I Bird droppings have never had particularly good press, ever since poor Tobit of the tribe of Nephtali, worn out after a long day of grave-digging, nodded off and “as he was sleeping, hot dung out of a swallow’s nest fell upon his eyes, and he was made blind.” Tobit’s hollow eyes were healed by a plaster of fish gall, but the high levels of uric acid present in avian excreta continue to pose problems for the rest of us, giving rise to entire industries devoted to mitigating the damage inflicted on building exteriors, bronze monuments, and vehicle surfaces by roosting pigeons and passing gulls. Parks and recreation officials wage an unending and largely futile war against the geese who befoul fields with their tubular green droppings, produced at the rate of one pound avoirdupois per day, while public health officials fret about the presence of Escherichia coli, Histoplasma capsulatum, Campylobacter jejuni, Cryptosporidium baileyi, and Giardia intestinalis, among other pathogens and parasites, in the fetid accumulations of bird droppings piling up all around us in cities and suburbs. In Japan, bird droppings have a rather better reputation, even imparting a bit of luck when deposited on one’s person, owing to the pure coincidence that the Japanese word for faeces, fun, sounds like the word for good luck, un, so that the phrase fun ga tsuku, or “You’ve been pooped on” closely resembles the more felicitous phrase un ga tsuku, or “You’ve had good luck.” Some of the finest Japanese haiku concern, of all things, bird excrement: The sticky droppings of a kite fall right on an iris petal (Buson) On the sprout of a reed, the old s—t of a wild goose — a fond memory (Kyōtai) Even the bird that s—ts on the camellia blossoms takes a rest on its journey (Sentoku) An evening shower — I can read the stupas covered in bird s—t (Onitsura) The bush warbler taking a s—t on the dead branch of a plum tree (Onitsura) A single cry — the little cuckoo feeds on the droppings of a bush warbler (Baijun) The bush warbler — s—ting on a rice cake from the top of a chestnut tree (Bashō) Vanishingly few Westerners, one suspects, have given much consideration to the matter of bush warbler droppings, but as the poet and essayist Masaoka Shiki observed in his 1900 essay “Haiku on S—t,” published in the influential literary magazine Hototogisu (“Lesser Cuckoo”), “[S]—t from bush warblers is said to refine the skin and it is used in rice bran sponges — so, of course, it does not evoke a feeling of filthiness.” Japanese bush warbler droppings, along with those emanating from the  cloacae of nightingales, have from time immemorial been used as whitening ingredients in uguisu no fun, literally “nightingale faeces” but better known as the “geisha facial,” and are also employed as kimono stain-removers, leading Shiki to conclude, seemingly counterintuitively to our benighted eyes, that “by nature, bird s—t is not such a filthy thing.” Bird feces of course has more than merely cosmetic applications. The Japanese farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka (1913–2008), a noble practitioner of no-till and pesticide-free farming methods, determined that foods “grown in soil balanced by the action of worms, microorganisms, and decomposing animal manure are the cleanest and most wholesome of all,” and so relied mainly on the judicious administration of straw, clover, and chicken manure to produce his abundant fields. Yet the greatest bird poop enthusiast in Japanese history was neither a poet nor an organic farmer, but a Tokugawa-era philosopher and politician by the name of Kumazawa Banzan (1619–1691). II The son of a masterless samurai (rōnin), Banzan had a peripatetic youth, born in Kyoto Inari (now Kyoto’s Shimogyō-ku ward), sent to serve as a page in the Okayama Domain, and living for a while with his grandfather in Kirihara (now Ōmihachiman) before returning to Okayama. Bold and noble ideas were always working in his mind, like yeast, and he fell at an early age under the spell of the Japanese Neo-Confucian school of thought known as Yōmeigaku, or Yangmingism, which stressed the unity of inner knowledge and action. As the school’s Ming-era Chinese founder Wang Yangming had argued, “[N]owadays, many people treat knowledge and actions as two distinct things. They think the need to know first, only then can they do something in this area. This lead them to do nothing, as well as to know nothing.” Banzan was determined to be a man of action as well as learning. While heading an artillery unit, he spent his spare time organizing what he called a Hanazono-kai (花園会), or “Flower Garden Association,” where the common people might be educated, something of a novelty at the time. He also studied hydrology and engineering, and after Okayama Domain’s Bizen Plains were devastated by floods after the typhoon of 1654, the Neo-Confucianist scholar strove to improve the canals, dams, and ponds of the region as part of his program of “Making Mountains Luxuriant and Rivers Run Deep.” Banzan’s greatest cause célèbre was the reforestation of the “bald mountains” that enclasped the rural flatlands of Okayama, mountains which had been stripped bare by the needs of Japan’s growing cities, resulting in landslides and clogged rivers and unsightly vistas. Cedars and cypresses were to be planted to prevent further erosion, but first he ordered that: Depending on the extent of the valleys and peaks, 30, 50, 100, or even 200 koku of millet should be sown, and then on top of that, dry grass and reeds should be spread. Various birds would come to feed on the millet. Bird droppings would soon mix in with the soil so that trees planted would grow well there. The dried grass covering the millet would make it difficult for birds to get, forcing them to stay longer. Moreover, the millet would not be washed away by rain, and should grow well in the mountain soil. If done in this way, in only thirty years mountains would be covered with various trees. With luxuriant growth of mountain forests, nearby villages would not lack firewood. When this approach becomes well established and widespread, mountains will be lush and firewood in lasting abundance. Until such luxuriant growth is realized, pinewood cut from mountains and chaff from rice fields should suffice for fuel. Pines are not beneficial for mountain soil or arable rice land. But even in rocky, poor ground where grasses and trees do not grow, pine trees will. If we simply focus on what benefits us now, we will be ignoring the harm that comes in later years. In his 1687 treatise Daigaku Wakumon, or Responding to the Great Learning, Banzan summarized his program: “Water, plants, seeds and nutrients all fall and flow from the high places to the low places, and especially the high places become poor, but sometimes, with the help of birds, we can make it all flow from the low places to the high places.” Thus did rootedness defy the laws of entropy and Newtonian physics. As the anonymous Tokyo-based blogger and traditional architecture enthusiast Wrath of Gnon put it, “Isn’t that a nice image of localism/cyclical economy/ecology/holistic thinking, all rolled into one?” It certainly is, but Banzan was never afforded the respect he so richly deserved from the shogunate. His advocacy on behalf of small-scale farmers, his education reforms, and his support for promotion based on merit instead of heredity did not appeal to the feudal daimyō lords. His imaginative public works projects, expected to bear fruit years and even decades down the road, did not impress the corrupt, myopic Edo bureaucracy. Ever the Confucian, Banzan railed against the issue of “soft evil” (jūaku, 柔悪), which prevailed when “the cycle of sophistication reached an extreme,” and was to be contrasted with the “hard evil” (gōaku 剛悪) of war, internecine strife, tyrannical oppression, and the like. Decadence had set in, to the detriment of the common weal. The shogunate’s coffers were empty, the people suffered from disasters natural and man-made, agricultural yields were down, and dedicated servants of the people (like Kumazawa Banzan) were incarcerated and sent into internal exile. “In the present,” he wearily concluded, “people are numerous, but there are no good men.” III Another free-thinking samurai, the Buddhist monk Suzuki Shōsan (1579–1655), would have agreed on that point at least with his Neo-Confucian near contemporary. The founder of his own school of Zen Buddhism, which he called Niō Zen or Guardian King Zen, Shōsan likewise stressed the importance of combining inner enlightenment with good works. Regardless of whether you are busy “tilling fields, or selling wares, or even confronting an enemy in the heat of battle,” he maintained, “direct enlightenment will occur at key moments of one’s day to day life.” Yet the Zen monk would be just as disappointed by Tokugawa decadence as the Yangmingist Confucian civil servant. Shōsan was even stronger in his condemnation of Tokugawa Japan than Banzan, complaining that “Buddhism is in full decline, the direction has gone wrong, and nobody’s really alive. Everyone’s dead.” His solution was to “dispose myself so as to conquer all things with a buoyant spirit, twenty-four hours a day,” with the aid of the “unshakable energy of the Guardian Kings or of Fudo,” those benevolent deities that can drive away evil spirits. His advice for his contemporaries was deceptively straightforward: “You have to make sure you get out of the starving ghosts and beasts, and at least become a human being.” In an era of spiritual crisis, this was perhaps easier said than done. For the Neo-Confucian Kumazawa Banzan, the decadence and decline of his society was the result of incompetent and venal governance, and could be addressed technocratically. For the Zen Buddhist Shōsan Suzuki, the parlous state of Tokugawa-era Japan was the consequence of a spiritual crisis. They were both correct. Nations falter and fail for a variety of reasons, some them politico-economic, some of them psycho-socio-culturo-spiritual. Richard Edwin Smith, in his magisterial treatise The Failure of the Roman Republic (1955), demonstrated how the breakdown of Roman republican society in the 1st century BC was a consequence of failed provincial and foreign policies, the high-handedness of elites and magistrates, and in-fighting between the Equites and the Senate. Yet it was also a profoundly spiritual crisis: Instead of the self-restraint of earlier times, we find an an almost total lack of restraint on the part of most men and women in the attainment of their wishes and a reluctance or refusal to submit to the discipline of society; selfishness and individuality are the dominant traits of this period, combined with a growing lack of moral self-control, the result of the loosening grip of Roman religion and the Roman code of morals. Society, as Smith concluded, is a: sensitive organism; remove or destroy the unifying element, and it breaks into a thousand pieces; men still live together, but the cement which bound them into one is gone…once the faith is shaken and destroyed, it cannot be replaced to order; it can only be won again by suffering and experience. For a time things can seem to be well, until the last of the spiritual capital is spent; but when the final cheque has been drawn, society is bankrupt, and the consequence must ensue; before the society can come together once again, fresh capital must be created. Fortunately for the Romans, this did eventually come to pass, when the “Roman spirit, conservative, instinctive, emerged from the carnage of the civil wars to regain itself, and though it could not exorcise the past, it tried to link itself to the further past to create a better future.” I pray we have the capacity to do the same, as we confront our own era of decadence and decline. IV Republican Rome, the Tokugawa Shogunate — polities separated by the long, rolling waves of Time from each other and from our own world, but which demonstrate the eternal truth that society is a sensitive organism, and one prone to desensitization. Shōsan Suzuki looked around and saw a civilization in which “nobody’s really alive,” and “everybody’s dead.” Kumazawa Banzan perceived a land in the grips of “soft evil,” stifling everyone and everything. And their words of warning still ring true today, for has there ever been a world more beset by soft evil than our own? Soft evil is everywhere around us. We find it in our relationship to the natural world, a topic near and dear to Banzan. Soft evil is when we saturate the soil beneath us with toxic endocrine disruptors. Soft evil is when the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases fund experiments in which scientists graft the scalps of electively aborted fetuses onto newly “humanized” rodents; in which beagle puppies have their heads locked inside cages filled with diseased sandflies; in which baby monkeys are systematically and callously subjected to abuse at the NIH laboratory in Poolesville, Maryland. There is a soft evil at work when green energy boondoggles wreak havoc on avian, chiropteran, and cetacean populations; a soft evil at work in our treatment of livestock in concentrated animal feeding operations; and, yes, a soft evil at work when an innocent eastern gray squirrel is euthanized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to no rational purpose whatsoever. “It can truly be said,” wrote Schopenhauer, that “Men are the devils of the earth, and the animals are the tormented souls,” and when that proves to be the case, as it is so often, you can be certain that soft evil is abroad in the world. And then there is the soft evil we perpetrate against each other: the aesthetic soft evil of brutalism and other forms of soulless modern architecture that spoil our built environment; the soft evil of plainly idiotic COVID-era vaccine and mask mandates, and school and church closures, the effects of which will be felt for years to come; the soft evil of urban anarcho-tyranny; the soft evil of social contagions that are in direct contravention of basic human societal and biological norms. It is this all-pervasive soft evil that has produced, to quote the traditionalist commentator Wrath of Gnon once more, “a medical system that doesn’t heal, an agricultural system that doesn’t nourish, a defense system that doesn’t bring peace, a financial system that multiplies debt, a homeownership system that can’t house. Our modern world is truly the greatest of evil spectacles.” It doesn’t have to be this way, and there is now an unprecedented opportunity to roll much of this back, to make our nation healthy again, to make our public buildings beautiful again (like anyone of any aesthetic sensibilities, I am eagerly looking forward to the passage of the Beautifying Federal Civil Architecture Act, S. 1943, and the issuance of related executive orders), and to make sure that the Freudian Todestrieb (death drive) of civilizational self-hatred and self-immolation is firmly repudiated.  We should look to luminaries like Kumazawa Banzan, who struggled against the odds to forge a society operating in tune with the natural world, in which rootedness might prevail against erosion — both literally and figuratively. The playwright Plautus understood that pulchrum ornatum turpes mores pejus cœno collinunt — “bad conduct soils the finest ornament more than filth,” a phrase that might have come from the brush of the Neo-Confucian Banzan, and, as we have seen, there is nothing filthy about a life lived in accordance with the exigencies of Nature, nothing retrograde about a life lived in accordance with the conservative, instinctive values that heretofore sustained us. In spite of all of the obstacles thrown in his path, Banzan still hoped that with “good administration” there would be a return to what he called the “clear and bright, Vital Stuff of cyclical spring” and an end to the soft evil that so tormented him. He never abandoned his faith in the possibilities of benevolent governance, and neither should we.  READ MORE from Matthew Omolesky: Chinese Dissidents Seek to Undermine the Regime With Egg Fried Rice Recipes War and Punishment: Saltykov-Shchedrin’s Foolsburg The Vatican–China Pact Has Proved to Be a Catastrophe The post Confronting Decadence and Decline appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

James Burnham: An Intellectual Biography By David T. Byrne (Northern Illinois University Press, 256 pages, $33.95) “Only by renouncing all ideology can we begin to see the world and man.” So wrote James Burnham in a 1963 edition of The Machiavellians (originally published in 1943), a book that is central to Burnham’s political philosophy that had evolved from its Marxist beginnings in the early 1930s to its conservative ending as a Senior Editor of National Review in the late 1970s. Burnham’s political philosophy is the subject of a new book by scholar David T. Byrne titled James Burnham: An Intellectual Biography. Byrne, who earned a doctorate in history from Claremont Graduate University and who previously wrote an intellectual biography of Ronald Reagan, claims that there were two James Burnhams: “One an embryonic neocon, and the other a paleoconservative paragon.” But, as the quote at the beginning of this review indicates, Burnham transcended ideologies after his initial seven-year flirtation with Marxism (of the Trotskyite variety). As Burnham wrote in a preface to the 1960 edition of The Managerial Revolution (originally published in 1941), in the 1930s, he had accepted the “empty ideological mumbo jumbo” of Marxist thought until he “tried to relate the [Marxist] formulas to reality.” During much of the 1930s, he was the leading American spokesman for Soviet exile Leon Trotsky, but he came to view Marxism as a religion instead of a rational political philosophy. The signing of the Nazi–Soviet pact in August 1939 coupled with Burnham’s increasing doubts about the coherence of Marxist thought when subjected to empirical evidence, led him to shed his Marxist identity and intellectual colleagues. As Byrne notes, Burnham’s break with Marxism occurred as he began writing for Partisan Review, an influential liberal (mostly non-communist) journal of opinion. And as war clouds gathered, Burnham turned his attention to ideas about power and geopolitics. During the war, Burnham wrote The Managerial Revolution and The Machiavellians. He envisioned World War II resulting in a postwar clash of “super-states,” each led by a “managerial” elite whose primary goals were to maintain and, where practical, expand their power and influence. Stalin’s Russia, Hitler’s Germany, and Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal America were all ruled by “an elite privileged class that would use the state to advance its social, economic, and political interests.” Byrne explains that Burnham used the socio-political ideas of the Italian political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli and a group of Machiavelli’s intellectual disciples, including Gaetano Mosca, Vilfredo Pareto, Robert Michels, and Georges Sorel, to formulate his own “science of politics” that ruthlessly examined the rhetoric and actions of the “ruling class” in all major powers. Burnham’s science of politics pierced the veil of “formal” political rhetoric to show the “real” meaning of such rhetoric when viewed in the context of history and actual events. Political elites, he wrote, cared primarily about their own power and privileges. Politics for Burnham — domestic and international — was about the struggle for power among elites. Byrne writes that Burnham tried “to scientifically study how rulers obtain, use, and lose power.” Human liberty and freedom, Burnham wrote, can only thrive when there is a meaningful opposition to those who wield state power. True democracy was impossible. Human nature is flawed to such an extent that ambition must be countered by ambition. During the war, Burnham worked as an analyst for the Office of Strategic Services, and after the war, he consulted for the newly established Central Intelligence Agency. The postwar world presented Burnham with the opportunity to use the science of power derived from the Machiavellians combined with geopolitical insights he learned from thinkers like Halford Mackinder and Nicholas Spykman. The clash of super-states that he predicted in The Managerial Revolution grew from the ashes of the Second World War. As Byrne notes, the “themes of power and struggle were central in Burnham’s next three books: The Struggle for the World (1947). The Coming Defeat of Communism (1950), and Containment or Liberation? (1953).” With this Cold War trilogy and his work for the CIA and Congress for Cultural Freedom, Burnham became a “cold warrior.” Byrne analyzes each book of Burnham’s Cold War trilogy. Together, these books urged U.S. policymakers to strengthen “containment” while moving to the offensive with a policy Burnham called “Liberation.” Burnham’s trilogy, Byrne notes, was highly influential both in Washington and in intellectual circles. The Struggle for the World likely influenced the Truman Doctrine. The Coming Defeat of Communism was the basis for the drafting and adoption of NSC-68, the classified strategy document that guided American Cold War policy for decades. Containment or Liberation? influenced the Eisenhower administration’s rhetoric (if not their actions) and became what historian George Nash called the conservative movement’s “theoretical formulation for victory in the Cold War.” Burnham later abandoned the anti-communist Left when they refused to acknowledge the danger posed by communist infiltration of our government and society. Burnham applauded Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s efforts to reveal domestic communists within the government, even if he didn’t always agree with McCarthy’s methods. He later wrote (with his wife’s help) The Web of Subversion (1954), which provided what Byrne calls a “litany of examples” that detailed the nature and extent of communist infiltration of the government, including at the highest levels in the FDR and Truman administrations. With George Kennan and Walter Lippmann, Burnham became one of the most influential Cold War strategists of the late 1940s to the early 1950s. Burnham and Kennan worked together early in the Truman administration to conduct “political-subversive” warfare against the Soviet empire. Containment or Liberation? was a respectful but withering attack on Kennan’s containment strategy set forth in “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” which appeared in Foreign Affairs in 1947. Burnham argued that containment was too passive, too defensive, and would result in a Soviet victory unless the Soviet empire changed or collapsed. Kennan thought that Soviet systemic problems would lead to the gradual “breakup or mellowing” of Soviet power. Burnham thought that the U.S. should seek to exploit Soviet vulnerabilities to bring about that change or collapse. To this day, scholars debate which one was right. Byrne is among those (this writer included) who believe that Pres. Ronald Reagan shifted U.S. strategy from Kennan’s containment to Burnham’s liberation during the 1980s and thereby brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union. Byrne shows how Reagan’s policies echoed the proposals that Burnham wrote about in his Cold War trilogy and in numerous columns at National Review. Reagan conducted economic, political, geopolitical, and subversive warfare against the Soviet empire that left it, as Reagan predicted, on the “ash heap of history.” Burnham, however, doubted that the U.S. and the West would achieve victory in the Cold War. In 1955, he was recruited by William F. Buckley Jr. to become a senior editor at National Review, where for the next 23 years he traveled several days per week from his home in Kent, Connecticut, to New York City to write one of the most important and incisive columns on international affairs. Each Burnham column manifested the Machiavellian realism that defined the essence of his intellectual work. Burnham, in those columns, was skeptical that U.S. and Western leaders would do what was necessary to achieve victory over Soviet communism. In 1964, he wrote his last major book Suicide of the West, which was a devastating dissection of modern liberalism that he characterized as the “ideology of Western suicide.” Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Burnham focused his columns on the war in Vietnam, advising the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations to wage war to achieve victory or get out. They did neither, and the war was lost in part, wrote Burnham, because U.S. policy was confined in the “strategic prison” of containment. In the book’s epilogue, Byrne attempts to explain Burnham’s continuing relevance to today’s world. He notes that both neoconservatives and paleoconservatives claim Burnham as one of their own. The neocons claim that Burnham was an interventionist, while the paleocons view him as a realist. In truth, Burnham doesn’t wholly fit in with either group. But neither, contrary to Byrne’s argument, are there two Burnhams. Instead, as John Patrick Diggins, Samuel Francis, and Daniel Kelly have explained, Burnham’s positions on issues evolved based on empirical evidence. He was a Machiavellian realist who would likely see a Trumpian America First policy as a good fit for the second decade of the 21st century. He would recognize and seek to oppose the influence of the “deep state.” He would understand and appreciate the limits of American power. And he would surely grasp the challenge posed by the Chinese communist empire. Oh, how we could use the sage of Kent, Connecticut, in today’s crisis-ridden world. READ MORE from Francis Sempa: International Affairs Professor Says Biden ‘Checked’ China: What World Does He Live In? Rejuvenating the Monroe Doctrine Is Biden Trying to Start World War III Before Trump Takes Office? The post James Burnham: the Sage of Kent, Connecticut appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

As Congress finishes its work for the 2024 calendar year, outgoing U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is racing to regulate algorithmic artificial intelligence (AI). Republicans are understandably wary. As House Speaker Mike Johnson put it, “We want to resist overregulating” because “the innovation aspect of AI is very important.” Artificial intelligence, especially AI-based pricing systems, benefits American families in many ways. It is making it easier for everyone in the economy — both consumers and businesses — to get better pricing deals. Services like Hotwire and Carvana help consumers get better car prices, while software like Atomize and RealPage help businesses ensure they aren’t pricing their hotel rooms, apartments, and other products and services too high or low. (READ MORE: Saving Us From Scheming Landlords? Biden DOJ Sues Real Estate Tech Company RealPage) However, the efficiency and cost-savings generated by innovations like algorithmic artificial intelligence do not seem to matter to politicians who need a boogeyman. For months, the Democratic Party has blamed algorithmic AI for the price inflation that Congress and the White House’s runaway tax-and-spend agenda (coupled with the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies) have caused. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris instigated much of the Democratic Party’s current ire over the tech. In the weeks leading up to the presidential election, they continually made AI a scapegoat, labeling algorithmic AI software “price-fixing software.” However, the artificial intelligence software only reflects marketplace realities. It’s not the tech’s fault that they have made inflation out of control. Nevertheless, their activism against this tech propels Democrats in Congress into action. The Biden Department of Justice has only made this issue more front and center in Democratic lawmakers’ eyes. In August, it filed a suit against algorithmic pricing software that property managers use to help them determine the monthly rent sweet spot for their properties. In late October, it also filed an amicus brief in a federal appeals court against hotels that use AI-driven algorithms. A district judge originally threw out the case, correctly noting that the algorithms don’t set prices. They just provide recommendations, which the hotels sometimes ignore. Nevertheless, the court’s findings are not stopping Democrats in the executive and legislative branches from demonizing and scapegoating artificial intelligence. If Schumer ultimately gets his wish and regulates this technology, there’s a lot more at stake than whether businesses and consumers will be able to continue leveraging AI to get good pricing deals. While serving as chair of the Federal Trade Commission during the Trump administration, Joseph Simons said the theory DOJ is using in its recent cases on algorithms “would raise considerable obstacles for the commercial use of algorithms, proprietary data, and artificial intelligence, resulting in significant harm to innovation and efficient operation of markets.” (READ MORE: Will Trump Fix Insidious FTC, DOJ Abuses?) That would be troubling because artificial intelligence is already improving Americans’ lives in many tangible ways, both in the private and public sectors. Last year, researchers at Stanford University created an AI tool that helped transportation authorities more efficiently apply congestion pricing to busy highways. By raising tolls as “demand” for the road increases, this new algorithm could eliminate stop-and-go traffic jams and help get people to work on time. Worker productivity goes up, carbon emissions go down — a win-win. In October, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that its new AI tools halted or recovered over $4 billion in improper or fraudulent payments, up from just $652.7 million in the previous fiscal year. The Department of Veterans Affairs uses an AI-driven tool called Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health (REACH VET) to identify veterans who are at risk of committing suicide. Since its introduction in 2017, the system has flagged around 6,700 veterans per month, potentially saving thousands of lives. But like all AI tools, REACH VET’s effectiveness depends on how good the inputs are. A report published in March found that the program ignored risk factors that largely apply to female veterans such as sexual assault or endometriosis. The VA is adjusting the algorithm accordingly. Policymakers should let this be a lesson about the artificial intelligence industry more broadly — when programmers aren’t worried about running afoul of byzantine regulations, they can constantly tinker with their models, achieving better outcomes for everyone. How much better? Well, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd. (PwC) projects that the tech will contribute over $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030, while Goldman Sachs expects it to boost U.S. productivity by roughly 1.5 percent annually starting in 2027. If the U.S. doesn’t capitalize on this pivotal moment in time, it will be left behind and will be forced to watch the economies of adversarial countries like China (which is already projected to reap 42 percent of the $15 trillion in global economic benefits from AI) gain a significant leg up. If policymakers are worried that artificial intelligence will cause mass unemployment, they shouldn’t be. These algorithmic tools aren’t going to take jobs. Instead, they’ll make employees more productive by giving them a personal assistant who can automate tasks that once ate up hours of their day. They might be doing different work, but they won’t be doing no work. This is nothing new. The same process played out during previous waves of automation. Sometimes, efficiency-boosting technology actually creates more jobs. As Oren Cass pointed out in his book The Once and Future Worker, the invention of the ATM lowered banks’ cost of doing business and freed up employees to focus on higher-ROI tasks, enabling the banks to open more branches and hire more people. If the benefits of AI are incalculable, then so are the costs of creating a hostile regulatory environment around it. We might never know we’re paying these costs because the AI tools that might have improved our lives will never be invented. Or perhaps we’ll be painfully aware of what we missed out on when we watch foreign adversaries assume global leadership after winning the AI race. When the American people stand to gain or lose so much, it becomes their government’s duty to encourage innovation, not stifle it. Mark Anthony is a tech analyst and former Silicon Valley executive with Forrester Research, Inc. He is now the host of the nationally syndicated program, The Patriot and The Preacher Show.  READ MORE: Saving Us From Scheming Landlords? Biden DOJ Sues Real Estate Tech Company RealPage Will Trump Fix Insidious FTC, DOJ Abuses? Making Friends: AI and Companionship AI Chatbots Lean to the Left. That’s a Problem for Elections. The post Chuck Schumer Is Dead Wrong on AI appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Organizers announced the cancelation in a statement on social media: “It is with great disappointment that we announce that Sick New World will no longer take place in Las Vegas on April 12, 2025.” Apparently, the fees for Metallica and Linkin Park (said to be in the $5 million range) did not match the projected revenue from ticket sales. “Tickets purchased directly from Font Gate Tickets will be automatically refunded to the original method of payment in as little as 30 days.” ### The post 2025 Sick New World Festival Canceled appeared first on RockinTown.

by Pepe Escobar, The Unz Review: With Oreshnik now entering the picture, everywhere the Hegemon will try to harass China they will also have to face Russia. When it comes to state of the art Russian weaponry, what the inestimable Ray McGovern defines as the MICIMATT – the whole Hegemonic complex – seems to dwell in perpetual […]

from Revolver News: Is the jig finally up for dirtbag Michael Byrd, the Capitol Police Captain who many believe murdered unarmed Ashli Babbit in cold blood on January 6? This dirty cop, who has a history of disciplinary issues, including weapons infractions, was actually promoted after he shot and killed an unarmed female vet—the ultimate […]

This Easy Turkey Pot Pie is the best way to use leftover turkey. It’s a comforting and super tasty meal tucked in a golden, flaky, crispy crust. This Turkey Pot Pie boasts a hugely flavorful, perfectly hearty filling. In This Article Why This Recipe Stands OutKey Recipe IngredientsSubstitutions And VariationsStep-By-Step Recipe InstructionsHow To Prep AheadWhat To Serve With EASY Turkey Pot PieCommonly Asked QuestionsEasy Turkey Pot Pie RecipeMore to Cook And Eat View more This post may contain affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Why This Recipe Stands Out This Easy Turkey Pot Pie is comfort food at its best, and here’s why we love it: Buttery, Flaky Crust: The pie crust for this recipe is super easy to make and incredibly flaky. It’s great for desserts such as Apple Pie as well. Versatile: You can use store-bought or homemade crust, and the filling can be modified to suit your family’s tastes. Make-Ahead-Friendly: The filling for this pot pie can be made 3 days in advance. There’s just nothing like simple and delicious make-ahead recipes. Flavor-Packed: The combination of the creamy leftover turkey filling and the flaky crust is absolutely delicious. Key Recipe Ingredients Cooked Turkey – Turkey is juicy and flavorful. It’s a great way to use up leftovers from the holidays. Mixed Veggies – We use a pre-mixed bag of frozen peas and carrots, but feel free to use your favorite fresh or frozen vegetables. Russet Potato – We add a diced russet potato , which helps to thicken the filling Prepared Pie Crust – A flaky, golden pie crust is the crowning glory. We use our all-butter pie crust recipe for it. You can also use roll-out store bought dough. Substitutions And Variations Here are some of our favorite variations and substitutions: Meat: Feel free to use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken in this recipe. Veggies: You can use any veggies you like. Fresh or frozen, the choice is yours. Some ideas include corn or broccoli florets. Make It a Double: The recipe calls for a single top crust, but feel free to make it a double crust if you prefer. Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions In a large pot, boil the frozen veggies and potato in broth. Add the turkey and turn off the heat. In another saucepan, sauté onions with butter. Stir in flour and seasonings to make a thick roux. Add this to the pot of broth and stir in the milk and simmer. Pour the filling into the prepared baking dish. Cover it with the pie crust and seal the edges. Brush the crust with beaten egg. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below. How To Prep Ahead Take a look at our best prep-ahead strategies for this recipe: Prep the Pie Crust: If you’re making your own pie crust using our recipe, you can prepare it in advance and freeze it. Take it out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight when you’re ready to use it. Make the Filling: The filling for this turkey pot pie can be made ahead of time. Simply follow the recipe instructions to prepare the filling, let it cool, then store it in an airtight container for up to 3 days in advance. Assemble the Pie in Advance: Pie can be fully assembled, covered, and frozen for up to 1 month prior to baking. If it’s frozen, increase bake time to 60 minutes. This Easy Turkey Pot Pie sets up beautifully without being runny, watery, or overly thick. What To Serve With EASY Turkey Pot Pie Vegetables A fresh, crisp salad is a perfect accompaniment to this hearty turkey pot pie. We recommend a simple mixed green salad or a Classic Caesar Salad. Try serving some tender-crisp steamed asparagus or green beans on the side. We also love it with these Honey Glazed Carrots. Potatoes Potatoes are a classic pairing with pot pie. You can serve this dish with some Creamy Baked Mashed Potatoes or Parmesan Roasted Potatoes. Soup A Roasted Tomato Basil Soup or a Curry Butternut Squash Soup would be a comforting addition to your meal. If you have some extra turkey meat from your pot pie filling, use it instead of chicken in our Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe for a delicious side. Commonly Asked Questions What type of pie crust should I use for this recipe? You can use store-bought pie crusts or make your own using our all butter pie crust recipe. Make half of it for a single top crust or a full one for a double top crust. Can I use fresh vegetables instead of frozen ones? Yes, you can use fresh vegetables. Chop them into small, bite-sized pieces and cook them with the diced potato in the boiling broth until they are tender. You may need to adjust the cooking time slightly, as fresh vegetables may take a little longer to cook than frozen ones. What do I do if my pie crust is browning too quickly? If you notice that your pie crust is browning too quickly in the oven, cover it loosely with aluminum foil. This will prevent it from burning while allowing the rest of the pot pie to continue baking. How do I know when the pot pie is done? The pot pie is done when the crust is a deep golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly. This usually takes about 30-40 minutes in the oven. How long does easy turkey pot pie keep? In general, your easy turkey pot pie will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. However, if you’re using 2-day old leftover turkey, consume your pot pie within a day or two before the turkey goes bad. Print Easy Turkey Pot Pie This Easy Turkey Pot Pie is the best way to use leftover turkey post-Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s comforting, hearty, and all-natural, with wholesome goodness tucked in a golden, flaky, crispy crust. Course Dinner, MainCuisine AmericanMethod Bake Prep Time 20 minutes minutesCook Time 40 minutes minutesRest 15 minutes minutesTotal Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes Servings 8 servings Calories 645kcal Author Amy Dong Ingredients1.5 lb turkey cooked and cut into small cubes2 cups frozen mixed vegetables1 small russet potato washed/dried and diced⅓ cup salted butter1 small onion chopped⅓ cup all purpose flour1 tsp garlic powder½ tsp salt½ tsp freshly ground black pepper3 ½ cups chicken broth1 ⅓ cups whole milk1 recipe for prepared pie crust see notes1 egg beaten InstructionsPreheat oven to 375F, with rack on lower middle position. Grease a large, deep dish pie or cake pan (or line the bottom of pan with bottom crust – see notes). In a large heavy pot, add frozen veggies and diced potato. Add all the broth, and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Add the turkey. Turn heat off.In another large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onions with butter for 5 minutes. Turn heat to low. Stir in the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to make a thick roux. Add this to the pot of broth with chicken/vegetables. Stir in the milk. Bring to a low boil, and continue stirring until liquid becomes thick and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.Ladle filling mixture into prepared baking dish. Make sure pie crust is rolled out enough to cover the top of baking dish, with a bit extra. Drape top crust over the filling and fold over and tightly seal edges. Using sharp small knife, cut several slits in the top. Brush crust evenly with beaten egg. Place pie on a baking sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown, covering loosely with foil halfway through baking. Let sit at room temp 10-15 minutes before slicing. Notes You can also use chicken for an easy chicken pot pie. Other types of potatoes can be used in place of russet.  Though whole milk results in the creamiest filling, it’s possible to use low fat milk or milk alternatives like oat milk or almond milk. The filling can make 2 shallow-sized pie dishes or 1 deep pie dish (9.5″ x 2″).  Because of pie dish variation, it’s hard to predict whether the filling will be an exact amount. Once the filling reaches almost the top of pan, do not continue to overfill. You can save the bit of remaining filling for lunch the next day – it’s delicious with bread or rice.  To use this all butter pie crust recipe, you can either use half of it for a single top crust and freeze the other half for later, or you can make a double-crust pie. You can use a store-bought deep dish pie crust, or a store-bought roll-out crust. Note that some store-bought pie pans with crust tend to be smaller in diameter.  To include the bottom crust: Prepare enough pie dough for a double-crust pie. Roll out the bottom crust to be thin and wider in diameter than the pie pan. Place bottom crust into bottom of pie pan, wrapping edges over the pan’s edge.  You can also use single-serve ramekin dishes for individual pot pies.  This recipe is part of our Casserole Recipe Collection. Serve this dish with some Creamy Baked Mashed Potatoes or some Parmesan Roasted Potatoes for a complete meal.   If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating. We hearing from you!  Join our Free Recipe Club and get our newest, best recipes each week! NutritionCalories: 645kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 24983mg | Potassium: 849mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 3215IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 282mg | Iron: 3mg More to Cook And Eat Turkey Chili – This healthy turkey chili recipe is the perfect comfort food for cold winter nights, game-day feasts, and everything in between. Roasted Turkey – After countless years of cooking up the holiday bird, here’s our tried-and-true recipe for how to brine and roast turkey. BBQ Turkey Meatloaf – This BBQ Turkey Meatloaf is juicy, tender, and packed full of flavor. The BBQ sauce takes it over the top. Smoked Spatchcock Turkey – This Smoked Turkey recipe lives up to all our expectations of the perfect Thanksgiving bird. We’ve never had a more juicy and flavorful turkey! The post Easy Turkey Pot Pie appeared first on Chew Out Loud.

This Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup is a cozy, warm, comforting soup perfect for cold weather. It’s an easy way to use a whole rotisserie chicken or uncooked whole chicken. Plus, you can also use leftover turkey during this holiday season! Cozy, comforting homemade chicken noodle soup is so much better than anything store-bought. In This Article Video: watch us make this RecipeWhy This Recipe Stands OutKey Recipe IngredientsSubstitutions And VariationsStep-By-Step Recipe InstructionsHow To Prep AheadWhat To Serve With Homemade Chicken Noodle SoupCommonly Asked QuestionsHomemade Chicken Noodle Soup RecipeMore to Cook And Eat View more This post may contain affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Video: watch us make this Recipe Why This Recipe Stands Out We’re all about comforting soup recipes that nourish the body and soul, and this homemade chicken noodle soup does just that. Here’s why we love it so much: Ultimate Comfort: This recipe is the definition of winter comfort food. The warm, savory broth and tender chicken and noodles are incredibly soothing. Easy to Make: The simple, straightforward recipe makes it easy for anyone to recreate this classic dish, like this Best Homemade Mac and Cheese. Flavorful Broth: The long, slow simmer of the chicken carcass creates the most flavorful broth, giving you a soup that tastes like it’s been cooking all day. It reminds us of this Pot Roast with Gravy. Nutritiously Satisfying: It’s one of those healthy meals my kids devour faster than french fries. They gobble this up with such comical speed that I have videotaped their noodle-soup-eating-frenzy for future viewing! Key Recipe Ingredients Rotisserie Chicken – The rotisserie chicken not only provides the meat for our soup but also infuses the broth with a rich, savory flavor. Fresh Vegetables – Carrots, celery, onions, and garlic add a robust, aromatic base to our soup, and we use even more carrots and celery in the noodle soup for added texture. Egg Noodles – We love the way the broad, flat egg noodles soak up the delicious broth, and they add a comforting, hearty element to the soup. Substitutions And Variations Here are a few variations and substitution ideas: Veggies: Feel free to add or substitute your favorite veggies in this soup. Green beans, peas, or even some leafy greens like spinach would work great. Noodles: We love the classic egg noodles in this recipe, but feel free to use your favorite type of pasta. Gluten-free pasta or even zucchini noodles would work as well. Meat: Instead of using a store-bought rotisserie chicken, you can boil some chicken breasts or thighs in the broth and shred the meat before adding the noodles. Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions In a large stock pot, sauté olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic until soft. Add chicken, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2-3 hours. Remove the chicken from the broth. Skim off the grease and strain the broth into another pot. Season the strained broth with salt and pepper. Add carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. In a separate pot, cook the noodles until al dente. Remove the skin from the chicken and shred the meat. Add it to the broth along with the cooked noodles. Season with salt and pepper to serve. For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below. How To Prep Ahead Take a look at our best prep-ahead strategies for this recipe: Broth: This flavorful broth can be prepared in advance. Follow the recipe to make the broth, then let it cool and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Make Ahead Entirely: This soup is also great for batch cooking. Make a big pot of it and enjoy it throughout the week or freeze it for later. This homemade chicken noodle soup features deliciously concentrated flavors. What To Serve With Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Sides and Sandwiches Try some Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, panini, or Cheese Crackers alongside this tasty soup. We also love having it with some Air Fryer Broccoli on the side! Some potatoes served alongside it will also not go amiss! Try these Parmesan Roasted Potatoes or Smashed Potatoes. Bread While chicken noodle soup contains plenty of noodles, you can still serve it with a side of bread. A slice of crusty French Bread or some Easy Dinner Rolls is perfect for soaking up the delicious broth. Homemade Biscuits are also incredible on the side of this chicken noodle soup. Protein We love serving this soup as a starter before a main course of Roast Chicken or Steak. Grilled Chicken Legs or 10-Minute Garlic Shrimp also go great with it! Commonly Asked Questions What type of chicken should I use? We recommend using a whole rotisserie chicken for the broth. It’s convenient and full of flavor. Can I use store-bought chicken broth instead of making my own? Yes, you can. If you’re short on time, you can use store-bought chicken broth for the base. It won’t have the same depth of flavor as the homemade version, but it will still be delicious, especially with all the added ingredients. How long does homemade chicken noodle soup keep? Homemade chicken noodle soup can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Be sure to store it in an airtight container to maintain its freshness. Print Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Nothing else beats a cozy, warm, and comforting bowl of Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. Save those chicken and turkey bones to make the best broth in the world. No other broth comes close. Course Dinner, Main DishCuisine AmericanDiet Low CalorieMethod Stovetop Prep Time 30 minutes minutesCook Time 3 hours hours Servings 6 Calories 239kcal Author Amy Dong IngredientsFor the broth1 TB olive oil2 carrots peeled and coined4 stalks celery washed and sliced thin2 onions roughly chopped4 garlic cloves minced2 bay leaves1 tsp whole black peppercorns1 whole rotisserie chickenFor the noodle soup1 lb carrots peeled and coined5 stalks celery washed and sliced thin1 whole onion chopped4 cloves garlic minced12 oz egg noodles see notestable salt to tastefresh ground pepper to tastefreshly chopped chives for garnishparsley for garnish InstructionsFor BrothAdd olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in a very large stock pot. Sauté on medium high until vegetables are soft. Add chicken, bay leaves, and peppercorns.  Add enough water to fully submerge entire chicken.Bring stock pot to boil. Turn heat to low, and simmer uncovered until liquid is reduced to half its original amount, approximately 2-3 hours, or until liquid is reduced to half of what you started with. Remove chicken from broth and set aside. Skim grease off top of broth. Strain the broth into the pot you want to use for the noodle soup. For Noodle SoupSeason strained broth with salt and pepper to taste. Add carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Bring to boil. Cook until veggies are very tender, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, cook noodles in salted water according to package instructions just until al dente.  Drain noodles (do not rinse), and add to broth.Remove skin from chicken and collect as much chicken meat as you can, shredding it as you go. Add shredded chicken it to the broth. Throw out the carcass.If needed, season noodle soup with more salt or pepper to taste. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley or chives and serve hot. Video Notes Broth will be reduced down to half.  If you are using chicken and want more broth, just add more water to begin with, knowing you’ll end up with half that amount. We love egg noodles, rotini, spaghetti, or fettuccini noodles – it’s up to you! If you’d like to use leftover turkey carcass and have more broth, feel free to cook more noodles to keep it proportionate.  This recipe is one of approximates, so the amounts given are flexible. Just don’t skimp on simmer time. To make this recipe with a whole, uncooked chicken: Remove giblets first and proceed with the recipe. Ensure chicken is fully cooked through before removing and shredding.  This recipe is part of our Soups and Stews Recipe Collection. A slice of crusty French Bread or some Easy Dinner Rolls are perfect for soaking up this delicious soup broth.   If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating. We hearing from you!  Join our Free Recipe Club and get our newest, best recipes each week! NutritionCalories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 46.6g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 3.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 164.2mg | Fiber: 7.3g | Sugar: 11.2g More to Cook And Eat Chicken Tortellini Soup – This Chicken Tortellini Soup is a hearty, healthy, and comforting meal that takes just minutes from stovetop to tabletop. Lasagna Soup Recipe – This Lasagna Soup Recipe is an incredibly delicious and hearty meal you can easily whip up in less than an hour. Roasted Tomato Basil Soup – This Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is chock full of nutrients and big, bold flavors. It’s both skinny AND rich at the same time. Nacho Chicken Soup – This 30-Minute Nacho Chicken Soup is overflowing with bold flavors. It’s a crowd pleasing hit and a fabulous weeknight meal. The post Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup appeared first on Chew Out Loud.

These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies stay soft and chewy for days. Brown butter makes all the difference, creating a toffee-like depth that is unmatched. There’s something noticeably special about these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. In This Article Why This Recipe Stands OutKey Recipe IngredientsSubstitutions And VariationsStep-By-Step Recipe InstructionsHow To Prep AheadCommonly Asked QuestionsBrown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies RecipeMore To Bake And Eat View more This post may contain affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Why This Recipe Stands Out Around here, we never turn down buttery, richly flavorful chocolate chip cookies. These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are just that and more. Here’s why: The Brown Butter: Browning the butter gives these cookies a deep nutty – caramel flavor that adds a whole other dimension of flavor to the chocolate chip cookies we love. Perfect Christmas Cookies: If you’re looking for new cookie recipes to try this Christmas, Brown Butter Cookies are the perfect spin on a classic! Cookies Freeze Wonderfully: Both the cookie dough and baked cookies freeze wonderfully making them perfect for all the cookie emergencies. Makes Lots of Cookies: Just like our Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, this recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies makes over 30 cookies – perfect for sharing as gifts! Key Recipe Ingredients Unsalted Butter – The key ingredient for this recipe, unsalted butter, is browned in a saucepan until caramel-colored. Baking Soda – Baking soda helps the cookies spread evenly and cook to chewy perfection. Here’s how baking soda and baking powder work differently. Sugar – We use both granulated and dark brown sugar for the perfect balance of soft and chewy with a hint of molasses flavor. Vanilla Extract – Vanilla extract is essential for the best chocolate chip cookies. Eggs – One egg and one egg yolk hold our cookies together and provide a rich flavor and texture. Chocolate Chips – Of course, we wouldn’t have chocolate chip cookies without a generous serving of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Substitutions And Variations Check out our favorite variations for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Add Mix-Ins: Try adding some chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds to Brown Butter Cookies. You could also mix in some shredded coconut, like we do in our recipe for Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies. Change the Kind of Chocolate: We use semi-sweet chocolate chips in this recipe. But dark, milk, or white chocolate chips, like in these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, would also be delicious! Make Regular Chocolate Chip Cookies: Of course, if you’re in a time crunch, you can always skip browning the butter and simply make classic Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. Top with Extra Chocolate: We love topping these cookies with a drizzle of this Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce and a sprinkle of course sea salt. Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions Heat butter in a heavy pan on medium-high heat until melted. Constantly stir until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma. Remove from heat and let cool. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend both sugars, vanilla, and melted butter until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and chill dough for 30-60 minutes. Remove dough from the fridge and scoop into 1.5 TB balls. Place on parchment- lined baking sheet 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten dough balls into discs and bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below. How To Prep Ahead You can make a big batch of these, share with friends, and know your cookies will stay fresh and chewy until they’re devoured. Here’ how we prepare these in advance: Freeze the Dough: Wrap cookie dough airtight and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let thaw in the fridge for a day or until dough is malleable. Freeze Baked Cookies: After baking the cookies, allow them to cool completely before transferring to a freezer-safe container. Separate each layer with wax paper and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Chill Dough Overnight: Feel free to simply chill the dough overnight as well. Let it thaw at room temp until it’s easy to work with and bake as usual! Commonly Asked Questions Why use browned butter in chocolate chip cookies? Browned butter gives chocolate chip cookies a nutty-caramel flavor that is truly stunning. It elevates chocolate chip cookies to a whole other level! What is the secret to chewy, soft cookies? The secret to the chewiest cookies is to slightly underbake them. Your cookies should be golden on the edges and set, but very soft. It’s even okay if the center is still slightly shiny. Let them cool completely and they’ll finish cooking to perfection. Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Yes! Simply replace the all-purpose flour for 1:1 gluten-free flour or check out our recipe for Chewy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. How long will cookies stay fresh at room temperature? Cookies will stay fresh covered at moderate room temp for up to one week. Why do you use unsalted butter for this recipe? Since these cookies use a lot of butter, we prefer unsalted so we can easily control the saltiness. Different brands of salted butter can all have different amounts of salt. So, this just ensures a consistent result. Print Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft and chewy and stay that way for days. Browned butter here makes all the difference, as it has a toffee like flavor. Course DessertCuisine AmericanDiet VegetarianMethod Bake Prep Time 15 minutes minutesCook Time 8 minutes minutesTotal Time 23 minutes minutes Servings 36 Calories 141kcal Author Amy Dong Ingredients14 TB unsalted butter1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (8 3/4 oz.)1 tsp table salt½ tsp baking soda½ cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 oz.)¾ cup dark brown sugar tightly packed, (5 1/4 oz.)*2 tsp vanilla extract1 large egg room temp.1 large egg yolk room temp.1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips InstructionsHeat butter in a large heavy pan on medium-high heat until melted, while stirring. Constantly stir until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, about 4 minutes total. Once it turns caramel-colored, remove from heat immediately.In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together; set aside.In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add both sugars, vanilla, and melted butter. Blend on medium-high until fully incorporated, 1 minute.Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 1-2 min. Mixture should end up thick, smooth, and shiny.Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill dough at least 30-60 minutes.Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F, with rack on lower middle position. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.Scoop the dough into balls of about 1.5 tablespoon each. Place on lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten dough balls into a disc shape.Bake about 9-10 minutes or until edges and bottoms are browned and cookies have spread nicely. The cookies will be very soft, but will set as they cool. Notes Do not use nonstick pan to brown the butter, as you won’t be able to tell when it’s appropriately colored. Butter turns caramel colored quickly, so keep stirring and watching closely to prevent butter from burning. Once you smell the toffee-like aroma and it’s caramel colored, remove from heat immediately.  If weather is cool outside, I like to set the hot browned butter outside to cool off faster.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape all browned butter into the batter; a lot can be left behind if you’re just pouring it in. * Check that your brown sugar is fresh and still contains its original moisture. Brown sugar that has become dry will result in dry cookies. Dark brown in lieu of light brown creates a much fuller, deeper toffee/butterscotch flavor. You’ll get the best results when weighing ingredients. If you cannot weigh the dry ingredients, use the scoop/scrape method described in this sugar cookie recipe to measure flour. Always bake 1 pan at a time. Actual bake time will vary, depending on how cold your dough is and individual oven differences. Very cold dough may feel a bit crumbly if you don’t use it the same day; you can let it come to room temperature so it is easier to work with. Dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. Baked cookies can be wrapped and stored at moderate room temp for a week, or frozen 1-2 months.   If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating. We hearing from you!  Join our Free Recipe Club and get our newest, best recipes each week! NutritionCalories: 141kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg More To Bake And Eat Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips (6 Ingredients) – These chewy, soft cookies are fit for every single peanut butter and chocolate lover out there. Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies – Add in some shredded coconut to your chocolate chip cookies for a wonderfully aromatic treat. The Best White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies – As white chocolate fans, we adore these chewy white chocolate macadamia cookies. Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies – Yes, there’s a perfect chocolate chip cookie out there for gluten-free eaters too! The post Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on Chew Out Loud.

President Trump told the world exactly how he would use tariffs over 13 years ago… And the man does not change. He’s had the same general opinions and same general world view for decades. Sure, he adapts and changes as necessary, but on the big issues he’s relatively stable. And he told the entire world exactly how he’d use tariffs over 13 years ago. Check this out: He told you exactly what he was going to do 13 years ago! PRESIDENT TRUMP 13 YEARS AGO ON TARIFFS: It’s the messenger that matters. I could have one man say ‘we’re gonna tax you 25%!’ and I could say: ‘Listen you motherf*ckers, we’re gonna tax you 25%.’ pic.twitter.com/MqyB8zmXbd — Noah Christopher (@DailyNoahNews) November 29, 2024 Backup video here if needed: Donald Trump, 13 years ago, told the whole world exactly how he planned to use tariffs when president. pic.twitter.com/bMqsv4xEkp — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 27, 2024 The man is like a rock! Here too, remember this? https://wltreport.com/2024/05/27/35-years-ago-donald-trump-tells-oprah/ Over 35 Years Ago, Donald Trump Tells Oprah Exactly What He Would Do If Things Got Bad Enough… Talk about a historic clip! Over 35 years ago back in 1988, Donald Trump went on Oprah’s TV show and they had an incredible chat. You can see Oprah fawning all over Donald…. They all LOVED him before he ran for President! And speaking of running for President, Oprah asked him if he ever thought he’d run. Listen as he tells Oprah he has no desire to run for President because it’s a tough life, but then he says he would never close the door on it in case things got so bad in America that he had to. What a wise man… He kept the door open because he could see even back then the direction America was going. Watch here: Donald Trump talks America First with @Oprah— back in 1988. pic.twitter.com/CV2Uydm6ru — News Nomad (@The_Nomad_News) March 10, 2024 Backup here: Over 35 years ago, Donald Trump tells Oprah exactly what he would do if things got bad enough… @DailyNoahNews pic.twitter.com/ohP9NvwfkX — DailyNoah.com (@DailyNoahNews) March 13, 2024 What really strikes me is how stunningly CONSISTENT he is. He sounds the same in 1980 as he does in 1988 as he does today! Same guy! And it’s not the person the Legacy Media wants to tell you he is. This is man who loves America. But that’s not all. Let’s go back even earlier…. The Oprah clip was 1988. Let’s go back to 1980 where we have Donald Trump at Age 34. Even back then his love for this country rose above all else. It’s all there. Watch here: Set aside what you think of Trump for a second and listen to this clip. https://t.co/rn7mymW2Mc — Farzad (@farzyness) March 13, 2024 Backup here if needed: Donald Trump asked at Age 34 if he would like to be President one day… His answer may surprise you. @DailyNoahNews pic.twitter.com/cL8g7bWP6G — DailyNoah.com (@DailyNoahNews) March 13, 2024 Even Elon Musk weighed in by saying “Interesting”: Interesting — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 13, 2024 Yes indeed, very interesting! Ok, now a few more since we’re doing this big walk down Memory Lane…. RARE VIDEO: David Letterman LOVED Donald Trump! You’re going to love this. So I have to admit something… I was a huge David Letterman fan. Always thought he was hilarious. Genuinely funny and I loved how he would interview and joke with guests. If Leno was your polished, plain vanilla comedy, Letterman had all the jagged edges….and the edges were hilarious. But then something happened. As he got older, he got more political and started going far left. And with that move the comedy started to disappear. Because comedy can’t exist when you’re too full of anger and political ideology. So I want to you try and forget about the David Letterman of today and I want to take you back to the David Letterman of the 1980s. When Letterman was in his prime….and when David Letterman LOVED Donald Trump. Those are not my words, that comes straight from Letterman himself in this clip. Watch and enjoy: CLASSIC: Dave Letterman Asks Donald Trump To Build Him A New Office pic.twitter.com/MbMjTZbDeM — Noah Christopher (@DailyNoahNews) May 20, 2023 Backup here on Rumble: Here are a couple more… Watch this one from 1992: And one of the earliest ones in 1986: Please share.