• WSJ Firing Rand Paul Blanks By Richard C. Young
• VIDEO: Remembering Procol Harum By Richard C. Young
• Rand Paul vs. The War Party By E.J. Smith
• A Taste for Peruvian Cuisine and Economic Freedom By Debbie Young
• American Forces Dominate the Undersea Realm By Richard C. Young
• Every Smelt Matters By Debbie Young
• Volvo Ocean Race By E.J. Smith
  

Americans need to know from the top that the editorial page of the WSJ has, at least from my perspective, more than a whiff of attachment to the original Defense Planning Guidance (DPG). You know, the anything goes global hegemon concept initially kicked off in draft form in 1992 by Dick Cheney aids Scooter Libby, Zalmay Khalilzad and Paul Wolfowitz.

The WSJ is also a lot less likely to view positively the thinking of Republican realists from the James Baker/Brent Scowcroft school.

Finally, in the spirit of support, I have not seen much in the way of WSJ enthusiasm for the groundbreaking defense department spending reductions proposed by Cato Institute scholars Benjamin H. Friedman and Chris Preble. (link)

Here in The Rand Paul Difference the WSJ actually musters up a single paragraph of positive commentary on Rand Paul’s plan to run on a flat tax platform. But after that passing nod, well… It quickly moves on to a snarky attack on what the Journal’s Review & Outlook editorial page column labels as Paul’s “nostrums about national security.” To be fair, Paul to date has failed to fine-tune an acceptable foreign policy platform in the spirit of “mind our own business” non-intervention. And a mindless signing of  “the Tom Cotton Iran letter” was, in a word, disturbing.

The WSJ notes that Rand Paul began his Senate tenure arguing for cuts in defense spending, but these days he’s promising “a national defense robust enough to defend against all attack, modern enough to deter all enemies, and nimble enough to defend our vital interests.” For those generalizations to mean anything, though, “it takes money.”

Attack? Over the last four decades just how many Americans, sans 9/11, have been killed on American soil by Islamic terror attacks? According to statistics assembled by TheReligionofPeace.com, the number is 106 (tragic but a small number). Just how robust, modern and nimble America’s military needs to be to fend off such small scale numbers is a matter for discussion, but as Cato scholars Friedman and Preble have shown, money is certainly not the issue. In fact, Cato has shown how, by avoiding the occupation of failing states, America could save over one trillion dollars over a 10-year period.

The WSJ continues its unflattering lead editorial on Rand Paul’s supposed national security failings by announcing, “He distorts the history of Syria as an example of intervention gone awry.” Come on, Rand may or may not have had the minutia of Syrian intervention down to a T, but is there a soul on the planet who does not think the Syrian intervention has gone anything but awry?

In conclusion, the WSJ writes that the Syrian civil war has exploded into a regional and global threat. Regional? Yes, for certain. And what do contiguous neighbors including Turkey plan to do about the civil war? As far as global, I doubt the Swiss, Swedes and residents of, by example, Hong Kong and Singapore have lost much sleep over the Syrian conflagration.

Rand Paul has some foreign policy fine-tuning to do. But in comparison to any of the other Republican front-runners or, for that matter, Hillary Clinton, Rand Paul offers by far the most realistic approach to both domestic and foreign policy.

Rand Paul on Foreign Policy:

YouTube: Procol Harum performing A Whiter Shade of Pale with the Danish National Concert Orchestra and choir at Ledreborg Castle, Denmark in August 2006.

You can be sure we’ll get some uncomfortable debates if Rand Paul stands-up and deals with foreign and national-security policy. His entrance into the presidential race is a shot across the bow of the war party. Hopefully they’ll have to answer to someone other than Hillary.

Janet Hook writes in the Wall Street Journal:

His entrance in the race also sets up a sharper foreign-policy debate between the candidates, with Mr. Paul taking a more cautious position than many of his would-be competitors. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and others more openly espouse intervention and the use of force in hot spots abroad than Mr. Paul does, and they oppose Mr. Obama’s opening of diplomatic relations with Cuba, which Mr. Paul endorsed.

After his campaign launch, Mr. Paul set off on a tour of early-voting states that could give him some traction for a long nomination battle: Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, energetic bastions of support for his father, libertarian icon and former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, when he ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.

One test of Mr. Paul’s candidacy will be how he handles questions about foreign and national-security policy, a central concern for many of his followers, who were galvanized by the antiwar views of Mr. Paul’s father in the past.

Related video:

Last September, culinary luminaries from around the world—including France’s Michel Bras (Step Up To The Plate, Amazon, DVD), Denmark’s Rene Redzepi, and America’s Dan Barber (owner of Blue Hill in Manhattan and Blue Hill at Stone Barns)—scurried off to Lima, Peru, for Mistura—a 10-day food extravaganza. Peruvian cuisine, a blend of 500 years of Spanish, African, Japanese and Chinese immigration, and native Quechua culture, is “the hot new taste on the lips of many top chefs.”

The country’s top celebrity chef, Gastón Acurio, is dedicated to championing Peruvian food “as an instrument to put our culture in the world.” In what sounds like many steps in the right direction, the 43-year-old Mr. Acurio now has 32 restaurants in 14 cities worldwide.

Lima, home to about one-third of Peru’s 30 million multiethnic population, is a sprawling city between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains. And although it is only about 10 degrees south latitude from the equator, it has a mild, pleasant climate. Temperatures rarely fall below 57 degrees or get above 84 degrees.

In a recent Washington Times article, our friend Richard W. Rahn, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, explains how Peru became the 20^th most-free economy in the world, according to the Economic Freedom of the World 2014 Annual Report. Richard notes that the level of adult literacy has risen rapidly, as has the average rate of real economic growth due to a series of economic reforms, including that of the current president, Ollanta Humala.

Despite the slowing of economic growth last year and most likely this year because of the decline in the price of copper, gold, silver—Peru’s major export industries—Richard Rahn believes there is good reason to be positive on Peru’s future. And if a trip to Peru isn’t on your dance card at the moment, don’t worry. According to Zagat, there are four times more Peruvian restaurants in NYC, San Fran, Miami, L.A., Boston and Philadelphia than a decade ago.

Bon appetite,

Debbie

(in Spanish)

David Majumdar, writing in the National Interest, looks at America’s undersea power.

While a new long-range stealthy unmanned strike aircraft could eventually give the carrier the long-range reach and hitting power it needs, there are those who argue that submarines are far more effective weapons against such high-end threats. Though potential enemies like China can challenge the United States in the air, sea, surface, on land and in space—American forces dominate the undersea realm with near impunity.

Can you guess what the prudent strategy for efficient water consumption is? It’s market pricing with water rates based on household use. Except if you live in California.

California has suffered four droughts in the last five decades with each of the four becoming more severe in its impact. “Yet this is due more to resource misallocation than harsher conditions,” writes the WSJ.

Last year in a California Dreamin’ moment, Governor Jerry Brown ordered a voluntary water-reduction, but water conservation apparently does not have much appeal or marketability and fell on deaf ears. Read more here on how Governor Brown and California politicians “can stop compounding the damage by putting water storage, transportation and market pricing above environmental obsessions.”

Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajai, Brazil is over. The fasted leg so far. The boats sailed about 7,300nm in 18 days, a leg to remember after a glorious rounding of Cape Horn. All teams have battled severe challenges to find safe harbour in the Brazilian port of the city Itajai. Here’s a look at its best moments. Next up…Itajai, Brazil to Newport, RI.