Jay Leno no longer delves into political humor. He told Piers Morgan: “I just stopped doing politics in my act altogether because‚ you know‚ when I did The Tonight Show‚ the idea was you made fun of both sides equally.… They would both be angry‚ and I’d be‚ ‘That’s good.’” READ MORE from Daniel J. Flynn: Javier Milei: The Ricky Linderman America Needs But in the decade since Leno left NBC’s late-night lineup for good‚ the world has undergone a massive transformation. A sizeable number of people regard commercials‚ awards shows‚ and even sports as important not as an end in themselves but as a means of advancing a political-cultural agenda. “Now‚ you’ve got to take a side‚ and people are angry if you don’t‚” Leno told Morgan. “I find when I start to tell a political joke‚ they want to know the punchline before — is this pro or against — you know? So‚ I just‚ I just stopped doing it. I just want people to come and laugh and have a good time.” Think about what he said. People want to know the punchline before hearing the joke. In a social situation‚ when a loudmouth interrupts you by telling the punchline prematurely‚ you understand that he ruined your telling of the joke (or that you recycle stale jokes). People now demand this rudeness. They want to know that Donald Trump or the conservative punching bag of the moment gets pummeled before the act starts. They know what’s coming. This explains why so much of modern comedy fails to cause laughter. What does the most Norm Macdonald Norm Macdonald joke share in common with this one from Christina Mariani and this one with a prolonged punchline from Hans Kim? They all contain the element of surprise. We laugh in part because they succeeded in misdirecting us. Saturday Night Live‚ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert‚ The Daily Show‚ and so much else that fails lacks this component. The audience‚ which laughs out of ideological solidarity rather than anything inherently humorous‚ can anticipate‚ like any other cliché‚ what follows. Seth Meyers‚ who knows about this phenomenon‚ coined the portmanteau “clapter.” It describes audiences approving of the comedian’s message but the humor of it not quite affecting them. They laugh as a sort of clapping. They approve but do not find it funny even if they pretend they do. Unfunny comedians rely on clapter as a crutch. Jon Stewart‚ who returns to host The Daily Show every Monday — it’s an election year‚ you know — made a career on clapter. So did John Oliver. It’s almost a prerequisite to hosting a late-night comedy program. (READ MORE from Daniel J. Flynn: Trump’s Primary Win Exposes General Election Vulnerability) Clapter does not describe all politically themed jokes. Here Dave Chappelle uses Donald Trump as the punchline. It works because one could vote for or against Trump and still appreciate the humor. Funny knows no party. The ideal comedy club does not remain innocent of political humor but instead steers away from politics that uses humor as the Trojan horse to convert a captive audience. That’s dishonest and boring. As with the misguided Bud Light promotion of transgenderism‚ it represents a corruption of purpose. Everything is politics to whom politics is everything. “I’m not trying to influence you‚” Leno confessed. “That’s why Rodney Dangerfield and I were great friends. I knew Rodney Dangerfield for 40 years. I have no idea if he was Democrat or Republican. It was just about the jokes.” Nobody knows how Fatty Arbuckle or Redd Foxx voted‚ either. That’s normal. It’s weird that we know how Jimmy Kimmel‚ Chelsea Handler‚ and Amy Schumer vote. Leno invoked Rodney Dangerfield a second time near the close of the Piers Morgan Uncensored interview. He recalled Dangerfield suffering a stroke from which he never really recovered on his program. On Dangerfield’s death bed‚ where he could hear but not speak‚ the comedian’s wife asked her husband to squeeze Leno’s finger as a sign of his awareness. He faintly did. Leno then said‚ “Rodney‚ that’s not my finger.” Dangerfield‚ almost vegetative by this point‚ then moved his shoulder in a manner that grabbed everyone’s attention. Comedy brings joy to death beds. Politics brings death to comedy. The post Jay Leno: Mix Politics With Comedy‚ and You Get Politics appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) now warns that Iran has enough nuclear material to make several atomic bombs. Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state to enrich uranium to near full weapons-grade levels‚ and it continues to deny inspectors access to its facilities to verify that it is‚ as it claims‚ complying with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)‚ to which it acceded under Iran’s last shah‚ Reza Pahlavi. In 2012‚ I published a scenario titled “The Day America Died.” Set in April 2013‚ it had Iran destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa (intentionally) and render all Jerusalem uninhabitable (unintentionally; it only wanted to destroy West Jerusalem). Israel launched a retaliatory nuclear strike. The first-ever nuclear war set off mass panic in Western capitals‚ causing a global economic crash‚ disintegration of our alliances‚ and spurring rapid nuclear proliferation. The likely effects of such an attack were supported by this summary of the radii of various kinds of destruction generated by detonations of atomic (A-bomb) and thermonuclear (H-bomb) weapons. (RELATED: We Are at War With Iran’s Mullahs) I intended my scenario as a warning to anyone who might think that the U.S. would survive the destruction of Israel largely intact‚ showing in graphic detail how America would be irremediably devastated. Recent events show that the risk of an Iran nuclear strike against Israel are growing‚ with no effective action being taken by the Biden administration. Consider: Team Biden undermines an Israeli prime minister it detests‚ whilst making no effort to bring down the Iranian clerical fascist regime; Team Obama hailed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as blocking all of Iran’s four paths to a nuclear weapon;  After U.S intelligence discovered Iran’s violations of the JCPOA‚ President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal; The belief that a nuclear-armed Iran can be deterred is highly dubious; Israel’s small size and population — its consequent lack of geostrategic depth — means it cannot survive as a functioning country after even a small number of nuclear detonations on or over its major cities; Iran’s threat to Israel is real and growing (see my recent American Spectator article)‚ and thus Iranian leaders may vastly underestimate the devastation they would face after a nuclear attack on Israel‚ tempting them to strike; It is hardly coincidental that Iran accelerated its uranium enrichment in November 2020‚ after Biden won the 2020 presidential election. No American leader will say‚ openly‚ that America would survive the destruction of Israel. But allowing Iran to arrive at the cusp of nuclear weapons status‚ given the fallibility of assessments as to clandestine advances in nuclear weapons development‚ recklessly risks America’s future as a free and prosperous society. If our country seems divided now‚ just wait: After a nuclear Holocaust in Israel‚ our country will be torn asunder. (READ MORE from John C. Wohlstetter: Israel at War: Two Essential Benchmarks) Let Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have the last word — which should be taken as a final warning: Our fight is your fight … part of the larger struggle between the pro-American forces in the Middle East and the anti-American terror axis led by Iran…. [If Iran develops nuclear weapons]‚ every American will be held hostage to an ideological enemy with an implacable hatred for America. If we lose‚ you lose. If we win‚ you win. It increasingly appears that the administration intends to pursue its twin Middle Eastern obsessions: making a deal with Iran and forcing Israel to accept a West Bank–Gaza Palestinian state‚ run by the Palestinian Authority or its successors. Two terrorist statelets and Iran’s longtime proxy‚ Hezbollah‚ effectively controlling Lebanon will collectively surround Israel. This will fatally undermine America’s security position in the Middle East and hand Iran an unearned spectacular triumph‚ ending any serious efforts to prevent Iran from crossing the nuclear weapons threshold and possibly leading to the full horror detailed in my 2012 scenario. If such comes to pass‚ America will never recover its position as leader of the free world. Hell will break loose globally‚ with sauve qui peut the emergent disorder of the day. John Wohlstetter is author of Sleepwalking With the Bomb (Discovery Institute Press‚ 2d. ed.‚ 2014). The post Can America Survive Israel’s Nuclear Destruction? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

It was totally unexpected‚ and the journalists present still can’t believe it. The president came out of the White House looking‚ as usual‚ like an astronaut floating in the ether. With narrowed eyes‚ a foggy mind‚ and his guard down‚ he answered questions about the immigration disaster. And‚ for once‚ perhaps the first and last time‚ he told the truth: “I’ve done all I can do.”  That’s right. To “be able” can mean two things. It can refer to the fact that it is possible for someone to do something‚ or for something to happen. It also can mean that someone knows how to do something. In the case of the Biden administration‚ as far as immigration is concerned‚ it is impossible for someone to do something; and‚ if they do‚ it is impossible for it to work‚ because in order to do so‚ they have to know how to do it. READ MORE from Itxu Díaz: A Nation Adrift Must Become Great Again If you look closely at Joe Biden’s track record‚ you will discover that his main problem‚ beyond immorality and lies‚ is that he is not able to do his job. It is possible that the president is able to do other things. For example‚ he is able to pet dogs (unfortunately‚ he also knows how to pet non-dogs without asking permission). He’s able to walk in a straight line‚ although in recent years he is forgetting how. Years ago‚ he was able to play soccer‚ perhaps as a child‚ although we already know that he was born 80 years old in the third century B.C. Biden is also able to choose good ice cream. And he brags about being a wrestling expert‚ although in the event of a political summit match‚ I’d bet my paycheck on a Trump victory. The president knows quite a bit about cars‚ or at least he likes to make his people think he knows quite a bit about cars. And he is definitely able to keep quiet‚ especially when you ask him anything to do with his son Hunter’s scandals.  In short‚ he is able to do a few laudable things. But he is unable to take effective measures to tackle the border crisis. He does not know how; he cannot. In his incompetence‚ he has done all he can. But the problem is exactly the same as it was. In fact‚ it is worse. Another example. The United States is suffering an alarming crisis of deaths from fentanyl overdose. I suppose the government is more interested in talking about deaths from COVID or climate change — I imagine this alludes to people who die from a stray spark from an electric car battery — but the fact is that the upward curve of fentanyl fatalities is frightening. It is a public health emergency. All Biden has done to address the problem is talk to the Chinese and beg them not to send to Mexico the raw materials from which the drug cartels then manufacture fentanyl. Really? With the damn Chinese Communist regime? (RELATED: Take an Exclusive Look Inside Itxu Díaz’s New Book: I Will Not Eat Crickets: An Angry Satirist Declares War on the Globalist Elite) It’s a typically incompetent way of solving things. You have Mexico much closer than China‚ and yet you go begging your greatest enemy to help you. And you refuse to wring the Mexicans’ necks‚ because the idiot they have for president might do a number on you in the middle of an election year — you know‚ left-handed cockfighting.  The drug issue is the same case as immigration — and‚ by the way‚ the two issues are related. The answer is identical: He doesn’t know how the hell to fix the problem.  Biden told the truth today because he admitted‚ for once‚ unwittingly‚ his infinite incompetence. Trump has a plan against drugs. Trump has a plan against immigration. A concrete‚ savage‚ and probably effective plan. But Biden has nothing. He has a commitment — I don’t know if verbal or written in Chinese ink — from the Communist dictator‚ that he will try to control the raw materials coming out of his country: a futile attempt‚ because even if he did‚ shipments depend fundamentally on local governors‚ who don’t give a damn about national agreements with the United States. Not to mention that‚ as in every communist paradise‚ more than one governor will be involved in the corruption of exporting the dirty stuff to manufacture fentanyl.  Maybe we should start admiring Biden as an exotic animal‚ an object of study for science. We thought Jimmy Carter had broken the mold‚ but we were wrong. The forms of human stupidity are unexpected and infinite. It will be very difficult for the White House to ever again be inhabited by such an incompetent and impotent individual.  Joe Biden‚ after all‚ was born to fulfill the old prophetic dream of H.L. Mencken: “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last‚ and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”  Translated by Joel Dalmau. Buy Itxu Díaz’s new book‚ I Will Not Eat Crickets: An Angry Satirist Declares War on the Globalist Elite‚ here today! The post Stop the Press! Joe Biden Didn’t Lie. appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Is the Chinese Communist Party guiding “progressive” groups in the United States to push CCP propaganda and anti-Semitism? That’s what the New York Times alleges in a recent bombshell investigation. Here’s what you need to know‚ what the Times missed‚ and why it matters. READ MORE: Aristotle Never Existed?: The Chinese Aversion to History As the authors write‚ U.S. millionaire and socialist benefactor Neville Roy Singham is running a “lavishly funded influence campaign” whitewashing China’s crimes‚ radicalizing America’s youth‚ and calling for the global allies of Hamas to unite and topple Israel as well as the United States. If that’s not bad enough‚ the driving force behind these attacks against our nation and close ally is the CCP’s media empire‚ with hefty donations from multiple sources‚ including Goldman Sach’s philanthropy fund. Sadly‚ this story will not come as a surprise to students of history. Communist dictatorships have long laundered their propaganda through to proxies in the West while subjugating their own people. Cuba routinely funds radical groups and provides safe harbor to terrorists while jailing any who dare speak out about the abysmal conditions on the island. The Soviet Union treated Jews as second-class citizens at home while stoking racial hatred in the United States. And now‚ while China is carrying out what experts and democratic governments alike call a cultural genocide against the Uyghurs‚ the totalitarians in Beijing are pitting Americans against each other along racial and religious lines and funding groups seeking our destruction as a nation. Recently‚ the People’s Forum (PF)‚ a self-described “incubator for working class and marginalized communities to build unity across historic lines of division‚” held workshops for the next generation of socialist revolutionaries in New York City. Speakers called for defeating “Israel and the U.S. empire” as participants were urged to “create the situation of chaos that is required of us in this moment of history.” (RELATED: The Left Is Weaponizing Fascism Against Trump) PF co-executive director Manolo De Los Santos publicly exclaimed‚ “When we finally deal that final blow to destroy Israel‚ when the state of Israel is finally destroyed and erased from history‚ that will be the single most important blow we can give to destroying capitalism.” Not so coincidentally‚ the PF is connected to the same CCP propaganda network exposed by the New York Times. The PF even shares office space with a Beijing media organization‚ where top donor and self-proclaimed communist Singham also conducts business.  During the PF’s recent workshop‚ its leaders proudly stated that “we study Lenin to make revolution.” That is a concerning statement given the history of communist revolutionary dictator Vladimir Lenin‚ who would have little doubt what the PF activists meant by “revolution.” It would look like the revolution Lenin himself implemented in 1917‚ which was characterized by 7 million dead and his infamous “hanging order” telegram calling for the murder of his class enemies (read oppressors‚ occupiers‚ etc.) by hanging and the taking of hostages — in other words‚ exactly what occurred in Israel on Oct. 7‚ and what the CCP and the PF seem to clearly support today. On Capitol Hill in December‚ the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party met on the topic of China’s information operations. The chairman‚ Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.)‚ articulated the challenge of China’s disinformation campaign against the West. “In Xi Jinping’s view‚ the war has already started on the most important battlefield: your mind‚” he explained. “The CCP calls it cognitive domain warfare‚ part of their larger political warfare strategy.”  Unfortunately for the West‚ China’s information war has a real impact. As Beijing uses global flashpoints like Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks to further its malign agenda‚ the narratives the CCP is amplifying are contributing to a spike in anti-Semitism on college campuses and a 400 percent increase in reports of anti-Semitic incidents across the United States. Events like those held by the People’s Forum serve as instigators of anti-Semitism‚ not only fueling Jew-hatred but normalizing bigotry. Examples over the past many weeks include protests in New York and other major cities across the United States‚ where demonstrations against Israel also target American institutions. From transportation hubs to coffee shops to shopping malls to cancer treatment centers‚ the PF spreads its message of violence. Many say that anti-Semitism is only the first symptom of a society that fails to uphold liberal democratic values.  It’s past time to push back against China’s brazen attempts to divide America. Supporting a violent communist revolution‚ terror‚ and anti-Semitism has no place in a free and democratic society. When organizations that openly sympathize with communist and Marxist ideology gain the support of bedrock capitalist corporations‚ the long march through the institution’s pace quickens. Unfortunately‚ the ideologies that underpin PF’s mission will lead not to progress but rather to destruction‚ as lessons from Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution and China’s Cultural Revolution highlight. Corporations‚ NGOs‚ non-profits‚ and educational institutions in the U.S. must be held accountable for funding and supporting organizations that call for violence and our country’s destruction. Brandy Shufutinsky is the Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values. Jennifer Richmond is the CEO of the Institute for Liberal Values. Ken Pope is the CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.  To learn more about communism and how it is impacting America today‚ sign up for the Institute for Liberal Values and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation’s upcoming course‚ “Communism Exposed.” The post Connecting China’s CCP to American Socialists‚ Communists‚ and Anti-Semitism appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Apple News this week featured a report from Gaza. It is typical of the storyline mainstream media is flogging‚ and not much different (surprise!) from the narrative being diffused from Antony Blinken’s Foggy Bottom and other state (lowercase “s”) organs. It’s the children‚ of course. READ MORE from Shmuel Klatzkin: First‚ De-Nazify Gaza Surely everyone cares about those innocents who are suffering for a massacre they did not perpetrate and for policies that they did not make. Their lot is tragic. They shouldn’t be suffering. No moral person could disagree. But the story is crafted to skip a few well-concealed steps and to make the listener or the reader conclude that it is similarly obvious and indisputable that the responsibility to stop hurting the children is on Israel to stop its war against Hamas.  To make that point‚ Apple summons in reporting from Gaza‚ which‚ to the degree that Hamas still has control‚ is controlled reporting. Mighty bad things befall reporters and their outlets in Gaza who report critically on Hamas. Even better: It was Doctors Without Borders that was supplying the “facts” for this report‚ a group with a long history of bending the narrative to portray all Hamas violence as heroic resistance to insufferable Israeli suppression. Dr. Gerald Steinberg wrote a searing indictment of Doctors Without Borders more than a month into the new Gaza war‚ stating that “it has repeatedly and very visibly failed in its stated mission to provide ‘independent and impartial medical humanitarian assistance.’” (See Steinberg’s whole article in the New York Post. See also NGO Monitor’s full review of that group’s alliance with the eliminationists of Hamas‚ the Palestinian Authority‚ and others.) Suffice it to say‚ they emphasized only the suffering of the children of Gaza.  And those children do suffer. Successful hate groups always go for the children. They sacrifice their minds and souls to the cause‚ training them in hatred and self-sacrificial devotion to the cause of extermination. Hitler Youth‚ Komsomol‚ Hamas’ youth groups‚ and‚ yes‚ the standard textbooks taught by Hamas allies on the payroll of UNRWA‚ which Scranton Joe made sure at the very start of his administration U.S. taxpayers would start finding again — they all want to train the kids to be happy to die and suffer for the cause. Just ask a vet from Iraq or Afghanistan about what they had to expect upon seeing an 11-year-old kid approach them. Or ask the families of the soldiers maimed or killed by these young lives warped by those who should have been protecting them. Though there are not many of them left‚ ask a World War II vet about meeting the pre-teens who were turned out in uniform during the last days of the war in Germany. Watch the brilliant film Jojo Rabbit‚ about a young boy who imagines that his idol‚ Hitler‚ is talking to him and instructing him how to keep hating properly. The bad guys go for the kids. They make the kids expendable in their cause. They plan it. They count on it. So‚ in the fight to destroy Nazism‚ it’s no wonder the kids suffered. Those who weren’t drafted and sent to fight had almost as much chance of death or injury as the German cities were reduced to rubble by bombardment from the air and‚ later‚ by (mostly) Russian artillery. Hitler was not going to surrender. He had already sworn that he would take Germany down with him — just as‚ in his favorite opera‚ Götterdämmerung‚ when the hero dies‚ the flames of his funeral pyre consume Valhalla as well. He wanted them dead. Hamas has certainly shown about the same loving concern for its citizens‚ especially children‚ as Hitler did for his‚ another point in the long list of similarities. They clearly regard such care for children as a weakness to be exploited in their enemies. Hamas certainly does not care for Jewish children‚ except to murder‚ torture‚ or hold hostage‚ believing that the weakness of Israel will get its people to agree to freeing any number of convicted murderers of their own children just to get some living children back. So far‚ they have not been wrong. Certainly‚ they have had little trouble getting many voices in the West to go along with them‚ all the way to the top levels of Team Biden. They are busy pushing this line now‚ along with their media allies — save the children‚ both Jew and Arab‚ they say. And the only ones they are addressing are Israel. But a mature adult takes responsibility for the predictable future. A mature adult plans for himself and herself as they will be down the road. A mature adult considers whether this plan to save their dear children now will endanger children who are just as dear in the future. And when a Hamas leader says publicly that Oct. 7 is only the first of many such operations‚ you know that allowing Hamas to survive is to endanger knowingly those very real children in just a few years — or months‚ or weeks‚ or days — down the line. There is one sure way to end the suffering for all the children of Gaza‚ both Jews and Arabs: release the hostages and surrender to justice all participants in the Oct. 7 horrors. If anyone cared about all the children‚ that’s the only thing they would ask. To condemn more children to suffering and death by allowing Hamas to escape is inexcusably evil. READ MORE from Shmuel Klatzkin: Jordan Peterson Reclaims Religious Beliefs That Promote Freedom Do Not Let Hamas Escape Into Exile Israel’s High Court Pulls a Dred Scott The post Complicit Media Wants Israel to Spare the Children appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America By David McCormick (Center Street‚ 320 pages‚ $29) Can America bring itself back from the brink‚ or is it doomed to a cataclysmic end? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Americans are asking themselves this question more and more; all they need to do is take a look at the Biden administration’s efforts to undermine America’s energy independence‚ its partnership with big tech to censor opposition‚ and its weak foreign policy performance against America’s adversaries. But one man believes that America’s decline‚ both at home and aboard‚ is not inevitable: David McCormick‚ 2024 Republican senatorial Republican candidate for Pennsylvania. (READ MORE: Pa. GOP Divided No More: McCormick Unanimously Endorsed for Senate) In his latest book‚ Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America‚ McCormick explains that the key to reversing America’s trajectory lies in a new strategy that seeks to reignite the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the American people. This is because America’s decline is one not of certainty but of choice‚ and the same applies for America’s renewal. Saving America requires commitment to action‚ not just words. A Decisive History America is more than another nation in the world‚ McCormick asserts; rather‚ it’s one that transcends the echelons of human history. As he states: Our very founding achieved perhaps the greatest political revolution in human history. It reimagined how people could organize themselves for liberty and prosperity. Never before had a nation committed to a creed like ours. Never before had a nation constructed explicitly of‚ for‚ and by the people. With that same spirit‚ our forefathers continually‚ often too slowly‚ amended and expanded our founder’s vision. It drove the pioneers west‚ the astronauts to the heavens‚ and our nation to glory. According to McCormick‚ America and its leadership face a very similar position today as it once did in its darkest hour in the 1970s. The Nixon and Carter administrations failed in the 1970s due to their lack of visionary leadership‚ which sowed the seeds of America’s malaise. Nixon’s use of price and wage controls ultimately led to the skyrocketing of inflation‚ and it was Carter’s efforts at restructuring the government that projected an image of weakness and culminated in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Leadership without a clear vision ultimately leads to dismal outcomes and human deprivation‚ a lesson that America’s leaders must remember.  The Need for the Renewal Agenda McCormick doesn’t expect America’s political leaders to have the necessary visionary capacity to lead our nation out of its ditch; instead‚ he takes on the burden himself. “Global leadership in talent‚ technology‚ and data holds the key to renewal but is not guaranteed‚” he writes. “We are in a race for each. We have neglected our standing in these races‚ but with smart policy choices and focused leadership‚ we can lead all three.” Talent‚ the first pillar of McCormick’s three-part “Renewal Agenda‚” begins in the classroom. McCormick talks extensively about the decay of America’s educational system‚ brought on by leftist demagoguery and self-interested teachers unions‚ and how this decline is hindering America’s “human capital” and economic capacity. He argues that if America is to begin the process of renewal‚ then American leaders need to maximize and optimize our country’s “human capital” by restoring America’s educational institutions. For‚ as McCormick says‚“our people are our greatest strategic advantage.” McCormick next recognizes that America needs to to hold technological supremacy‚ an essential determinant of whether a nation will prosper or cease to exist. “America’s technological leadership‚” he explains‚ “is vital to our economic and national security‚” from cutting red tape for entrepreneurs in the energy sector to expanding market competition through tax incentives.  Lastly‚ McCormcik emphasizes that “[d]ata is at the center of global trade and global investment and now‚ more than ever‚ central to innovation.” America’s leaders must finally recognize data as critical to setting the trajectory for America’s renewal‚ and McCormick lays out a clear strategy on how to do so‚ one that holds to two fundamental principles: First‚ America must set clear domestic rules for the management and use of data‚ address China’s abuses of our open market‚ and confront the corrosive power of the keepers of most data‚ Big Tech. Second‚ we should take leadership over the digital age and build a trusted network‚ and international framework‚ that encourages free flow of data‚ protects privacy‚ and counter’s China’s techno-authoritarian vision. To understand the very nature of the Renewal Agenda is to appreciate the inspiration from the leader who himself inspired McCormick: President Ronald Reagan. “The Regan playbook for renewal was guided by certain timeless principles‚” McCormick writes. “Chief among them were the belief that America’s strength comes from its people‚ the faith in America’s potential‚ an understanding that America’s economic might and military strength are the vital foundation for international leadership‚ and the recognition that American leadership abroad makes our nation stronger at home.” It is Reagan’s visionary leadership‚ McCormick believes‚ that demonstrates American renewal is‚ can and will be a reality.  The Way Forward Readers‚ by this point‚ are likely asking the essential question: How do we ensure that this agenda is enacted? McCormick distills his answer into three concise points: we must confront China and secure itself both economically and militarily; we must revive our institutions from their decayed state‚ including our military‚ educational system‚ and government; and we must restore to all levels of government a principled leadership with individuals who will embrace the very values that make our country exceptional. With this beginning‚ America can begin its great restoration. While McCormick’s vision is deeply appealing‚ his policy recommendations at times may leave readers confused. The profound dilemma that McCormick himself recognizes is his push for cooperation between the private sector and federal government. McCormick is quick to emphasize that he is deeply critical of economic cronyism‚ but he argues that the government should assist in areas that are deemed vital for U.S. economic and national security interests. He recognizes that this aspect of his plan strikes against conventional free-market practice‚ which he attempts to justify by stating that such a relationship should prioritize private enterprise over government. But the question remains: Is it possible to avoid cronyism with a negligible degree of government assistance‚ or does avoidance necessitate a fundamental break between the two? The dilemma in which McCormick finds himself reveals the hole in his Renewal Agenda; it may be the stone that‚ for some‚ overturns the whole plan. Despite this weakness‚ McCormick provides an inspiring and hopeful account of America’s potential‚ drawing from his personal testimony to illustrate the resilient leadership to which other conservatives should aspire. From his service in the Persian Gulf War to his time in the Bush administration‚ McCormick learned that the key to leading successfully requires a synthesis between demonstrating resilience and building a clear vision of the future. Superpower in Peril reminds readers that America is worth fighting for; and it is the very resilient nature of Americans that McCormick believes will set the nation on the road to renewal. The post David McCormick: Saving America From the Brink appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

St. Patrick's Day is well over a month away‚ but time flies when you're having fun thoughts about the holiday and mint chocolate-flavored Irish cream.