Snapshot · The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
Himes called Bill Pulte's appointment as acting Director of National Intelligence probably the worst he has ever seen, citing Pulte's zero national security experience.
Where this was said
At 34:58 · chapter starts 34:45
Galloway asks Himes, as ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, whether fealty has supplanted competence in the intelligence community. Himes starts with Pulte: zero national security experience, a track record of using the FHFA to dig up dirt on Adam Schiff, Letitia James, and Lisa Cook, and a Twitter feed that reads like North Korean state media. [1] — Jim Himes "Pulte has zero national security experience. While running the Federal Housing Finance Agency, he spent his time digging into the mortgage …" 34:58 Himes calls this worse than picking a random person off a Cleveland street, because Pulte is actively dedicated to serving Trump's political agenda. But he adds important nuance: CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who Himes knows personally, sits in a different category — capable if politically constrained. And the vast majority of career intelligence professionals at NSA, DIA, and CIA remain studiously nonpolitical mathematicians, linguists, and analysts who could earn far more in the private sector but stay because of mission. Himes' bottom line: if Pulte ordered the CIA to surveil Adam Schiff, he'd see mass resignations rather than compliance.
Pulte has zero national security experience. While running the Federal Housing Finance Agency, he spent his time digging into the mortgage records of political opponents like Adam Schiff and Letitia James. Himes warns he's worse than a random person off the street because he's dedicated to serving Trump's political agenda.
Himes rejects the word 'centrist' — it's not about splitting the difference between extremes. It's about understanding that you cannot govern without a majority. Democrats can tolerate pro-life members, socialists, and wide policy disagreements as long as candidates don't say things in Brooklyn basements that lose races in Arizona three milliseconds later.
A total of 8 states have filed lawsuits against social media platforms, including an ongoing case in Tennessee, using product liability and public nuisance theories to seek accountability.
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s and now has the cheapest energy in Europe, making it independent of Russian or Middle Eastern energy geopolitics.
Estonia has a single tax form, a law preventing the government from asking citizens for the same information twice, and a flat rate of tax — enabling competitive taxation.
Portugal's Lisbon, once a city with a major heroin problem, legalised drugs and redirected enforcement spending into rehabilitation and housing, dramatically reducing crime.
The first Boland Amendment banning CIA and Defense Department funds for the Contras passed the House unanimously — yet the Reagan administration ignored it.
Over just two years, Saudi Arabia alone donated $32 million to the Contra rebels, giving loosely affiliated factions millions they had no way to spend on arms.
The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty raised $6.3 million for the Contras but only $3.3 million reached them — a shockingly low 52% program expense rate.
Richard Secord and Albert Hakim marked up their arms shipments to the Contras by as much as 300%, making enormous personal profits from the covert operation.
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, tapped to run the entire covert Contra support operation, had no prior experience in covert operations whatsoever — he was learning as he went.
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