Although I retired from government service in 2018‚ I still stay in touch with many friends I made while working in the nuclear weapons community. One of them routinely shares articles of interest across the broad spectrum of nuclear security topics. This morning he shared a recent think tank study entitled Comparing Allied Public Confidence in U.S. Extended Nuclear Deterrence. The title itself is arresting‚ and the study itself even more so. Focused primarily on public attitudes in South Korea‚ the study notes that opinion surveys in South Korea depict a lack of public confidence in current U.S. nuclear assurance and strong support for both the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea‚ as well as strong support for acquisition of an independent nuclear weapons capability.But of greater relevance to the evolving debate on nuclear deterrence has been ham-handedness on the part of the Biden administration.This comes despite Biden administration promises to strengthen its extended nuclear deterrence commitment to South Korea‚ an initiative clearly aimed at discouraging South Korea from pursuing its own weapons. Put very simply‚ the people of South Korea‚ faced with an unstable nuclear regime only miles from Seoul across the DMZ‚ no longer believe that the U.S. offers meaningful deterrent protection against a North Korean nuclear strike.Once upon a time‚ belief in the U.S. nuclear umbrella came easily. Wed stationed B61 nuclear bombs with the U.S. Air Force in Korea‚ after all. More to the point‚ the U.S. homeland was well out of range of Kim Jong Uns nuclear-tipped missiles. But while estimates vary‚ the largest of North Koreas Hwasong series of ICBMs appear apparently have the range to hit targets throughout the U.S. mainland. Furthermore‚ in return for assisting Russia in its war with Ukraine‚ North Korea may be receiving even more advanced weapons technology from Vladimir Putin.(READ MORE from James H. McGee: We Ignore Africa at Our Own Peril)Moreover‚ South Koreans are also perfectly aware its their neighborhood‚ after all that China is aggressively pursuing an enhanced nuclear arsenal‚ one that‚ on its current pace‚ could meet or even exceed the power of the U.S. nuclear arsenal by the mid-2030s. Already‚ Chinas nuclear arsenal challenges the credibility of the U.S. nuclear umbrella covering South Korea. The same might be said of Japan‚ where once the notion of acquiring nuclear weapons was unimaginable‚ something that is now no longer the case. We can no longer provide even modest diplomatic and military support for Israel for fear of offending a pro-Hamas electoral constituency in Michigan. Who would be surprised if an American president chose not to risk Dallas or Denver for Seoul or Tokyo?Creating an independent nuclear deterrent is well within South Koreas current scientific and technical capabilities. And while the political barriers for Japan remain immense‚ Japan also possesses the technical ability to become a nuclear power in very short order. This could come quickly if the Japanese public should decide that a nuclear deterrent would prevent a future Hiroshima at the hands of Xi or Kim or Putin. Its not incidental that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe opened the discussion of nuclear weapons after Putins nuclear saber-rattling in Ukraine. The Japanese are perfectly aware that they have their own potential conflict with Putins territorial ambitions regarding possession of the Kurile islands.And herein‚ perhaps‚ lies the key to the changing world of nuclear deterrence. Regardless of how one assesses the credibility of Putins insistence that his nuclear options are very much on the table‚ the context of this discussion matters deeply. During the Cold War‚ the entire structure of nuclear deterrence hinged on the notion of a nuclear balance between the U.S. and the Soviet Union‚ a context in which the U.K.‚ France‚ and China were seen as bit players even within their own respective defense communities.Mutual assured destruction meant that a war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact would be a war fought with conventional forces. The tactical nuclear weapons held by both sides largely represented an escalation fence. Despite multiple scenarios envisioning the use of a frankly dizzying array of tactical weapons‚ the most realistic scenarios saw a single use as an existential shock to the system‚ to be followed by negotiations to end the conflict. tactical nuclear weapons represented both an existential last resort when one side came to fear decisively losing the conventional battle. This continues to be reflected in Russian military policy‚ notably in the 2010 Russian military doctrine‚ which provides the underpinning for Putins escalate to de-escalate concept.Now things look very different‚ whether viewed from Seoul or Berlin. Much has been made‚ particularly by the usual crop of NATO and EU functionaries of Donald Trumps apparent unwillingness to commit to the future defense in Europe. These‚ however‚ are largely the same center-left Eurocrats who‚ eager to maintain their Davos bona fides‚ studiously ignored his more nuanced discussions of the same subject during his presidency. Moreover‚ only last week‚ Trump emphatically stated that he would fully defend those NATO allies that spend 2 percent of GDP on defense‚ and explained that his message to the others is meant simply as a challenge to get their defense houses in order. The extent to which European leaders insist on depicting Trump as a danger to European security‚ ironically‚ has enormously complicated the good relations that would be necessary if Trump becomes president again in 2024.But of greater relevance to the evolving debate on nuclear deterrence has been ham-handedness on the part of the Biden administration. If one pays attention to the evolving debate within Europe concerning nuclear weapons‚ and ignores the polite diplomatic pieties uttered by European leaders in their discussions with the U.S‚ one finds that trust in the U.S.-provided NATO nuclear umbrella has deeply eroded.(READ MORE: Bidens Gaza Pier Is Black Hawk Down All Over Again)Contra the more technically focused discussions within the trans-Atlantic nuclear community‚ this has less to do with where B61 gravity nuclear bombs might be located‚ and more to steadily declining confidence in U.S. political leadership. The botched Afghanistan withdrawal‚ the hot and cold support for Ukraine‚ the apparent willingness to throw Israel under the bus of Michigan electoral politics have all undermined confidence in U.S. strategic reliability. Increasingly‚ neither our potential enemies nor our most steadfast friends believe that the U.S. nuclear deterrent extends beyond protecting the U.S. homeland. Yet its precisely this belief‚ long-held and assiduously promoted by generations of U.S. policy makers‚ that has served as the underpinning for nuclear non-proliferation.Now the entire non-proliferation regime appears increasingly shopworn‚ if not yet completely threadbare. Going back to the Clinton administration‚ we did nothing meaningful to discourage North Korea from becoming an increasingly dangerous nuclear power. Much the same may be said of Iran‚ and of the contemptible obfuscation of Obamas nuclear deal. We tell ourselves that Iran doesnt yet have nuclear weapons‚ while knowing that this could happen at any time‚ particularly as the mullahs cozy up to Putin.But now even our friends are exploring development of nuclear deterrent capabilities. Germany once viewed the acquisition of nuclear weapons as wholly unacceptable‚ even with the fig-leaf of the so-called Euro-bomb. While this still remains controversial within the fraught world of current German politics‚ Germany and nuclear weapons are now being openly and more favorably discussed.Poland represents another NATO nation increasingly open to acquiring nuclear weapons. This came first as a desire that U.S. B61s be forward deployed to Poland‚ under U.S. control but with the development of dual use capabilities for Polands combat aircraft (that is‚ the ability to carry either conventional or nuclear bombs). But discussion of a possible Polish bomb has also begun‚ and with Polands increasing investment in a technically sophisticated defense industry‚ this is a far from fanciful prospect‚ particularly if the Poles lose confidence in U.S. nuclear protection. While one can get quickly lost in the recent flurry of news stories surrounding Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorskis remarks during his U.S. visit‚ significantly‚ he didnt rule out Polands acquisition of nuclear weapons.Sweden yes‚ Sweden once had a very highly developed nuclear weapons research program‚ consistent with the long-standing Swedish policy of making the country a well-armed hedgehog capable of deterring any potential adversary. Sweden then chose to abjure further nuclear weapons development and instead embraced the global non-proliferation regime. Now Sweden‚ however hesitantly‚ may be opening a discussion regarding the need for a nuclear deterrent. For now the Swedes seem content to have taken the baby step of placing themselves‚ through NATO‚ under the U.S. nuclear umbrella‚ but as that umbrella becomes more obviously tattered‚ they have the technical capability to go nuclear in relatively short order.Even Finland‚ one of the first signatories of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and long a vocal adherent of the no nukes philosophy‚ now may be reconsidering its stance in light of Putins nuclear brinksmanship the Finns‚ like the Poles‚ know something about being invaded by Russia while the rest of the world sits on its hands. Like their Swedish neighbors‚ the Finns have‚ at most‚ taken only baby steps on the road to nuclear weapons openness. But given the departure point‚ even the most tentative consideration marks a considerable sea change.All of this‚ of course‚ takes place against the backdrop of Putins invasion of Ukraine‚ and the obvious irony that‚ after security assurances by the Clinton administration‚ Ukraine surrendered its inherited a massive nuclear arsenal. Given the diplomatic sweeteners we offered‚ that once looked very good to Kiev; now‚ its deeply regretted. If Ukraine survives as anything more than a complete Russian satrapy along the lines of Belarus‚ we can bet that the Ukrainians will find a path to acquiring nuclear weapons.When it comes to extended nuclear deterrence‚ our potential enemies no longer fear us and our potential friends no longer trust us. The whole edifice of nuclear non-proliferation depended on this combination of fear and trust‚ which makes non-proliferation‚ much less nuclear disarmament the deadest of dead letters. Now‚ if there is a path forward for restoring the credibility of the U.S. nuclear umbrella‚ it surely must include greater attention to such things as anti-missile defense‚ along the lines first promoted by Ronald Reagans Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Sadly‚ progress in this field has been fitful at best‚ the result less of technical barriers than a persistent and regrettably bi-partisan lack of political will.To their credit‚ the non-proliferation community at least got one thing right. In a world in which every Tom‚ Dick‚ and Houthi has the bomb‚ it will someday be used. Sometime‚ somewhere‚ it will be used. In a world filled with crazies‚ with fanatics who wish to impose their will upon all of us‚ no matter what the cost‚ the spread of nuclear weapons should be terrifying. For those of us who remember crawling under our school desks to protect us from nuclear attack‚ its a hard reality to contemplate. And as we look at our children‚ or grandchildren‚ or great-grandchildren‚ its profoundly sad‚ and‚ frankly‚ terrifying.(READ MORE: Keep an Eye on the Baltic)Easter is upon us as I write these words. Amidst the solemnities of Good Friday and the joy of Easter morning‚ if youre of a praying disposition‚ perhaps you might offer up a prayer that the next 9/11 wont culminate in a mushroom cloud. Then we might all turn to the task of hiring leaders capable of mastering the challenges of a fraught and unstable nuclear world. The superficial thinkers and the faint of heart need not apply.James H. McGee retired in 2018 after nearly four decades as a national security and counter-terrorism professional‚ working primarily in the nuclear security field. Since retiring‚ hes begun a second career as a thriller writer. His 2022 novel‚ Letter of Reprisal‚ tells the tale of a desperate mission to destroy a Chinese bioweapon facility hidden in the heart of the central African conflict region‚ and a forthcoming sequel carries the Reprisal team from the hills of West Virginia to the forests of Belarus. You can find it on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback editions‚ and on Kindle Unlimited.The post Nuclear Weapons and U.S. Allies appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The prospect of an Internal Revenue Service weaponized against political opponents‚ withcollection agents packing guns‚ is raising concern in Congress. On the other hand‚ a more basic and longstanding problem has managed to escape notice.The time is long past to trim the power of the IRS in particular and the federal government in general.The IRS gets workers tax money before the workers who earned it. This takes place through the practice of withholding money from workers paychecks‚ a development dating to World War II.Wars have always been the most important occasions for the introduction of new forms of taxation‚ writes Robert Higgs (Crisis and Leviathan). One way to capture more revenue is to reduce tax evasion byseizing the peoples earnings before the earners ever lay hands on them. This procedure has come to be known as tax withholding at the source‚ or simply withholding.(READ MORE from Lloyd Billingsley: A Red Flag for Kamala Harris)TheCurrent Tax Payment Actwas signed into law on June 9‚ 1943‚ and the next year‚ employers withheld almost $8 billion for income taxes‚ followed by $10 billion in 1945. That was the last year of the war‚ but withholding carried on.We gave next to no consideration to any longer-run consequences‚ explained Milton Friedman the famed economist who did a stint at the Treasury Department and author of Free to Choose.It never occurred to me at the time that I was helping to develop machinery that would make possible a government that I would come to criticize severely as too large‚ too intrusive‚ too destructive of freedom. Yet‚ that was precisely what I was doing.The federal government likes getting workers money before the workers do‚ and nearly 80 years after the close of World War II‚ withholding remains in place. In effect‚ the system forces employers to act as tax collectors‚ which helps the government to enforce diversity goals and other intrusive measures.WWII-style withholding also empowers expansion of the federal bureaucracy‚ with massive waste‚ fraud‚ and abuse on full display. This is destructive of freedom‚ accountability‚ and basic rights. What a worker earns through labor is proper to them. No other person or government entity holds a prior claim to workers earnings. The fix is not a complicated matter.Instead of only their take-home pay‚ workers should getallthe money they earn. They can pay their taxes in quarterly installments in the manner of freelancers and‚ as Higgs notes‚ all taxpayers before WWII.Its hard to find any legislator who advocates these simple policies‚ which would trim the power of the IRS now‚ as some contend‚being weaponized against political opponents. As taxpayers and legislators should know‚ the IRS would not be the first federal agency to deploy special agents packing guns.The federal Department of Education has only existed since 1980 and is best understood as a payoff to the National Education Association‚ the massive teacher union that endorsed Jimmy Carter for president. The Department boasts an enforcement division packingRemington Model 870 shotguns.In 2011‚ a dozen armed enforcement officersraided the California home of Kenneth Wright‚ who had no criminal record‚ and threw him in a police car with his three children. As it turned out the U.S. Department of Education ordered the raid over the defaulted student loans of Wrights estranged wife‚ who was not present.(READ MORE: Crime and Punishment‚ California Style)This raid gives some idea of the abuses possible under a weaponized IRS with agents deploying firearms. The time is long past to trim the power of the IRS in particular and the federal government in general. Ending the dated practice of withholding is a good place to start.LloydBillingsleyis apolicyfellowat theIndependent Institute in Oakland‚ California.The post To Have and Withhold: The IRS Gets Your Money Before You Do appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Bidens weakness propels the Left and they drive him to extremism. This is the simple‚ self-reinforcing cycle that has put Biden in a box from which he cannot escape. By turning left at the outset‚ Biden has eroded his majority victory into a minority presidency.[T]his Administration has now become thoroughly dependent on the Left and extremist in its policies.Presidents who beat incumbents have historically done well themselves. America usually reelects its incumbent presidents‚ so when they turn on an incumbent it usually signals their commitment to a new course. Then‚ they stay the course. Wilson in 1912‚ FDR in 1932‚ Reagan in 1980‚ and Clinton in 1992: all beat elected incumbents‚ and all won reelection themselves.Such a track record for those who toppled elected incumbents raises a question about Biden. How has he turned a 51.3 percent popular vote victory in 2020 into a minority position so quickly? According toReal Clear Politics April 1 average of national polling‚ Biden trails Trump 45.5-46.5 percent in a two-way race; 45.3-48.5 percent in battleground states (six of which he won four years ago); and 39.6-42 percent in a five-way race.(READ MORE from J.T. Young: Trumps Three-Peat Foretells Nationwide Victory)In 1912‚ Teddy Roosevelt split the Republican majority and gave the White House to Wilson; in 1932‚ the Depression doomed Hoover; in 1980‚ Carters malaise propelled Reagan; in 1992‚ Bush Is reversal on not raising taxes and third-party candidate Ross Perot sent Clinton to victory; in 2020‚ a pandemic‚ nationwide lockdowns‚ a resulting economic plunge‚ and widespread civil unrest following George Floyds death‚ combined against Trump. What has Biden done? Biden turned left.From the beginning‚ Biden turned away from America and went toward Americas Left. Immediately‚ Biden reversed all the means Trump had used to close the southern border. Abroad‚ he shamefully and precipitously withdrew from Afghanistan. Fiscally‚ he fully opened the spending spigot and demanded higher taxes in return. And so‚ it continued.On issue after issue‚ Biden has taken positions that have appeased the Left but alienated Americas majority. And what Biden has done at the national level‚ his Party has echoed at the state and local levels they control bringing insecurity to the American peoples doorstep.As Biden did this‚ he also created a self-reinforcing cycle. As Biden alienated moderate support (a constituency he claimed to represent in 2020)‚ he shrank his base of support. The result has been that even if the Left did not increase absolutely within Democrat ranks (though they certainly appear to have done so)‚ their influence within Bidens shrunken base has grown.As the Left grew within Bidens base‚ they carried more weight; as Bidens base shrank‚ he became more dependent on them. The dynamics fed on each other. The result was an impetus to extremism.After three-plus years of this cycle of ascendancy (Left) and dependency (Biden)‚ this Administration has now become thoroughly dependent on the Left and extremist in its policies. Looking back on todays polling numbers‚ Bidens base of support is little more than the 37 percent of voters who claimed to be Democrats in 2020‚ exit polling.RCPs April 1 average of national job approval pollingstands at 40.3 percent.Among modern presidents‚ only Jimmy Carter in his one term has come close to pulling off Bidens self-immolation. However‚ even Carters conflagration was less than Bidens present presidential pyre.Carter defeated Gerald Ford‚ who while the nominal incumbent was the only man in American history to have not been elected either vice president or president (having been appointed by Nixon and then shortly thereafter assuming the presidency after Nixon resigned in disgrace).Shrouded by Watergate‚ his pardon of Nixon‚ and high inflation‚ Ford still nearly wonin 1976: less than 1.7 million votes separated the two candidates and Carter won only 50.08 percent of the popular vote. So‚ Carter never benefited from the repudiation of an elected incumbent the way Biden did.(READ MORE: Biden Would Go Further Left)As president‚ Biden has taken positions inexplicable to Americans who are not of the Left. And what is more‚ he has inexplicably stuck with them unless we understand that he cannot repudiate these positions without losing the irreplaceable support of the Left on which his presidency now depends.Any other president holding such unpopular positions would have changed them. Another president would have closed the border‚ released a budget that did not spend and tax to the extreme‚ would push LNG exports not pause permitting and claim this as an economic win‚ and would call for a crackdown on crime.Biden cant. He needs every last vote from the Left‚ because the Left is the only place he can hope to find votes. What America is witnessing is a study in self-immolation as it burns down Bidens presidency.J.T. Young was a professional staffer in the House and Senate from 1987-2000‚ served in the Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget from 20012004‚ and was director of government relations for a Fortune 20 company from 20042023.The post Bidens Cycle of Extremism appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

April 6‚ 2024Dear Kitty‚How are you? I hope you are well. We discussed my sending Coco some notes about Tommys side of her ancestry. So‚ here are a few memories.Alex‚ of course‚ is Cocos grandmother‚ and‚ I believe‚ her namesake. Alexs family is from Great Britain‚ especially Scotland and England. Alexs father grew up in a very small town‚ Prescott‚ in a southern state called Arkansas. Her grandfather was a businessman and his main business was supplying movie theaters and owning property. Her father grew up in a strict household but enjoyed sports and also mathematics and the history of the Civil War (which‚ of course‚ was begun in South Carolina).His name was Dale Denman‚ Jr.‚ after his father‚ who was also named Dale Denman.Alexs father studied very hard so that he could do well on the exam that allowed him to enter the U.S. Military Academy. That was extremely important in those days because times were hard. There was a Great Depression going on‚ which meant that people were far poorer than people in our era could imagine. Entry into USMA‚ also called West Point because of its location on the Hudson River north of New York City‚ was a great bonanza because its costs were completely nil.Alexs father specialized in artillery‚ which is the use of cannon to attack and defend. Dale Denman‚ Jr. graduated on June 6‚ 1944‚ the exact same day that The Allies‚ mostly the USA‚ Canada‚ and Britain‚ invaded Nazi occupied western Europe to free the people there from Nazi occupation. (Most of the fighting was considerably east of Germany. The enemy there were the Russian Communists‚ who were also tough‚ homicidal people.)Alex and I have been married since June 23‚ 1968 and to me she is still the superstar of mankind.The Nazis‚ as I am sure you know‚ were horribly cruel people. They were led by an insane mass killer named Adolf Hitler. They were EXTREMELY tough fighters. Dale Denman‚ Jr. fought in some horribly bloody battles against them. At first he was a Lieutenant‚ but he rose rapidly in rank as his leadership and courage were recognized. He was awarded the Silver Star for an especially daring act. His unit was pinned down by a Nazi machine gun nest. His men were getting shot. Alexs father ran through Nazi machine gun fire that hit so close that it knocked off both of his boot heels. But he was unhurt. He climbed up to the top floor of a nearby house carrying a heavy radio. He called in American artillery fire to knock out the Nazi machine gun position. It was for this that he was awarded the Silver Star. The Silver Star is the second highest medal awarded to American soldiers. It is very rarely awarded. For Alexs father to win it was an amazing honor.The Nazi commanding officer surrendered to Alexs father. But he spat in Alexs fathers face. Many would have shot the Nazi on the spot but Alexs father was a Christian and let the man live.When I met him‚ he was a Colonel in the U.S. Army‚ a rank which is just below General. (Colonel is pronounced KER-NEL.)Col. Denman also fought in the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1966. That was also a bloody and difficult war. Col. Denman hated that war.He was in deadly actions in the jungles and rivers of that country. In one action‚ he and his men had to hide under water and breathe through bamboo sticks. For his amazing bravery and skill and leadership‚ he was awarded the Bronze Star‚ and the Distinguished Service Medal‚ also very high medals.Alexs masseuse and manicurist‚ Mickey‚ is a refugee from Vietnam. She is a devout Christian although Vietnam is an atheistic Communist country.He was a warrior for America. But he was a peaceful man and extremely polite like a Southern Gentleman should be. When I first met him‚ he told me something brilliant. I asked him about the Vietnam War. I asked him how he felt about the Vietnam War‚ which was extremely unpopular among students‚ which Alex and I then were. Did the military keep us in the war? I asked him. (A stupid question.) No‚ he answered. We hate war. Were the ones who get killed.He urged us to march and demonstrate against the war. Its useless‚ he said. Its a meat grinder. Youre doing the Army a favor by ending the war on any terms.Alex‚ your fabulous grandmother‚ and I accordingly marched and demonstrated against the war in Washington‚ D.C. and in New Haven‚ Connecticut‚ which is where I was going to law school at Yale. We had some scary moments with the police and the National Guard shooting tear gas at us. Believe me‚ tear gas hurts.Your chest hurts and you cannot breathe for a short time. VERY scary.At the time‚ my father‚ Herbert Stein‚ was a high official in the White House‚ and I will tell you more about him later.He (my father) was also against the war.Col. Denman was the handsomest man I ever met‚ and a stupendously kind man. My father was also as kind and brilliant a man as God ever made.Col. Denman left the Army in about 1970. But he never stopped loving the Army.My father was born in Detroit‚ Michigan. At that time‚ it was a gigantically important industrial center. It was the world center for making cars and trucks. Mass production was really invented and put into practice in Detroit. Now it is crime ridden. Dont ever go there.My fathers father worked at Ford Motor. It was owned by a great genius named Henry Ford. My grandfather was a skilled tool and die maker. That meant that he created machines that made car parts. At the time there were no computers‚ so he used an amazing tool called a slide rule. No one today even knows what they are.Henry Ford was a terrible anti-Semite. But my grandfather was treated all right at Ford Motor‚ or so my Pop always said.My fathers father and mother moved to Schenectady‚ New York along with my father and his sister in about 1931. In Schenectady‚ he worked at General Electric.At the time it was a huge maker of railroad locomotives. Railroads were the main movers of people and freight.They still are for freight. By the way‚ one of the two largest railroads in America is Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Its chairman and largest stockholder is a very smart and pleasant man named Warren Buffett.Alex and I have become friends of Mr. Buffett. We have had dinner with him in his hometown of Omaha‚ Nebraska.He particularly loves Alex‚ your grandmother. He has good taste. He is one of the richest men on earth‚ but lives modestly. In fact‚ he often has meals at McDonalds.My father went to Williams College in Williamstown‚ Massachusetts. It is often called the best small college in the nation. My father came from lower middle-class circumstances at best and went to Williams with rich kids. But my father was an authentic genius and he graduated second in his class‚ right after Richard Helms‚ who became the first head of the CIA. I have met him many times.My father had to work at several jobs including as a dishwasher at a fraternity that did not admit Jews. He did not complain about it‚ though. He was just happy to be able to attend Williams in the middle of the Great Depression. The hardest times ever for most Americans.After Williams‚ my father worked as an economist for the federal government. Then when World War II came along‚ he joined the Navy to fight the Japanese.His main task was planning the invasion of Taiwan. It was a large island off the coast of China. At that time‚ it was occupied by the Japanese.But the invasion never happened because the Japanese surrendered after we dropped the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.After the war‚ my Pop was an economist‚ writing and speaking about the economy. (My mother was also an economist. She attended Barnard College‚ then a part of Columbia‚ and got a BA in economics. After college‚ she went to graduate school at the University of Chicago. It was there she met my father‚ also a grad student in economics. She was a brilliant woman‚ and a thorough patriot. She only briefly worked as an economist because my sister came along and‚ like most housewives of that era (my parents were married in 1937)‚ she stayed home with my sister and then with me.My father was considered one of the two or three leading conservative/Republican economists. When Richard Nixon was elected President in 1969‚ my father became an economist in the White House. In 1971‚ he became Mr. Nixons chief economic advisor. That was and is a Cabinet level position. My Dad had a White House limo pick him up at home every morning and take him home at night with a bodyguard with a gun. When Richard Nixon left office in 1974 the next President was Gerald Ford no relation to Henry Ford‚ but a great man‚ and very kind to me while I continued to write speeches at the White House.He worked very long hours in an office so big it had a large fireplace. He had a staff of about one hundred. Unfortunately‚ my father smoked heavily. It was commonplace for him to smoke three packs a day not that uncommon in those days.Alex and I both smoked heavily when we met. I stopped about forty years ago and Alex stopped about ten years ago.My father was the kindest man I ever met. Alexs father was a great‚ great man. My sister and I are on very different wave lengths about politics but are otherwise close.I met Alex when I was between college and law school at Yale. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever met. I literally gasped when I saw her at a black-tie dinner dance for July 4 in 1966.Alex and I have been married since June 23‚ 1968 and to me she is still the superstar of mankind. I really cannot adequately praise her. She is a lawyer by training and was extremely successful at that profession in D.C. and in Hollywood. She is also a saint of love and kindness. She is the only woman I have ever wanted to be married to.Your mother is the most beautiful young woman I have ever known and you are a super beautiful very young woman.This has gone on long enough‚ so I will close now and write more soon.God bless you‚ super beautiful Coco.Love‚ Ben and AlexREAD MORE from Ben Stein:The Blame Israel Horror ShowSCOTUS Saves Our ConstitutionNo Crime and PunishmentThe post A Letter for Coco appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in AmericaBy Ted Cruz(Regnery‚ 368 pages‚ $33)Are you woke? The very word elicits chuckles. As it should.In fact‚ Im actually grateful for the word woke. Its a silly-sounding word that nicely expresses the silliness and silly leftists its describing. Wikipedia (which a friend refers to as Woke-pedia) has an entry for woke. Quite conveniently for the‚ well‚ woke‚ Wikipedia claims the word is anadjectivederived fromAfrican-American Vernacular English(AAVE) meaning alert toracial prejudiceanddiscrimination. Beginning in the 2010s‚ it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalitiessuch asracial injustice‚sexism‚ and denial ofLGBT rights.The best parts of Cruzs book‚ however‚ come through his autobiographical recounting of the story of his familys life in Castros Cuba.That definition is convenient for the wokesters. Connecting their words roots to something allegedly African American allows them to respond to criticism by screaming at the top of their lungs‚ RACIST!!! They do that very well.Wikipedia further notes (rightly) that the word has become shorthand for some ideas of theAmerican Leftinvolvingidentity politicsandsocial justice. The term became popular withmillennialsand members ofGeneration Z. As its use spread internationally‚wokewas added to theOxford English Dictionaryin 2017. Perhaps most appropriate‚ Wikipedia notes‚ as does Merriam-Webster and Oxford‚ By 2020‚ many on the political rightand some in thecenterin several Western countries began using the termsarcasticallyas apejorativefor variousleftistandprogressive movements and ideologies.(READ MORE from Paul Kengor: Face to Face with the Shroud of Christ)I dont know if we can declare the year 2020 as definitive in the annals of wokedom‚ but theres no question that woke has become a sarcastic pejorative widely used to make fun of goofy left-wingers‚ and most certainly not by the political right exclusively. The label is now widely employed by anyone looking for a good word to capture the silliness of the sillies its describing. Its no coincidence that a liberal comedian like Bill Maher‚ whos very independent-minded‚ uses the word to tag the goofiest liberals.All of which brings me to someone decidedly unwoke. He might be the most unwoke member of the U.S. Senate one Ted Cruz.Cruz has just published a book titled simply‚ Unwoke. The book doesnt do a deep dive into the words etymology‚ though as Cruz works through his life of experiences with wokeness‚ one gets a clear understanding of what it is. As Justice Potter Stewart said in trying to define pornography‚ you know it when you see it. When you see a hysterical blue-haired‚ pierced‚ tattooed‚ LGBTQed‚ 20-something‚ college-educated white woman hyperventilating at a BLM rally‚ you know woke.And Ted Cruz shows woke‚ often painfully so.In fact‚ at one point in Cruzs book‚ namely‚ the section on CRT on K-12 education‚ I had to skip ahead. Encountering wokeness full throttle is difficult to endure. Cruz details his own fight against CRT in schools and how hes often met with objections from Democrats who insist such rot isnt being taught. These people usually claim that real Critical Race Theory is nothing more than an obscure graduate-level set of ideas that isnt taught outside of a few university departments‚ writes Cruz. Then‚ of course‚ often in the course of the same sentence‚ these same Democrats will insist that Critical Race Theory is vital‚ and that it must continue to be taught in elementary schools all over the country. Precisely. Cruz adds: Whatever its called‚ the ideas on race being taught in our schools are nonsensical and downright evil. Precisely again. Cruz gives examples that are difficult to read precisely because theyre so evil.The book has chapters on education‚ media‚ Big Tech‚ Washington‚ woke corporations and boardrooms‚ entertainment‚ The Science‚ the Lefts long march through the institutions‚ and our toxic universities‚ which Cruz cleverly calls The Wuhan Labs of the Woke Virus. Of that there is no question. This virus germinated at the universities‚ from where it spread everywhere else to the media‚ Big Tech‚ Washington‚ corporations‚ Hollywood. Those discussions by Cruz are valuable. As readers here know‚ he has taken the lead in the Senate in dealing with Big Techs censorious wokeness. Big Tech has become a big woking disaster.The best parts of Cruzs book‚ however‚ come through his autobiographical recounting of the story of his familys life in Castros Cuba‚ including his fathers escape and grandmothers suffering in Fidels banana-republic dystopia. The situation became so bad for Cruzs abuela as a teacher in the totalitarian state that she had to fake madness to avoid arrest and imprisonment. She feigned insanity‚ writes Cruz. One day in class‚ she began foaming at the mouth‚ tearing out her hair‚ screaming and wailing like a madwoman. (Actually‚ a good image of the woke.) They removed her from the classroom and she escaped punishment.Cruz also talks about his father‚ Rafael. Those sections struck me because I spent several hours with Rafael Cruz at Grove City College in April 2016. I interviewed him on stage at our Crawford Hall. It was one of the most interesting interviews Ive ever done. Rafael told us about arriving in America with $100 sewn into his underwear and a slide rule in his suit pocket. He knew no one‚ nor any English‚ which he learned largely from watching movies in theaters.Especially interesting are Ted Cruzs tales of his undergrad life at Princeton and law school years at Harvard in the 1990s. I was likewise in college in those years. What Cruz and I both experienced from the Left was dubbed political correctness‚ which in retrospect looked increasingly like the seeds of modern wokeness.In some ways‚ the PC movement arguably morphed into the woke movement‚ though what it needed for that evolution was as Cruz points out an ugly marriage to the pernicious ideology of critical theory and its hideous bastard son‚ critical race theory. Critical theory was bequeathed by various leftist maniacs‚ especially the weirdos of the Frankfurt School. Once the PC monster copulated with the CRT beast sometime around the new millennium‚ todays woke Frankenstein arose.We can denote other parts of this chimera. Cultural Marxism animates it. Speaking of maniacs‚ if you Google cultural Marxism a nasty little box pops up that makes the astonishingly ignorant claim that cultural Marxism is some sort of antisemitic conspiracy theory. That claim is so shockingly stupid that Ive written about it several times (click here and here). As to whoever is responsible for that claim‚ heres my response: your profound ignorance of what you attempt to write about doesnt make us bigots; it makes you a fool. Anyone knowledgeable of this ideological rot knows what cultural Marxism is. Ted Cruz knows it‚ and he boldly doesnt flinch from calling the ogre what it is. The full title of Cruzs book is actually‚ Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America.(Highly recommended is Ted Cruzs discussion with Mark Levin on Life‚ Liberty‚ and Levin. Also‚ read Levins likewise excellent book‚ American Marxism‚ as well as my review of Levins book.)The Cultural Marxists have been able to spread these ideas largely thanks to an administrative structure (which they control)‚ notes Cruz‚ that typically protects them from the consequences of their censorship‚ intolerance‚ and abuse.Thats indeed what they are. Despite their claims of tolerance and diversity‚ theyre abusers and censorers. Theyre the bullying architects of cancel culture. This allows them to spread their awful ideas through the larger cultural super-structure they control.(READ MORE: Gutting Jesus: FeministCabrini‚ Secular Saint)Kudos to Ted Cruz for his brilliance and bravery in the U.S. Senate and in writing this book. This is a must-read for you‚ your friends‚ your kids‚ and especially high school and college students. Get this book and get unwoke.The post Getting Unwoke With Ted Cruz appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

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