Reacher

I’m going to make something very clear. Centrists, independents, libertarians, and former democrats are THE REASON TRUMP WON. We are the “coalition” that delivered the mandate to MAGA. We did that in large part because we support MAGA in the fight against ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. We still support the fight against illegal immigration. But WE DO NOT SUPPORT a fight against LEGAL IMMIGRATION, which is literally foundational to our nation. The MAGA base doesn’t get to move the goal posts on that implicit deal and then pretend like they aren’t the ones stabbing us in the back. They can cry wolf and call us “elitist,” “pompous,” and “tech cultists” all they want. They can insult us and accuse us of “scoffing at the pain and experiences of everyday Americans” all they want. But they are the ones breaking the deal that holds the coalition together, and they can’t use “reverse white guilt” woke logic to shame us into backing down when we call them out on it.

The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH: Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG. A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers. A culture that venerates Cory from “Boy Meets World,” or Zach & Slater over Screech in “Saved by the Bell,” or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in “Family Matters,” will not produce the best engineers. (Fact: I know *multiple* sets of immigrant parents in the 90s who actively limited how much their kids could watch those TV shows precisely because they promoted mediocrity…and their kids went on to become wildly successful STEM graduates). More movies like Whiplash, fewer reruns of “Friends.” More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less “chillin.” More extracurriculars, less “hanging out at the mall.” Most normal American parents look skeptically at “those kinds of parents.” More normal American kids view such “those kinds of kids” with scorn. If you grow up aspiring to normalcy, normalcy is what you will achieve. Now close your eyes & visualize which families you knew in the 90s (or even now) who raise their kids according to one model versus the other. Be brutally honest. “Normalcy” doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent. And if we pretend like it does, we’ll have our asses handed to us by China. This can be our Sputnik moment. We’ve awaken from slumber before & we can do it again. Trump’s election hopefully marks the beginning of a new golden era in America, but only if our culture fully wakes up. A culture that once again prioritizes achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness. That’s the work we have cut out for us, rather than wallowing in victimhood & just wishing (or legislating) alternative hiring practices into existence. I’m confident we can do it. 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

Guys it's not that complicated. You either with Ukraine or North Korea.

I hate this stupid war so much.

I just watched a video of Ukrainian veteran Vladyslav Zadorin, who spent 22 months in a Russian prison. What he talks about is terrible; it is physical and mental torture on a daily basis. Please share this summary so that the world understands what kind of evil Russia is.