Birthright

“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is … unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” Hebrews 12:16,17

TLDR

TLDR...

Trump tariffs, territorial aggression, and his naked pursuit of personal power are a wealth destroying event. We are in a political crisis that has developed over 10 years, not merely a market tantrum.

The public misunderstands the situation. It’s not just tariffs. The problem is structural mistrust.

The United States is in violation of our core agreement with ourselves. We agree that everyone is valuable, so no one person can tell everyone what to do.

The United States is in violation of our core agreement with ourselves.

The tariff “strategy” doesn’t make sense to you because the strategy is not for you . Tariffs are a lever of personal power over every company and person on the planet. They are not a strategy with public benefit in mind.

Tariffs are not a successful strategy for reducing the debt if they kill the economy. Crushing growth while raising borrowing costs is disastrous mismanagement. Rising interest rates and declining economic activity may generate a recession and more serious market declines.

The administration is deliberately devaluing the dollar. We expect this will mean higher interest rates, despite the economy slowing or going into recession. The dollar and treasuries are not a safe haven.

The administration is deliberately devaluing the dollar.

Until Congress asserts their Constitutional powers to tax and wage war- the system is chaotic and dysfunctional and will likely not improve in a fundamental way.

The financial markets’ response and internal political pressure may mitigate the harm. The bond market is correct; its justice is swift. Rising borrowing costs will punish bad behavior.

We are cutting portfolio risk and raising cash equivalents in Euros, Gold, Yen and Dollars. We favor these over cryptocurrencies because we want assets that are less levered and more predictable.

We are cutting portfolio risk and raising cash equivalents in Euros, Gold, Yen and Dollars.

Bond maturities should be short. Stocks should have earnings and free cash flow now unless investors have long time frames. We will most likely make more international investments.

We are still holding dollars, because that’s what clients spend, and in a credit contraction, dollars can be put to work in cheaper investments.

If Congress acts to curb the powers of the president, the risks are significant too, though that can put us on a path to recovery.

If Congress acts to curb the powers of the president, the risks are significant too, though that can put us on a path to recovery.

We cannot escape conflict over issues so fundamental to the project. We are in a collective fog because the problem is so significant and scary, and because we are so far outside the bounds of our normal experience.

Birthright

The birthright of Americans is described in the founding document . It says: everyone is valuable, therefore, no one person should tell everyone else what to do.

The birthright of Americans is described in the founding document .

The way we express that is that you can say what you want, try to do what you want within the law, and defend your person if someone doesn’t like it.

The birthright is not a great passport, a great military, a great economy. It is not the right to get rich. It’s not 10% compounding returns in the stock market. It is not fairness. It is not equal outcomes. It is not growth above inflation.

Those are all possibilities springing from our birthright, not the thing itself.

Those are all possibilities springing from our birthright, not the thing itself.

Birth of the nation

Our birthright was established by the birth of the nation. Our agreement with each other says that human life is inherently valuable. By being alive you are valuable. It doesn’t matter what your race or ethnicity or gender or sexuality or nationality is.

That’s why each person can choose their life. They can try to achieve their happiness in the way that they choose. They can succeed or fail according to their luck or their abilities. It’s not based on ethnicity or nationality or having money, titles, or lands. It’s based on one agreement:

That’s why each person can choose their life.

Everyone is valuable, so nobody should tell everyone else what to do. Many human rights derive from this agreement.

Most of the world still doesn’t accept this idea! Most humans are not living under this system today. These possibilities for us are framed by the Constitution of the United States, and they are framed in ways that do not exist in many other places in the world. Rights are protected by distributing power.

But this is not just an agreement. It’s true in an observable sense. If we allow that everyone is valuable, if we have the right to speak, we share information, we make decisions for ourselves, and we lever up the collective intelligence of the species.

If we allow that everyone is valuable, if we have the right to speak, we share information, we make decisions for ourselves, and we lever up the collective intelligence of the species.

That’s my explanation for why the US is exceptional- it activates or allows the creative potential of more people, and that scales. Harming those connections and that collective intelligence is immoral.

In a free society, the collective intelligence, capability, and function of the network is much higher than in a society that defines people’s choices for them and makes it risky for them to speak about the conditions of life. American exceptionalism means letting everyone do what they want as much as possible, bounded by the laws.

It suggests more people than not will do the right thing for others if you let them, not force them. We refer people to their own internal morality. That makes sense. Life must be expressed. It can’t be navigated by avoidance, by not committing mistakes or transgressions.

It suggests more people than not will do the right thing for others if you let them, not force them.

Framing those possibilities and allowing many people into the agreement has allowed the United States to become the most powerful society in the history of the world.

The Law

The Declaration of Independence made many moral arguments why the world should support the American colonies’ right and necessity to form its own government.

The Declaration of Independence made many moral arguments why the world should support the American colonies’ right and necessity to form its own government.

The very first reason is that the king of England “ has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.”

This idea goes back to the Magna Carta. Jefferson is accusing the English of not even living up to their own agreement with themselves .

England had said: everyone is subject to the law. And indeed, Arthurian legends are obsessed with the idea that if the king is a good, he recognizes that he is also under the law, and he holds himself to it. This is the most important idea of King Arthur and his nights of the round table.

England had said: everyone is subject to the law.

You could read Le Morte d’Arthur – or easier and more delightful, read the Once and Future King , by T. H. White, to explore these themes.

Lawlessness

But if one person gains a lot of power and says that his whim is law, then he’s not subject to the laws, and freedom is not possible for *anyone else in a real sense.

But if one person gains a lot of power and says that his whim is law, then he’s not subject to the laws, and freedom is not possible for *anyone else in a real sense.

One king’s will to power compromises the opportunities and function of every other person.

A man who says: my will is law: He’s a despot.

The law frames opportunity for people who are not rich and powerful to pursue their own peace and prosperity. Otherwise, the powerful will oppress the powerless and take away their stuff. That’s human nature.

The law frames opportunity for people who are not rich and powerful to pursue their own peace and prosperity.

Lawlessness corrodes freedom

You’re not a billionaire. I’m not a billionaire. We can’t buy our safety on an island in a war-torn world. We can’t create diverse investment opportunities by ourselves or take control of the country’s supply of nickel.

Our opportunities exist within our system, not by destroying it.

Our opportunities exist within our system, not by destroying it.

When powerful people make the argument that they can’t be governed by the laws of the United States, they aren’t showing you the way towards your own peace and prosperity.

They are saying: I can do whatever I want, and you can’t stop me.

They are saying: I can take your stuff.

They are saying: I can take your stuff.

And indeed, the symbol of King George’s despotism was a tariff, on tea , at 3 cents per pound. That was a tax of about 20% of the cost on one of the normal pleasures of life that normal people wanted to be able to import and enjoy.

Wealth is an experience. It’s what you can enjoy with the people you love without the threat it will be taken away.

Credibility

Credibility...

If we allow one person to tell us what to do, we are violating our agreement with ourselves.

Our birthright is the platform on which all the benefits are built of American society are built, because it’s the founding agreement on which we build all our agreements with each other and with the world .

This agreement has held up under a lot of weight and significance because the premise is true. All people are valuable, and we should not let one person tell us what to do.

This agreement has held up under a lot of weight and significance because the premise is true.

If one person tells everyone what to do, we will not be able to fulfill our agreements around the world. If your word is your bond, but someone can say the promises you made are not valid,

You can’t be trusted.

If one person tells everyone what to do, nobody else is empowered to make decisions or fulfill their commitments. They will have to do what they do by permission or not at all. If a person can’t read a law and know for themselves what is possible, their own powers of thought and decision are compromised.

If one person tells everyone what to do, nobody else is empowered to make decisions or fulfill their commitments.

If one person tells everyone what to do, you don’t know what you can trust from anyone, because one person can invalidate all that everyone else says or does. And if people live under fear, they don’t say what needs to be said to adapt and advance.

This is an immoral and dysfunctional situation because nobody can be trusted to fulfill their promises or speak the full truth under this arrangement.

Why should they be trusted?

Why should they be trusted?

They haven’t kept their promise to themselves. So, they can’t keep their promise to you.

Credit

All of our economic and military success is built on top of this premise, that all people are valuable, so we shouldn’t let one person tell everyone what to do. That’s one reason the world had been able to trust the United States with power. No one person had it.

All of our economic and military success is built on top of this premise, that all people are valuable, so we shouldn’t let one person tell everyone what to do.

All our agreements with each other are built on this idea; our agreements around the world are built on this agreement. There’s a good reason for that. If you make a deal with someone, will you fulfill the terms? Can you?

This is the foundation of credit. Credit is credibility.

If you have a credit score of 800, it’s because you paid your bills, you have a long history of paying your bills, and you have personal finances that would suggest you can keep on paying them.

If you have a credit score of 800, it’s because you paid your bills, you have a long history of paying your bills, and you have personal finances that would suggest you can keep on paying them.

This is how the bank determines whether to lend you money at all. And this is how they determine how much interest to charge you. Interest rates are how lenders price risk. If you are inconsistent and don’t keep your agreements, the bank will charge you more money when you borrow it, or they won’t lend it to you at all.

Interest Rates

Interest rates vary a lot across different economic cycles. 7.5% interest is not a crazy rate to pay on a mortgage- if the home price is right. However, 3 1/2 years ago, interest rates on homes were 3.5%. That’s a big change that hurts the market.

Interest rates vary a lot across different economic cycles.

Whether rates are going up or down has a lot to do with how much money we owe, whether the economy is working well, whether we’re growing faster than inflation. Whether what we’re doing is sustainable.

Practically all the money I can borrow, or an American company borrows, is related to the the borrowing costs for the country. Those interest rates are set by investors: bond buyers. Americans and American companies own about 75 % of the total US government debt outstanding . About 25% is owned by foreign countries and foreign investors.

Overseas central banks are big buyers of treasuries. They finance US government operations to give themselves dollars to settle payments with, to tie their own currencies somewhat to dollar performance—to facilitate current and future ventures between corporations and to coordinate national policy.

Overseas central banks are big buyers of treasuries.

When we violate our trade and military relationships with our partners around the world, foreign governments and US investors find our credit less reliable, and borrowing costs rise, because they don’t want to lend us money.

Why would you want to lend the US government money if they threaten to take your land or infrastructure? Or if they make trade more difficult? Or if they devalue the currency?

You wouldn’t. Or you’d want to charge more for the use of your money. Why would you want to give money to people that oppose your interests? I don’t.

Or you’d want to charge more for the use of your money.

Rising Rates, Inflation, Dollar Devaluation

Our interest rates are rising dramatically because we are currently devaluing the US dollar, both through chaotic incompetence and through policy.

The US Dollar Index declined 10.5% since January! This has happened twice recently– during Trump tariffs in 2018 and during early covid.

This has happened twice recently– during Trump tariffs in 2018 and during early covid.

Trump tariffs are basically engineering a trade situation a bit like covid. How stupid. I think that will cause inflation. And why in hell would you want to devalue a currency that we print! And use to buy other people’s stuff.

(source: Koyfin 04/21/25. This is a comparison mostly to the purchasing power of Euros, Japanese Yen and British Pounds- that’s about 80% of the index with the Euro being about 57% of the total. These are the main currencies for global trade.)

Inflation doesn’t come solely from printing more currency. We need to grow the supply of dollars as the economy grows. It doesn’t just come from government spending. It comes when government spending is too high. And it is. $2 Trillion annual deficits grow the debt faster than the economy can grow. There’s a way to address this, but it’s not with heavy taxes and austerity.

Inflation doesn’t come solely from printing more currency.

Inflation comes from printing dollars when value isn’t created. But sometimes we get away with that, as we did during the financial crisis in 2008-2009. And it comes from a breakdown in supply chains and from more risk in the environment.

In the recent past, inflation in US dollars grew because of covid, the war in Ukraine and because we printed and distributed too much money.

However, in 2024, inflation had gotten to around 2.4% around late summer , and US 10-year treasury yields were down to about 3.5% in this process. The US had strong GDP growth *above inflation. We need that AND government spending cuts to bring deficits in line.

However, in 2024, inflation had gotten to around 2.

Today, very quickly, inflation risks are rising, and interest rates are rising, because the United States is exporting chaos to the world.

We have held 10-year treasury yields under 5% for almost 20 years. If these levels are violated and rates trade higher, I am concerned that nearly all USD based assets will decline further in value, as they have already begun to do.

You cannot diversify away systemic risk.

You cannot diversify away systemic risk.

(US 10 year treasury yields 2005 to present)

Broken Agreements

We are exporting chaos because we are in violation of the main agreement with ourselves : Everyone is valuable, but we are letting one person tell everyone what to do. This is a chaotic and immoral situation that calls ALL our old agreements into question. Every trade agreement, every military agreement, the history of the country, the expectation of how we will act in the future.

We are exporting chaos because we are in violation of the main agreement with ourselves : Everyone is valuable, but we are letting one person tell everyone what to do.

They are catastrophically violated in this moment. The problem is not simply that this is happening, it’s that this can happen at all . Nobody believed that was possible before. It suggests that the actions of the US are not governed by our historic positions and values.

We are allowing one person to threaten everyone on the planet, their economic potential and potentially their physical safety. This is a serious breach of trust.

This is why the Signal Chat is so threatening, and why you should read that article to understand the situation. It gave the world an open window into the incompetence, resentment and hostility of the vice president, the defense secretary and many important US officials, themes that Trump has been expressing for 10 years as he allied himself with Putin against our historical allies.

This is why the Signal Chat is so threatening, and why you should read that article to understand the situation.

That’s real in a provable way now to Europeans. Especially after Trump’s State of the Union address where he openly laid claims to the Panama Canal, Greenland, and made other threats to Mexico and Canada.

We are not going to get serious progress until we fix the core problem . If we all let one person tell us what to do, we can’t be trusted.

The United States was an ally. Now, an aggressor to Ukraine, to Panama, to Greenland and Canada. Essentially to all of Western Europe, our allies and friends.

Now, an aggressor to Ukraine, to Panama, to Greenland and Canada.

Allowing one person to tell everyone what to do negates everything that the United States has agreed to in the past.

Inflation and interest rates for US borrowing are rising because we have broken trust with each other and with allies around the world.

Wealth Destruction

Wealth Destruction...

What do you think it means when your elected government says they want to devalue your currency? Or that they want to invest in cryptocurrencies? Your government. The people that should be managing the dollar and protecting your purchasing power.

This government is engineering a partial default on the debt . If we reduce dollar purchasing power by say, 20%, what do you think will happen to interest rates? I think they’ll go up if we do that. Remember that we are deliberately paying back less purchasing power- mainly to Americans.

This is a generational, wealth destroying event. Not a “tantrum” in markets. We will probably continue to see dollar devaluation and tariffs, because that is the stated agenda of administration.

This is a generational, wealth destroying event.

President Nixon had a similar paranoid conservatism. We had a dollar devaluation early in his presidency when the US came off the gold standard. (Yes, we should have done that at the time.) But dollar devaluation paired with tariffs? There was a bad recession in ‘73/74 following his policy. We had stagflation. Tariffs in the 1930s are widely understood to have worsened that recession and turned it into a Depression.

This process will likely continue until the American public through Congress asserts its powers. That’s not likely to happen until 70% of the American public insists on it. It could be a while.

Or perhaps political risk will pull the administration back towards a more normal course without direct Congressional intervention. If the administration fired the defense secretary, installed a responsible person, changed the language of tariffs, restated their territorial ambitions as investment opportunities- perhaps we could see interest rates and markets stabilize.

Or perhaps political risk will pull the administration back towards a more normal course without direct Congressional intervention.

I think that’s the outcome that wait-and-see Republicans are hoping for. I suppose that may happen. We can’t act too drastically in portfolios because nobody can predict these choices or the markets.

But some of these cats cannot be put back into the bag without structural change. So, we are firmly on defense in portfolios, and I believe we will get bad terms worldwide until we shore up the foundations.

Polarization and why Congress is dysfunctional

Polarization and why Congress is dysfunctional...

Congress has lost power, ironically because Democrats and Republicans took shortcuts. They gerrymandered most of the Congressional districts, making most US districts easy wins for either party. Out of 435 US house seats, only about 100 of them are up for grabs. More than 75% of them are in the bag.

That means ironically- that congress is easier for the President to control.

In a gerrymandered district, the party that controls the district can run other candidates in the primary to threaten the Congressperson. They can say- get on board with the party or we will run you out. This is how the President has controlled this republican congress for 10 years. This is why the senate didn’t vote to impeach him and why so many people have explained away egregious violations of the public interest.

In a gerrymandered district, the party that controls the district can run other candidates in the primary to threaten the Congressperson.

This means that the messaging to voters in each district tends towards the extremes of the party that controls it. Candidates aren’t speaking to the center of the country but in the most strident language of their party politics. How do you think we get a Majorie Taylor Greene in Congress? Because she doesn’t have to fear losing to a democrat, she says all kinds of incendiary and untrue things. It’s a feedback loop that amplifies crazy.

This means Congress doesn’t fear the public enough . They fear their own party structure. Their incentives are built wrong. This is the nature of polarization: elected officials don’t refer to the good of the country but rather to advancement within their own party structure. It’s soil in which corruption grows, where loyalty means to a person and not the truth. This is Partisanship. It’s not innocent or safe. It’s a betrayal of the oath.

The system is built so that the President’s own party must govern him , especially in the Senate. His powers cannot be limited simply by the opposing party unless they have an enormous majority, or the President would have very little power. And this is how Nixon left office. Republican Senators gave him the boot.

The system is built so that the President’s own party must govern him , especially in the Senate.

To reset the deck, Congress needs to fear the public more than they fear the President . For that to happen, normal Independents and Republican citizens will need to warn Republican partizans that they will be sent packing next election. The public has to tell Congress to take up their own powers, corral the President and limit his power to preserve the franchise.

Fortunately, we don’t need to invent this strategy. It’s the founding premise.

We must act according to our own historic values. We must keep the deal we made with each other . That means the people’s representatives who were attacked by Trump on January 6 will need to act differently than they have the past 10 years.

We must act according to our own historic values.

We are not there yet.

An interpretive problem: A Message to Conservatives

I have a lot of conservative clients whom I love and know to be people of high character. How can you know if my advice and perspective are sensible or a reasonable interpretation? Other people are not saying this. Should you continue with things as normal?

I have a lot of conservative clients whom I love and know to be people of high character.

It’s hard to know how to take this perspective. Your people got elected. There’s a bias to hope things turn out ok. I think basically everyone shares that bias. I hope we get through this without too much damage. I hope we get through this without violence.

People don’t even want to say these words aloud, but that’s my interpretation for why it’s so difficult to look at, to face the situation we are in. Because these issues are too great for me. Nobody knows exactly what to do. But I think we can do more and do better if we confront that fear and uncertainty head on, and we do it together.

Conditions can certainly change. I don’t think everything I’m saying is exactly right. I think it’s directionally correct, not exactly how things will go.

I don’t think everything I’m saying is exactly right.

But perhaps you too are concerned.

At the very least I hope this helps you take stock of your own personal margin of safety . Perhaps you cannot agree with this interpretation exactly. But perhaps you will raise some cash and diversify more into international investments. That may do some good.

Then, as we go along, I’d just ask you to pay attention and see what happens.. Note what people do, not how the machine spin things. Read more stuff. Take this seriously. How’s it going. Are people doing sensible things or destructive things?

Then, as we go along, I’d just ask you to pay attention and see what happens..

I want to remind everyone: American citizens govern their government. The American military is under civilian control. The time to assert your authority over Congress is NOW . To protect your future and your children’s.

Let me ask you: do you agree with global tariffs? Do you agree with the United States’ threats to take Greenland or the Panama Canal? Do you think we should be supporting Ukraine and not Putin? Do you think it’s even possible to make a deal with Putin that we can trust? Do you think we should keep faith with our allies? Do you think we should put the clamps on legal immigration?

In your estimation, is this government on the right side or wrong side of these questions?

In your estimation, is this government on the right side or wrong side of these questions?

The alternative to this despot is not progressivism. The best argument for being conservative is: if it works! If it’s true to its own principles. If people have free speech, free markets, personal responsibility, self-determination. That plays.

Hey! This ain’t it. They stole your words. They called “Patriotism” loyalty to a despot. Hellooooooooo! This government is not conservative. It’s radical in ways that don’t benefit most Americans.

Trump is an ally of Putin’s; this looks more like the Bolshevik revolution than anything that hews towards personal freedom and opportunity. Ok, we’re going to be populists who hate chase off free market capital and massively raise taxes to reduce what people in the United States can afford to import? Seriously?

Trump is an ally of Putin’s; this looks more like the Bolshevik revolution than anything that hews towards personal freedom and opportunity.

This is what people always said about socialism, that the only way to make people more equal was to make everyone worse off. This is some pretty expensive Schadenfreude if that’s plan.

For 10 years I have been telling clients of Williams Wealth Management that Trump would break down the American system of military alliances and trade relationships that supported our high standards of living and the value of the dollar.

That moment is now.

That moment is now.

If you have been hearing me talk for 10 years, and you don’t recognize what is happening, you don’t want to. This is not a normal presidential transition. It’s the accumulation of 10 years of our system validating lawless behavior.

We elected the revolution, and indeed that was a democratic outcome! But American people govern their government. So, I’m asking for your help to restrain your government, because it is doing enormous damage to the country.

We are going to have to choose between our freedom and opportunities or following someone who wants power over us. The more people that understand this, the better. The quicker the better. I would like to deal with this problem now and have less regret later.

We are going to have to choose between our freedom and opportunities or following someone who wants power over us.

I’m so grateful I’m 48 years old and in a position to protect my family. I don’t want our economy destroyed or my 18-year-old son sent to capture our allies’ territory.

I’m fighting for that, and I’m fighting for you. I’m fighting for the money you saved working your whole lives, the opportunities you tried to create for the people you love. I’m fighting for this business, for our future.

How did we get here?

How did we get here?

Do you believe all these grievances? I don’t.

Do you think the United States is 5% of the world’s population but is 35% of the global economy because we got Bad Deals from everyone? We do deals in dollars and in English- and we’re getting bad terms? Those are our terms!

Do you think connection to people is a greater threat than it is an opportunity? That’s the moral of isolationism. How did that go in the UK after Brexit or in post-Covid China?

Do you think connection to people is a greater threat than it is an opportunity?

Do you think immigration is bad for the country? It’s the Business Model.

Isolationist rhetoric basically argues that the whole thing is so corrupt that it needs to be torn down. Corrupt people are calling out corruption?

Many people who ought to be grateful see themselves as victims. Beware that root of bitterness that springs up and causes you trouble . Some mistakes cannot be undone. Many things that are valuable are built over generations, but they can be torn down in a moment.

Many people who ought to be grateful see themselves as victims.

In this moment, we can be agents of our own prosperity. Or we can be agents of our own suffering. We’re going to suffer. What should we suffer for?

What attitudes bring prosperity? Honesty, resilience, accepting responsibility, love, patience, learning, adapting, generosity. I know this to be your character! You’d give people the shirt off your back.

What attitudes corrode prosperity? Suspicion, resentment, vengeance, hostility, lies, violence, power.

Suspicion, resentment, vengeance, hostility, lies, violence, power.

These seem to have poisoned your outlook.

I say this with respect, but it is necessary. I believe this story is a dark view of all that is indeed imperfect or unfair. It roughly parallels the extreme progressive language which suggests the United States is mainly an oppressor while ignoring the progress we’ve driven.

Hey, fascism and communism aren’t different systems. They meet round back and agree: you shouldn’t be in control of your life. And on some level, they seem to agree that people are basically bad.

Hey, fascism and communism aren’t different systems.

Our imperfections are real. But these are just arguments for one man’s power, not solutions for those problems. They’re blame, not answers. It’s a condemnatory philosophy.

Will things be more fair if the foundations are removed? They will not. It will expose us and our families to considerably more risk.

Life and Freedom are Risks you accept

Life and Freedom are Risks you accept...

Don’t you know what corresponds to life? Don’t you know that when people try to control other people, it comes at the cost of peace and prosperity? We have the most intrusive government of our lifetime. Many people have gotten attached to words and have lost track of what they signify. Many people who call themselves patriots do things contrary to their own liberties.

But I have faith in you and in all of us. We don’t have to come up with the answer. It was already invented, and it has been running pretty well for 250 years. We must fight for our freedom in our own time. You can’t give people freedom. Not if they don’t demand it for themselves.

Freedom is a pursuit, a way of being. It’s not a thing, not an object, not a gift. It’s birthright that we make good upon as we inherit the values and become the carriers of this opportunity and burden.

It’s not a thing, not an object, not a gift.

Freedom is not in everyone; we can’t count on everyone in this situation . Not everyone MUST be free. As an 8-year-old child, I knew that members of my own family saluted the flag and talked God and country but that they would never have fought the American Revolution.

Damn Torries. All my life, damn Torries, everywhere I go. JD Vance is the damndedest Torry that ever there was.

People don’t believe in God, for reasons like: JD Vance was not immediately struck by lightning when he spoke his impious words to Zelenskyy.

People don’t believe in God, for reasons like: JD Vance was not immediately struck by lightning when he spoke his impious words to Zelenskyy.

That guy. Come on. Zelenskyy is a free man. Zelenskyy is a hero. Those Ukrainian people would rather be free or die. And they are correct. I celebrate them, and I wish to see them triumph over their oppressor. The United States has no business taking Russia’s side in this conflict.

Independence and Objectivity

I must be free. My colleagues feel the same. That’s why our business is independent.

I must be free.

I think it’s in these moments that you can see how special it is to be independent. To speak the truth as you see it takes courage. It takes a moral imperative. The world is not under my control, but we will do everything we can to understand the situation and help you navigate it.

The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. You must lay hold of life. You must risk life. You cannot be a coward and expect prosperity. Bolder people than you will take your stuff.

I strongly urge you to stir up your courage and to tend to your affairs. Shore up the foundations of your American inheritance; make some appropriate renovations in your own time.

I strongly urge you to stir up your courage and to tend to your affairs.

Take stock of the margin of safety you need to make it through this difficult time. We think most clients should store more cash in multiple forms of currency.

Nothing stands still. You cannot keep the objects of the past. You attain to life when it’s your time, you shape this world with your hopes and your suffering for those hopes, you die.

What are you trying to leave to your children and grandchildren?

What are you trying to leave to your children and grandchildren?

I will be damned if my children are going to live in this insanity, and I just allow it to go that way, in my time on the earth. I’m fighting for my freedom and theirs. We have it. I mean to keep it.

I want to change this situation, but I can’t do anything alone. We will all need each other’s help to restore the foundations. This is everyone’s problem and opportunity.

I hope you know that if you disagree, I respect you, I need you, I await your help. We all succeed in context, not alone.

I hope you know that if you disagree, I respect you, I need you, I await your help.

Certainly, that is the moral of totalitarianism: we cannot allow ourselves to be divided. Not by Democrats or Republicans. What silly words these are. These false identities suggest we are one another’s greatest risk when we have done nothing but help each other. How foolish to be caught in this language and concede its divisive rhetoric.

Eventually this country’s DNA will assert itself. We were all taught these things from our youth up. My question is how long it will take and how much damage will it take?

I speak so frankly because I would like to spare us some difficulties. I’m not stupid; I am familiar with the messenger getting shot. I have been making that deal with the world my whole life.

I speak so frankly because I would like to spare us some difficulties.

My message isn’t for everyone. I can’t keep the Ostriches from getting eaten or expect cowards and sycophants to join me.

My allies are those who take up the challenge of life out of love and moral courage and a desire to be free.

I’m here to help you.

I’m here to help you.

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