Picto Diary - 13 to 14 April 2023 - Hoover Spring Retreat, Phoenix, AZ

Above: Christopher's, Wrigley Mansion, Phoenix Arizona. 13 April 2023.

A rare dining experience with friends, Mezzanine, Magnolia, Ethan, and Beth. Images: 1. Dessert, one of twelve courses in tasting menu, not to mention Ethan's top notch wine pairings. 2. Ethan (our organizer leader) and chef Christopher Gross. Christopher's, outdoors. I told chef Gross that his dining experience tonight matched the one TIMDT and Mwah (sic) had at Marc Meneau's, L'Esperance, (three Michelin stars) in Vezelay, Burgandy, France in the early 90's. Sans missing a beat, Gross replied, "yes, I worked at L'Esperance for six months." Whaaaa???!!!!

Above: Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution. File Image 14 April 2023.

Above: Slide from Larry Diamond presentation to Hoover Spring Retreat, Scottsdale, AZ.

In his presentation, Larry Diamond called for the ban of Tik Tok. During the Q and A I noted that Facebook, with its Tik Tok clone, Reels, stands to benefit if Tik Tok is banned. Facebook collects the same info as Tik Tok. Should we be concerned about Facebook collecting the same information especially considering that Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged the FBI's efforts to work with Facebook on information management and control?

Diamond noted that my question was valid, but we should not equate a Facebook/US Government partnership with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which had access to Tik Tok's records. Rather we should work here in the US to legislate safeguards to American Reels users' privacy.

Above: H. R. McMaster, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution. File Image.

Central to McMaster's presentation were the geostrategic consequences when the US abandons its friends. In its withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2020, the US partnered with its enemy, The Taliban, to negotiate a withdrawal. The US did not consult with the then legitimate government of Afghanistan, heretofore a partner of the United States, about its working with the Taliban. The US delegitimized a friendly government. For one, why didn't India condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine? Because uncertain the US's commitment to India, India needed to hedge.

During Q and A, I recalled British air defense general Hugh Dowding's public admonition to Churchill in 1939 that Britain was giving away too many Spitfire aircraft to the French, so many, he felt that Britain's own air defenses were vulnerable to falling in the event of a Nazi attack on Britain. It so happened that Churchill, didn't like the public admonishment of his general, but, halted the aircraft shipments to France notwithstanding. My question was, "What is the level of US military readiness to confront a China war given the heavy shipments of US war materiel to Ukraine?"

McMaster: Our war materiel shortages are significant. On a static basis we are vulnerable. But it is wrong to think in terms of straight-line projections. The US is a dynamic, resilient nation that rises to the challenge at times of duress. We ramped up war materiel production in WWII at unprecedented rates. We can do it again.

Above: Steven J. Davis, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution. File Image. 14 Apil 2023.

Above: Two slides from Steven A. Davis's presentation to Hoover Spring Retreat, Phoenix, AZ, 14 April 2023.

First slide: Davis concludes that a higher level of working at home than before the pandemic is here to stay. Second slide: Most corporations have accepted that a certain level of working at home is the new normal. Some, such as SpaceX and Tesla, hold the line on retaining prior pandemic standards of coming to work.

Davis' conclusions were data driven based on numerous surveys of companies and workers around the world. Some questioners noted that productivity and corporate culture impact of working at home needed to be further studied before certifying increased levels of working at home as a good thing.

Above: Juan Ciscomani, US Representative, Arizona's 6th Congressional District. File Image 14 April 2023. Condolezza Rice, Director and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution. File Image. 14 April 2023.

Inspiring interview by Condoleeza Rice of first term congressman, former assistant to former Arizona Governor, Doug Ducey. America is a land of opportunity. A man raised in humble circumstances can rise to be a US Congressman. Church going, six children. During Q and A I asked Congressman Ciscomani if he felt that Arizonans could feel confident that their state had a fair election apparatus. Juan Ciscomani replied that all Arizonans had a right to free and fair elections.

Above: Jim Mattis, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution. File Image. 14 April 2023.

I joined a cocktail chat with Jim Mattis. We were three plus the retired Marine Corps four star general. Mattis strongly favored US support of Ukraine and felt that the Russians would lose the war with sustained efforts of the US to support Ukraine with war materiel. I asked Mattis about US readiness to fight a war in Taiwan given the depletion of US weapons stocks. He acknowledged that our weapons stocks were low, but that the US had the capacity to ramp up production in a hurry should need be. I asked Mattis about the US military recruiting shortfall. He answered that the reason for the shortfall is complicated, and then added: "Have you heard any of our recent presidents, Bush, Obama, Trump, or Biden give a call out to encourage young people to join the military? No. I don't think so. It is left to some sergeant in a recruiting office in Topeka, Kansas to shoulder the burden on his own, without the support of his president."

Above: Josiah Ober, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution. Condoleeza Rice, Director, Senior Fellow Hoover Institution, File Images. Armchair conversation on academic freedom and free speech at US universities. Wide ranging discussion including important role of The Hoover Institution as a counterbalance to assaults on free speech at Stanford.