Husband and father. IT profesional. Whiskey dabbler. Human rights ally. Fascinated by technology. Bitcoin believer.

Joined June 2011
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What concerns me is the obvs. authoritarian leanings and the growing reality that AI soon will become a core element of national defense—much like nuclear deterrence has been in the past. #palantir #freedom
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 techrepublicbook.com
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Rob Amundson retweeted
RIP. One of the nation's most beautiful wilderness areas.
BREAKING: The U.S. Senate approves a bill to allow mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. kare11.com/article/news/poli…
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“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation. These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance — standing with our neighbors is deeply American.” -Frey apnews.com/article/minnesota…
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Not my idea of freedom...
BREAKING: In a shocking moment, Trump appears to place limits on the 2nd Amendment: "You can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns. You just can't. You can't walk in with guns." And MAGA thought Obama would take their guns!
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Rob Amundson retweeted
PRESS RELEASE: MN Gun Owners Caucus responds to the shooting death of Alex Pretti We are deeply concerned by this morning’s reports that a federal law enforcement operation in Minneapolis resulted in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal agents. According to local officials, the man was legally armed, a firearm was recovered at the scene, and he is believed to have been a lawful gun owner and permit to carry holder. Many critical facts remain unknown. We do not yet have an independent account of what initiated the encounter or what triggered the use of deadly force. Despite widespread speculation regarding intent, there has been no evidence produced indicating an intent to harm the officers. We are calling for a full and transparent investigation by both state and federal authorities. Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms—including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights. These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times. gunowners.mn/press-release-s…
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Rob Amundson retweeted
In the wake of another fatal shooting in Minneapolis. AG Pam Bondi sends Gov. Walz a letter today making several asks including: "Allow DOJ Civil Rights division access to state voter rolls"
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Andrew's interpretation of what happened mirrors mine, but his read on this being a lawful shooting directly contradicts common sense and voids our 2nd amendment. ICE and DHS need to be unfunded. Our rights matter. Our lives matter.
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Rob Amundson retweeted
The 2nd amendment is not for hunting, it is not for self protection It is there to ensure that free people can defend themselves if god forbid government became tyrannical and turned against its citizens
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Rob Amundson retweeted
The WHO removes U.S. flag today Our country has become a damn joke
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It appears from zooming in just moments before ICE/CBP shoot yet another US citizen, one agent removes the victims firearm from his waste holster. The victim was UNARMED when he was shot multiple times. This is a state execution. Again.
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Rob Amundson retweeted
BREAKING NEWS! Under the direction of President Trump, the United States has officially withdrawn from the UN Register of Conventional Arms. UNROCA works closely with the UN Arms Trade Treaty and requires participating countries to submit detailed import and export reports. These reports include small arms and civilian market firearms. The U.S. withdrawal from this program delivers a major blow to UN efforts to impose global gun control schemes on American gun owners. NAGR, backed by committed members like you, has spent years raising the alarm about the UN’s gun-grabbing agenda. The work is paying off, and this marks yet another clear defeat for the UN.
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Rob Amundson retweeted
The speed and uniformity of the messaging coming out of the Administration should alarm anyone who claims to think for themselves. The narrative locks in instantly, dissent is framed as deviance, and the range of acceptable conclusions collapses before the evidence even has time to breathe, with a level of certainty and extremity that outpaces almost everything else. Drop the team jersey for a moment and actually look at what is being said, what is being omitted, and who benefits from the urgency. Extreme conditions are where clear thinking matters most, and right now the demand is your own judgment.
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Rob Amundson retweeted
This is Alan Page protesting in Minneapolis today. Alan was a Minnesota Viking, is in the NFL Hall of Fame and is a retired Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. RESPECT!
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Rob Amundson retweeted
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If the Second Amendment does not apply to this exact kind of moment, what do people think it is for? A citizen can lawfully carry, see masked federal agents beating someone in public, move toward the scene to help, and then get erased with a hail of bullets because “he had a gun.” That excuse is an insult in a country where possession is legal by design, where the whole point is that the public never becomes a disarmed audience watching state power operate with impunity. I’m not interested in arguing frame-by-frame footage. I’m interested in the principle that a free people cannot accept a standard where lawful carry becomes a death sentence the second authority feels threatened. If that is the standard, then the 2nd Amendment has been reduced to a vibe. The founders did not write it so Republicans could do militia cosplay on weekends.
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Rob Amundson retweeted
This is the scene in downtown Minneapolis this afternoon, where thousands of people have braved -25F wind chills to protest ICE operations in Minnesota. More: bringmethenews.com/minnesota… Pic: Mike Auger
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Rob Amundson retweeted
Trump is pushing the world straight into China’s arms. At Davos, China is being applauded for saying: “No law of the jungle,” “the strong can’t prey on the weak,” and offering “certainty amid uncertainty.” While Trump threatens allies with tariffs and territorial grabs, Beijing gets to play the adult in the room. America isolates itself. China inherits the market.
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The world order is undergoing a complete restructure. We are living through unprecedented times. We have passed the point that things will / can "go back to normal".
🚨⚡️ JUST IN: PUTIN’S GREENLAND MASTERSTROKE 🇺🇸🇷🇺 President Putin just dismantled the EU’s grip on Greenland with a "5D Chess" play that gives TRUMP a total free hand. - "None of our Business" – Putin officially declares Russia won't interfere, effectively clearing the path for a US-Greenland deal. 🤝 – Putin cites the 1917 land sales between Denmark and the USA as a precedent. If they did it then, why not now? – Putin exposes Denmark’s "harsh" and "cruel" treatment of Greenland as a colony, framing the US move as a necessary rescue mission. - Putin runs the math: Comparing it to the Alaska purchase ($7.2M in 1867), he calculates Greenland’s value at roughly $200M–$1B in inflation-adjusted gold terms. -: Bravo, Putin. The world is watching the ultimate power play. 🌍👀
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This is marvelous news!
FLO!!! The #Vikings have signed Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores to a contract extension. 📰: mnvkn.gs/4a5xHKO
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