Morning Brief 2022-06-09

Bottom of Hour 1
GUEST: Jim Harden
TOPIC: New York pregnancy center allegedly "firebombed" by a pro-choice group.

Top of Hour 2
GUEST: Alan Dershowitz
TOPIC: The politically motivated two-tiered justice system for January 6th defendants.

Bottom of Hour 2
GUEST: Diana Furchtgott-Roth
TOPIC: May employment numbers & the new government retirement plan.

CB, RR, JB, SK, BM

News...

Armed man arrested outside Kavanaugh's house wanted to kill him over draft Roe v. Wade reversal
"Roske stated that he began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill the Supreme Court Justice after finding the Justice's Montgomery County address on the Internet."

Flashback: Leftist group posts addresses of Supreme Court justices
The Ruth Sent Us site also declares that "our 6-3 extremist Supreme Court routinely issues rulings that hurt women, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights. We must rise up to force accountability using a diversity of tactics."

Ruth Sent Us Send ‘Special Message’ To Kavanaugh’s Wife And Kids
"A special message for Ashley Kavanaugh and your daughters ... McConnell and the GOP aren’t worried for your safety. They worry only for the expensive Supreme Court they rigged, and their own power."

Democrats Wanted To Intimidate Justices. Now It’s Getting Dangerous
After spending years cynically delegitimizing the high court, Schumer had moved to openly threatening life-time appointed judges, by name, because he feared they would knock down the concocted constitutional right to an abortion.

Sasse calls on Schumer to retract 'lunatic threats' against Kavanaugh
“We have a Senate right now that has a majority leader who stood on the steps of the Supreme Court two years ago shrieking like a lunatic threats at Justice Kavanaugh,” Sasse said.

Biden on Kimmel predicts ‘mini revolution’ in November if SCOTUS overturns Roe v. Wade
“I don’t think the country will stand for it,” Biden said.

Pro-Abortion Arsonists Have Firebombed Three Pro-Life Groups In A Month
The offices of three different pro-life organizations were firebombed in the course of a month after a leaked draft opinion revealed the Supreme Court would likely overturn Roe v. Wade.

Will The FBI Do Anything About The Alarming Number Of Attacks On Pro-Life Centers?
The same agency that investigated hate crime allegations that a garage pull cord was a noose is failing to investigate arson, death threats, and terror threats from pro-abortionists.

Pro-Abortion Protester Rushed Biden’s Motorcade And Immediately Regretted It
Secret service swiftly took down the protestor as she walked toward the oncoming motorcade while screaming into a megaphone.

State Department Prepares To Announce Worldwide Racial Equity Chief, Leaked Email Shows
The position’s holder has not been named, but the Special Representative will have wide-reaching powers, since he or she will be responsible for “institutionaliz[ing] an enterprise-wide approach to integrating racial and ethnic equity.”

House passes sweeping gun bill to raise assault rifle purchase age to 21
The bill, called the Protecting Our Kids Act, would also bar the sale of large-capacity magazines and institute new rules that dictate proper at-home gun storage. The bill is DOA in the senate.

Other woke DAs who could be run out of office like San Francisco’s Chesa Boudin
Boudin, the son of convicted Weather Underground terrorists, blamed his ouster on “right-wing billionaires” who “outspent us 3-to-1.”

Military confirms aircraft crash in California but denies nuclear materials onboard
The aircraft, an MV-22B Osprey with five Marines onboard, was not carrying nuclear materials, contrary to what was said in initial reports.

Raising a middle-class child will likely cost almost $286,000, according to USDA data
“The fact is that sending an infant to day care in many places across the country could be significantly more expensive than in-state public tuition to send them to college”

Ibram X. Kendi wondered if daughter inhaled 'smog' of 'white superiority' from doll
His daughter grew attached to a white doll with blue eyes, throwing fits when she had to put it down. He "wondered if our black child’s attachment to a white doll could mean she had already breathed in what the psychologist Beverly Daniel Tatum has called the 'smog' of white superiority."

The Meme That Derailed an Executive’s Career
John Demsey made diversity Estée Lauder’s corporate pitch. But on Feb. 21, he was fired for posting a meme. Over the past few years, powerful white executives have lost their jobs because of racist statements they made to employees and others.

Squatter with fake lease won’t leave Chicago woman’s home
“If somebody gets into the property in the middle of the night, nobody sees them get in the property, they have a lease in hand. Well, a police officer can’t determine - they’re not a judge - (if) that’s a fake lease, or that’s a fake signature or it’s forged”

Politics...

Hunter says he's the biggest influence on Joe Biden
“He’s going to talk about drug reform and any other thing that I want him to. [Joe Biden] thinks I’m a god.” ... “My dad respects me more than he respects anyone in the world, and I know that to be certain, so it’s not going to be about whether it ­affects his politics.”

Biden’s RCP Average Drops Under 40% As More Polls Show Him Hitting Record Lows
The RealClearPolitics poll of polls has Biden’s approval rating at 39.7%, a record low mark, with an average of 55% disapproval.

Biden whined about negative press to reporters in off-the-record conversation
Politico goes on to talk about how Biden and his family feel too much attention is placed on the president's low approval numbers and staff turnover rather than bright spots in the economy.

Biden on Kimmel: Republicans 'literally' put our democracy in jeopardy
“I also get asked, ‘look the Republicans don’t play it square, why do you play it square? Well guess what, if we do the same thing they do, our democracy would literally be in jeopardy and that is not a joke.” Biden hasn’t given a sit-down interview to a reporter in four months.

Democrats frustrated by flat-footed White House
Democrats are growing increasingly frustrated by what they say is a flat-footed White House that is slow to catch up on solving a seemingly never-ending cascade of problems in the face of an unrelenting news cycle.

Biden again trips up Air Force One stairs
Biden began his fraught ascension of the plane’s stairs after declining to take questions from reporters.

DeSantis Reacts To Straw Poll Showing Him Leading Against Trump
“I don’t do straw polls. They just put my name to these things, you know? So, what am I supposed to do? Like they sell merchandise and everything. I’d kind of like to get royalties on that.”

Democrats change party registration ahead of GOP primary
Thousands of registered Colorado Democrats are changing their party affiliation ahead of the GOP primaries, with some citing it as an effort to oust Rep. Lauren Boebert from office.

The Day Our Democracy Almost Died...

Trump Pentagon first offered National Guard to Capitol four days before Jan. 6 riots, memo shows
Official Capitol Police timeline validates Trump administration's account, shows Democrats' fateful rejections of offers. "Seems absolutely illogical," one official wrote about security posture hours before riot began.

WaPo: Fox News’s blackout of Jan. 6 points to a hidden crisis for Democrats
The not-so-shocking revelation that Fox News will not carry House committee hearings about the insurrection is yet another sign that right-wing media will go to extraordinary lengths to shield the GOP base from brutal truths about Jan. 6, 2021. [cue ominous music]

WaPo: In South Dakota, the GOP war on democracy hits a wall
The idea of majority rule is under relentless attack, and it’s hard to feel optimistic that the public cares that much. If you try to motivate them to confront threats to foundational American values, they’re likely to tell you that they care more about gas prices.

Google relents after NY Post fights censorship of YouTube interview with Jan. 6 rioter
The latest Big Tech attempt to squash The NY Post’s reporting occurred Monday when YouTube deleted the interview taped inside the Capitol — saying Aaron Mostofsky spouted “misinformation.”

Economy...

Gas hits record $4.96 on Wednesday
That's 64 cents higher from a month ago and $1.89 higher than it was a year ago, according to AAA. In 16 states, the typical gas price has already topped $5 per gallon.

Empty wallets, empty tanks: Surging gas prices leave drivers stranded
AAA fielded 50,787 out-of-gas calls in April, a 32 percent jump from the same month last year. More than 200,000 drivers have been similarly stranded this year. And gas prices have risen precipitously since April, making the financial pain even more acute.

Gas prices: 'Demand destruction' has already started, says strategist
"If we broach $125/b on crude oil, and stay there for a while, consumers will change their behavior"

Americans Go On Credit Card Tear, Pandemic Savings Wiped Out
The April consumer credit report from the Federal Reserve saw a surge in credit card debt, resulting in the largest ever increase in revolving credit, as Americans’ savings from the pandemic are running out, according to ZeroHedge.

Mortgage demand falls to the lowest level in 22 years
Refinance demand was down 75% year over year.

Here’s how soon prices could go down again, according to 'experts'
There’s not a solid answer, but 2022 seems the worst for inflation with prices leveling out by 2023.

Major trucking company says it's done transporting firearms
Saia has announced it will no longer transport firearms amid a renewed national debate on gun control., Freight Waves reported on Monday.

South of the Border...

Summit of the Americas: Biden struggles to exert U.S. influence in own backyard
Nearly one-third of the region's democratically elected heads of state have decided to boycott the summit.

COVID-19...

With aid stalled, the White House says it has to shift funds from testing to buy more vaccines and treatments
The Biden admin has warned that without congressional action, it could have to unwind or sacrifice key pieces of the pandemic response.

Travel industry goes to Congress in effort to get feds to lift COVID tests for vaccinated travelers
Many other countries have dropped such requirements and industry leaders argue the policy does not match the threat posed by the virus.

Entertainment...

Robert De Niro says Biden is doing a very good job
The Rocky & Bullwinkle star said of Biden, "he's, you know, he got us into calm waters, that was always the idea. He's doing a very good job."

R. Kelly should get more than 25 years in prison ‘to protect the public’: federal prosecutors
Kelly, who is scheduled to be sentenced June 29, was found guilty last September of sexually abusing women, boys and girls for decades.

Tim Burton Unloads On ‘Batman’ Franchise
"Wait a minute. Okay. Hold on a second here. You complain about me, I’m too weird, I’m too dark, and then you put nipples on the costume? Go f**k yourself."

Media...

DeSantis to WaPo after attacks on press secretary: ‘We don’t care what you think anymore’
"I would be much more concerned with my press secretary if the Washington Post was writing puff pieces about her. Then I would think something was wrong."

The WaPo's week from Hell
Amber Heard's op-ed, Taylor Lorenz's reporting, Dave Weigel's retweet have caused headaches for the paper

WaPo: Why aren’t there more Republicans like Liz Cheney?
With the passing of Arizona senator John McCain and the retirement of other Republicans with backbone (e.g., Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona), the party now consists almost entirely of timorous sheep willing to fall in line behind the MAGA base regardless of the consequences.

Middle East...

Iran Turns Off U.N. Surveillance Cameras at Nuclear Site
The step came as tensions have risen over stalled efforts to revive a 2015 deal that limited Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the easing of sanctions.

Australia...

Australia’s Baby Steps Toward Severing Ties With the Queen
The government has established a ministerial position to begin the process of making the country a republic. Polling shows that a slim majority of Australians would support a republic if they had to choose yes or no.

Environment...

EU lawmakers endorse banning combustion-engine cars by 2035
Environmentalists applauded the vote while German automakers warned there is a lack of charging stations to make the plan feasible.

People living on the coast could be forced to move due to climate change, UK warns
Referring to what he described as the “hardest of all the inconvenient truths,” James Bevan said that “some of our communities, both in this country and around the world, cannot stay where they are.”

LGBTQIA2S+...

NY Times: A Vanishing Word in the Abortion Debate: ‘Women’
Progressive groups and medical organizations have adopted inclusive language, which has led to terms like “pregnant people” and “chestfeeding.”

Education...

Education Honchos Swapped CRT Buzzwords To Avoid Public Pushback
Terms like “equity” and “bias” were deemed good words, while “racial equity” was dumped for “cultural equity.” “All children and families” was suggested as an alternative to “people of color” and “narrow societal norms” was substituted for “whiteness.”

Michigan is poised to become 14th state to mandate personal finance education
The legislation is the latest to pass with overwhelming bipartisan support. Earlier this year, both Florida and Georgia passed similar laws.

Technology...

Twitter to give Elon Musk internal data on spam, fake accounts: report
Washington Post notes that the data, which reportedly includes account information, a real-time record of tweets and the devices users tweet from, could be given to Musk as soon as this week. Currently, about two dozen companies pay to access the data.

Woman wakes up from 4-week coma to find partner blocked her on social media
She emerged from the coma and showed signs of improvement — only to experience more anguish when she discovered her boyfriend had ghosted her on social media and moved in with another woman.

Microsoft exec accused of watching 'VR porn' in office resigns
Microsoft’s VR chief Alex Kipman has resigned days after reports surfaced that he had watched “VR porn” in front of workers and engaged in forms of misconduct toward female employees.

TikTok challenge, where you jump in front of a moving truck, kills 2
Two Indonesian teens have died due to the “angel of death” truck challenge.

Sports...

Redskins' coach 'apologizes' for comment comparing Jan 6 rioting to BLM rioting
"I see the images on TV. People's livelihoods are being destroyed. Businesses are being burned down, no problem. And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down. And we're not gonna talk about, we're gonna make that a major deal," he continued.

Ohio State star QB driving $200K car in NIL deal
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day recently remarked that he believed it would cost about $13 million in NIL deals each year for the Buckeyes to continue fielding a competitive roster.

Hot twins, who play college basketball, have made more than $1-million since NIL policy change
The NIL policy change has allowed athletes, particularly women, to see their bank accounts swell as large as their social-media followings.

Animals...

Man mistakes alligator for dog, with predictable results
The man was walking outside the motel and saw a dark figure moving along the bushes on a path. He thought it was a dog on a long leash, so he didn’t move out of the way. Then the alligator bit his leg.

2007: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, cu labores definitionem mel, ex nisl conclusionemque sed

2012: Ea sed ocurreret disputando, amet salutatus pri ex, dico facer nec ea. Ad nonumy insolens eos, sed cu facete ornatus urbanitas, ut euripidis dissentiunt eum.

2020: Nam diam saperet accumsan ea, id tacimates dignissim cum, id mea audiam ceteros.

Americans expose Supreme Court’s flag ruling as a failed relic

Anna Moneymaker / Staff | Getty Images

In a nation where the Stars and Stripes symbolize the blood-soaked sacrifices of our heroes, President Trump's executive order to crack down on flag desecration amid violent protests has ignited fierce debate. But in a recent poll, Glenn asked the tough question: Can Trump protect the Flag without TRAMPLING free speech? Glenn asked, and you answered—thousands weighed in on this pressing clash between free speech and sacred symbols.

The results paint a picture of resounding distrust toward institutional leniency. A staggering 85% of respondents support banning the burning of American flags when it incites violence or disturbs the peace, a bold rejection of the chaos we've seen from George Floyd riots to pro-Palestinian torchings. Meanwhile, 90% insist that protections for burning other flags—like Pride or foreign banners—should not be treated the same as Old Glory under the First Amendment, exposing the hypocrisy in equating our nation's emblem with fleeting symbols. And 82% believe the Supreme Court's Texas v. Johnson ruling, shielding flag burning as "symbolic speech," should not stand without revision—can the official story survive such resounding doubt from everyday Americans weary of government inaction?

Your verdict sends a thunderous message: In this divided era, the flag demands defense against those who exploit freedoms to sow disorder, without trampling the liberties it represents. It's a catastrophic failure of the establishment to ignore this groundswell.

Want to make your voice heard? Check out more polls HERE.

Labor Day EXPOSED: The Marxist roots you weren’t told about

JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Contributor | Getty Images

During your time off this holiday, remember the man who started it: Peter J. McGuire, a racist Marxist who co-founded America’s first socialist party.

Labor Day didn’t begin as a noble tribute to American workers. It began as a negotiation with ideological terrorists.

In the late 1800s, factory and mine conditions were brutal. Workers endured 12-to-15-hour days, often seven days a week, in filthy, dangerous environments. Wages were low, injuries went uncompensated, and benefits didn’t exist. Out of desperation, Americans turned to labor unions. Basic protections had to be fought for because none were guaranteed.

Labor Day wasn’t born out of gratitude. It was a political payoff to Marxist radicals who set trains ablaze and threatened national stability.

That era marked a seismic shift — much like today. The Industrial Revolution, like our current digital and political upheaval, left millions behind. And wherever people get left behind, Marxists see an opening.

A revolutionary wedge

This was Marxism’s moment.

Economic suffering created fertile ground for revolutionary agitation. Marxists, socialists, and anarchists stepped in to stoke class resentment. Their goal was to turn the downtrodden into a revolutionary class, tear down the existing system, and redistribute wealth by force.

Among the most influential agitators was Peter J. McGuire, a devout Irish Marxist from New York. In 1874, he co-founded the Social Democratic Workingmens Party of North America, the first Marxist political party in the United States. He was also a vice president of the American Federation of Labor, which would become the most powerful union in America.

McGuire’s mission wasn’t hidden. He wanted to transform the U.S. into a socialist nation through labor unions.

That mission soon found a useful symbol.

In the 1880s, labor leaders in Toronto invited McGuire to attend their annual labor festival. Inspired, he returned to New York and launched a similar parade on Sept. 5 — chosen because it fell halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.

The first parade drew over 30,000 marchers who skipped work to hear speeches about eight-hour workdays and the alleged promise of Marxism. The parade caught on across the country.

Negotiating with radicals

By 1894, Labor Day had been adopted by 30 states. But the federal government had yet to make it a national holiday. A major strike changed everything.

In Pullman, Illinois, home of the Pullman railroad car company, tensions exploded. The economy tanked. George Pullman laid off hundreds of workers and slashed wages for those who remained — yet refused to lower the rent on company-owned homes.

That injustice opened the door for Marxist agitators to mobilize.

Sympathetic railroad workers joined the strike. Riots broke out. Hundreds of railcars were torched. Mail service was disrupted. The nation’s rail system ground to a halt.

President Grover Cleveland — under pressure in a midterm election year — panicked. He sent 12,000 federal troops to Chicago. Two strikers were killed in the resulting clashes.

With the crisis spiraling and Democrats desperate to avoid political fallout, Cleveland struck a deal. Within six days of breaking the strike, Congress rushed through legislation making Labor Day a federal holiday.

It was the first of many concessions Democrats would make to organized labor in exchange for political power.

What we really celebrated

Labor Day wasn’t born out of gratitude. It was a political payoff to Marxist radicals who set trains ablaze and threatened national stability.

Kean Collection / Staff | Getty Images

What we celebrated was a Canadian idea, brought to America by the founder of the American Socialist Party, endorsed by racially exclusionary unions, and made law by a president and Congress eager to save face.

It was the first of many bones thrown by the Democratic Party to union power brokers. And it marked the beginning of a long, costly compromise with ideologues who wanted to dismantle the American way of life — from the inside out.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Hunter laptop, Steele dossier—Same players, same playbook?

ullstein bild Dtl. / Contributor | Getty Images

The Durham annex and ODNI report documents expose a vast network of funders and fixers — from Soros’ Open Society Foundations to the Pentagon.

In a column earlier this month, I argued the deep state is no longer deniable, thanks to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. I outlined the structural design of the deep state as revealed by two recent declassifications: Gabbard’s ODNI report and the Durham annex released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

These documents expose a transnational apparatus of intelligence agencies, media platforms, think tanks, and NGOs operating as a parallel government.

The deep state is funded by elite donors, shielded by bureaucracies, and perpetuated by operatives who drift between public office and private influence without accountability.

But institutions are only part of the story. This web of influence is made possible by people — and by money. This follow-up to the first piece traces the key operatives and financial networks fueling the deep state’s most consequential manipulations, including the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.

Architects and operatives

At the top of the intelligence pyramid sits John Brennan, President Obama’s CIA director and one of the principal architects of the manipulated 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment. James Clapper, who served as director of national intelligence, signed off on that same ICA and later joined 50 other former officials in concluding the Hunter Biden laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation” ahead of the 2020 election. The timing, once again, served a political objective.

James Comey, then FBI director, presided over Crossfire Hurricane. According to the Durham annex, he also allowed the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server to collapse after it became entangled with “sensitive intelligence” revealing her plan to tie President Donald Trump to Russia.

That plan, as documented in the annex, originated with Hillary Clinton herself and was personally pushed by President Obama. Her campaign, through law firm Perkins Coie, hired Fusion GPS, which commissioned the now-debunked Steele dossier — a document used to justify surveillance warrants on Trump associates.

Several individuals orbiting the Clinton operation have remained influential. Jake Sullivan, who served as President Biden’s national security adviser, was a foreign policy aide to Clinton during her 2016 campaign. He was named in 2021 as a figure involved in circulating the collusion narrative, and his presence in successive Democratic administrations suggests institutional continuity.

Andrew McCabe, then the FBI’s deputy director, approved the use of FISA warrants derived from unverified sources. His connection to the internal “insurance policy” discussion — described in a 2016 text by FBI official Peter Strzok to colleague Lisa Page — underscores the Bureau’s political posture during that election cycle.

The list of political enablers is long but revealing:

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who, as a former representative from California, chaired the House Intelligence Committee at the time and publicly promoted the collusion narrative while having access to intelligence that contradicted it.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), both members of the “Gang of Eight” with oversight of intelligence operations, advanced the same narrative despite receiving classified briefings.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, exchanged encrypted text messages with a Russian lobbyist in efforts to speak with Christopher Steele.

These were not passive recipients of flawed intelligence. They were participants in its amplification.

The funding networks behind the machine

The deep state’s operations are not possible without financing — much of it indirect, routed through a nexus of private foundations, quasi-governmental entities, and federal agencies.

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations appear throughout the Durham annex. In one instance, Open Society Foundations documents were intercepted by foreign intelligence and used to track coordination between NGOs and the Clinton campaign’s anti-Trump strategy.

This system was not designed for transparency but for control.

Soros has also been a principal funder of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, which ran a project during the Trump administration called the Moscow Project, dedicated to promoting the Russia collusion narrative.

The Tides Foundation and Arabella Advisors both specialize in “dark money” donor-advised funds that obscure the source and destination of political funding. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was the biggest donor to the Arabella Advisors by far, which routed $127 million through Arabella’s network in 2020 alone and nearly $500 million in total.

The MacArthur Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation also financed many of the think tanks named in the Durham annex, including the Council on Foreign Relations.

Federal funding pipelines

Parallel to the private networks are government-funded influence operations, often justified under the guise of “democracy promotion” or counter-disinformation initiatives.

USAID directed $270 million to Soros-affiliated organizations for overseas “democracy” programs, a significant portion of which has reverberated back into domestic influence campaigns.

The State Department funds the National Endowment for Democracy, a quasi-governmental organization with a $315 million annual budget and ties to narrative engineering projects.

The Department of Homeland Security underwrote entities involved in online censorship programs targeting American citizens.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

The Pentagon, from 2020 to 2024, awarded over $2.4 trillion to private contractors — many with domestic intelligence capabilities. It also directed $1.4 billion to select think tanks since 2019.

According to public records compiled by DataRepublican, these tax-funded flows often support the very actors shaping U.S. political discourse and global perception campaigns.

Not just domestic — but global

What these disclosures confirm is that the deep state is not a theory. It is a documented structure — funded by elite donors, shielded by bureaucracies, and perpetuated by operatives who drift between public office and private influence without accountability.

This system was not designed for transparency but for control. It launders narratives, neutralizes opposition, and overrides democratic will by leveraging the very institutions meant to protect it.

With the Durham annex and the ODNI report, we now see the network's architecture and its actors — names, agencies, funding trails — all laid bare. What remains is the task of dismantling it before its next iteration takes shape.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The truth behind ‘defense’: How America was rebranded for war

PAUL J. RICHARDS / Staff | Getty Images

Donald Trump emphasizes peace through strength, reminding the world that the United States is willing to fight to win. That’s beyond ‘defense.’

President Donald Trump made headlines this week by signaling a rebrand of the Defense Department — restoring its original name, the Department of War.

At first, I was skeptical. “Defense” suggests restraint, a principle I consider vital to U.S. foreign policy. “War” suggests aggression. But for the first 158 years of the republic, that was the honest name: the Department of War.

A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.

The founders never intended a permanent standing army. When conflict came — the Revolution, the War of 1812, the trenches of France, the beaches of Normandy — the nation called men to arms, fought, and then sent them home. Each campaign was temporary, targeted, and necessary.

From ‘war’ to ‘military-industrial complex’

Everything changed in 1947. President Harry Truman — facing the new reality of nuclear weapons, global tension, and two world wars within 20 years — established a full-time military and rebranded the Department of War as the Department of Defense. Americans resisted; we had never wanted a permanent army. But Truman convinced the country it was necessary.

Was the name change an early form of political correctness? A way to soften America’s image as a global aggressor? Or was it simply practical? Regardless, the move created a permanent, professional military. But it also set the stage for something Truman’s successor, President Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower, famously warned about: the military-industrial complex.

Ike, the five-star general who commanded Allied forces in World War II and stormed Normandy, delivered a harrowing warning during his farewell address: The military-industrial complex would grow powerful. Left unchecked, it could influence policy and push the nation toward unnecessary wars.

And that’s exactly what happened. The Department of Defense, with its full-time and permanent army, began spending like there was no tomorrow. Weapons were developed, deployed, and sometimes used simply to justify their existence.

Peace through strength

When Donald Trump said this week, “I don’t want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too,” some people freaked out. They called him a warmonger. He isn’t. Trump is channeling a principle older than him: peace through strength. Ronald Reagan preached it; Trump is taking it a step further.

Just this week, Trump also suggested limiting nuclear missiles — hardly the considerations of a warmonger — echoing Reagan, who wanted to remove missiles from silos while keeping them deployable on planes.

The seemingly contradictory move of Trump calling for a Department of War sends a clear message: He wants Americans to recognize that our military exists not just for defense, but to project power when necessary.

Trump has pointed to something critically important: The best way to prevent war is to have a leader who knows exactly who he is and what he will do. Trump signals strength, deterrence, and resolve. You want to negotiate? Great. You don’t? Then we’ll finish the fight decisively.

That’s why the world listens to us. That’s why nations come to the table — not because Trump is reckless, but because he means what he says and says what he means. Peace under weakness invites aggression. Peace under strength commands respect.

Trump is the most anti-war president we’ve had since Jimmy Carter. But unlike Carter, Trump isn’t weak. Carter’s indecision emboldened enemies and made the world less safe. Trump’s strength makes the country stronger. He believes in peace as much as any president. But he knows peace requires readiness for war.

Names matter

When we think of “defense,” we imagine cybersecurity, spy programs, and missile shields. But when we think of “war,” we recall its harsh reality: death, destruction, and national survival. Trump is reminding us what the Department of Defense is really for: war. Not nation-building, not diplomacy disguised as military action, not endless training missions. War — full stop.

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

Names matter. Words matter. They shape identity and character. A Department of Defense implies passivity, a posture of reaction. A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.

So yes, I’ve changed my mind. I’m for the rebranding to the Department of War. It shows strength to the world. It reminds Americans, internally and externally, of the reality we face. The Department of Defense can no longer be a euphemism. Our military exists for war — not without deterrence, but not without strength either. And we need to stop deluding ourselves.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.