Conservative rejects Trump -- then gets sucked back into the GOP morass
Last week, I read with interest the new book by Sen. Jeff Flake (he of the truly unfortunate family-name!), "Conscience of a Conservative." It is far better written and more thoughtful than any screed by a Republican in my experience.
BUT, today, Dec.5, he appeared on TV, seated next to Trump at the White House, somehow coaxed to smooth things with him...
So, while I acknowledge the literary effort, I lament his particularly strange kow-towing to GOP unity. (He also voted for the outrageous Senate version of the tax bill last Saturday -- some fucking conservative HE is!)
Back to the book: Flake is brutal on illicit tech warfare (though not explicitly blaming Russia) -- "...Seldom if ever in human history have we witnessed [in the 2016 campaign] such an explosive social experiment, and seldom have we had less understanding of the effect of technology on us, both as a society and as individuals; and seldom have we seen business [firms] with the potential to do both good and harm grow with such speed and on such a grand scale."
As a stalwart Republican, Flake HAD to append: "Countermeasures from the Pentagon and our national security apparatus to combat this problem notwithstanding, this is where market solutions come in. Simply put: bad information HAS TO BECOME [caps are mine] bad for business."
I added a few other quotes by way of comments (below). A thoughtful book -- but I'm disappointed that Flake seems not to have read it!
BUT, today, Dec.5, he appeared on TV, seated next to Trump at the White House, somehow coaxed to smooth things with him...
So, while I acknowledge the literary effort, I lament his particularly strange kow-towing to GOP unity. (He also voted for the outrageous Senate version of the tax bill last Saturday -- some fucking conservative HE is!)
Back to the book: Flake is brutal on illicit tech warfare (though not explicitly blaming Russia) -- "...Seldom if ever in human history have we witnessed [in the 2016 campaign] such an explosive social experiment, and seldom have we had less understanding of the effect of technology on us, both as a society and as individuals; and seldom have we seen business [firms] with the potential to do both good and harm grow with such speed and on such a grand scale."
As a stalwart Republican, Flake HAD to append: "Countermeasures from the Pentagon and our national security apparatus to combat this problem notwithstanding, this is where market solutions come in. Simply put: bad information HAS TO BECOME [caps are mine] bad for business."
I added a few other quotes by way of comments (below). A thoughtful book -- but I'm disappointed that Flake seems not to have read it!