakes

U.S. attempts good governance despite imperfect execution

ISIS cannot be negotiated with or reformed

ISIS cannot be defeated through negotiation or military force alone

Denying ISIS territory reduces recruitment but creates whack-a-mole problem

U.S. inaction in Syria allowed Russian and Iranian expansion

Iran will not reform despite periodic reformist election victories

U.S. supported Shah of Iran despite his brutality

Shah's brutality enabled Ayatollah's rise to power

U.S. must deal with unsavory foreign leaders in real world

Removing Saddam Hussein may have been worse than keeping him

Trump is a 9/11 truther and birther

Trump's conspiracy theories ignored by media and supporters

American dream at risk if Trump becomes president

Young Bernie supporters disheartened by 2008 recession

Obama lacked experience; voters should demand experienced candidates

Obama unqualified due to lack of military or combat experience

Bush Sr. was most qualified president; political discourse too hostile

Obama superior orator to Bush; public speaking matters in politics

Disagreement with socialism doesn't require personal attacks

Balance needed between safety net and promoting hard work

Monopoly removing paper money to prevent teaching financial literacy

Youth sports leagues eliminating score-keeping to avoid hurt feelings

Parents deceiving children about performance harms development

Honest feedback to children labeled as harmful to snowflakes

Participation trophies created generation believing they're persecuted victims

Progressive college students competing to be most woke

Coddling prevents growth; discomfort necessary for learning

College students attacking free speech due to hurt feelings

Progressive equality good but must be followed by fair competition

Competition drives innovation and progress

Participation trophies create bad precedent and mentality

Constant praise destroys motivation and respect

Failure and defeat are necessary for growth and motivation

Fighting appeals because outcomes are objective and absolute

Father attacked coach with bat over daughter's playing time

Idaho culture tougher and better for raising kids than coddling culture

Nature exposure humbles people and teaches resilience

Life is unfair; some people are inherently superior

Winning not only measure of human value; multiple qualities matter

Great fighters turn to drugs after retirement due to addiction to competition

Muhammad Ali's physical deterioration direct result of boxing

Parents refusing to let kids play football due to brain injury risks

Fighting safer than football if proper technique and defense emphasized

Mayweather's defensive style prevents long-term brain damage

Gun ownership should require training like driver's licenses

Second Amendment supporters should require training and practice

Many gun owners untrained and unprepared to use weapons

Psychological evaluations for gun purchases could prevent some violence

Expanded background checks reasonable and not burdensome

Second Amendment supporters should discuss gun control without hostility

Political polarization prevents reasonable gun control discussion

Hunting requires safety training but gun ownership doesn't

Concealed carry training varies widely; quality control needed

Gun owners should embrace safety training as responsibility

Open carry states allow untrained people to carry guns

Second Amendment most emotionally divisive political issue

Administration's gun control rhetoric fuels right-wing backlash

Gun control debate lacks reasonable middle ground

FBI requested Apple's help accessing San Bernardino shooter's phone

Apple refused FBI's limited request to access one phone

Apple's privacy stance hypocritical given past cooperation

Apple's precedent argument contradicts existing legal process

Apple case involves dead mass murderer; legal process already established

Apple's refusal prevents investigation of mass murderer's phone

Apple case contradicts Snowden's mass surveillance claims

Metadata collection ineffective without content access

Government not monitoring ordinary citizens' communications

Private intimate images secure from government surveillance

Apple case reveals government cannot access phones without court order

Courts should balance privacy against serious crimes like pedophilia

Judge ruled Congress should legislate phone access, not courts

Apple may have internal security concerns about creating backdoor

China openly supports counterfeiting and economic espionage

U.S. companies doing business in China will lose intellectual property

U.S. manufacturing outsourced to China including Trump products

Chinese intelligence recruits U.S. workers through friendship and money

Chinese intelligence systematically recruits U.S. defense workers

U.S. must conduct espionage to compete with China

Clinton's email server exposed classified information to foreign intelligence

Foreign intelligence uses Clinton's emails to identify recruitment targets

Clinton's classified information mishandling serious crime others imprisoned for

Snowden's NSA revelations technically inaccurate and damaging

NSA abuses possible but rare in human systems

Snowden caused tremendous damage to national security

Snowden's residence in Russia suspicious

Congressional Intel Committee knew about interrogation programs

Snowden could have exposed abuses without damaging national security

Snowden's stolen documents likely obtained by Chinese and Russian intelligence

U.S. surveillance of European leaders standard practice among allies

European outrage over U.S. surveillance was performative theater

All nations spy on allies; U.S. must do same to compete

Government surveillance of communications standard international practice

Putin consistently acts in Russia's self-interest; U.S. should do same

U.S. expects foreign allies to act like Americans; unrealistic

Information access makes people upset about longstanding practices

U.S. attempts to be beacon of democracy despite imperfect execution

U.S. democracy promotion efforts often fail and backfire

No viable plan exists to reform Middle East; U.S. not truly free either

American dream still possible through hard work despite challenges

U.S. is unusual and young at only 200+ years old

Founding fathers understood importance of intelligence and spying

Life involves balancing ideals with practical realities

Intelligence work requires operating in gray areas with incomplete information

Violence, crime, and espionage will never be eliminated

Presidential system unworkable; should replace with committee of intelligent people

Obama aged dramatically during presidency

Speed of information and social media pressure harms political leadership

Trump will age rapidly and poorly if elected president

Bernie Sanders has poor posture and will deteriorate further

Hillary and Bill Clinton aging poorly

Bill Clinton governed well; modern politics prevents compromise

Democrats blocked Scalia replacement; Obama considered Republican nominee

Obama appears exhausted by presidency

Presidency exhausting; relief upon leaving office

Former presidents lose freedom and privacy permanently

Former presidents cannot enjoy normal public activities

Obama's selfie stick use was unpresidential

Presidents should maintain dignity of office

Selfies represent decline in presidential dignity

Obama's James Bond impression unpresidential

Obama's phone choice controlled to appear less excessive

Would drive El Camino away from White House if president

Bin Laden had only $29 million when killed

Bin Laden's compound location was widely known

Bin Laden's hiding place was implausibly obvious

Bin Laden was planning to move; raid timing was fortunate

U.S. could have killed bin Laden with airstrike but chose raid

Bin Laden raid designed to minimize civilian casualties

Bin Laden death photos not publicly released

Bin Laden raid required extensive preparation and mock-ups

Bin Laden raid took 8+ years of intelligence work; Pakistani ISI complicit

Zero Dark Thirty dramatized bin Laden raid; composite characters

Zero Dark Thirty dramatized interrogation's role in finding bin Laden

Foxcatcher movie fabricated Mark Schultz's fighting history

Foxcatcher filmmakers fabricated details to make story more interesting

Movies undergo editorial process that distorts facts

Foxcatcher implied Mark Schultz had gay affair with DuPont

Frosted tips hairstyle outdated and ridiculous

Frosted tips could have derailed life trajectory

Val Kilmer gained significant weight then lost it

Val Kilmer's face deteriorated dramatically

Val Kilmer unrecognizable due to weight gain

Val Kilmer's decline attributed to alcohol and poor diet

Val Kilmer became obese

Val Kilmer's facial features distorted by weight

Hollywood celebrities age poorly

Cosmetic surgery common in Hollywood

Cosmetic surgery leads to slippery slope of excessive procedures

Cosmetic surgery gives women exaggerated Joker-like mouths

Cosmetic surgery discussion unexpected for podcast

Podcast conversation going off-topic

Interrogation training includes waterboarding

Enhanced interrogation techniques used in training; Abu Ghraib was abuse

Enhanced interrogation techniques now prohibited; limited to field manual methods

Publicizing interrogation limits makes detainees less likely to cooperate

U.S. should maintain ambiguity about interrogation methods

Sleep deprivation and stress positions used in interrogation training

Torture ineffective for obtaining reliable intelligence

Sleep deprivation and white noise used to keep detainees awake

Sleep deprivation and stress positions used in controlled interrogation

Publicizing interrogation limits helps ISIS and terrorists

No secret CIA detention facilities outside U.S. jurisdiction

Guantanamo primarily holding facility; overseas interrogation facilities worse

Guantanamo detainees treated better than in Middle Eastern prisons

U.S. prefers killing terrorists to capturing them due to political risk

Drone program expanded under Obama to avoid detainee controversy

Drone program expanded because it's perceived as cleaner than detention

fMRI brain scans unreliable for detecting guilt or knowledge

Minority Report depicted future crime prevention technology