In this episode of the Victor Davis Hanson Show, Victor Davis Hanson examine assertions regarding World War II made by David Collum during an interview with Tucker Carlson, the unseemly antics of JFK’s grandson, the left’s struggle with language, tensions with India, and more.
In regard to comments about Professor Collum I note that when I preface a comment with “you could make the argument” I am not stating a belief that I hold to be true, only that it should be considered.
Additionally, I note that you have been citing Russian and Ukrainian casualty and fatality numbers that are biased to the Ukranian narrative. I understand that the Hoover Institute is populated with strong supporters of this narrative but I had hoped that you would at least consider that the numbers cited by John Mearsheimer and Douglas Macgregor are more crediblle than the numbers found in the New York Times. Ukrainian casualties closer to 1.7 million and Russian losses a small fraction of that. With Russia firing 8x the artillery that Ukraine is it’s hard to see how their casualty rates could be higher.
Naval Academy history chair resigns over ordered removal of symposium paper
Capital Gazette, 11 June 2025
The chair of the Naval Academy History Department resigned after reportedly being ordered by the academy’s superintendent to remove a previously approved paper from the list of those to be presented at an upcoming symposium.
Tom McCarthy, in a letter dated June 3, cited the removal of a paper “for reasons having nothing to do with scholarship.” He resigned to avoid being involved in what he called a violation of trust and the possibility of harming the department’s reputation. McCarthy’s resignation was first reported by a Substack newsletter called “CDR Salamander.”
If you are going to bad mouth the Naval Academy, try keeping up with what is happening there. The Naval Academy got a new superintendent, LtGen Michael Borgschulte, USMC, who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first Marine to serve as Superintendent, he assembled the Midshipmen and faculty and informed them that the Naval Academy is NOT a college, it is a crucible. Even before he assumed the position, they removed about 400 books from the library that were considered woke or not promoting the warrior ethos. That was likely Secretary Hegseth’s doing.
The new plebes have been there a little over a month but they all had to go through the confidence course. The Confidence Course challenges plebes mentally and physically with high platforms, cargo nets, swinging obstacles, and a zip line. It is designed to develop critical thinking, effective communication, self confidence, and team building.