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Thursday, February 29, 2024

My 2024 Presidential Campaign

It began about a year ago with an announcement on Facebook. Since then, I registered as a Republican in Florida after 20 years of being unaffiliated. As I am unlikely to win the Republican nomination, I am now campaigning as a write-in candidate, which is allowed in 41 states. Please consider voting for me. I can't possibly be any worse than whomever you don't want to win. 

Below is my stump speech and platform.

Dear America, wouldn't it be great if we had a president who wasn't a laughable moron? It's possible. It is with great pleasure that I announce my campaign for President of the United States.

I'm not running because I expect to win, or even because I want the job. I'm running because every president of my lifetime has been either a disappointment, an embarrassment, or both. I know I'm a lot younger than the favored candidates in the race. I will surely be the only one who was in the Peace Corps, the Army, and the NSA.

I'll also be the only one in the running who's worked in factories, schools, on a farm, and in a SCIF, as well as the only one with an engineering degree who's lived in Africa and can read Arabic.

If you think someone like that would be a better President than Biden, Trump, or anyone else, please spread the word about my campaign. In order to reach the debate stage, I need to get to at least 1% in the polls. That means about 1.6 million American adults need to know my name and support me.
I like to say I'm comfortably poor, and so will not be beholden to any special interests. My only special interest is a free and prosperous future for this great nation and its people.

In the time since my discharge from the Army in May of 2021, the following calamities have happened:
1) The longest war in US history ended in a catastrophic defeat after 20 years, a trillion dollars, and 2,000 dead US troops. We also abandoned millions of dollars worth of weapons and military equipment which the Taliban then captured. 

2) Russia invaded Ukraine, thus forcing us into a proxy war with a country that has the world's largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. 

3) China brazenly flew a spy balloon over the whole of our country including many of our nuclear weapons bases. An Air Force general predicted war with China by 2025 barely a week before that happened.
 
Wise leadership is needed to avert disaster. No other candidate has the unique qualifications I do. 
As for my party, because every President since 1860 has been either a Republican or a Democrat, I am forced to pick between the two. In that case, I choose Republican, as they are the lesser of two evils...for now.
 
My priorities are the economy, the military, and foreign relations. I would pause all federal permits and regulations on the construction of nuclear reactors and oil refineries. The economic history of the 20th century could be summarized as: cheap oil = world peace. Our military's mission would be focused on defense via nuclear deterrence and cyber security. We should trade and have normal diplomatic relations with all countries.
    
Lastly, during my time at NSA, I read about 40,000 top secret reports, and I never felt the need to print out any to take home as souvenirs. So if you care about such things, remember who in the running has the most experience and the strongest record with them.

Our nation was founded by a disgruntled military officer seen as mediocre by his peers. Why not give 
another long-shot a chance?

Thank you and God bless America.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87aPi_qwL1k

For more info on my platform, read on.

My priorities are the economy, the military, and foreign relations. 

I generally oppose new laws, taxes, and spending. We need less of all those.
For other issues, I encourage citizens to become more involved at the local and state level, which is where their efforts are most likely to bring change. 

In Depth on the Issues

Ukraine

A year of our support for Ukraine has cost us $100 billion, which is about twice what a typical year in Afghanistan cost us. The goal should be to end the war as quickly as possible with a permanent ceasefire that preserves as much of Ukraine as possible. A useful bargaining chip for that would be the removal of our anti-ballistic missile systems in Romania and Poland. Many Russian scientists and generals believe those systems are part of a first strike strategy aimed at them, and it is unlikely we will convince them otherwise. Poland and Romania are both in NATO and do not need the protection of such systems. The installation of those systems is what prompted Russia to begin research on hypersonic nuclear weapons. 

Border Security

Mexico's southern border is 1/3 as long as its border with the US and thus is easier and cheaper to secure. We should partner with Mexico to control that border more strictly. Guards work better than walls when it comes to securing borders. When Carter proposed building a border fence during the 1980 election, Reagan said friendly nations don't build a 9 ft tall fence along their border.I look forward to hearing why Trump disagrees with that. 

Military

I would pardon LTC Scheller on day 1, upgrade his discharge to honorable, and restore his retirement benefits. His criticism of the withdrawal from the airport in Kabul was valid and courageous.
We enjoy similar geographic advantages to Australia but spend twice as much per capita annually on our military. To trim the military budget, we should stop building big-ticket items like tanks, subs, ships, bombers, and fighters. 

The F-35 is a classic military boondoggle. This trillion-dollar travesty is the perfect weapon we don't need to fight a war that won't happen with money we don't have. 

The nuclear triad is a by-product of the bomber and missile gaps, later proven to be false. Land-based ICBMs cost 1/4 as much as similar weapons launched from bombers or subs. Also, the existing 400 Minuteman missiles can carry 2 additional warheads each beyond the 400 they are already armed with.
Limiting our military spending to Australian levels would give a budget of about $350 billion per year, which is about half of what we now spend. 

Opioids

Making drugs like Oxycodone over the counter for adults would reduce fentanyl overdose deaths. It would probably increase addiction though. In such cases, it is best to choose the lesser of 2 evils. It's hard to find material solutions for spiritual problems. 

Budget

Given the difficulty of getting budget cuts to stick, I propose that spending increases be limited to the rate of inflation in the previous year. Ideally, federal spending should be no more than 18% of GDP. In FY 2022, it was 25%. We are track for a debt crisis worse than what hit Greece, and there will be no one to bail us out. The result will be painful levels of inflation, even beyond what we have already. 

Taiwan

Maintaining Taiwan's de facto independence is far more important than anything we could possibly gain from defending Ukraine against Russia. Taiwan is a leading exporter of high-quality semiconductors which the world economy depends on. Instead of sending our Navy to patrol nearby or shooting down Chinese spy balloons, we should offer Taiwan the military aid it needs to counter China's advantage in the air. 

Energy

We haven't built a new oil refinery or nuclear power plant since the 1st Star Wars movie came out in 1977. That was 8 years before I was born when there were about half as many people in the world. We need more of both ASAP. In my opinion, we do not need more Star Wars movies. It is also worth noting that China recently overtook the US in oil refining capacity. We were #1 in that for over a century. 

Marijuana

It is now legal for medicinal or recreational use in 37 states. I would downgrade it to a Schedule II drug on day 1. This would put it in the same category as opioids.

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