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Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

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Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#111

Post by dingo_bat »

alphonsegaston wrote: post #8

I'm not optimistic, but I hope that the Trump era finally puts an end to the illusions people had about tech giants as a vehicle for social progress. We're stepping into an era of extreme inequality, authoritarianism, and intolerance, all borne on the back of their rise. They may not be the origin of these trends, but they certainly rode them to tremendous wealth without anything besides the most superficial concerns…

> We're stepping into an era of extreme inequality, authoritarianism, and intolerance

Do you have any evidence to support the same? It seems a bit like fear mongering.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#112

Post by raldi »

gukov wrote: post #37
alphonsegaston wrote: post #8

I'm not optimistic, but I hope that the Trump era finally puts an end to the illusions people had about tech giants as a vehicle for social progress. We're stepping into an era of extreme inequality, authoritarianism, and intolerance, all borne on the back of their rise. They may not be the origin of these trends, but they certainly rode them to tremendous wealth without anything besides the most superficial concerns…

Can't expect companies based in SF to be anywhere near politically neutral.

In what region are the politically-neutral companies located?

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#113

Post by ocdtrekkie »

snowwrestler wrote: post #103
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I can't count how many Googlers have argued with me based on the claim that OpenSecrets is highlighting donations of individual employees, and that the company itself isn't buying these politicians... but that's what Google NetPAC is for. Google gives to their own PAC, which gives to their paid-for Congresscritters. Just a (thin) layer of obfuscation.

Just to be clear, even though Google decides how to distribute it, the money in their PAC comes from individual donations, not the company.

But Google both provided that cash (presumably, to it's employees as pay) and then got to decide how to spend it on political favors. And the lion's share of the donations are likely from high-level executives who have at least some stake in the company.

So, I guess, you could clarify that it's still somehow routed through an individual at some stage in the process. But that's the sort of technical trickery that is used for this corrupt behavior in the first place... which is why individual donors are required to disclose their employer. As I said, thin level of obfuscation.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#114

Post by up_so_floating »

dingo_bat wrote: post #111
alphonsegaston wrote: post #8

I'm not optimistic, but I hope that the Trump era finally puts an end to the illusions people had about tech giants as a vehicle for social progress. We're stepping into an era of extreme inequality, authoritarianism, and intolerance, all borne on the back of their rise. They may not be the origin of these trends, but they certainly rode them to tremendous wealth without anything besides the most superficial concerns…

> We're stepping into an era of extreme inequality, authoritarianism, and intolerance Do you have any evidence to support the same? It seems a bit like fear mongering.

There is no evidence, at least not for such a general claim. Each human has a wildly different experience. For many of us, we never left this era. For others, we have been out of it X years. Etc.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#115

Post by raldi »

general_ai wrote: post #96

I can't believe they're stupid enough to think that Trump is a Republican. He's neither. Both parties shat all over him during his entire campaign, so he owes them not just nothing, but less than nothing, hence the promise to institute the congressional term limits and anti-lobbying laws. And as everyone discovered over the last week (much to everyone's surprise), Trump is the first politician in history that will ac…

> Both parties shat all over him during his entire campaign, so he owes them not just nothing, but less than nothing, hence the promise to institute the congressional term limits and anti-lobbying laws.

How will he pass laws without the support of at least 50% of Congress?

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#116

Post by ocdtrekkie »

rak00n wrote: post #91
dgfgfdagasdfgfa wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Fine, be happy the veil is off (tech giants are corporations and when push comes to shove are about money), but honestly you need to look at the petroleum industry, security & prison industrial complexes and their bought politicians to see the worst. I must admit, the difference is hard for me to see. Though the tech companies may not be getting rich directly off the backs of the poor, they are just as destructive…

Google actually banned payday loan ads from their network [1]. I couldn't take your anger seriously after reading that line. [1] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/...

As it happens, you did not read the article. If you did, you'd see that "Google will not display ads from lenders who charge annual interest rates of 36 percent or more in the United States."

And the parent post is talking about loans with 35% APR still being quite predatory.

[1]Non-AMP link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/05/11...

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#117

Post by macintux »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #81
pavlov wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump's proposal is a five-year ban on becoming a registered lobbyist after leaving a government job. This sounds good on paper -- but the more likely reality is that it will simply lead to lobbying becoming more covert, as former government employees working on behalf of corporations won't register as lobbyists. It's also hard to believe that the Trump administration would do much to rein in backroom deals, consider…

> This sounds good on paper -- but the more likely reality is that it will simply lead to lobbying becoming more covert, as former government employees working on behalf of corporations won't register as lobbyists. And then they'll be breaking the law. Pushing the practice underground will make it less effective and less common. The appearance of propriety goes a long way toward convincing people that there isn't eno…

I want his tax returns so we can get some clue as to whether his obsession with Russia is a childish crush on authoritarian bullies, which is a theme of his, or whether in fact there is a financial connection.

I want his tax returns to find out just how badly he's been lying about his net worth.

I want his tax returns because I honestly believe he'll be humiliated by us seeing them.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#118

Post by 3131s »

tyingq wrote: post #28
rudolf0 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt Google or any other SV corporation would ever agree to help with a Muslim registry. Even if somehow the top leadership of such a company were to agree (which I doubt), you'd see defections, sabotage, and heavy leaks almost immediately.

Julian Assange's story about his encounter with Google leadership was fairly chilling. Even taking him with a (big) grain of salt... https://wikileaks.org/google-is-not-what-it-seems/

I read a bit of this during the election cycle but must have got sidetracked. I read through the whole piece just now and I am really impressed by its depth and subtle humor. It's lengthy but I really recommend it.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#119

Post by redial »

twblalock wrote: post #54
alphonsegaston wrote: post #8

I'm not optimistic, but I hope that the Trump era finally puts an end to the illusions people had about tech giants as a vehicle for social progress. We're stepping into an era of extreme inequality, authoritarianism, and intolerance, all borne on the back of their rise. They may not be the origin of these trends, but they certainly rode them to tremendous wealth without anything besides the most superficial concerns…

> I'm not optimistic, but I hope that the Trump era finally puts an end to the illusions people had about tech giants as a vehicle for social progress. I hope so too. Even if corporations really were sincerely pursuing social progress, that would be bad. In a democratic society, social progress should not be determined by a small group of unaccountable organizations. Say what you will about governments pursuing socia…

Laws make corporations accountable. Social "progress" is (should be) not the domain of the government but of everyone.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#120

Post by Eric_WVGG »

dingo_bat wrote: post #111
alphonsegaston wrote: post #8

I'm not optimistic, but I hope that the Trump era finally puts an end to the illusions people had about tech giants as a vehicle for social progress. We're stepping into an era of extreme inequality, authoritarianism, and intolerance, all borne on the back of their rise. They may not be the origin of these trends, but they certainly rode them to tremendous wealth without anything besides the most superficial concerns…

> We're stepping into an era of extreme inequality, authoritarianism, and intolerance Do you have any evidence to support the same? It seems a bit like fear mongering.

I think it’s more like, we had an era where we conflated things like independence, security, knowledge, and diversity with prosperity, and now we are seeing signs that those things were marketing slogans. Thus the new era looks bleak.
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