181–190 of 347 posts
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I think it does matter and this quote is always flaunted like it's some deep insight but it intentionally ignored nuance. An amount you can comfortably retire on is way different than $5. We love to pretend humans have unflinching morals but they don't
On the other hand, immoral people would try to convince you that anybody would kill their own mother for the right price.
How disappointing it is to see how easily some leaders in our industry abandon their principles, and how cheaply they sell out their fellow man. The tech industry was never perfect. It was never a charity. But there was a time, several years ago now, when people were more driven to build things that delighted others.
Yep. The political donation was the main thing. But let’s not forget AI Czar David Sacks has been crying about Anthropic being woke for a couple years. He has probably been trying to kill every single non right wing AI company. After years of whining about lawfare on the All In podcast, these people are all too happy to engage in the worst kind of lawfare. There is a cabal of extremists steering technology contracts…
Good luck, democrats will put some of that easy money on their pockets and look the other way, like they always did.
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Yeah, that's the thing. Even in the most optimistic of dreams, Democrats won't end up with supermajorities in both the House and Senate. They can pass whatever bills they want, but Trump doesn't have to sign them. Sure, there will be things that Trump wants to do that he might actually need Congress for, and maybe there's room to make deals to advance some kind of progressive/liberal policies here and there. But I do…
Indeed, that's why we have to vote maga out and start over. We can't get lost in what we think will happen, we have to vote and then pay closer attention. We have to vote in people to congress who know exactly what the people demand.
> In capitalism, the market decides. > In oligarchy, connections and donations decide. > but after Brockman had donated 25M to Trump’s PAC Sounds like they paid Trump and the government, can it get more capitalistic? Oligarchy and capitalism don’t contradict each other
Free market capitalism and corporatocracy are two opposite things. (Free markets don't exist without strong institutions and regulation)
> but after Brockman had donated 25M to Trump’s PAC > In capitalism, the market decides. > In oligarchy, connections and donations decide. Author is confused about what Capitalism is. It worked exactly as expected, Capital used itself to advance it's own needs - maximizing (own) growth. Capitalism is not about markets, it's about Capital. There is a reason why lobbying is an accepted practice in one of the most Capit…
Which prominent economist has argued that bribes are an essential part of Capitalism?
> In capitalism, the market decides. > In oligarchy, connections and donations decide. > but after Brockman had donated 25M to Trump’s PAC Sounds like they paid Trump and the government, can it get more capitalistic? Oligarchy and capitalism don’t contradict each other
Free market capitalism and corporatocracy are two opposite things. (Free markets don't exist without strong institutions and regulation)
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It cuts deep when it becomes so personal. What the heck do you say to grandma when that happens? I can’t imagine what I would do. In the end I think to preserve democracy one has to become involved. Standing on the sideline at this point doesn’t cut it.
At least in my case, I have just cut off contact with her. My parents are pretty decent people so I still talk to them a lot, but I can't deal with my grandmother anymore. If she thinks my wife (who was evidently on a Green Card at the time she said that) doesn't deserve to be here, she's allowed to think that, but she's not entitled to me being nice to her. I weighed my options and it came down these three choices:…
Then we had a child. Once our kid was old enough to start understanding what people were saying, I put my foot down at one point when we came to visit. To paraphrase: I said, look, you're free to think whatever you want about whoever you want but the racist shit has to end when my daughter is around. Otherwise we need to head back home.
After that, it never happened again and we still keep in touch with her to this day. Some people just need to be told exactly where the boundaries are and then they respect them. (But of course not all will.)
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One fictional character that I think is helpful to bring is Luke Skywalker. It’s not about politeness, but about genuinely knowing why people behave the way they are and then offering them alternative other than QAnon. Listening to QAnon is a desperate attempt to understand the world after every other mainstream figure of authority failed that person. What I am talking about is not politeness. Politeness is tone mana…
I don't think I disagree much with what you said, but frankly I think that is a task for other people. I am exceedingly impatient with this kind of stuff, from people that I think should know better. I try to avoid these arguments now entirely and live in my happy progressive NYC bubble. No doubt that diplomacy with this stuff is necessary but I don't think that that's something anyone should want me specifically for…
I’m one of the politically homeless, and not even a resident of the USA, so I suppose I have an easy out.
Life can be very hard, and I don’t fault anyone for prioritizing their life over a political situation that is so very hard to affect. I do appreciate those that dedicate themselves though, the ones that seem to be helping and not hurting, anyway.
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In actual functioning democracies political donations are capped severely. Say, a single donor can contribute a maximum of €6,000 per parliament candidate per election. Yes, that's a real limit.
Citizens United assured that will never happen in the US, and everything critics said about it 16 years ago has come into fruition and more.