Dear Lucas: This is an astounding essay. I plan to republish it on my Substack (1200 subscribers). Back in December, you encouraged me to republish another post. Let me know if you've changed your mind.
Our adversaries always said they will take control of the USA without firing one shot, and this is exactly what they are doing, especially China and Russia.
And Karl Marx said that the Capitalists would sell the Communists the rope with which the Capitalists would be hanged. This post makes that very clear.
I learn so much from you! The country would have been so much better off with you as Senator from Missouri. How can we support you making a contribution to the country?
Ms Jones, it's even simpler than that. The country would be better with ANYONE besides Hawley as a Senator from Missouri. If the residents of Missouri made a list of their hugest mistakes ever, not replacing Hawley with Lucas Kunce would likely be at the top of the list.
Biden betrayed us by not having stepped aside much earlier, when he originally said he would, Harris made what I consider the huge mistake of having publicly and repeatedly said she wouldn't do anything different from Biden, and no one was going to outspend Elon and his ilk. We came really close in several places, though. I don't regret having donated where I did (although it seems empty and hollow when we lose Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, and people like Kunce and Trygve Hammer don't get elected), and as much as I don't believe in it, for people like Kunce, I'd do it again.
I was unaware. The voters in MO are dumber than I thought. But they're not dumber than the voters in ND who didn't elect Trygve Hammer, or the voters in TX who re-elected the most hated (by everyone) Senator (Cruz), or the voters in Florida (where I live) who re-elected Ricky Scott. Pretty dumb, though.
We have two House seats now open and to be filled by election on April 5. It's hard to know what information to trust, but "the word on the street" is that at least one of them is looking good. The one about which less optimism is expressed is the one that repeated elected Matt Gaetz, so that's another really dumb group of people. I don't know what's supposed to happen about the woman DeSantis appointed to fill Rubio's seat. I don't know if she gets to fulfill whatever is left of his term, or if she, too, has to run, maybe in April.
It'll be curious to see what the GA voters do with a possible choice between Jon Ossoff and the offensive dimwit of offensive dimwits: Marge Greene. They do like their Brian Kemp, even though he and Raffensperger refused to throw GA for Donnie in '20. And they both most probably voted for him.
The special elections will all be interesting this year and next. I hope you're right about the one possible seat. I have no clue about Florida's rules on the Senate seat, but appointments used to be for the balance of the term.
GA should be ok for Ossof, especially against Greene; she's strong on her home turf but may be a little too far out for the rest of the state. We can hope.
Mr Kunce, there's a joke in here somewhere. The guy who conspicuously wears an "Occupy Mars" tee shirt thinks that educating Americans is complicated?
You referred a hundred or more times to "China," and the "China noticed..." paragraph, the one after that, and the "China looks at business..." paragraphs explain why. If we operated as a unified country with national interests, instead of dog-eat-dog and every-man-for-himself, country, we'd be much more stable, and everyone's needs would be met.
Clearly, this requires people with vastly more money than they could possibly know what to do with simply to pay proper taxes (which they'd never miss), but they're greedy addicts, and all the "Occupy Mars" goofball can think about is how cool it would be to have a trillion dollars, whyever anyone would possibly want that.
And that's why "China" is leaving us in the dust, and will increasingly do so. Real countries (far more than just China) provide actual health care and education for everyone, and they're paid for with taxes. This country has painted itself into a corner, and the current government is adding several, and much higher, coats of paint.
The Chinese oligarchs want their kids to be global and be able to live anywhere, including the US. The oligarchs themselves should be looking for ways out of China for themselves and their entire families. Xi does not favor capitalism, but is using it as a tool, for now. The Republicans think people are our enemy. They are not, no matter where they come from. Nations may choose to be our enemy, and we will have to deal with that. But their citizens are not our enemies. Refugees escaping from other countries are not our enemies. People who want to live here are not our enemies.
“Nations may choose to be our enemy, and we will have to deal with that. But their citizens are not our enemies. Refugees escaping from other countries are not our enemies. People who want to live here are not our enemies.”💝🎉 well said
How did you do that Lucas? Mastering that reading is no easy task, especially since it is hard for an individual to find motivation from the limited chances to "vote" rightly on the issue. Barack Obama did have two places where he noted commensurable issues as strongly as he could: 1. That data theft was beyond serious. 2. That businesses needed to help pay for the resources (like roads and education) that American taxpayers were paying for. What was the response? Taxpayers took a long time to recognize that – I have nothing to hide – wasn't a counter to #1, and the Supreme Court in Citizens United told us businesses were people. Alas, I could make my own essay putting yours together with including point #1.
Is your vote SAFE? Will your vote be purged by vigilante challengers? Scared? Get Angry Protest
The Nazis(aka Republicans) SAVE Act and access to Americans private information The Nazis will use this information using AI to eliminate voters from the voting rolls with election consequences
We have the numbers they have the cash. The SAVE act will require proof of birth either by original birth certificate(who has that) or passport
The SAVE ACT will require people are asked to register or re-register to vote (31m do that every year….for various reasons change address/change county, change name with marriage) voters will have to prove they are citizens in order to vote This can be done in 2 ways: 1) proof of birth either by original birth certificate(who has that?) or 2 passport (12% have passports and are usually white and wealthy) What about women who have different last names now? Try to register if you do not have your original birth certificate because marriage licenses, military ID’s will not count This is why the Trump regime tried to do away with birthright citizenship
The result of the SAVE ACT: Massive drain of the voter rolls
Call your congressperson to vote against the SAVE ACT 202 224 3121
I'm old. Last year I was forced to " retire" after 75 years of WORK! Just help me understand.
If we stop funding education - our schools and universities - then only China and other
foreign countries benefit from our educational system. Our wealthy will continue supporting China, then only China will have the ability to save what's left of the USA?
Ms Ditty, another way to look at that is to ask whom it serves and in what ways to have Americans who are un- or undereducated. The damage/downside is increasingly and glaringly evident. What's the upside, apart from people who have more money than they know what to do with not paying taxes?
Brilliant analysis and some extremely constructive and creative ideas, Lucas. Thank you SO SO much.
And even I learned a heck of a lot. I say, "even", because in the end, I was the lawyer representing the Globalstar consortium (led by Loral Space) in negotiating the launching of its LEOs ... not with the Chinese in the end, but with Ukraine (NPO Yuhznoye, the Ukrainian rocket-launching authority) after Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear-tipped missile arsenal as part of a deal we all know.
Of course, in a way, the financial part of the problem is not quite as bad as it seems as the
companies do make profits and pay dividends to their shareholders; and the American public has enjoyed mammoth savings in lower prices. It was easy for some to see it as win-win.
But your National security and monopoly insights, among others, should be eye-openers to any reader.
Incredibly detailed and spot on analysis! I appreciate that you shared detailed history of how the US got where we are today with the economic and self-interest thinking behind it. I remember in the 90’s a business man telling me “we’re bringing democracy to China” as he made deals with them. That was his patriotic way to explain and justify why doing business there was more important than national security or keeping jobs in America. Maybe he actually believed it? This is probably why China is projected to be the number one country for GDP/economy by 2050, with India being second, then the US as third. Guess where else US companies have sent their manufacturing to and who else it’s been educating (India). Indians seem to be more likely to stay in the US though. Thanks for sharing solutions to fix this.
The administration's expressed concern about wealthy Chinese taking slots in US colleges seems very much out of step the the administrations expressed policy of giving citizenship to foreigners who dobste $5 million to the US. Maybe the should do a better job of being consistent.
Dear Lucas: This is an astounding essay. I plan to republish it on my Substack (1200 subscribers). Back in December, you encouraged me to republish another post. Let me know if you've changed your mind.
Our adversaries always said they will take control of the USA without firing one shot, and this is exactly what they are doing, especially China and Russia.
And Karl Marx said that the Capitalists would sell the Communists the rope with which the Capitalists would be hanged. This post makes that very clear.
I learn so much from you! The country would have been so much better off with you as Senator from Missouri. How can we support you making a contribution to the country?
Ms Jones, it's even simpler than that. The country would be better with ANYONE besides Hawley as a Senator from Missouri. If the residents of Missouri made a list of their hugest mistakes ever, not replacing Hawley with Lucas Kunce would likely be at the top of the list.
Many of us voted for Lucas!
We tried.
Thank you for trying. Six years from now, you can try to dump Hawley again. Before that, you can try to dump your other Senator. If Kunce runs again.
I don't believe in private money in political campaigns, but I panicked last year. Kunce was one of the beneficiaries of my panic.
We all gave so much to achieve so little.
Biden betrayed us by not having stepped aside much earlier, when he originally said he would, Harris made what I consider the huge mistake of having publicly and repeatedly said she wouldn't do anything different from Biden, and no one was going to outspend Elon and his ilk. We came really close in several places, though. I don't regret having donated where I did (although it seems empty and hollow when we lose Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, and people like Kunce and Trygve Hammer don't get elected), and as much as I don't believe in it, for people like Kunce, I'd do it again.
And Herr Schmitt. Lucas lost to both of them.
I was unaware. The voters in MO are dumber than I thought. But they're not dumber than the voters in ND who didn't elect Trygve Hammer, or the voters in TX who re-elected the most hated (by everyone) Senator (Cruz), or the voters in Florida (where I live) who re-elected Ricky Scott. Pretty dumb, though.
A lot of voters here view Florida as a challenge to achieve rather than a lesson to avoid.
We have two House seats now open and to be filled by election on April 5. It's hard to know what information to trust, but "the word on the street" is that at least one of them is looking good. The one about which less optimism is expressed is the one that repeated elected Matt Gaetz, so that's another really dumb group of people. I don't know what's supposed to happen about the woman DeSantis appointed to fill Rubio's seat. I don't know if she gets to fulfill whatever is left of his term, or if she, too, has to run, maybe in April.
It'll be curious to see what the GA voters do with a possible choice between Jon Ossoff and the offensive dimwit of offensive dimwits: Marge Greene. They do like their Brian Kemp, even though he and Raffensperger refused to throw GA for Donnie in '20. And they both most probably voted for him.
The special elections will all be interesting this year and next. I hope you're right about the one possible seat. I have no clue about Florida's rules on the Senate seat, but appointments used to be for the balance of the term.
GA should be ok for Ossof, especially against Greene; she's strong on her home turf but may be a little too far out for the rest of the state. We can hope.
thank you for your service to America
Mr Kunce, there's a joke in here somewhere. The guy who conspicuously wears an "Occupy Mars" tee shirt thinks that educating Americans is complicated?
You referred a hundred or more times to "China," and the "China noticed..." paragraph, the one after that, and the "China looks at business..." paragraphs explain why. If we operated as a unified country with national interests, instead of dog-eat-dog and every-man-for-himself, country, we'd be much more stable, and everyone's needs would be met.
Clearly, this requires people with vastly more money than they could possibly know what to do with simply to pay proper taxes (which they'd never miss), but they're greedy addicts, and all the "Occupy Mars" goofball can think about is how cool it would be to have a trillion dollars, whyever anyone would possibly want that.
And that's why "China" is leaving us in the dust, and will increasingly do so. Real countries (far more than just China) provide actual health care and education for everyone, and they're paid for with taxes. This country has painted itself into a corner, and the current government is adding several, and much higher, coats of paint.
The Chinese oligarchs want their kids to be global and be able to live anywhere, including the US. The oligarchs themselves should be looking for ways out of China for themselves and their entire families. Xi does not favor capitalism, but is using it as a tool, for now. The Republicans think people are our enemy. They are not, no matter where they come from. Nations may choose to be our enemy, and we will have to deal with that. But their citizens are not our enemies. Refugees escaping from other countries are not our enemies. People who want to live here are not our enemies.
“Nations may choose to be our enemy, and we will have to deal with that. But their citizens are not our enemies. Refugees escaping from other countries are not our enemies. People who want to live here are not our enemies.”💝🎉 well said
Yeah, Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln both said that if this nation failed, it would be by suicide.
"The World will end not by a bang, but a whimper." -- T.S. Elliott
How did you do that Lucas? Mastering that reading is no easy task, especially since it is hard for an individual to find motivation from the limited chances to "vote" rightly on the issue. Barack Obama did have two places where he noted commensurable issues as strongly as he could: 1. That data theft was beyond serious. 2. That businesses needed to help pay for the resources (like roads and education) that American taxpayers were paying for. What was the response? Taxpayers took a long time to recognize that – I have nothing to hide – wasn't a counter to #1, and the Supreme Court in Citizens United told us businesses were people. Alas, I could make my own essay putting yours together with including point #1.
Is your vote SAFE? Will your vote be purged by vigilante challengers? Scared? Get Angry Protest
The Nazis(aka Republicans) SAVE Act and access to Americans private information The Nazis will use this information using AI to eliminate voters from the voting rolls with election consequences
We have the numbers they have the cash. The SAVE act will require proof of birth either by original birth certificate(who has that) or passport
The SAVE ACT will require people are asked to register or re-register to vote (31m do that every year….for various reasons change address/change county, change name with marriage) voters will have to prove they are citizens in order to vote This can be done in 2 ways: 1) proof of birth either by original birth certificate(who has that?) or 2 passport (12% have passports and are usually white and wealthy) What about women who have different last names now? Try to register if you do not have your original birth certificate because marriage licenses, military ID’s will not count This is why the Trump regime tried to do away with birthright citizenship
The result of the SAVE ACT: Massive drain of the voter rolls
Call your congressperson to vote against the SAVE ACT 202 224 3121
I'm old. Last year I was forced to " retire" after 75 years of WORK! Just help me understand.
If we stop funding education - our schools and universities - then only China and other
foreign countries benefit from our educational system. Our wealthy will continue supporting China, then only China will have the ability to save what's left of the USA?
Ms Ditty, another way to look at that is to ask whom it serves and in what ways to have Americans who are un- or undereducated. The damage/downside is increasingly and glaringly evident. What's the upside, apart from people who have more money than they know what to do with not paying taxes?
Thank you so much for your response. I just cannot understand the mentality of the upper 1% feeling guiltless living off the lower 90%.
"Mentality?" This is very primitive, animalistic, predatory stuff.
You're right!
Brilliant analysis and some extremely constructive and creative ideas, Lucas. Thank you SO SO much.
And even I learned a heck of a lot. I say, "even", because in the end, I was the lawyer representing the Globalstar consortium (led by Loral Space) in negotiating the launching of its LEOs ... not with the Chinese in the end, but with Ukraine (NPO Yuhznoye, the Ukrainian rocket-launching authority) after Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear-tipped missile arsenal as part of a deal we all know.
Wow. Another great article. And very important.
Of course, in a way, the financial part of the problem is not quite as bad as it seems as the
companies do make profits and pay dividends to their shareholders; and the American public has enjoyed mammoth savings in lower prices. It was easy for some to see it as win-win.
But your National security and monopoly insights, among others, should be eye-openers to any reader.
Outstanding essay. Thank you so much for not only the insightful analysis but for providing solutions!
Incredibly detailed and spot on analysis! I appreciate that you shared detailed history of how the US got where we are today with the economic and self-interest thinking behind it. I remember in the 90’s a business man telling me “we’re bringing democracy to China” as he made deals with them. That was his patriotic way to explain and justify why doing business there was more important than national security or keeping jobs in America. Maybe he actually believed it? This is probably why China is projected to be the number one country for GDP/economy by 2050, with India being second, then the US as third. Guess where else US companies have sent their manufacturing to and who else it’s been educating (India). Indians seem to be more likely to stay in the US though. Thanks for sharing solutions to fix this.
Thank you for this amazing analyis.
The administration's expressed concern about wealthy Chinese taking slots in US colleges seems very much out of step the the administrations expressed policy of giving citizenship to foreigners who dobste $5 million to the US. Maybe the should do a better job of being consistent.
Thanks Lucas.