Correction: A previous version of this article mistakenly referred to K.C. Saunders as the County Administrator. He is, in fact, the Budget Director for Lorain County. The correction applies to Part 3, paragraph 3; Part 4, paragraph 1 & 4; and Part 5, paragraph 4 of the published story.
Sometimes, when he fails badly enough, Trump can be forced to do the thing he says he never does: back down.
Today is just one more turn on the roller coaster - but it is more evidence of why we can't give up or let up.
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sometimes i wonder how many versions of myself i’ve outgrown without even noticing. i look back at old photos and remember the thoughts i used to carry, the dreams i thought would save me. it’s strange how you can live inside yourself every day and still not realize you’re evolving. it’s only when you look back that you realize how far you’ve come, how many lives you’ve already lived in the same skin.
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I’m going to say something that shouldn’t be controversial but will be. If you are a Christian, you can support border control and immigration being legal vs illegal. You CANNOT celebrate deportations and get off on the cruelty, and be a real Christ follower. Period
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Hello Readers,
There’s a couple of things I wanted to touch base with you about. The first is that this Substack went over a 100 subscribers a few weeks ago, and many are actively engaged community members—thank you for reading! I am humbled by the support. I appreciate all of my subscribers, paid and unpaid, and it is my intention that …
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Good morning.
DOGE is fake and not a real agency.
Please quit pretending it’s real
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We live in a time that people are more inclined to obey an unlawful executive order than they are to follow a court order 🤦🏾♀️.
Dictators are created due to cruelty, cowardice, & compliance! IF THEIR ASSES will ignore the Supreme Court, we can definitely IGNORE HIM!
This morning, I was back at the New York Stock Exchange with Endeavor Global. Tonight, I’ll be at their gala, rubbing shoulders with leaders from some of the world’s biggest venture funds and companies. Walking in these rarefied circles is a privilege—but it also makes the gaps in how we approach investment and nation-building in the West even more glaring.
Here’s the thing: We’ve gotten way too comfortable.
We need to start building again. Not just building, but building differently—without tying our success to the same tired cost structures that drove us into armchair brand-building and software writing while outsourcing everything else.
For decades, we’ve been chasing cheap labor, low input costs, and short-term gains. It’s how we lost our manufacturing, our innovation, and—frankly—our grit to offshore factories. But here’s the truth: that’s not sustainable, and it’s definitely not the future.
Every app, every “disruptor,” every digital darling of the last two decades still relies on the same thing: the physical world. Chips, batteries, textiles, factories, energy. If we don’t reclaim the ability to design, manufacture, and scale these systems at home—on our terms—we’re putting our autonomy, resilience, and economic future on the line.
This isn’t a cost problem. Rebuilding this foundation is an investment—in sovereignty, in durability, and in long-term growth. But to make it work, we need to stop chasing old incentives and rethink what makes us competitive: automation, speed, IP, and thriving ecosystems of talent and innovation.
Here’s how we do it:
1. Treat Big Projects as Investments, Not Costs
We need bold, multibillion-dollar bets on critical infrastructure—chips, energy, manufacturing. Yes, sometimes we’ll need to copy existing systems—but if we do, they need to be executed with relentless automation and efficiency.
But let’s not stop there. The real opportunity is creating proprietary, groundbreaking technologies that don’t just meet domestic needs but become global exports. Think fusion energy instead of hydro, DNA chips instead of traditional semiconductors. We can lead—if we’re willing to invest in the right places.
2. Hold Innovation and Startups to a Higher Standard
Let’s be honest: the bar for innovation is on the floor. Startups have become synonymous with incremental tweaks, market clones, or digitalizing processes. That’s not innovation—it’s optimization.
Small businesses still matter, but startups were designed to drive inflection points, not just make something “10% better.” Startups chasing bold ideas, building defensible IP, and solving the hard problems? Those are the ones that need innovation funding and attention.
Incremental change has its place—but we need to stop celebrating it in the same breath as transformative progress. If we keep treating small tweaks as game-changers, we muddy the waters and make it harder for real breakthroughs to get the recognition—and investment—they deserve.
3. Reclaim the Physical World
Newsflash: software doesn’t exist in a vacuum. AI needs chips. EVs need batteries. Wearables need textiles. And let’s not forget—everything we see as “not technology” today, like textiles, was once cutting-edge. Imagine trying to make fabric with no tools.
If we don’t protect the production of past innovations, we’ll slide backward. And if we don’t own the physical systems that underpin innovation, we’re outsourcing more than manufacturing—we’re outsourcing autonomy.
4. Move Faster
Permits? Done. Construction? Now. Power to factories? Yesterday. The Western business community has forgotten how to move fast—and it’s killing us. Speed isn’t reckless; it’s survival.
5. Build Real Ecosystems
Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. We need clusters where factories, talent, and ideas collide. Think Silicon Valley, but for hardware, materials, and energy. Real progress happens when you put smart people, great ideas, and physical production close together and let them collaborate.
6. Automate Relentlessly
Automation isn’t optional—it’s the price of admission. Robots don’t strike, and AI doesn’t take coffee breaks. If we’re going to compete, we need automation to make labor costs irrelevant. Without relentless automation, we’re not in the game.
Rebuilding our capacity to build isn’t just about cutting costs. It’s about control, resilience, and growth. Chips, batteries, factories, textiles, energy. These aren’t just physical touchpoints; they’re the foundation of autonomy and economic strength.
The West doesn’t need to copy China’s playbook—or romanticize the 1950s. We need to build smarter, faster, and better.
Have I lost the plot?
