As published by the Daily Caller this week:
In my time as a national security advisor in Washington, I came to believe that convoluted answers are usually the result of muddled thinking too stupid to be clear.
A good example popped up recently. The U.S. Navy has been trying to acquire two attack submarines per year since 1998. The sub program is arguably our most important national security asset.
Until 2022, the Navy met its goal. But very quickly into President Joe Biden’s term, industry foundered and has since has only been able to produce about 1.2 submarines a year, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The question is why? You would be forgiven for speculating that the backlog perhaps has something to do with the Biden administration’s industrial policy. In D.C.’s swampland, that is way too straightforward an approach to this problem set. Besides, the brass can’t criticize the president’s policies without losing their jobs in the five-sided building.
So, what did the Pentagon do recently? It threw money at the problem: $2.4 billion to be exact — to a consultant. The contract award announced that your tax dollars will go to “an Enterprise Integration Partner to deliver systemic, holistics [sic] solutions to regional and braoder [sic] submarine industrial workforce and industrial base challenges.”
Yes, your government cannot spell the problem correctly, much less fix it, so it is spending $2.4 billion of your tax dollars to hire a consultant to identify the problem with our submarine yards. Evidently word salads are the most expensive thing on the menu these days.
When I began my career in journalism in the 1990s, I kept Donald Trump’s number handy in case I needed a good quote. The brash New Yorker always had just the right turn of phrase to explain a complicated business question in a way people could understand. My readers appreciated his common sense.
Thirty years later, that common sense came across strongly in his acceptance speech at last week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Trump’s critics hate his use of superlatives and hyperbole, but it is hard to dispute his underlying points. In fact, the RNC and Trump added source notes to every fact he listed in his speech. You can see that footnoted transcript here, which I thought was brilliant.
🥃 The Nine Pound Hammer
This week I’ve been tinkering on my venerable Range Rover Classic in preparation for an upcoming road trip. I figured I’d put in new brake pads, and while there, I thought I should restore the calipers. Hmm. But if I had the calipers off, shouldn’t I go ahead and do the rotors? That led to restoring the hubs, putting in new bearings and races, buying new tires, and repainting the wheels. “Mission creep” isn’t just for the military.
Several aspects of British engineering called for a nine pound hammer, or what my grandfather called his “fine adjustment tool.” In my book, Bourbon & Bacon, one of my favorite cocktails was from Restaurant Cotton in Monroe, Louisiana— also called the “Nine-Pound Hammer.” It too, came in handy this week:
5 ice cubes
1 Tbsp bourbon
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp vanilla simple syrup
1½ tsp cinnamon syrup
1½ tsp coffee-infused cynar
2 dashes of Fee Brothers Whisky Barrel Aged Bitters
Place ice cubs in a 6 ounce rocks glass. Place bourbon and remaining ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Cover with lid and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Pour over ice in glass.
Vanilla simple syrup: Bring ½ cup sugar, ½ Cup water, and 1 split vanilla bean piece to a boil in a small saucepan; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 20 minutes. Remove and discard vanilla bean. Store in a covered container in refrigerator, makes 3/4 cup.
Cinnamon syrup: Bring ½ Cup sugar, ½ cup water, and 1 cinnamon stick to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool 20 minutes. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Store in a covered container in refrigerator, make 3/4 cup.
Coffee-infused cynar: Combine 1/4 lb. French-roasted coffee beans and 1 cup Cynar in a bowl. (This Italian bitter is made from artichokes and other botanicals). Cover and let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Pour through a wire-mesh strainer into a 1-cup container. Discard coffee beans. Cover and store and room temperature. Makes 1 cup.
🥓 Other Bites
If you’re new to Tastes of Victory, you can access all the ToV newsletters right here on Substack. You can also jump to:
🥓 My opinion pieces on America’s National Security, including my past work in Newsmax, The Washington Times, and other outlets.
🥧 Favorite stories from the archives from my writing for Southern Living, Vanity Fair, Forbes, and Esquire.
🧂 And if you really want to dive into what’s going on with national security in Washington, don’t miss my work as a senior fellow with America First Policy Institute and as a weekly columnist for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
🥃 Did you want try some of my books? Warning: just reading them might cause unexpected weigh gain. But if you fancy diving into my food trapezoid of bourbon, salt, bacon, and pie they’re right here on Amazon.