131–140 of 276 posts
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Why do people with this much wealth want even more wealth for themselves? I've never understood this.
Ok well I'm not there really so I have no idea what I'm talking about but I'm guessing, probably by the time you get "this much wealth", this is the only game you can play, and it's fun, so you continue playing.
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Is he eligible? Looking at his bio it doesn't appear so. Also he seems like he'd be happier pulling the strings of a President JD Vance anyway.
In the one law class I took, presidential eligibility was the example used to introduce our discussion of "standing". He framed the discussion specifically around a hypothetical Schwarzenegger run. The professor said that although it shouldn't be allowed, if Schwarzenegger actually ran, no one would have standing to sue him, so he would be allowed after all. The prof spoke in a way that implied this is an accepted tr…
America is incredible at "doing the right thing" when push comes to shove - regardless of policy, procedure, or legalese. In so many ways, going through life in the US means people figure out how to help you, unblock you, or ignore hurdles.
Allowing Arnold to become president if he was interested is clearly such thing - no sensible person would think it should be prevented - so it won't.
But unfortunately the whole procedure is not documented, relies heavily on systemic and entrenched privilege, and as the Trump administration revealed, and how the culture has evolved since then, can absolutely be mercilessly abused and taken advantage of by bad actors. The fact that the President could violate dozens of straight up laws, and not be charged with any crime is a mockery of the justice system. It really is "rules for thee, not for me".
As a white male, I find America (and to some degree Canada, which straddles the middleground) very convenient. As opposed to when I lived in Western Europe, and found myself facing an emotionless bureaucrat telling me "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."
But I also know a system with unwritten rules is never going to be equal, never mind equitable.
This is a good move for both Thiel and Facebook. This helps Facebook with advertisers, the DC machinery still reeling from the Trump fallout, shareholders and almost all their staff. They can wash their hands of what looks - to many - a toxic situation. This helps Thiel, because he's no longer going to have to explain himself - his writing game me the impression that he is somebody who despises having to explain hims…
People don't think he's merely wrong, people think he's outright evil.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/08/peter-thiel-wants-to...
He took those bets with asymmetric returns at the risk of complete social ostracizing in the Bay Area tech community, only to come out on top and retaining his access and control everywhere including at Facebook, all the way till now!
Thats pretty impressive, regardless of the topic or regime being discussed!
These are our role models, so don't be surprised to see more of this as others accumulate power and access.
I’ve personally found it fascinating how low the bar for access becomes when entrenched special interests leave the center all the way to far edges of the parties for causes that will never reach consensus. Its an amazing opportunity for new entrants. That’s personally how I look at the game and this has been largely successful over the last couple Congressional sessions.
This podcast "The Peter Thiel Paradox" [1] explained a lot about the mystery of Peter Thiel to me. Turns out that there is less than meets the eye but he does have a specific talent for manipulating the political systems and government coffers to enrich himself, much like Richard Branson, or so the British podcast claims. [1] https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-p... One nitpick; Theil said "We…
thiel isn't that talented or smart, but he did get hella lucky, and that's a sore point for him. so he's used his paypal riches on an extended PR campaign to make everyone believe he's something more than he is. literally every quote and quip i've heard from him is recycled directly from elsewhere, rather than being even a semi-original notion, but he passes it off as wisdom from on high. he wants more than just resp…
How soon do people think we will see his candidacy for President? 2028 is my guess.
This podcast "The Peter Thiel Paradox" [1] explained a lot about the mystery of Peter Thiel to me. Turns out that there is less than meets the eye but he does have a specific talent for manipulating the political systems and government coffers to enrich himself, much like Richard Branson, or so the British podcast claims. [1] https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-p... One nitpick; Theil said "We…
Why do people with this much wealth want even more wealth for themselves? I've never understood this.
"When you've done so much useful work, why would you ever want to do any more?"
"If you have so many friends, why would you ever be nice to somebody new?"
"You love your family so much, why not stop now?"
"Michael Phelps already has a gold medal, why does he keep swimming?"
Referring to Palantir I once asked him if he ever had a Robert Oppenheimer moment - he did not answer. No more words were needed.
LOL, i would pay money to watch this in real time. another suggestive Thiel anecdote: after PayPal IPO'd the team threw a party to celebrate and he was said to have run a 10 game simultaneous (Thiel would play ten different games, moving through each board one move at a time, down the line) and was only beat by one person (David Sacks). after losing, he flipped the board and apparently responded to being called a sor…
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Why do people with this much wealth want even more wealth for themselves? I've never understood this.
In the case of Peter Thiel, the Koch family, and Robert Mercer, it is quite clear that the end goal is no longer wealth, but reshaping politics, geo-political power, and thought for multiple generations.