Jim Furey

Actionable technical trading ideas. Not investment advice. Also, links to thought provoking articles.

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

Alex Karp's Manifesto. Everyone needs to read this, whether you agree or disagree with him. He and PLTR are important players in our national defense and politics.

[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

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

Steamroller. The question is when, not if....

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

https://t.co/DzXmO7sKsv

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

History will view Spencer Pratt's humorous AI ads that angrily mock his opponents so effectively as an inflection point. Expect his opposition, and future politicians, to use the same tools. The Wild West Age of AI politics is here. Importantly, Spencer's AI use doesn't attempt to trick viewers the ad is real. Future ads by others will not be so transparent, most likely.

[Miranda Devine @mirandadevine]

Another brilliant @spencerpratt ad!

[Brad Parscale @parscale]

These ads are brilliant.

Has Bass accomplished anything but facilitating the massive downward decline of LA?

[Josh Wolfe @wolfejosh]

Give the man a goddam Oscar.

Invent the category. Then award him 🏆

Or award him and THEN invent the category

[Stephen Moore @StephenMoore]

The biggest wealth transfer in American history isn’t happening on Wall Street. It’s happening on U-Hauls.

Over $2 trillion in income fled high-tax blue states for low-tax red states in just 11 years.

And blue states’ solution? Raise taxes again.

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

Maybe the funniest and best political ad EVER. Will see if it works for Spencer Pratt. You cannot watch it just once! 😂

[Robert Lufkin MD @robertlufkinmd]

I'm not a Republican nor a Democrat and this is not a political channel.

But I am enjoying the amazing creativity of the LA mayor's race campaign ads.

They are off the charts.

Is this the future of politcal campaigns? (and Hollywood)?

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

You can argue if it is a positive or negative. I think it is a positive. But regardless of your view, the robots are coming.

[Shanaka Anslem Perera ⚡ @shanaka86]

JUST IN: Japan just placed the first order for the post-human economy. Not a policy paper. Not a committee report. An actual deployment of Chinese-made humanoid robots to handle baggage at the busiest airport in the world's third-largest economy, starting next month.

On April 27, Japan Airlines and GMO AI and Robotics announced that Unitree G1 humanoid robots will begin a demonstration trial on the tarmac at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in May 2026. The robots stand 132 centimeters tall, weigh 35 kilograms, cost $13,500, and were manufactured in Hangzhou, China. They will be tested pushing cargo containers onto conveyor belts, moving luggage, and coordinating with human handlers. Two units go first. GMO Internet Group has formally designated 2026 as the "First Year of Humanoids." The trial runs through 2028 with plans for permanent integration if successful.

Everyone is covering this as a technology story. It is a dependency story. And the dependency runs in the opposite direction from every assumption the market holds about the US-China technology war.

Japan invented industrial robotics. Fanuc, Yaskawa, Kawasaki. For four decades, Japanese factories exported automation to the world. Now Japan is importing humanoid labor from China because its domestic humanoid industry has not scaled fast enough to meet the demographic emergency. The Unitree G1 was designed in Hangzhou, trained using Nvidia Isaac Simulator, and costs less than five months of a Japanese ground handler's annual salary. The country that built the global robotics industry is now a customer of China's.

The numbers are structural. Japan recorded 42.7 million inbound tourists in 2025 and 7 million in the first two months of 2026. Haneda processes over 60 million passengers annually. Ground handling staff shortages have hit 20%. Japan may need 6.5 million foreign workers by 2040, but political pressure to limit immigration is mounting. The country is caught between a demographic wall and a political wall, and the only passage between them is a 132-centimeter robot from Hangzhou.

Mo Gawdat said labor arbitrage disappears when you can hire a robot for less than a human. Japan just converted that thesis into a procurement decision. A Unitree G1 costs $13,500. A Haneda ground handler earns $35,000 to $45,000 per year before benefits. The robot runs approximately two hours per charge, but it does not age, emigrate, or quit. Japan is not adopting humanoids because they are better. It is adopting them because it has run out of humans.

Here is the dependency inversion nobody is pricing. In March 2026, the US Senate introduced a bipartisan bill banning Chinese-made robots from government use. Japan, America's most critical Pacific ally, is importing those same robots for airport infrastructure. The chips are Nvidia. The bodies are built in Hangzhou. This is not hypothetical. In April 2025, Beijing restricted rare earth magnet exports and Musk confirmed the restrictions delayed Tesla Optimus production. If Beijing applies the same lever to humanoid exports, Japan's demographic solution becomes a supply-chain crisis overnight.

The first humanoid robot will push its first cargo container at Haneda in May. It costs less than a used Toyota. It was made by a country America is trying to contain. And it will do a job no Japanese citizen is willing to do anymore. That is not a technology trial. That is the future of labor arriving at gate 23.

[Lloyd Blankfein @lloydblankfein]

Ken Griffin is self-made. He built his businesses largely outside NYC but is now growing it in NYC. With Ken comes construction of an office tower, high paying jobs, tax revenue and a remarkable commitment to local philanthropy. Not sure why that pisses off the new mayor.

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

Hilton is impressive. He has seen and lived in communist and socialist countries. He knows neither works and has plans to make CA successful again. I am just getting to know him and his policies. I like very much what I hear so far. This is an excellent interview to get to know him and his views. Can a Republican win in CA today? Stranger things have happened.

[The All-In Podcast @theallinpod]

🚨 ALL-IN INTERVIEW!

CA Governor Candidate Steve Hilton on Why California is Destroying Itself and How a Republican Can Win

@SteveHiltonx sits down with @chamath and @Jason to discuss:

-- Taxes: No tax under $100K and a 7.5% flat rate

-- Housing: Why CA homes cost 3x more to build

-- Education: Why CA schools spend the most but get the least

-- Social: Crime, homelessness, and corruption

(0:00) Intro: Steve Hilton is a Republican Brit Running for CA Governor

(8:34) Zero Tax Under $100K and a 7.5% Flat Rate: Is It Fiscally Possible?

(27:52) Why CA Homes Cost 3x More to Build (Unions, CEQA, and Climate Dogma)

(44:50) Why CA Schools Spend the Most but Get the Worst Results

(50:02) Crime, Homelessness, and the Failure to Enforce Laws That Already Exist

(1:01:34) Can a Republican Actually Win California?

[The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee]

Nation Longs For Good Old Days When Comedians Were Funny And Didn't Wish Death On People https://t.co/P2IknRNz5I

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

An example of the digital world replacing the analogue world. Bullish BTC. Secular. Not cyclical. Warhol Is Out, Gulfstreams Are In: The Superrich Are Souring on Art https://t.co/jDpatJeVTa

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

Trend lines many might not typically examine.

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

Ask Chicago if they miss Ken Griffin’s and Citadel’s tax revenues. In the US, people and companies vote with their feet. You are seeing the continued decline of blue states and their major cities as they destroy their tax base due to reflexive policy choices. I am glad Mamdani is pursuing his policies early and rapidly so voters can see their consequences before the next election. Citadel is building a skyscraper on Brickell Bay in Miami. Don’t be surprised when it is completed that New York sees a Citadel exodus. Still several years away.

[John McCormick @McCormickJohn]

Exclusive / Billionaire Ken Griffin is appalled New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his 24,000-square-foot Manhattan penthouse as the backdrop for a tax-the-rich video and that has triggered a subtle threat of re-evaluating investment in the city. https://t.co/LkliZno4S2

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

Relaxing and planning my mistake for tomorrow! 🤪😂

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

This is unreal. The length and productivity. This is only a look at the playoffs. We need to enjoy his play. He doesn’t have another 23 years to play…. I don’t think!😂

[Kirk Goldsberry @kirkgoldsberry]

Ladies and gentlemen, LeBron James

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

@ToxicBTC21M @YouTube :) Thank you.

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

Bitcoin, MSTR, and AI with Chase Furey https://t.co/PLBTt7SyXW via @YouTube

[Jim Furey @StocksStrategy]

@ToxicBTC21M @YouTube Ha! Something like that... :)