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what would do good rather than using this to hasten the big brother state to the next level would be to attack these problems at the root This certainly is a v

what would do good rather than using this to hasten the big brother state to the next level would be to attack these problems at the root This certainly is a valid point, but here you're complaining that he took the wrong political action, not that he took a political action.

jacquesm 11y ago
Yes, it is the urgency to advocate a certain agenda without taking the time to analyze the problem of his own failure carefully. If with all the resources at their disposal the needle can still not be moved there is a problem, and that problem will not be solved by doubling down on an apparently already failing strategy. So cool heads and long term planning is what's needed, not hotheads and (predictable) reactions to further run us off the rails. The most dumb thing one can do is repeating the same operation over and over again expecting a different outcome.
- tertius 11y ago
  Then politicization is not the bad reaction here. "Correct" political debate/action is warranted when things like this happen. He just disagrees with you. (And me probably.)
  - jacquesm 11y ago
    He disagrees with me, but also, he's not actually saying anything new. That's my problem with what he's saying it is just 'more of the same' rather than a new course in reaction to what happened because there appears to be a bug in his system after some reflection. His response is not one that has anything to do with what happened in Paris and why, this was his position last week and it is still his position this week, hence my use of the word 'cynical'. He's even trying to blame Snowden for the Paris attacks. More of the same will definitely not get us out of this mess, it will likely only make it worse. Let's see him argue for more up close and personal contact with would-be terrorists, infiltration, covert operations and so on. But more dragnet surveillance seems to be a broken strategy, given the evidence available.

jacquesm 11y ago

Yes, it is the urgency to advocate a certain agenda without taking the time to analyze the problem of his own failure carefully. If with all the resources at their disposal the needle can still not be moved there is a problem, and that problem will not be solved by doubling down on an apparently already failing strategy. So cool heads and long term planning is what's needed, not hotheads and (predictable) reactions to further run us off the rails. The most dumb thing one can do is repeating the same operation over and over again expecting a different outcome.

tertius 11y ago
Then politicization is not the bad reaction here. "Correct" political debate/action is warranted when things like this happen. He just disagrees with you. (And me probably.)
- jacquesm 11y ago
  He disagrees with me, but also, he's not actually saying anything new. That's my problem with what he's saying it is just 'more of the same' rather than a new course in reaction to what happened because there appears to be a bug in his system after some reflection. His response is not one that has anything to do with what happened in Paris and why, this was his position last week and it is still his position this week, hence my use of the word 'cynical'. He's even trying to blame Snowden for the Paris attacks. More of the same will definitely not get us out of this mess, it will likely only make it worse. Let's see him argue for more up close and personal contact with would-be terrorists, infiltration, covert operations and so on. But more dragnet surveillance seems to be a broken strategy, given the evidence available.