A BILLION HERE AND A BILLION THERE…: Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC announces new $100B investment in US.

Taiwanese chip giant TSMC announced at the White House Monday that it will invest an additional $100 billion in the U.S. for three new advanced semiconductor manufacturing plants, a new infusion on top of the manufacturer’s existing plans.

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei credited President Donald Trump for the projects, which will include a new Arizona R&D center — a critical part of the technology supply chain that the company has never moved outside of Taiwan.

“We have to thank President Trump’s vision and his support,” Wei said. “TSMC started the journey of establishing the advanced chip manufacturing in Arizona. And now, let me proudly say the vision becomes reality.”
The company — which makes some 90 percent of the world’s most cutting-edge chips for customers like Nvidia and Apple — previously committed over $65 billion to build three factories in Arizona under a CHIPS and Science Act contract with the Biden administration. TSMC agreed to build a factory in the U.S. to cut reliance on geopolitically risky Taiwan during Trump’s first term.

It’s tragic what’s happened to Intel but some yuge friendshoring from Taiwan Semi is more than welcome.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Let’s Get This ‘Nuke the Dept. of Education’ Ball Rolling ASAP. “Democrats are essentially owned by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the National Education Association (NEA), which is the largest labor union in the United States. The continued bloating of the Dept. of Education is integral to the unions’ grift. The success of that grift is integral to the unions’ continued control over the Democratic Party. The circle must remain unbroken in order for the public school progressive indoctrination mills’ continued functioning.”

IT WAS BIDEN’S PARTY; WE JUST GET THE HANGOVER:

The Fed's GDP estimates crash on Biden hangover and falling government spending.

More is coming.

Because the more DOGE cuts — and the more wars end — the richer we’ll be. But the worse GDP will look on paper. pic.twitter.com/qLXukVc7QS

— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) March 3, 2025

No matter how Washington does its accounting, deficit spending is a net drain on GDP.

ICYMI [VIP]: Off-Ramps to Nowhere. “World War I was the war that broke Europe. The Russo-Ukraine War has broken the American public’s patience with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, and maybe even with NATO — and, like WWI three years in, there’s still no end in sight. The parallels are disturbing.”

DEMOCRATS JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY: Colorado bill looks to expand SNAP to allow restaurant food purchases.

While the bill does not specify particular restaurants that will participate in the program, it lays out requirements for the state to set up an application process for restaurants to apply to the program.

Participating restaurants would be required to be licensed by the state Department of Health and authorized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to receive SNAP.

It also says that participating restaurants may be “encouraged” through the program’s rules to:

• Utilize practices of procuring locally produced foods for hot or prepared meals.

• Serve foods that represent diverse cultural traditions.

• Serve geographically diverse regions of the state.

• Offer the option for a patron to choose how to pay for their meal in underinvested communities.

So much delicious red tape, I’d be surprised if many — any? — restaurants decide to participate.

AND SHE LOOKED MAHVELOUS: Melania Goes to Capitol Hill.

“YES” TO BOTH POINTS:

This is a warning for the GOP as well. The coalition in and around the White House right now is a big tent and it is not "traditional Republican". Either they take care of Main Street or they will be in trouble, too.

— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) March 3, 2025

OH MY:

BREAKING: Head of FBI field office in New York *resigns* after the Department of Justice accused his office of hiding thousands of Epstein documents.

James Dennehy says he was forced to resign in an email to staff.

"Late Friday, I was informed that I needed to put my retirement… pic.twitter.com/rNZWQpGT8O

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 3, 2025

Full text:

James Dennehy says he was forced to resign in an email to staff.

“Late Friday, I was informed that I needed to put my retirement papers in today, which I just did. I was not given a reason for this decision,” Dennehy said.

Dennehy had previously told his office to “dig in” after Trump was elected.

The resignation comes after AG Pam Bondi instructed FBI Director Kash Patel to launch an investigation into claims that the New York field office was hiding thousands of documents.

Bondi said a source came forward claiming the field office had thousands of pages of docs.

“I repeatedly questioned whether this was the full set of documents responsive to my request and was repeatedly assured by the FBI that we had received the full set of documents,” Bondi said.

“Late yesterday, I learned from a source that the FBI Field Office in New York was in possession of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein.”

“Despite my repeated requests, the FBI never disclosed the existence of these files. When you and I spoke yesterday, you were just as surprised as I was to learn this new information.”

Developing…

LAUGHING WOLF: The Zelensky Implosion. “What Zelensky displayed is far too common in Western Europe, where it is fashionable and acceptable (and far too common for my taste) to display such arrogant entitlement towards America and Americans. I will note that when you get out into the countryside, or more into Eastern Europe, this fades. Or, at least it did when I last traveled around a bit.”

Read the whole thing.

I’d just add that Zelenskyy permanently pissed off an awful lot of Ukraine supporters. And people who might have been on the fence, he probably pushed off of it.

THIS WEEK’S THURSDAY [VIP] ESSAY ARRIVED A LITTLE EARLY: Off-Ramps to Nowhere: Trump’s Fruitless (So Far) Peace Effort in Ukraine.

Putin’s peace terms remain as maximalist as ever, after three years of grinding losses and increasing reliance on those donkeys. He insists on Ukraine surrendering territories that Russia has failed to conquer, an effective veto over Ukraine’s government, and the demilitarization of a country he’s invaded twice in recent years. None of that is reasonable.

On the other side of the negotiating table (that neither side is willing to come to) is Zelenskyy. His peace demands are also maximalist. He wants Russia to leave territories Ukraine cannot reconquer, the presence of tripwire allied forces, and NATO membership. None of that is plausible.

Both leaders, if not actually divorced from reality, are at least enjoying trial separations. The most obvious example is Zelenskyy’s “WTF Were You Even THINKING?” (Hat tip, Florida Man Friday) performance at the White House on Friday. The deal had been pre-negotiated, giving America an economic stake in Ukraine that not even Putin could afford to ignore. All Zelenskyy had to do was put on a damn suit, smile, sign the papers, and enjoy lunch afterward with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

What followed, as I’m sure you already know, was the biggest geopolitical self-own since British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich in 1938 praising himself for delivering “peace in our time.”

Did I exaggerate with the Munich comparison? Probably. But only time will tell by how much.

Much more at the link.

COMING RIGHT UP:

Watch Starship's eighth flight test → https://t.co/alyJTRtgTh https://t.co/hlpEF4ICyT

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 2, 2025

GOOD LUCK WITH ANY OF THAT, FELLAS, CONSIDERING WHAT’S LEFT OF YOUR BASE AND WHERE YOUR MONEY COMES FROM:

New @playbookdc: Last month, a group of moderate Democratic consultants, campaign staffers, elected officials & party leaders gathered in Loudoun County, Virginia, for a retreat where they plotted their party’s comeback.

We got their takeaways. pic.twitter.com/lA1nVshriG

— Adam Wren (@adamwren) March 2, 2025

PRIVATE SCHOOLS WOULD HAVE TO BE CRAZY TO ACCEPT IT (AND ALL THE STRINGS THAT WOULD COME WITH IT), FOR STARTERS: Brits do it. Dutch do it. Even down in Oz they do it. Why can’t US have public funding for private schools?

ANALYSIS: TRUE. To Be a Peacemaker and Peacekeeper, Trump Must Build Up the Navy.

Maintaining a strong Navy used to be taken for granted; it was obvious to everyone from Main Street to the White House that not only was it the right thing to do, but it also was in the nation’s economic and security self-interest. At the end of the Cold War, however, the notion of the Navy as a global peacekeeping and peacemaking force collapsed along with the Berlin Wall.

This is not an issue of simply picking up where the Cold War left off. The Navy today has shrunk to perilous levels, and the broad national and human infrastructure required to maintain it—a Constitutional requirement—has atrophied to a dangerous degree. To make matters worse, we seem to have forgotten how to dig ourselves out of the deep hole we have created.

In reality, rebuilding the Navy is a relatively straightforward task. It starts with recruiting, training, and putting to work the men and women necessary to build and maintain the fleet. This will be a job for industry, government, and schools at every level. The effort and expense should fit nicely with the emerging public and political determination to re-energize the country and its place in the world. After all, the Navy and its shore establishment are critical national infrastructure and contribute greatly to both U.S. economic and industrial vitality.

But straightforward doesn’t mean easy.

Or cheap. But a strong navy pays for itself with peace and peaceful commerce.

UGH: South Carolina Wildfires Spread as Governor Declares Emergency.

CHANGE:

A little bit of a reality check for some:

-Trump's net approval on Russia/Ukraine (+2) is far more positive than Biden's was by the end (-22).
-The share (31% to 50%) who want a compromise in the war is way up
-The share who say Russia is an enemy is way down (64% to 34%). pic.twitter.com/z6k0x6A1yn

— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) March 3, 2025

Most wars we’ve been involved in, even tangentially like this one, have something in common: Americans tire of them after about three years. The Russo-Ukraine War might be special though, given the increasing unlikability of both combatants.

CHANGE: The Same Pixar Series That Ditched an LGBT Character Introduces a Christian Character.

ANALYSIS: TRUE.

Virtually all of the Oscar nominees and Oscar voters would be tortured and murdered if they air dropped into Gaza. https://t.co/xazhyzxnii

— John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) March 3, 2025

LET THIS FALL ON DEAF EARS: Dems Rise From the Grave: Their Three Paths for Regaining Power.

BILL WHITTLE’S HOT MIC: Churchill and Zelensky: ALLIES vs. FRIENDS. “Two leaders of two nations facing extinction at the hands of a ruthless and brutal invader. One is a former comedian, the other a direct descendant of the legendary Duke of Marlborough. So why was the representative of the most powerful nation in the history of the world willing to come to the President of the United States of America as a polite, optimistic and gracious friend and supplicant, while the former vaudeville performer wasn’t?”

WINNING, STILL NOT SICK OF ALL THE: It’s Official: USAID Is All But Dead.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Air Force selects Pacific landing sites to test space cargo deliveries. “In a notice scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on March 3, the Department of the Air Force will formally announce its intent to prepare an environmental assessment. The review will evaluate the effects of building and operating the landing pads on Johnston Atoll, where up to 10 reentry vehicle landings would be planned annually over four years. This testing phase aims to demonstrate and refine the capabilities of the Rocket Cargo program, which envisions delivering critical supplies to any point on Earth within hours.”

MAYBE THE OLD WAYS ARE BEST: South Carolina Murderer Will Die by Firing Squad This Week. “Sigmon himself chose the firing squad because he was afraid the electric chair would ‘burn and cook him alive,’ according to his attorney, Gerald King. He also declined a lethal injection because previous men killed via this method in South Carolina likely suffered. Their autopsies found that their lungs were swollen and filled with ‘blood and fluid.’ One man’s execution took 23 minutes.”

WINNING, ARGENTINA-STYLE:

🚨🇦🇷ARGENTINA'S ECONOMY SURGES—MILEI'S POLICIES DRIVE 7.1% GDP GROWTH PROJECTION

GDP is expected to grow 7.1% interannually in Q2 2025.

After a tough 2024, Milei’s austerity measures and economic freedom reforms are restoring confidence—just in time for the 2025 electoral… https://t.co/ZsYzoGOs9f pic.twitter.com/lZBGVdjBak

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 1, 2025

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Dear News Cycle — I Really Can’t Leave You Unsupervised, Can I? “If ever a world leader needed an upbraiding from the leader of the free world, it’s this guy and his bad Gap chic wardrobe. I can’t shake the feeling that Zelenskyy is more concerned with being an international celebrity than bringing peace to his people. Yeah, that sounds outlandish, but the guy really is a traveling clown show. He’s severely out of his league for a battle of wills with President Trump.”