To the Americans:
I've travelled all over the world. I've familiarized myself with many places, and met many people. And I'm a Canadian, although I’m privileged to reside once again in the States.
And here's something I've noticed, and it’s a key element of America's continuing greatness:
You bloody Americans value success, and you believe in its existence.
This is something that doesn't really happen anywhere else in the world. Even in other free democracies—the United Kingdom; Finland, Sweden, and Norway; Australia, New Zealand and Canada; Germany, France, and the Netherlands (great countries all)—a counterproductive cynicism too often reigns.
Success is equated with exploitation.
Ambition is looked upon with contempt.
This happens sometimes in the United States too—particularly among the miserable progressives, who confuse their resentment, ingratitude and unearned skepticism with wisdom.
But in your great country, by and large, striving is admired and success celebrated.
This means that more people strive and succeed in the US than anywhere else. And it's increasingly obvious. You remain stunningly more innovative and productive than any people anywhere else on the planet.
And so I say, as all should who are fortunate enough to live in the western world, let alone America:
Thank God for the United States.
Thank God for the wisdom of its founders.
Thank God for its faith in the free market and in the natural rights of man.
Happy birthday, you damn Yankees and Southerners.
Long may your admirable country dominate the world.
Long may your freedom and hope provide an example to those suffering everywhere at the hands of their malevolent states.
May your two and a half centuries of unparallelled success be just the beginning.
Your country is the light of the world, and the city on the hill.
Thank God for the USA.
Happy 250th.
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
@Spooder5226@brianeskow "billions" yeah OK
The donations paid for the ballroom. The other $300 million is for the underground bunker and other related things they felt were needed and should be added.
@ManBurning83981@brianeskow@grok OK, and how does this have anything to do with the Trump administration? They're an investment bank doing what other investment banks are doing.
Note how they're also not buying these things. They're just facilitating the trade.
@LonnyLot@Austen I prefer the government getting stock for the $10B they gave Intel (at least that's based on a market price), to just handing them $10B.
But not giving them $10B at all is preferred.
Right... So the investment bank (large global bank involved in all sorts of reading) where Howard Lutnick USED TO work, a bank he has no ownership stake in and no leadership role, is participating in FACILITATING the trading of these tariff buy-backs, and you're tying that somehow to benefiting Trump and his administration?
And several other similarly-sized banks (Jefferies, Stifel, Oppenheimer) are also facilitating some of these deals.
(And to-date Cantor Fitzgerald hasn't actually traded or bought them, so it's a moot point)
Yeah, OK 👍🏼
Leftist logic at its best.
@Livingmasterkey@brianeskow This is where you present credible evidence that he is doing that. I'm open to seeing evidence. What I have seen from legacy media is uncorroborated by evidence.
@ManBurning83981@brianeskow Any evidence? Sounds like fake news.
@grok is there evidence that the Bessent family is benefitting in any way from anything that may be described as a "tariff buy back scheme"?
I agree with pretty much everything you're saying, except that I think it's a very common misconception that Norway and Sweden are socialist countries.
They are definitely capitalist, pro-business and investment, but they have a higher safety net with healthcare and education.
That's it.
I actually think that the US can learn a lot about their model.
Their education system is WAY more capitalist than the US. Also why they have better educational outcomes.
There is no estate tax, low property tax that's capped at less than $1,000 per year, and corporate and capital gains tax is reasonable.
There is a bit too much regulation and protectionist policies in Norway and Sweden, I'll give on that.
@JamieMetzl Speaking of "most vulnerable", the left fails across the board.
@grok what five states have the most homeless people per Capita? What party is the governor? Does the Democrat party have a trifecta in these states?