YouTubers Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams announced the birth of their sons‚ Jet and Max‚ on Sunday. Dawson is the biological father to one of the boys‚ while Adams is the biological father to the other. The mother of the children — whom they called “the egg donor” — is unknown. A separate woman carried and gave birth to the children for payment. To attain the sperm to create the children‚ Dawson and Adams each masturbated alone in a clinical room that offered them pornographic magazines and videos as well as a chair covered in plastic. As part of the process‚ an additional 10 embryos were created and subsequently cast aside — and possibly killed — in favor of the implantation of Jet and Max‚ who were described as “optimal” embryos. The situation highlights the terrible evils of surrogacy and in vitro fertilization. Jet and Max are deprived of knowing their mother and have been birthed by a woman whose care for them begins and ends with her ability to make money off of them. Ten other children were created only to be killed‚ used for research‚ or frozen because they were not considered “optimal.” Further‚ Dawson and Adams presumably paid well over $100‚000 to create these children — a circumstance that treats Jet‚ Max‚ and the 10 other children as paid-for products in the two’s highfalutin lifestyle. Dawson and Adams chronicled the entirely of the surrogacy process on Adams’ YouTube channel. This included everything from filming the room in which they masturbated to create their children to a video titled “WE’RE PREGNANT!!!!!! Seeing Our Twins For The First Time!” In one YouTube video‚ the pair discusses their decision to implant Jet and Max — and not one of the other 10 children — into their “surrogate.” Adams related that Dawson told a fertility clinic representative over the phone‚ “I guess we’ll just do a boy of each.” Dawson then explained that choice to the camera. “It just makes sense‚” he said‚ “because number one‚ they’re not gonna be identical because there’s two different dads‚ but‚ wow‚ drama! Two different baby daddies!” The two explained that they had simply texted their “surrogate” to ask her if she was okay with carrying twins. The use of the children for profit and attention continued after their births. Dawson posted a 10-picture slideshow of the children on Instagram. In one image‚ Adams lies in a hospital bed looking exhausted — imitative of a mother who has just given birth. That particular image was reminiscent of one in which Pete and Chasten Buttigieg held their children — who were also born by a “surrogate” — while lying in a hospital bed.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Shane Dawson (@shanedawson) Dawson wrote in the Instagram post‚ “We probably won’t be showing much of them in the future‚” but the couple’s treatment of the children’s creation and gestation as a form of entertainment for their audiences over the past year suggests they may not follow through on that idea. The use of surrogacy and in vitro fertilization is rapidly gaining traction. In 2022‚ the global surrogacy industry was valued at over $14 billion. The industry is predicted to experience 25 percent compound annual growth over the next decade to make it a $129 billion industry by 2032. In 2021‚ 413‚000 in vitro fertilization cycles took place in the United States‚ from which 97‚128 children were born. However‚ those aren’t the only children involved in the process‚ as 12–15 embryos are typically produced in each in vitro treatment. E. Christian Brugger of the National Catholic Register recently calculated that this conservatively means that “more than two and a half million human beings” were “either killed or frozen in a single year in our country to fuel this sordid industry.” Fertility clinics‚ Brugger concluded‚ “are places of unspeakable evil‚ arguably worse than abortion facilities.” The mass killing of embryos created through this process is‚ without a doubt‚ the worst aspect of in vitro fertilization and surrogacy. But the selling and buying of eggs‚ sperm‚ and women’s bodies — and the commodification of children‚ who are purposefully deprived of their biological parents — ought to awaken even pro-abortion advocates to their evils. In the case of Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams‚ the issue of Dawson’s deeply problematic history also raises concern. He once said on a podcast: “Why is it that when someone Googles ‘naked baby’ on the internet and jerks off to it they can get arrested? I don’t understand that.” He also once posted a video in which he pretended to masturbate while looking at a picture of an 11-year-old. Dawson’s past led many to criticize the two’s newfound fatherhood. “im shocked they allowed him to have a child‚” said one person on X. “Someone call child protective services‚” said another. “I need CPS at their doorsteps IMMEDIATELY‚ like who even allowed this?” added another user. Hopefully‚ public awareness of Dawson’s past will incite people to take a closer look at the evils of surrogacy. READ MORE: Meloni Pushes to Outlaw Italian Participation in Global Surrogacy Industry Celebrity Dysfunction Highlights the Horrors of Surrogacy The post Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams’ Use of Surrogacy Showcases the Practice’s Grotesqueness appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Hunter Biden has been indicted in Los Angeles on nine counts of tax charges and faces prison terms of up to 17 years. These are in addition to gun charges filed earlier in Delaware. It is interesting to contrast his situation with that of John Dean‚ both being “bad boys” at the very center of America’s greatest political scandals. Dean was President Richard Nixon’s lawyer who‚ according to lead FBI agent Angelo Lano‚ was responsible for 90–95 percent of the cover-up efforts. Dean had initially assured Nixon and his top aides that no one on the White House staff had any advance knowledge of the Watergate break-in‚ and they built their entire defense around this assurance. The folks at Nixon’s reelection committee were the ones actually at risk. In the course of his cover-up‚ however‚ Dean managed to infect Nixon and his people such that he escaped going to prison by becoming the lead prosecution witness against his former White House colleagues.  READ MORE: The Biden Case: Who Is the Thief and Who Is the Liar? Hunter‚ along with President Joe Biden’s younger brother James‚ is at the center of a decades-long effort to sell access to the “Biden Brand.” Unfortunately for Hunter‚ he does not appear to be in a position to save himself by turning states’ evidence and selling out his family members.  Blood really is thicker than water.  Perhaps that doesn’t really matter‚ since both scandals feature extensive written records that are tough to refute: Nixon was done in by his secret taping system; Hunter‚ by his “laptop from hell” that he negligently left in a local repair shop. The respective backgrounds of these two junior players‚ while clearly different‚ have some eerily similar parallels. Both graduated from law school in their early 20s: Dean from Georgetown in 1965; Hunter from Yale in 1996‚ but only after transferring from Georgetown after completing his first year.  Their first job experiences were startlingly different. Dean was fired from Welch &; Morgan‚ a boutique communications law firm‚ after only six months‚ for unethical conduct. Hunter started working for MBNA‚ a large bank holding company in his home state of Delaware. There he became an executive vice president before leaving in 1998 and soon forming his own lobbying firm. Dean quickly landed on his feet‚ experiencing an extraordinarily rapid rise in GOP politics. He landed a position on the staff of the House Judiciary Committee within a month of his law firm firing‚ where he rose to become minority counsel. From there‚ he went to Nixon’s Department of Justice as associate deputy attorney general‚ before being named counsel to the president in July of 1970. (READ MORE: Hunter Biden Has an Identity Crisis) Hunter’s path through lobbying and investment firms was not nearly as impressive‚ even if‚ perhaps‚ it was more lucrative. It’s wonderfully detailed in a well-researched article by Ben Schreckinger‚ published in 2019 in Politico Magazine. Of course‚ Hunter’s path may have been clouded by his six efforts at rehabilitation for drug and alcohol abuse. Dean burst onto the public scandal scene on March 13‚ 1973‚ when he was 35 years old. In confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee‚ acting FBI Director Patrick Gary admitted sharing some 82 internal FBI documents with Dean — following which the committee voted unanimously to require Dean’s testimony before proceeding further with Gray’s confirmation. One week later‚ on March 21‚ Dean first shared the specifics of the ongoing cover-up with Nixon. Nixon asked him to reduce his report to writing‚ which the president stated he would use as the basis for calling for a renewed investigation into the Watergate matter. Dean quickly concluded that anything he wrote would amount to a confession of his own obstruction of justice. So‚ on April 2‚ he sought out prosecutors in pursuit of personal immunity. The detailed account of Dean’s changing story‚ from originally offering to testify against Nixon’s reelection committee officials to alleging a conspiracy involving Nixon and his top White House aides‚ is detailed in an internal memo never shared with defense counsel‚ as so clearly required by law (the Brady Rule). For his part‚ Hunter’s new-found prominence came as a result of a New York Post article dated Oct. 14‚ 2020‚ describing the contents of his laptop diaries. Even the combined suppression efforts of federal agencies and social media giants have not been able to keep its contents from public disclosure — at least once Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives.  Here‚ again‚ their stories diverge. Dean was unable to convince federal prosecutors to grant him the immunity he so desperately sought‚ but he was able to get it from the newly formed Senate Ervin Committee‚ eager to feature witnesses to testify against Nixon and his people. They treated Dean with kid gloves during his televised appearances‚ which cemented his reputation as an innocent whistleblower who somehow got taken advantage of by his former colleagues. His criminal defense lawyer told a BBC audience in 1994 how they had arranged for Dean to sit alone at the witness table‚ wearing a conservative suit and tortoise shell glasses‚ instead of the mod suits and contact lenses so clearly remembered by his colleagues. Dean was flanked by the lovely Maureen in the row behind him. His testimony had been drafted in conjunction with Majority Counsel Sam Dash‚ who described pleasant afternoons as they worked in Dean’s townhouse in Old Town Alexandria‚ enjoying iced tea served by his spouse. Unlike other committee witnesses‚ Dean did not submit advance copies. Starting his testimony at 2 p.m.‚ Dean was allowed to read its entire 240 pages‚ without interruption‚ ending just as the committee adjourned‚ so that there was no opportunity for questioning. Evening news broadcasts‚ of course‚ reflected this carefully produced performance. For his part‚ Hunter cannot expect to appear before a friendly committee‚ hence his offer to appear‚ but only in a public hearing. One has only to remember how that was handled by Lois Lerner‚ the IRS official who so conveniently held up charitable organization approvals for conservative groups. Sitting alone at the witness table‚ fresh shaven and dressed in a somber-colored suit with a muted tie‚ Hunter will proudly proclaim his innocence‚ before announcing that he is claiming his constitutional protections under the Fifth Amendment — and striding purposefully out of the hearing room‚ flanked by his Secret Service detail. As with Dean’s committee appearance‚ it will make great television for the evening’s news. Dean’s sweetheart plea bargain — pleading to a single felony count — was formalized in court on Oct. 19‚ 1973. Hunter’s equally outrageous agreement‚ in contrast‚ fell apart on June 20‚ 2023‚ under astute judicial questioning. Following an unexpected acquittal in a New York prosecution keying off Dean’s testimony‚ Judge Sirica decided to enhance his witness credibility by sentencing Dean to a prison term of one to four years. Special prosecutors bragged in their book about how astute it was‚ to show jurors that Dean was being punished too. One week following the cover-up convictions‚ Dean was set completely free‚ without probation or parole. He’d been confined only for the four months of the trial’s duration — and‚ even then‚ in a nearby witness holding facility. Dean‚ in point of fact‚ never spent a single night in jail for his many Watergate crimes.  The only indication of the extent of his wrongdoing comes from his Virginia disbarment hearing‚ where the bar association accused him of being guilty of encouraging perjury by other witnesses‚ destroying evidence retrieved from one burglar’s White House safe‚ embezzling $4‚000 of campaign funds to pay for his honeymoon‚ and authorizing payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars of “hush money” to Watergate burglars.  Today‚ Dean appears frequently as a political commentator on liberal media networks‚ with nary a mention that he hasn’t been licensed to practice law for almost 50 years.  Hunter’s fate remains unknown at this point‚ but he does not appear eligible for heroic whistleblower status. It also may take decades for internal records to emerge that explain the five-year delay in bringing any charges at all. That said‚ Hunter holds one powerful ace in the hole: His dad is president and can pardon him at any time. Forget the bland assurances to the contrary from his Press Office. I can picture it in vivid color: “I love my son‚ who has been unfairly singled out by folks who were really after me. This is not right‚ so I’m granting him a full and unconditional pardon.” Geoff Shepard came to Washington in 1969 as a White House fellow after graduating from Harvard Law School. He served on President Richard Nixon’s White House staff for five years‚ including a year as deputy counsel on the president’s Watergate defense team. He has written three books about the internal prosecutorial documents he’s uncovered‚ many of which are posted on his website‚ www.shepardonwatergate.com. The post The Bad Boys: Hunter Biden vs. John Dean appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The first 24 years of the 21st century have been the era of Woke Supremacy in our institutions of higher learning. Universities have downplayed traditional academic standards and expectations while becoming centers for promoting ideologies centered around combatting perceived injustices‚ especially condemning perceived racist behavior while showing increasing contempt for the post-Enlightenment collegiate ideal of free expression of ideas. “Social justice” seems to be replacing “academic excellence” and the “searching for truth and discovery” on many college campuses. Whole new terms have arisen to describe 21st-century campus life‚ like “trigger warnings‚” “DEI” (diversity‚ equity‚ and inclusion)‚ “cancel culture” and “self-censorship.”  A huge problem has arisen with emerging woke supremacy on campus: Public support for colleges is plummeting‚ most obviously manifested by a sustained decline in enrollments. Moreover‚ as anger over campus wokeness rises to a new crescendo in the wake of the Hamas invasion in Israel‚ more ominous things have started happening — most notably‚ multiple billionaire benefactors of the nation’s richest elite universities have announced that they are going to stop donating. A secondary threat came as politicians at the state level‚ previously largely content to leave subsidized universities alone‚ are demanding more supervision of deplorable campus behavior. No wonder we have increasingly pessimistic assessments of the condition of American higher education. Recently‚ Fitch issued its 2024 mostly negative outlook‚ indicating that the flight to quality in college admissions is continuing‚ noting that “some regional public institutions and less-selective private schools…may see continued softness in demand.” (READ MORE: Backlash Against Harvard’s Claudine Gay Is Indictment of ‘Diversity‚ Equity‚ and Inclusion’) Meanwhile‚ some private schools are booming — mostly because they are decidedly anti-woke and are not mired by such despicable behaviors as students rioting and shouting down distinguished campus guests or engaging in anti-Semitic demonstrations. There has been a surge in applications and enrollments at very conservative‚ traditional Catholic schools. I started to notice the trend a year or so ago when‚ in the midst of generally falling church enrollment‚ I began seeing a few college students attending mass in my college town of Athens‚ Ohio. This year the number has grown exponentially‚ and it is not unusual to see a double-digit number of undergraduates at 8:30 a.m. Sunday mass where overall attendance is under 100.  I know one of the group of avid Ohio University churchgoers‚ Henry Taylor‚ and he confirmed that students have bonded closely‚ even traveling long distances to attend more traditional Latin masses. So I was not too surprised to read a story in the Campus Fix on soaring enrollment in the more traditional Catholic colleges‚ schools like Belmont Abbey (North Carolina)‚ the University of Mary (North Dakota)‚ or Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio)‚ where daily masses are so crowded they are standing room only. Faithful Catholics who read of drag shows being held at elite Notre Dame (drawing condemnation from the local Catholic bishop) may be steering their kids to schools maintaining centuries-long traditional values.  It is not just Catholics — evangelical and other conservative Protestant denominations started the trend decades ago (e.g. Liberty or Regent universities). Very conservative Brigham Young‚ the Harvard of Mormon higher education‚ seems to be booming as well despite its condemnations of promiscuous and nonconventional sexual behavior. By contrast‚ my university‚ fairly typically‚ practically drops condoms out of airplanes over campus to facilitate‚ if not explicitly encourage‚ student sexual activity. Traditional Christian schools with a conservative political orientation like Hillsdale College and Grove City College seem to be mostly thriving‚ unlike many other liberal arts schools.  Other factors are at work. Businesses‚ who until recently seemed curiously uninvolved in the training of their future leaders‚ are waking up. They are becoming less rigid about degree requirements for positions‚ something that led to excessive credential inflation. Do you really need a master’s in janitorial science to mop floors or a bachelor’s in chemistry to mix drinks in an upscale bar? Meanwhile‚ prestigious large law firms‚ whose newly hired associates often make upwards of $200‚000 annually‚ are saying‚ “We will not interview or hire students involved in violent anti-Semitic campus demonstrations.” In short‚ after a lag of a decade‚ the Real World of productive Americans is catching on to the antics of academics and installing some discipline. There is more work to be done: For example‚ DEI apparatchiks need to be defanged and defunded. Colleges accepting unqualified students just to collect tuition fees (usually federally funded) should face real consequences when many fail to complete schooling — they should have skin in the game.  In a real-guard action‚ woke extremists will probably try to use accreditation to maintain leftish behavioral norms. “You cannot scale down or eliminate your DEI office because it shows a lack of commitment to equity and inclusion of the disadvantaged” or similar arguments. (The solution: simply end accreditation as we know it today‚ a subject for another epistle.) But the counterrevolution is beginning on American college campuses.  Richard Vedder is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Ohio University and the author of Restoring the Promise: Higher Education in America.  The post The Anti-Woke Collegiate Counter-Revolution Is Just Beginning appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The main problem with those on the postmodern Left is that they take things too seriously. If they were joking around‚ getting drunk‚ and sleeping off hangovers all day‚ they wouldn’t have time to legislate nonsense and limit freedoms‚ and we’d all be happier. All a conservative asks of his politicians in government is that they be late for work and as lazy as they can be. Any American would want that. Any American except leftist politicians‚ because they think they have one mission: to hate the half of the country that doesn’t think like them. Maybe it’s time to remind them what James Thurber says about those who work too hard: “Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy‚ wealthy‚ and dead.” READ MORE from Itxu Díaz: The Biden Case: Who Is the Thief and Who Is the Liar? The opposite of seriousness is humor‚ perhaps. But what is for sure is that the opposite of humor is hate. For a long time‚ the best humorists have been conservatives because progressive comedians put hate before laughter‚ and that ruins their work. This helps me to predict a conservative victory in the cultural battle. I will try to explain. What do James Thurber‚ S.J. Perelman‚ Dave Barry‚ and P.J. O’Rourke have in common? They constitute an invincible army: the army of laughter. When I think of Antony Blinken‚ that shattering definition by P.G. Wodehouse immediately comes to mind: “He had the look of one who had drunk the cup of life and found a dead beetle at the bottom.” When I think of socialist tax policies‚ Dave Barry comes to mind: “It’s income tax time again‚ Americans: time to gather up those receipts‚ get out those tax forms‚ sharpen up that pencil‚ and stab yourself in the aorta.” And if I recall the Hunter Biden scandal‚ I think of half a dozen writings by P.J. O’Rourke‚ such as: “When buying and selling are controlled by legislation‚ the first things to be bought and sold are legislators”; or: “Every government is a parliament of whores. The trouble is‚ in a democracy‚ the whores are us.” Maybe we shouldn’t be so hard on Hunter Biden; the Left promised to improve the purchasing power of disadvantaged girls and support the world of culture and the arts‚ and he did it his way by describing the payoff in the Venmo transaction to a stripper as for “artwork.” A famous Spanish cartoon from the last century depicted a ruler shouting to the masses‚ “Either us or chaos!” — to which the masses responded in unison‚ “Chaos‚ chaos.” Then the speaker would say‚ “It’s all the same; that’s us too.” Humor has always been effective against totalitarianisms. And what we are experiencing‚ from wokism to single thought‚ is a postmodern form of totalitarianism. The good thing is that you are no longer shot against a wall; the bad thing is that you will be stoned on Twitter‚ first‚ and they will get you fired from your job next. At least when they shot you‚ they saved you the paperwork of a thousand stupid notifications per hour and having to look for a new job at 40‚ with your face passed around the media titled “fascist‚” “homophobe‚” and “climate denier.” (READ MORE from Itxu Díaz: A Climate Change Believer’s Curse) The old class-struggle Left could be fought with reasoning. The postmodern Left of gender ideology‚ transsexualism‚ and blind faith in science as long as it tells them what they want to hear can only be fought effectively by laughing out loud. How else can you debate on television with someone who claims‚ with a very serious expression‚ that being a man or a woman is a personal choice‚ a feeling‚ and that biology is sociological fascism? The only effective way to kill that reasoning in the midst of a televised debate is to start scratching your ear with your foot and bark a little‚ proclaim that you now feel like a dog‚ and demand your right to pee lifting a leg against your opponent’s pants. Everything would be better if we listened to more of Hunter S. Thompson’s old confession: “Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously.” The satirical key to conservatism is that‚ before laughing at everything else‚ one laughs at himself. “We Americans live in a nation where the medical-care system is second to none in the world‚” wrote Dave Barry‚ “unless you count maybe 25 or 30 little scuzzball countries like Scotland that we could vaporize in seconds if we felt like it.” No room for hate there. That’s how cultural battles are won. The best critique of far-left environmentalism came from P.J. O’Rourke: “The bullying of citizens by means of dreads and fights has been going on since paleolithic times. Greenpeace fund-raisers on the subject of global warming are not much different than the tribal Wizards on the subject of lunar eclipses. ‘Oh no‚ Night Wolf is eating the Moon Virgin. Give me silver and I will make him spit her out.” G.K. Chesterton offered us the funniest advice against relativism: “Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out.” And H.L. Mencken’s savage satire not only manages to win battles more than 60 years after the author’s death but prophesied what we are living today almost a century before it happened: “As democracy is perfected‚ the office of president represents‚ more and more closely‚ the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”  Translated by Joel Dalmau. READ MORE from Itxu Díaz: The Fourth Annual Idiot of the Year Awards The Slow Demise of the Democrat Party The post The Humor War: Why Laughter Will Win Us the Cultural Battle appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

When Hitler invaded France in 1940‚ the conventional wisdom was that the French had the best military in Europe. This was despite Germany’s crushing victory over Poland and several other powers considered to be second rate by most military observers. The disastrous rout of the French army along with its British allies came as a devastating surprise to the free world. Although there is no consensus about a single factor underlying the French failure‚ most historians seem to agree that there were several contributing causes. Unfortunately‚ all of them seem to be present in American society and its military today. As Mark Twain supposedly said‚ “History doesn’t repeat itself‚ but it often rhymes.” READ MORE: The Next Starfighter?: A Way to Take on Wokeness in the Military The points of intersection between France in 1940 and the United States in the first quarter of this century are disturbing. At the strategic level‚ France in in the 1930s was as deeply divided between the left and the right as America is today. The extreme Left favored Soviet Communism; the far Right admired what Hitler had done to Germany and Mussolini to Italy — it wanted to take France in a fascist direction. Most on the left and right were not quite as extreme‚ but this split drove everything‚ including military strategy‚ doctrine‚ and training. The second strategic driver was the horrific casualty count of World War II‚ which impacted France much more than Germany‚ as the latter had started and ended World War I with an advantage in population. Casualty avoidance in war dictated French strategy almost as much as it drives Americans today. Those two factors heavily influenced French operational and tactical art — or lack thereof — in the 1940 campaign. The French mindset was defensive and reactive‚ and the country put too much faith in technology. French tanks‚ aircraft‚ and artillery were generally superior to that of the Germans but were not used in an integrated manner‚ as was the case with the German Blitzkrieg. The French reliance on the Maginot Line to protect its eastern flank was understandable given the horrific casualties of World War I‚ but it reflected an unhealthy operational mindset of always reacting to what the Germans did. This might have been acceptable if the Nazis were one only step ahead of French decision making‚ but the Nazis were generally two moves ahead. The French simply could not keep up the pace. (WATCH: Your Data Isn’t Private — Even If You’re in the Military) Today‚ the United States puts undue emphasis on a technological advantage that grows more tenuous every year. It is one thing to let the other fellow start the conflict‚ but the U.S. is devoid of the capability to quickly counterpunch. If China invades Taiwan‚ America will lack the amphibious and pre-positioned shipping to reinforce or to launch an amphibious operation to retake any terrain gained by the Chinese in a timely manner. This defensive mindset has even infected the Marine Corps‚ once considered the most aggressive of our services. The current USMC operational concept for the South China Sea is a naval version of the Maginot Line that will neither deter the Chinese from attacking Taiwan nor contribute to its defense should such an attack occur. Another operational disadvantage that the French were burdened with was a cumbersome system of command and control called “deliberate battle‚” which allowed for no initiative on the part of commanders below the army level. This might have been acceptable if the Germans had done what the French expected and conducted a mechanized version of the 1914 Schlieffen plan from the north through the low countries. When the Germans put their main effort from the east through the supposedly impenetrable Ardennes Forest skirting the Maginot defenses‚ the French reaction was sluggish. Huge staffs at the army group‚ army‚ and corps levels also contributed the French inability to gain the initiative. Today’s high-level American staffs are even larger than their French counterparts of 1940. Although the Americans claim to practice maneuver warfare‚ nothing like that exists above the regimental level. We have a top-down command and control system that largely depends upon using airborne sensors to locate targets for precision strikes. It is attrition warfare at its finest. At the tactical level‚ the Germans were generally tougher‚ better trained‚ and far more ready for combat than their French counterparts. Some French units‚ such as the professional colonial troops and foreign Legion‚ fought magnificently‚ but overall combat performance was abysmal. French political schisms caused politicians to pander to the draftee soldiers‚ who represented a considerable voting bloc. Draftees served shorter terms than their German counterparts‚ and training was cut back drastically. The image of French soldiers basking under sunlamps in Maginot line forts during the 1930s has become emblematic of the level of readiness when the real shooting started. American readiness in 2024 is a mere ghost of the superbly trained troops of Desert Storm or the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003. Decades of emphasis on diversity‚ equity‚ and inclusion over combat readiness have taken their toll. Few young Americans are willing to serve under senior officers who are obviously tokens or “firsts” due to gender and racial promotion preferences among senior government leaders. Recruiting standards across the board are being lowered‚ but even that is not getting adequate volunteers. We are probably not yet at the low point of Robert McNamara’s Vietnam-era Project 100‚000‚ but we are heading in that direction. (RELATED: Joint Force Quarterly Enters Wokeland) Most‚ veterans of my acquaintance — and I am one of them — no longer encourage young relatives and friends to pursue military service‚ fearing that they will be indoctrinated with the same leftist pap that permeates our colleges and universities today. Unfortunately‚ real military reform usually only comes in the wake of defeat. The Germans learned from losing following World War I while the French winners became complacent. The miserable performance of our senior military leadership in the last days of Afghanistan should have been a wake-up call‚ but it obviously was not. I sincerely hope that the American public realizes the danger of its rotting military before some adversary does it for us. Gary Anderson retired as the chief of staff of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab. He served as a special adviser to the deputy secretary of defense from 2003-05 and served as a civilian adviser in Iraq and Afghanistan. The post Is America Becoming France of 1940? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

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