Admissions scam ever prosecuted. Dozens of wealthy parents including permanent Business Leaders of two hollywood actresses charged in the scheme includes bribes, doctored Entrance Exam scores and fake athletic achievements. All indicating the children admitted to elite colleges and universities across the country. Lets bring in wall street journal columnist, and deputy editor, dan heninger, columnist jason riley and Kate Batchelder odell. Kate, what does this episode tell us about the state of colleges and admissions process in america. Paul, i think the public has really been fascinated by the story and watching this 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 into a wealthy school either by donating a building or by name for the best test prep or paint for the best activities for your kid. I think it confirmed a lot of the perception that already existed. Even though obviously doctoring test scores and faking athletic profiles is an entirely different class. There is a difference between zone that says it goes through tests in advance, not real test but just these prep tests, try to drum up the experience of having to take a test under pressure. Versus actually having someone come in and give you the right answers on a test that is outright fraud. Right, paul. I think one thing to note is how popular this fake athlete approach seems to have been. Meeting some of the kids did not play the sports that they said they played and they were listed as recruits. And somehow they will go to the school and not show up for sports practice and none of this was detected. You can see this happening in one school or one separate program and the colleges you know not knowing but its really astounding how broad it was, how many coaches and how many different schools and how many different athletic programs were accepting bribes to recruit students who did not play the sport. Paul on the admissions process, how it can seem from an outsider, to be arbitrary, and there was a lawsuit for bias with asian americans. They admitted it is sort of a black box. It is a black box. Its become indecipherable. Thats why a lot of parents if they can, now higher consultants like rick singer who turned out to be a crook. But there are a lot of other companies that are in the business of charging parents a lot of money to explain to them the process of getting your child into college. Its no longer straightforward as it was. There were not fully explain what the basis is for the admissions. That is whats at the heart of this lawsuit against harvard about the asian americans. There is a wide array of criteria. People say what you do with my children to make them fit into whatever these universities are looking for. And it could be that they have to do a lot of work in this common prosocial projects and things like buildiof thing. Studying, doing well on the sat. But there is nothing really wrong withthat. Listen, they are suggesting it is a rig system. It is a racket. And therefore, you have to figure out how to game the system and once you step across that line, the norm standards and traditions that normally apply to a process like this simply fall away. Such as merit. Right. I think to follow up on what dan said, when you move way from the process from using grays and test scores and class rank, you open yourself up to this sort of thing. Admissions officers become susceptible to bribes and corruption. It is inevitable. And that is what unfortunately we see happening. Llp would say the merit system isnt fair because the tests arent fair. And do you agree with that . Does it show that the tests, are they unfair . Theyre not perfectly fair, no. But we do know and studies have shown that things like the sat, tests like the sat 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 . Are they the victim here as some of them are saying . Or are they least aiding and abetting some, not in a legal sense but just in the way they go about their business . Sure. The indictments basically say that the colleges are victims of this fraud which reminds us of the ncaa scandal. You kind of wonder how accurate it is. As you said not on a legal basis but basically, if they did not commit crimes and i dont think anyone is accusing them of that, did they create a culture that allows this to thrive like jason mentioned . And did they not do enough Due Diligence for the athletic coaches that were just without much oversight, these are the kind of questions i think make colleges not look like innocent victims there claiming to be. What about the larger political significance of this . I think as kate said, it is resonating with the public in a way a lot of the prosecutions dont. Where will this go political . Owner should go to much of anywhere politically. Federal government doesnt have a big role in the education title ix. They have things like sexual abuse on campuses because they take federal money. That in some ways is part of the problem here. All of these universities virtually are taking federal money now. Answer the file they have to comply with the federal government goals are things like diversity. Diversity then got very complicated not only ethnicity, it started in things like gender, thats been subdivided. And it has become a kind of morass. Thats why you end up with people thinking the only way they can succeed as if they break the rules to get the kids into these colleges. Paul thank you. When we come back, beto orourke jumps and peered with the former texas congressman plans to do in an already crowded democratic president ial field. Will it feel like the wheend of a journey . P working, or the beginning of something even better . When you prepare for retirement with pacific life, you can create a lifelong income. So you have the freedom to keep doing whatever is most meaningful to you. A reliable income that lets you retire, without retiring from life. Thats the power of pacific. Ask your financial professional about pacific life today. The best simple salad ever . D great tasting, hearthealthy california walnuts. So simple, so good. Get the recipes at walnuts. Org. Paul after weeks of speculation, beto orourke made official thursday jumping into the already crowded democratic president ial field for the former texas congressman who narrowly lost his senate challenge to ted cruz, 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 crisis we face when they could at worst lead to extension. Paul we back with jason riley, Dan Henninger and alisha finley. What is the selling point for better or work for democrats . He brings his populist aspirational style hes very uplifting, optimistic, hes young, hes 46 years old. One of the younger candidates, he is also very difficult to pin down. In a general election paul fact is, he is not really committed to a lot of specific policies. Is that what youre saying . Thats right. He really hasnt endorsed the Green New Deal. He just says well, havent seen anything better [laughter] paul okay. So it is a charisma . Yes, his, here most people little bit of barack obama. The comparison has been made before comparing to jfk, jimmy carter, bill clinton. He is a very bright and optimist. Paul kind of he is like to the heart. Horses running . Democrats love to fall in love with their candidates. They do but alisha is right. I think he has an attractive optimism. People like Bernie Sanders and elizabeth warren, you can see the appeal. A great fundraiser, massive social media. He does have a thin resume but i think he has these other things going. Paul is there an idea in there somewhere . [laughter] more of a pragmatist i think is alisha said. He hasnt really endorsed the Green New Deal, he is not called for packing the court. He says hes a capitalist. So the idea is beto. I mean he is selling beto. The order of beto which relates to the demographic he is appealing to. One way or another there a lot of people especially in the democratic party, mainly want their candidates to have their heart in the right place. They want to feel good about their ideas. Where they actually want to accomplish anything or not, its actually a good question. I like the Green New Deal because it sounds good. He makes me feel good. Im also not sure he isnt running for Vice President , paul. I can see maybe a joe biden and beto orourke ticket if of course the identity politics would let them get away with it. But they could do a lot worse. Paul what about the ability of someone with an idealism to hold up against a lot of harder edged politicians who are going to be saying, wait a minute are you really endorsing the Green New Deal . And this specific policy and that specific policy. You say you are a capitalist but what is that mean . Are you for higher taxes or not . As a House Minority he didnt have take a vision of many things. He came out one case against daca which was providing work payments to 5 million on document immigrants. He basically criticized the need. Paul and through executive order, exactly. And i think hes going to be pressed on that. And do you still believe this . Are you still against this . Things that you had done or said in the past. Paul so he could be smoked out in a way during basically you have to commit to something. Hes been pretty managing and negotiating with issues but on a stage with seven or eight in a debate, i think they will press him on it. Paul the other thing was a dan is electability. Yeah. Paul hes basically saying implicitly it could put texas in play. He said that explicitly but also i can beat trump. Was talk about electability in terms of the history of the democrats running for the presidency. Whenever they run a candidate from the left, george mcgovern, mike dukakis, they have lost. And when they win they elected a southern governor no one knew much about at the time. Carter or clinton. When they were no more centrist candidates they went to pinellas everything is changed we can run to the left, we can win by running our progressive policies. The open question is, is that true and is beto orourke and lets say joe biden, go to trying to find a way to need the thread the needle what do you think . I think if they go to left they will lose again. Most voters are uncomfortable with it. I think donald trump couldnt be happier if they were to nominate a leftwing candidate. Paul quickly jason, is he in the top tier . Yes. I think based on his fundraising and ability to generate excitement yes, definitely. Paul and welcome back, boeing woes. They suspend new deliveries after the second deadly crash in five months. Talk to your doctor and say yesss to linzess. Yesss linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. Linzess can help relieve your belly pain and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements. Linzess is not a laxative. It works differently to help you get ahead of your recurring constipation and belly pain. Do not give linzess to children less than 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to less than 18, it may harm them. Do not take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. Get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain, especially with bloody or black stools. The most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. If its severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. Other side effects include gas, stomacharea pain, and swelling. So say yesss to help for recurring constipation. Yesss to help for belly pain. Talk to your doctor and say yesss linzess. That were playing four on four with a barbershop quartet . [quartet singing] bum bum bum bum. Pass the ball. Pass the rock. Were open just pass the ball no, i cant believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my Car Insurance with geico. Yea. [quartet singing] shoot the j shoot, shoot, shoot the jaaaaaay. Believe it geico could save you fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance. Not having a Good Breakfast can make you feel like your day never started. Get going with carnation breakfast essentials®. It has protein, plus 21 vitamins and Minerals Including calcium and vitamin d, to help your family be their best. Carnation breakfast essentials®. This is moving day with the best inhome wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. And this is moving day with Reliable Service appointments in a twohour window so youre up and running in no time. Show me decorating shows. This is staying connected with xfinity to make moving. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and twohour appointment windows. Click, call or visit a store today. Boeing is an incredible company. Theyre working very hard right now and hopefully they will very quickly come up with the answer. But until they do, the planes are grounded. The safety of the American People and all people is paramount concern. Paul that was President Trump wednesday announcing an emergency order to ground boeing 737 max jets. The United States turning other nations in running the planes following Ethiopian Airlines crash last sunday that killed 157 people. Investigators are working to determine the cause of the disaster. New evidence suggests similarities with another 737 max crashed in indonesia in october. Homan rights for their wall street journal. Welcome. Thank you. There is a point when the public grounds apply because there is no longer willing to fly on it. I dont think was a good safety reason for the u. S. To ground the plane. The faa talked to the pilot unions, to the airlines, and anonymous Incident Reporting system. It tells you if the policy having pals with the plane. No one was having issues. Even though they had some issue american pilots have no trouble turning this off and flying manual. They would never have been this issue. Paul in the United States. Really . They say the pilot of the ethiopian plane was also experiencing trouble handling the jet from left off. Right. In the indonesian crash which we do not have a final report on yet, but the system is supposed to stop the plane from stalling and losing aerodynamics left which pushes the nose down, somehow got out of control and force the plaintiff crash even as they fought against it. Maybe this will happen in this ethiopian case. It seems extremely unlikely because they made such a big to do in the worldwide media and all the aviation there would not be a pilot in the world that would not notice immediately and not which switch to throw to turn off your loan number evidence. Paul in the Ethiopian Airlines is not a flybynight operation. He wrote that this week in your column. I mean yes, twa helped found them, under the airline has always been an excellent airline. Paul so you said the american pilots, that is, trained United States pilots, for american companies, would have been able to handle this computer upgrade. They from the past that if theyve any trouble from the computers act in a way that they do not expect they can revert to manual flying and take care of things. Will be the difference between those pilots and those for indonesia . This is just speculative but in asia especially where they are growing faster pilots that are brought up on some leaders that have done relatively little real flying. They are trained to rely on the computers and do not know what to do when they are not working. Maybe that is the factor here. I think both of these questions will be a lot more complicated. May be more than just a system failure. Paul they tend to have many complex when the pilot is in a tizzy not understanding whats going on doing the wrong things under circumstances where its very easy to do the right thing. Paul the president tweeted this week that the technology and aircraft are becoming too complex. He prefers something a lot simpler. He says we need Albert Einstein to be able to fly the plane. Does he have a point about technology there . He certainly does. A lot of accidents in last 20 or 25 years, the palace and the computer got this happens a lot not just boeing. On the other hand, safety has improved dramatically. What is the connection between automation and safety . Were not sure but we assume automation plays a big role. As we get more automation the contest between the pilot and robot and what the plan should be doing is a problem. We have to figure that out. Paul training a generation of pilots to get so comfortable with simulators. So comfortable with the systems and autopilot. Which do most of the flying now. So if you get to trouble, if you get conflicting data, maybe they do not have the experience to be able to handle that. Is that part of this . Even experienced pilots get confused when computers stop working the way they expect them to. That is part of the problem. I think there is no way to solve this either remove the pilot altogether or get the pilot paul that will inspire confidence [laughter] will have the pilot be more in control more of the time. Paul and you do that by turning over it to autopilot only a portion of the flight . Yes, Something Like that. Relying on the autopilot for routine flying and as a backup if something goes wrong. It is another way to go about. I dont know how they will solve this but you have to fight the actions that are happening. Paul what does this mean for boeing commercially and legally . You know, it depends. If it is fundamentally problematic they are in deep trouble. Paul it is one of the most popular aircraft. The reason they put this Computer System in there, we are talking it is so they dont have to learn why this behaves different than previous generations of the 737. It is not in any way screwed up plane. It just happens to have a different lift characteristic becaus