Farther Side

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

@FoxNews Mamdani has built nothing. He is a taker, never a maker.

[Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez @RepCarlos]

Exijo la entrega inmediata de Diosdado Cabello ante la justicia estadounidense. Este matón debe pagar por sus crímenes de lesa humanidad y dejar de obstaculizar el proceso de rescate. 🇻🇪

[Arturo Pérez-Reverte @perezreverte]

"La tiranía se mantiene por el temor que inspira, y también por la cobardía de muchos ciudadanos que, desunidos y más atentos a su interés personal que al de todos, toleran la injusticia y con su pasividad consolidan al tirano que en secreto detestan".
(Aristóteles. Política)

[Palantir @PalantirTech]

Because we get asked a lot.

The Technological Republic, in brief.

1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation.

2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible.

3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public.

4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.

5. The question is not whether A.I. weapons will be built; it is who will build them and for what purpose. Our adversaries will not pause to indulge in theatrical debates about the merits of developing technologies with critical military and national security applications. They will proceed.

6. National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost.

7. If a U.S. Marine asks for a better rifle, we should build it; and the same goes for software. We should as a country be capable of continuing a debate about the appropriateness of military action abroad while remaining unflinching in our commitment to those we have asked to step into harm’s way.

8. Public servants need not be our priests. Any business that compensated its employees in the way that the federal government compensates public servants would struggle to survive.

9. We should show far more grace towards those who have subjected themselves to public life. The eradication of any space for forgiveness—a jettisoning of any tolerance for the complexities and contradictions of the human psyche—may leave us with a cast of characters at the helm we will grow to regret.

10. The psychologization of modern politics is leading us astray. Those who look to the political arena to nourish their soul and sense of self, who rely too heavily on their internal life finding expression in people they may never meet, will be left disappointed.

11. Our society has grown too eager to hasten, and is often gleeful at, the demise of its enemies. The vanquishing of an opponent is a moment to pause, not rejoice.

12. The atomic age is ending. One age of deterrence, the atomic age, is ending, and a new era of deterrence built on A.I. is set to begin.

13. No other country in the history of the world has advanced progressive values more than this one. The United States is far from perfect. But it is easy to forget how much more opportunity exists in this country for those who are not hereditary elites than in any other nation on the planet.

14. American power has made possible an extraordinarily long peace. Too many have forgotten or perhaps take for granted that nearly a century of some version of peace has prevailed in the world without a great power military conflict. At least three generations — billions of people and their children and now grandchildren — have never known a world war.

15. The postwar neutering of Germany and Japan must be undone. The defanging of Germany was an overcorrection for which Europe is now paying a heavy price. A similar and highly theatrical commitment to Japanese pacifism will, if maintained, also threaten to shift the balance of power in Asia.

16. We should applaud those who attempt to build where the market has failed to act. The culture almost snickers at Musk’s interest in grand narrative, as if billionaires ought to simply stay in their lane of enriching themselves . . . . Any curiosity or genuine interest in the value of what he has created is essentially dismissed, or perhaps lurks from beneath a thinly veiled scorn.

17. Silicon Valley must play a role in addressing violent crime. Many politicians across the United States have essentially shrugged when it comes to violent crime, abandoning any serious efforts to address the problem or take on any risk with their constituencies or donors in coming up with solutions and experiments in what should be a desperate bid to save lives.

18. The ruthless exposure of the private lives of public figures drives far too much talent away from government service. The public arena—and the shallow and petty assaults against those who dare to do something other than enrich themselves—has become so unforgiving that the republic is left with a significant roster of ineffectual, empty vessels whose ambition one would forgive if there were any genuine belief structure lurking within.

19. The caution in public life that we unwittingly encourage is corrosive. Those who say nothing wrong often say nothing much at all.

20. The pervasive intolerance of religious belief in certain circles must be resisted. The elite’s intolerance of religious belief is perhaps one of the most telling signs that its political project constitutes a less open intellectual movement than many within it would claim.

21. Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive. All cultures are now equal. Criticism and value judgments are forbidden. Yet this new dogma glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures . . . have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful.

22. We must resist the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism. We, in America and more broadly the West, have for the past half century resisted defining national cultures in the name of inclusivity. But inclusion into what?

Excerpts from the #1 New York Times Bestseller The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West, by Alexander C. Karp & Nicholas W. Zamiska

https://t.co/8igjazz1On

[鈴森はるか 『haruka suzumori』 🇯🇵 @harukaawake]

🇯🇵 I often see endless third world resentment toward the West and feel only pity.

Hiroshima & Nagasaki were destroyed by atomic bombs. We lost everything. We didn't scream about trauma or demand endless reparations. We rebuilt. Today these cities are beautiful.

So, drop the victimhood. Stop blaming history. Change and build something or otherwise get used to being disliked.

[Mike Solana @micsolana]

there is a very specific genre of tech billionaire currently arguing both 1) AI is going to replace all the jobs (some say this with enthusiasm, some with dread), and 2) we need to *increase* migration. respectfully: what?

[captive dreamer @captive_dreamer]

In an age where Silicon Valley elites peddle woke nonsense and undermine American sovereignty, Alex Karp and Palantir Technologies emerge as true patriots defending the West. Karp has boldly declared Palantir the “first company to be completely anti-woke,” championing meritocracy, free speech, and “lethal technology” over the progressive pieties that have crippled other tech giants. While companies like Google shun military contracts, Palantir equips the U.S. armed forces, intelligence agencies, and law enforcement with powerful AI and data tools to detect threats, dismantle terrorist networks, and maintain military superiority against adversaries like China and radical Islamists.

This is not Big Brother spying on citizens, but smart technology safeguarding the nation.Karp’s unapologetic support for strong borders and national security sets him apart. Palantir powers ICE operations to identify and remove criminal illegal immigrants, helping enforce laws that protect American workers and communities from the chaos of open borders, fentanyl deaths, and rising crime. As Karp has argued, too much empathy flows to elites and rule-breakers while average Americans suffer. His company’s work with Israel and backing of decisive actions against drug cartels demonstrate a commitment to results over political correctness. In contrast to the left’s hysteria over “surveillance,” Palantir’s platforms enable targeted, effective action that keeps Americans safe.Ultimately, Alex Karp represents the fusion of high-tech innovation with old-fashioned American resolve.

At a time when Western civilization faces existential threats, his leadership ensures the U.S. retains its edge through superior organization of violence and intelligence—echoing the hard truths of history. Critics from the left smear Palantir because it refuses to bow to their anti-military, anti-enforcement agenda. True conservatives recognize it as essential: a company building the tools to win the future for our country, not apologize for its strength.

[Eduardo Bolsonaro🇧🇷 @BolsonaroSP]

Quién se beneficia de la existencia de los cárteles de la droga? Quién apoya a los grupos narcoterroristas?

La respuesta es fácil: basta ver quiénes los defienden. Estos defensores, tan inescrupulosos como los narcotraficantes, o incluso más que ellos, también merecen ser barridos de la vida pública.

[The White House @WhiteHouse]

The only way. 🇺🇸

[Tom Nash @iamtomnash]

According to several sources, Khamenei’s last words were, “So that’s what Palantir fucking does!”

$PLTR

[The White House @WhiteHouse]

President Donald J. Trump on the United States military combat operations in Iran:

[Mike Gonzalez @Gundisalvus]

Graffiti in Havana

[Pirate Wires @PirateWires]

NEW: Last month, @lulumeservey — tech’s communications whisperer — announced she’d raised a $40m VC fund. We talked to Lulu about why she decided to (sort of) get into VC, and her plans to invest in founders who can bend the arc of history with their products... and words.

Lessons from our conversation:

• There’s no alpha in being a follower. If you want people to pay attention to you, you have to risk being disliked.

• As Peter Thiel says, “it’s not contrarian to just put a minus sign in front of everything.” Then you’re just predictably negative, which is the same as being reflexively anti-woke or reflexively based. This is boring and moves culture nowhere.

• Don’t hire “storytellers.” “Having a job title for ‘storyteller’ is so cringe,” Lulu says. It’s like wanting to hire a “guru” 20 years ago. Instead, hire people who embody the soul of your company. They may not be “marketing” experts. They could be “diplomats, spies, members of the clergy.” Give them money and let them cook.

• It’s not interesting to just be based. Lulu: “I see these based arrivistes… and I’m like: Where were you when it was actually going down? You’re anti-woke in 2025? What are you talking about?”

• Hiring advice from Lulu: “You can’t change people’s instincts. You can’t teach them loyalty. You can’t teach them bravery.” Hire for courage, fortitude, and basic skills. You can teach the rest.

Read our full interview via @HarrisSockel threaded below 👇