The Left Did Not Betray Americans.

This is not one of those essays where I say something and mean the opposite. Nor is it a backward-looking excavation, prodding outcomes like archaeological fingers until they fit into a political Tetris box labeled “Why the Right Is What It Is.” I could stop right here and let you, noble reader, draw your own faintly suspicious conclusions. But why stop a good thing? You’re already here, squinting at these words with either a precocious gaze or the kind of mendacious stare usually reserved for craft fairs and pyramid schemes. Why deny us both the pleasure of escalating this argument in my head?

So my brain, ever the nosy neighbor, whispers into your ear: Let’s examine, once again, the American Project. You tap your head twice to dislodge the thought because it’s disturbingly sticky — like a Post-it note that swallowed a gummy worm. You flap your hands like an elegant heron trying to evict a particularly clingy fly. Or maybe you just resort to the universal human solution: change your socks. Did the floor get sticky for no reason? Happens to me all the time, especially after showers; I suspect a conspiracy involving physics and mischievous soap.

Think of the American Project as a sprawling IKEA of ideals: attractive on the box, baffling in assembly, and with at least one crucial bolt that’s missing no matter how many times you check the bag. Somebody handed you instructions in a language that used to be called English but evolved into something that sounds suspiciously like a political podcast. The pieces are all there—liberty, opportunity, a flag with more lives than a cartoon cat—but half of them wobble unless you tighten the screws with a wrench made of public policy and ambiguous historical memory.

And yet here we are, arguing about the rightness of the Right as if political philosophy were a flavor of potato chip. “This one is bold, spicy, and reeks slightly of tax code.” “That one is more traditional, with undertones of nostalgia and the faint aftertaste of ‘back in my day.’” Meanwhile, the bag keeps expanding to fit whatever ideology you want to cram into it, like a magical portable closet for inconvenient beliefs.

So continue to tap your head. Flutter your hands. Change your socks. Let this sticky notion cling awhile; it’s oddly comforting. After all, we’re only examining the American Project — a national craft fair turned reality show — and what’s humor if not the polite way we laugh when someone accidentally staples an instruction manual to a piece of furniture and calls it progress?

Anyway, what I am saying is, if you examine the American Project carefully… things were not so great during the World Wars. I mean they were just absolute meat grinders. Yet if you look back as we did today the old film footage of George Marshall and Patton and the rest of them, their body language to me at least appears pretty clear. The quick tap in the abdomen, the tap on the cheek, the two fingers on the cap all while looking left. Washington waited for two breathless days, the commentator whispers about those events in 1948. They had breathlessness back then too. All these English phrases jump out at me. The stock market “fell off a cliff” for example. Some stock brokers jumped out of buildings during “the blood bath” on Wall Street in 1987. I was never smart enough to get curious about why the English language has such heartfelt expressions as a part of normal, everyday usage. When all the books of fiction, refer to such language, and a kid is just reading stuff - it becomes like a slang. Kids speak in slang all the time, this is just more slang from older tymes. Then a person reads Shakespeare and simply finds meaning in the quotient.

So here America was… victorious after World War II, our boys had fucked the best of the French gals who were truly grateful to them for freeing them from those savage Germans. The German women didn’t like the Americans very much I am sorry to say. They do now. And they were very grateful to General Marshall for the Marshall Plan. I don’t know what it was like in Japan. I presume it was some sort of resignation and repressed anger at the nuclear bombs. Anyway, our boys returned home - those that did anyway - and they were treated like the heroes they were. America suddenly lifted its spirits and that can do amazing things for thriving. Can’t you just imagine it, they had big cars (hot rods) from Detroit, they had rock n roll of the happy kind on the radio, the hamburger joints were clean, new, had soda pop and the food was incredibly high quality. Only Paw worked and Mom and kids had a house with a white picket fence. Elvis was on the radio and the gals were a little nuts and they were not on hormones or pills. In other words, the men were virile, the women were sexy, the music was fun and everybody was typically in good cheer. There were no cell phones, no phone towers, no social media, and even disco was a long way away.

Then Buddy Holly died. And the whole thing went to shit. Suddenly the Russians who were our allies in World War II became the dreaded enemies, America had to fight in Vietnam all by itself (even though NATO built to fight Russians was fully functional then), and there was a Communist scare with Hoover and McCarthy. Were Americans gullible to mass manipulation via media and strong statements by leaders? Or was it simply that the Right had taken over America? What of the Left then? What did they do? Did they send Nixon to China? Wasn’t Nixon a Right guy? If so, then why was he sent by the Left to open China? What was the Devil’s Bargain that was struck then? Was there a Devil’s Bargain? What was it? Hollow out America and American factories and allow for the rise of China? Who struck that agreement? What were the parameters? Does it still rule us? Why did America send its best technology overseas like semiconductors to Taiwan? And release OpenAI that the Chinese are now using to wreck American AI companies by price competition?

Clearly, someone somewhere agreed to this. It couldn’t have happened otherwise. Americans developed the best technology, had and has the best scientists yet we keep releasing our technology to China and other countries. It’s not theft if it’s an actual policy. We allowed Chinese spies to exploit our scientists and our educational schools and universities. Two things cannot both be true, we cannot have the best intelligence and counterintelligence in the world, and yet we keep giving away our best and most important technologies. Those two things cannot agree with each other.

And that’s why I am careful to ask…and I never expect to get an answer. The Left did not betray America. The Right never took over America. We are not in a slow decline and America is not comparable to the Roman Republic and we did not do it because of a Devil’s Bargain. Those are accusations I can’t and won’t make. It is for the reader to decide if they care to.

And so now it’s 2026. The Democratic Socialists are ascendant. The FT sent me their website. It reads like an amazing manifesto promising everything that ordinary Americans might want. The problem is it ask for all of it right from the beginning. There is no staged transition. There is no compromise or a willingness to understand that change is often hard won. I always get suspicious of people who ask for everything and then some.

This video features a conversation between host Channing Lee and Dr. Roy Lee of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER). They debunk the myth that Taiwan "stole" the United States semiconductor industry, instead presenting the success of the industry as the result of a 45-year strategic partnership.

Key Takeaways:

• Foundational Factors: The semiconductor industry in Taiwan grew through a "happy coincidence" of multiple factors, including Taiwan's existing electronics manufacturing base, a strong focus on STEM education, and the emergence of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) technology (7:36 - 13:09).

• Geopolitical Context: During the 1970s, the United States sought to diversify its semiconductor supply chain to reduce dependence on Japan. Simultaneously, Taiwan faced diplomatic isolation and sought new economic avenues, leading to a mutually beneficial collaboration between the two nations (11:26 - 13:09, 24:24 - 27:17).

• Trust and Connectivity: Dr. Roy Lee emphasizes that the success of TSMC and the broader ecosystem is built on trust and human connections—factors that cannot be easily replicated by simply investing capital or machinery (22:24 - 23:53).

• Future Outlook: The discussion shifts to modern challenges, such as rebalancing efficiency versus security in supply chains, the impact of China's economic strategy, and the ongoing need for Taiwan and the United States to maintain their partnership despite political rhetoric and trade imbalances (30:40 - 45:17).

Dr. Roy Lee concludes that the deep-rooted foundations of the US-Taiwan partnership remain resilient and will continue to foster growth in the high-tech sector (45:26 - 46:51).

Yes, foundational American technology was directly transferred to ASML, providing the critical blueprints and components that enabled its modern monopoly. [1, 2]

While ASML is a Dutch corporation, its breakthrough Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems—the most advanced chipmaking tools on Earth—rely heavily on decades of intellectual property, corporate acquisitions, and research subsidized by the United States government. [1, 2, 3]

1. The EUV LLC Consortium (The Core IP)

In 1997, the U.S. Department of Energy and leading American tech giants (primarily Intel, AMD, and Motorola) formed the EUV LLC consortium. This initiative aimed to commercialize EUV technology developed across decades within U.S. National Laboratories, such as [Lawrence Livermore], [Sandia], and [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]. [1, 2]

• The Gatekeeper Decision: In 1999, the U.S. government blocked Japanese giants Nikon and Canon from participating due to national security concerns. [1]

• The Handover: Under heavy pressure from Intel, the U.S. allowed ASML to join the consortium and licensed this taxpayer-funded American technology to the Dutch company. In exchange, ASML agreed to buy parts from U.S. suppliers and build factories on American soil. [1, 2]

2. The Acquisition of Silicon Valley Group (SVG)

In 2001, ASML purchased Silicon Valley Group (SVG) for $1.6 billion. SVG was the last remaining major American manufacturer of photolithography equipment and an original licensee of the EUV tech. [1, 2]

• This strategic acquisition handed ASML critical American specialized optical assets, including Tinsley Laboratories, which possessed the advanced capability to grind the hyper-precise mirrors required for early EUV research. [1, 2, 3]

3. The Buyout of Cymer (The Light Source)

An EUV machine cannot function without a highly complex light source that generates extreme ultraviolet light by blasting microscopic droplets of molten tin with high-powered lasers. [1, 2]

• This exact technology was pioneered and owned by Cymer, a company based in San Diego, California.

• ASML relied on Cymer as a supplier for years before completely acquiring the company for $3.7 billion in 2013, effectively internalizing America's leading laser-physics expertise. [1]

Why This Matters Today

Because ASML's machines contain foundational U.S. patents, software, and highly sensitive components engineered in California and Connecticut, the United States government retains legal oversight over them. Under U.S. export control laws, Washington can legally restrict ASML from exporting its most advanced machines to specific countries, such as China, even though ASML is a European entity. [1, 2]

If you want to explore further, let me know if you would like to look into:

• The precise role Intel played in funding ASML's early EUV research

• Why the U.S. government blocked Nikon and Canon from the original consortium

• How U.S. export controls dictate what ASML can sell internationally today