Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming • Hacker News Board

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#201

Post by davemel37 » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 2:39 AM UTC

josephlord wrote: post #188

trobertson wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But he lies so much and makes so many factual errors how can you trust him on anything? This applies to Hillary too, you know? The most awful thing about this election is that neither candidate is trustworthy. They are both blatant liars.

I still feel that there is a real difference in the shamelessness of Trump's lies. Many easily contradictable. At least Hillary would care if she was caught out, that puts some constraint on her.

that makes her more dangerous, not less. I would always prefer the devil I know...

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#202

Post by tlrobinson » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 3:46 AM UTC

intopieces wrote: post #156

tlrobinson wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump is definitely not libertarian: https://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2016 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/donald-trump-...

I'm hesitant to believe anyone who says definitively what trump 'is'. Because there is no voting record to speak of legislation wise, everything is just speculation based on what he says. And he says a lot of things.

A voting record is the only way to determine that?

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#203

Post by sp527 » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 3:47 AM UTC

13years wrote: post #114

dragonwriter wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He's a little less of a warhawk Given that he's criticized Obama/Clinton for being insufficiently aggressive in several areas, and praised Putin's aggressiveness, I'm not sure where that conclusion comes from, besides his after-the-fact claims to have opposed the Iraq War before it started (his only public statement on the war before it started appears to have been grudging support, not opposition, on the Howard St…

He has criticized John McCain and Lindsey Graham over their pro war stances. In the debates he has mentioned problems with the interventionist foreign policy. Surprisingly he even attracted support of Michael Scheuer ( a huge critic of our interventionist foreign policy), although I believe he has pulled back a bit on that recently. However, yes he has also made somewhat contradictory statements as well. So, it is ha…

Honest question: if that's really what you believe (that he's fundamentally unpredictable), why would you vote for him?

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#204

Post by sp527 » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 3:59 AM UTC

Miner49er wrote: post #133

oh_sigh wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) Mexican isn't a race - it is a nationality. There are people of all races that are Mexican. 2) Curiels parents were illegal immigrants, and exactly the kind of people that Trump says he would deport. 3) Curiel has mentioned in the past (in a NYT article from the early 2000s, I can find a link if you like) that his Mexican heritage has had an impact in his practice of the law. 4) Curiel isn't a robot. Imagine if he…

It's still making generalizations about a large group of people and assuming it's true for a particular person which is what racism is for race.

Arguing that someone may be biased on the basis of their race is not racism. It's at worst generalizing or ad hominem. This had nothing to do with Curiel being Mexican specifically other than the nature of the circumstances (Trump might have advanced a similar argument about a Muslim judge, for instance).

Progressives going after this specifically was misguided overreach. There's a reasonable basis to assume someone may be biased by their racial heritage. There's so much else Trump has done that is totally egregious that I find it mind-boggling to call him on this specifically. If anything, it gives ammunition to the anti-PC crowd.

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#205

Post by dllthomas » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 4:19 AM UTC

Miner49er wrote: post #125

aliston wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I'd probably align most with Gary Johnson, but feel like he has virtually no chance of winning, so there's no point in wasting my vote. Like most Americans in this election cycle, I'm voting for the lesser of two evils. I think there are lots and lots of folks in Silicon Valley that feel the same way. One thing that I've never really understood is why the valley apparently leans so far left. On its face,…

It doesn't matter if he has a chance to win. If you don't live in a swing state a vote for Gary most definitely counts more then a vote for a candidate of a major party, because if he gets above 5% of the popular vote the Libertarian party gets funding from the government and more recognition. It's the first step to end the 2 party system we have now. You should vote for who you like best, not who you think actually…

We're not really going to "end the 2 party system" unless we move from first-past-the-post. We may change which two parties (or, my more realistic hope, change up the particular alliances that make up the two parties).

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#206

Post by oh_sigh » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 4:40 AM UTC

serge2k wrote: post #189

crusso wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If older people make voting decisions based upon a decreased impact in long-term consequences, how does that square with the statistically provable riskier behavior engaged in by younger people? If anything, I find that older people care more about the long term because they tend to think in terms of impacts on their progeny. It's just as likely that older people have decades of experience from when the UK was not a…

> If anything, I find that older people care more about the long term because they tend to think in terms of impacts on their progeny That's why Millenials are currently thriving and have such immense gratitude to the boomer generation for forward thinking policies that ensured prosperity going forward. Or not.

100% agreed. Everything is someone else's fault. Nothing is ever my fault.

Because someone had it easy by a fluke of luck, I deserve to have it easy too, and if I don't, that is that persons fault.

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#207

Post by echaozh » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:08 AM UTC

honkhonkpants wrote: post #157

googlryas wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mexico has a massive border wall on its southern border with Guatemala. Is that racist too? Not sure exactly what you mean by anti-trade, and how it relates to racism. Mexican is a nationality, not a race. There are Mexicans of all races, including white(which latinos are classed as, but lets say western european ethnicity too) Islam is a religion, not a race. There are Muslims of all races, including white.

"Mexico has a massive border wall on its southern border with Guatemala." See, here is how it goes. You are a vociferous Trump supporter on the Internet. At the same time, you repeat false things that you heard from some other idiot. It's not much of a leap from there to the conclusion that all Trump supporters are idiots.

Well, such jumps are not racist, while using nationality and religious beliefs to discriminate people is?

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#208

Post by tzs » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:42 AM UTC

seany wrote: post #52

josephlord wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you like about him?

Honestly, Trump and Hillary aren't that different. He's a little less of a warhawk, speaks his mind, and is pro-2A. The last one is almost enough on its own for me, given Hillarys stance on that issue.

> Honestly, Trump and Hillary aren't that different. He's a little less of a warhawk, speaks his mind, and is pro-2A.

They differ massively on energy and climate. Trump makes coal and oil a major focus, and wants to repeal most environmental rules that affect them. Trump would cancel the Paris agreement.

Clinton will be similar to Obama in these areas.

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#209

Post by dang » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:40 PM UTC

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #54

when will the world learn that the man is a liability (Thiel not Trump). Speaking of blaming the 1% this guy (compared to other influencers like E Musk) is a serious threat to world peace. Palantir is to the US what Volkswagen was to the Nazis. Let's remember drones, Palantir and Thiel every time we speak of neocon cunts like Thiel: https://theintercept.com/drone-papers/

Over-the-top rhetoric and gratuitous Godwinning make this a terrible post for HN. Please don't post like this here—it's not what this site is for.

Beyond that, this is a bannable offense:

> neocon cunts like Thiel

We're not banning you for it because I don't see many comments like it in your history, but please don't post anything like this—I mean this entire comment—again.

Re: Peter Thiel’s Embrace of Trump Has Silicon Valley Squirming

#210

Post by Apocryphon » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 9:01 PM UTC

fweespeech wrote: post #163

Apocryphon wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In addition to the sibling comments, there's also the critique of libertarianism as inherently being for those who have "made it." As it, it is easier to agitate for less government regulation and no social welfare net, if one does not benefit from such. And so libertarianism becomes a cover for protecting one's status of privilege. Thus, a shift to "traditional" conservatism which protects that privilege, as typifie…

> In addition to the sibling comments, there's also the critique of libertarianism as inherently being for those who have "made it." As it, it is easier to agitate for less government regulation and no social welfare net, if one does not benefit from such. And so libertarianism becomes a cover for protecting one's status of privilege. Thus, a shift to "traditional" conservatism which protects that privilege, as typif…

I'm not sure if they're right in the sense of authoritarian (though certainly the more authoritarian ones make it easier to jump to libertarian). I would think they're right in the sense of being more in favor of unfettered corporate power. Anarcho-capitalism.