Post

https://x.com/XVanFleet/status/1901071513412936093

More from @RodDMartin

Rod D. Martin

@RodDMartin

Jun 9

🧵A single uranium pellet the size of a gummy bear equals the energy of 140 barrels of oil.

Nuclear is the cleanest, safest, densest energy source on Earth. And now, it can be produced with zero chance of meltdown or radiation leaks.

So why isn’t it powering everything? We buried a miracle under 50 years of regulation. That’s changing fast. 🧵

2/ From 1974 to 2025, the NRC approved zero new reactor designs.

Only two reactors came online in that entire period.

Trump’s executive orders are blowing this open: goal to quadruple America’s nuclear fleet by 2050, 18-month licensing timelines, and three new microreactors online by July 4, 2026.

Nuclear entrepreneurs say regulation is finally becoming a solved problem.

3/ The breakthrough making “zero meltdown or radiation leaks” possible is TRISO fuel.

These snooker-ball-sized ceramic pebbles trap radiation inside — even if you turn off all coolant systems. China tested it: the reactor simply cooled down naturally. Wow!

Microreactors using TRISO are small enough to fit in a living room.

Read 7 tweets

Rod D. Martin

@RodDMartin

Jun 8

🧵 China’s population collapse is now mathematically irreversible.

There simply aren’t enough women left of childbearing age.

Even if the fertility rate magically returned to replacement level (2.1 children per woman) tomorrow, the country would still lose more than 40% of its population by 2100.

It won't. The real number is 75%. There's nothing like it in history. 🧵

2/ Official estimates say China has only ~190 million women of childbearing age. That number is much higher than reality.

The One Child Policy (1980–2016) and its echoes slashed entire generations. Sex-selective abortions made it worse.

The cohorts now entering prime childbearing years are themselves the children of the one-child policy — already a drastically smaller group.

Each generation compounds the previous deficit.

3/ The numbers are brutal.

Population has fallen for four straight years. In 2025: just 7.92 million births vs. 11.31 million deaths — a record natural decline outside Mao’s famine.

Births dropped another 17% in 2025, hitting the lowest level since 1949. Total fertility rate is now ~0.92 (some estimates as low as 0.84).

Read 7 tweets

Rod D. Martin

@RodDMartin

Jun 6

🧵84 years ago this week, the Battle of Midway changed history.

But what if America had lost — as it very nearly did?

People have no idea how close we came to a Japanese victory that would have cost the Allies both the Pacific and Europe.

It was that close. 🧵

2/ Had Japan won at Midway, they would have destroyed three U.S. carriers while keeping their fleet intact.

Nothing could have stopped them from seizing key South Pacific islands, building airfields, and creating an impregnable defensive perimeter from Samoa to Midway to the Aleutians.

U.S. supply lines to Australia would have been severed. A Pacific offensive delayed until mid-1943 or later.

But that's just the beginning....

3/ An isolated, vulnerable Australia would have had to bring home its own critical troops from North Africa.

Their 7th Division was decisive at El Alamein. Without them, Britain likely would have lost the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean, and India.

Without options, Australia might have even been forced into a neutrality pact with Japan — trading raw materials for safety.

Read 7 tweets

Rod D. Martin

@RodDMartin

Jun 4

🧵The EU is finally waking up: Donald Trump was right about China.

Europe’s industrial base could be obliterated in less than a decade by China’s predatory export machine.

Brussels ignored the warnings. Now they’re facing the consequences. 🧵

2/ China is doubling down on massive over-investment and dumping excess capacity on the world while pursuing autarky at home.

Effect: it's exporting deflation and unemployment as a means to stay in power by destroying your job.

The Rhodium Group warns this “China Shock 2.0” is bigger and more sophisticated than the first one that hollowed out America’s Rust Belt.

3/ Europe is the soft target this time.

China runs a €1 billion DAILY trade surplus with the EU. Without action, the deficit could hit €500 billion by 2027.

As Trump’s tariffs blocked China from flooding the U.S. market, the tsunami of cheap goods shifted to Europe — hitting Germany, France, and beyond with devastating force.

Read 7 tweets

Rod D. Martin

@RodDMartin

Jun 2

🧵Leftist, progressive lawyers are fleeing the Trump administration in large numbers.

According to the NYT, more than 10,000 have left federal agencies since the beginning of 2025, according to a New York Times analysis.

The federal government has lost an incredible 17% of its civilian lawyers in just 15 months. Bwuhahahahahaha!

This isn’t random attrition. It’s a self-revelation. 🧵

2/ The numbers are stark.

The Department of Education lost more than half its lawyers. The Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Energy, and Agriculture all saw steep declines. DOJ is down 24%.

The Deep State saboteurs are leaving. Trump is getting to replace them. But he's hiring fewer.

Despite agencies hiring about 3,200 lawyers during this period, departures still vastly outpaced recruitment.

3/ There's one major exception.

The Department of Homeland Security increased its legal staff by 21% as the administration ramped up immigration enforcement.

The agencies most focused on Trump’s core priorities — border security and reducing regulatory overreach — are either holding steady or growing.

The ones most aligned with the old administrative state are emptying out.

Read 7 tweets

Rod D. Martin

@RodDMartin

Jun 2

🧵Is Scott Bessent working to crash the yuan?

He helped break the Bank of England in 1992. Now Trump’s Treasury Secretary is using that experience against China — and Beijing should be terrified.

THREAD🧵

2/ In 1992, Scott Bessent was part of the Soros team that broke the pound.

Britain was defending an exchange rate reality no longer supported. The speculators attacked. The Bank of England lost.

Trump watched. He learned the lesson.

Governments don’t lose currencies because traders are clever. They lose them because they defend lies too long.

3/ Bessent recently described China’s economy as the most imbalanced in modern history.

Trapped in deflation. Desperately trying to export its way out. Its own people don’t trust the yuan — they want their money out, but the CCP won’t let them.

Bessent's words aren't normal economic commentary. They're a lesson in the anatomy of a currency regime under terminal pressure.

Read 7 tweets

Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

Rod D. Martin

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @RodDMartin

Rod D. Martin

Rod D. Martin

Rod D. Martin

Rod D. Martin

Rod D. Martin

Rod D. Martin

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Send Email!