Entrance exam scores and fake athletic achievements all aimed at getting their children enrolled in elite columns across the country. Lets bring in Dan Henninger, jason reillyin and editorial pae writer kate to dell. What does this episode tell us about the state of colleges and the admissions process in america . Well, paul, i think the public has really been fascinated by the story and watching it pretty closely because i think it confirms what a lot of people thought independently which is that the College Admissions process can be a bit of a racket, and sometimes without even committing crimes. I think there is a perception that you can buy your way in by donating as building or paying for the best test prep or paying activities for your kid. So i think it confirmed a lot of the perception that the already existed even though, obviously, doctoring test scores and faking profiles is an entirely different class of behavior. Paul theres a big difference, kate, between somebody who goes through tests in advance, not real tests, but just these prep tests, try to drumm up the, you know, the experience of having to take a test under Pressure Versus actually having somebody come in and give you the right answers on the prep. Thats outright fraud. Right, paul. And i think one thing to note here is how popular in this fake athlete approach seems to have been to get into college, meaning some of these kids did not play the sports they said they played, and they were listed as recruits. And somehow they would go to the school and not show up for sports practice, and none of this would ever be detected. And you could see this happening in one school or one type of program and the colleges, you know, not knowing, but its really astounding how broad it was, how many coaches at how many different schools and how many different athletic programs were accepting bribes to recruit students who did not play the sport. Paul dan, elaborate on the admissions process and how it can seem from an outsider to be arbitrary. Harvard and the case of the lawsuit against it for, by asianamericans for bias, they admitted its sort of a black box. It is a black box. I mean, its become indecipherable, and thats why a lot of parents, if they can, now hire consultants like rick singer, who i turned out to be a crook, but there are a lot of Different Companies that are in the businesssi of charging pares a lot of money to explain to them the process of getting your childt into college. It is no longer as straightforward as it was. The colleges will not fully explain what the basis is for this admissions, theres a wide array of criteria. And so parents are out there trying to figure out what should i do with my children fit into whatever these universities are looking for. And it could be the fact that they have to do a lot of work in the summer doing prosocial projects in placing like buildingve houses in guatemala d that sort of thing, studying and doing well on the s. A. T. S paul but theres nothing really wrong with diversity in terms of applications as kate was suggesting, it is a rigged system, it is a racket. And, therefore, you have to figure out howow to game the system. And once you step across that line, the norms, standards and traditions that normally apply to a process like this simply fall away. Paul such as merit. Right. I think what just to follow up on what dan has said, when you move away from a her accuratic meritocratic process from using grades and test score and class rank, you open yourself up to this sort of thing. Admission officers become susceptible to bribes and corruption. Its inevitable in some sense. And that is what we, unfortunately, see happening. Paul a lot of people would say the merit system isnt fair because the tests arent fair. Do you agree with that . Does this show even more that the tests unfair . Theyre not perfectly fair, no. But we do know that things like the s. A. T. Do a decent job of predicting whether a child will, in fact, make it through college. So they have a very good track record in that sense. Paul what about the universities, kate, here. Are they the victims as some of them are saying, or are they at least aiding and abetting in some not in the legal sense, but just in the way they go about their business . Sure. I mean, the indictments basically say the colleges are victims ofe Honor Services frad which sort of reminds us of the ncaa scandals. But you kind of wonder how accurate that writ is, as you said, not on a legal basis, but basically, if they did not commit crimes and i dont think anyones accusing them of that did they create a culture that allowed this to thrive, like jason mentioned, and did they not do enough Due Diligence into the admissions clause that their athletic coaches were just meting out, apparently without much oversight. These are the kinds of questions thatin make the colleges not lok like the innocent victims theyre claiming to be. Paul what about the larger political significance of this . I think, as kate said, this is resonatinger with the public ina way a lotot of these prosecutios dont. Wheres this going to go politically . The federal government doesnt have a big role in education title ix. Theyve affected things like sexual abuse on campuses because they take federal money. That is, in some ways, part of the problem here. All of these universities virtually are taking federal money now, so they feel they have to comply with the federal governments goals on things like diversity. It included not only ethnicity, it standard started to go into gender, thatet itself has become subdivided and it has become a kind of morass. And thats why you end up with people thinking the only way they can succeed the is if they break the rules to get their kids into these colleges. Paul when we come back, beto orourke jumps in. What the former texas congressman brings to an alreadycrowded democratic president ial field. When you retire will you or will you just be you, without the constraints of a full time job . You can grow your Retirement Savings with pacific life and create the future thats most meaningful to you. Which means you can retire, without retiring from life. Having the flexibility to retire on your terms. Thats the power of pacific. Ask your financial professional about pacific life today. Im begging you. Take gasx. Ed beneath the duvet your tossing and turning isnt restlessness, its gas gasx relieves pressure, bloating and discomfort. Fast so we can all sleep easier tonight. Paul after weeks of speculation, beto orourke made it official thursday, jumping into the alreadycrowded democratic president ial field. The former threeterm texas congressman who narrowly lost his significant challenge to ted cruz in 2018 wasting no time getting behind a top progressive priority. Some will criticize the Green New Deal for being too bold or being unmanageable. But i tell you what, i havent seen anything better that addresses the singular crisis that wee face, a crisis that could at its worst lead to extinction. Paul were back with jason reilly, Dan Henninger and alicia fendly. So, alicia, whats betos selling point for democrats . He brings this populist aspirational style. Hes very uplifting, optimistic, hes young. I mean, hes 46 years old, one of the younger candidates to declare, perhaps the youngest. Hes also a political cipher, so its very difficult to pin him down. Iny a general election, it will be an advantage. Paul but the fact is so hes not really committed to a lot of specific policies, is that what youre saying . Thats right. Even if you listen just to that clip, he just basically said, well, i havent seen anything better. [laughter] paul okay. So, and its a charisma, its a yeah. Hes very telegenerallic, he he reminds people a little bit of barack obama. That comparison has been made before. Hes also been compared to jfk, jimmy carter, bill clinton. Hes very bright and optimistic. Paul he has kind of and its an emotional appeal. It appeals to the heart and the gut. [inaudible conversations] paul democrats love to fall in love with their candidates. They do. But allysias right, i think hes got an attractive optimism to him. And you contrast that with the sort of dour, angry rhetoric of people like Bernie Sanders and elizabeth warren,n, and you can see the appeal there. Hes also a great fundraiser, hes a master of social media with. He does have a thin resume, but i think he has these other things going for him. Paul is there an idea in there somewhat . [laughter] i i think hes selling himsef as more of a prague mat ifist. He hasnt called for packing the court. He says hes a capitalist. Paul so the idea is beto. [laughter] im not[l being and im not being cynical. Is thatt what hes selling, hes selling beto . The aura of beto . Which includes having i think kind of relates to the demographic that hes appealing to. One way or another, there are a lot of people out there especially in the Democratic Party who mainly want their candidates to have their heart in the right place. They want to feel good about their ideas, whether they actually want to accomplish anything or not, thats actually a good question. Paul so sentiment, i like the Green New Deal because its the best thing he makes me feel good about feeling good about the Green New Deal. [laughter] im also not sure he isnt running for Vice President , paul. I could see maybe a biden to orourke ticket if, of course, the identity politicsobsessed left would let them get away with it, but they could do a lot worse. Paul what about the ability of somebody with that amorphous idealism to hold up against a lot of harderedged politicians who are going to be saying, wait a minute, are you really endorsing the Green New Deal. You say youre a capitalist, but what does that mean . Are you for higher taxes or not . That sort of thing. I think thats right. And while in the House Minority for six years, he really didnt have to take a position on many things. He came out in one case against president obamas daca which was basically providing work permits to five million undocumented immigrants. He basically criticized paul the fact that he did it through executive order exactly. Not the policy in itself. And i think hes going to be pressed on that, do still believe this, are you against this, these things you have said or done in the past . Paul so he could be smoked out, in a way, basically hes going to have to commit to something. I mean, hes been pretty adroit in managing and negotiating around these issues. But on a stage with seven or eight, you know, in a debate, i think theyre going to press him on it. Paul the other thing i would say, dan, likability. Hes basically saying i can put texas in play. He said that explicitly, but also i i can beat trump. And lets talk about electability in terms of the history of the democrats running for the presidency. Whenever theyve run a candidate from the left george mcgovern, Walter Mondale they have lost. And when they won was when they nominated a southern governor nobody knew much about at the time, jimmy carter or bill clinton. And then they ran a more centrist candidate, and they won. Tolds democrats say everythings changed, we can run to the left, we can win by running on these progressive policies. The open question is, is that true, and is beto orourke and, lets say, joe biden going to try to figure out a way to thread the needle between the leftward drift and the reality of the american electorate. Paul and what do you think . I think that if they run to the left, they will lose again. I think donald trump couldnt be happier if they were to nominate aun leftwing candidate. Paul jason, is beto in the top tear . Oh, yes. Based on his fundraising and his ability to engage, definitely. Paul thee faa grounds the 737 max jets, and the Company Suspends new deliveries after the second deadly crash in five months. We dont follow the naysayers. But some give their clients cookie cutter portfolios. Fisher investments tailors portfolios to your goals and needs. Some only call when they have something to sell. 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They are working very, very hard right now, and hopefully, theyll very quickly come up with thery answer. But until they do, the planes are grounded. The safety of the American People and all people is our paramount concern. Paul that was President Trump wednesday announcing an emergency order to ground boeing 737 max jets. The United States joining other nations in grounding the planes following an Ethiopian Airlines crash last sunday that killed 157 people. Investors are now working to determine investigators are now working to determine the cause of the disaster, but new evidence suggests similarities with anotherer 737 max crash in indonesia in october. Welcome, homan, good to see you. Was it the right decision to ground the gents . Well, this is a point when the public grounds a plane because its no longer willing to fly on it. I dont think there was a good safety reason. The faa talks to the pilots unions, the airlines, theres anonymous Incident Reporting system that tells you if pilots are having problems with a plane. No a one was having a problem wh this plane. American pilots have no trouble turning off the system and flyingot the plane manually, so there never would have been the incident paul in the United States, really . Be yeah. Use there are reports now in that the pilots of the from the, from liftoff. Right. In the ends crash, which we dont have a final report on yet, but it is thought that a system that is supposed to stop the plane from stalling, losing aerodynamic lift which pushes the nose down somehow got out of control and forced the plane to crash even as the pilots fought against it. Maybe thats what happened in this case too. It seems extremely unlikely though because they made such a big todo in the worldwide media about the indonesian crash, there cannott be a pilot in the world who would not know what switchth to throw to turn it of. Were goingng on very thin evidence so far. Paul okay. The Ethiopian Airlines is not a fly byy night operate operation. You what that this week theyve been around since the 40s. It was actually a structure competentlyrun society, then the commune keyses communists came in, but the airline has always been an excellent airline. Paul trained United States pilots for American Companies would have been able to handle computer upgrade. Theyve shown in the past that if they have any trouble from the computers acting in a way they didnt expect, they can the revert to manual flying and take care of things. Paul so what would be the difference between those pilots c look, this is just speculating, but in the developing world, especially in asia, you have pilots who are brought up on simulators who have done rell tvly little real flying and are trained to rely on the computers and dont know what to do when the computers arent working. Maybe thats a factor here. I think both of them are going to turn out to be more complicated than we realize now. Paul crashes in general tend to have many complex yeah. And a pilots in a tizzy not understanding whats going on with the plane and doing wrong things under circumstances where it would be very easy to do the right thing. Paul President Trump tweeted thisis week that the technologyn aircraft are just becoming too come to plex, and he prefers something a lot simpler. He says we need to be Albert Einstein to fly a plane. Does he have a point this . He certainly does. A lot of the action sents weve seen very accidents where the pilots and computer get into a flight with each other and fly a perfectly good plane into the ground. On the other hand, safety has improveds dramatically. So what is the connection between automation and improvement in safety. Were not really sure, but we assume the automation plays a big role. But this contest between the pilot and the robots over what the plane should be doing is a problem. We have of to figure that out. Paul and are we training a generation of pilots to get so comfortable with simulators, so comfortable with the systems and the autopilot which do most of the flying now exactly. Paul so that if you get into trouble, if you start to get conflicting data, maybe they dont have the experience to be