Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can be cynical about us bringing in the ACLU, but in the words of Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
But where is the response to homelessness in SF right in YC's backyard? This sounds like PR more than anything! Why take advantage of a bad situation?
Welcome, ACLU
481–490 of 1001 posts
Re: Welcome, ACLU
#482Earlier quoted context omitted.
This confuses me, but "only donations to the 501(c)(3) foundation are tax deductible, and only the 501(c)(4) group can engage in unlimited political lobbying. The two organizations share office space and employees." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union
An organization can be simultaneously a 501(c)3 and a 501(c)4 - often this is managed by having two separate legal entities with a mutual relationship, but it's possible for the same organization to be classified both ways. Separately, a 501(c)3 is allowed to engage in lobbying - they are just subject to restrictions on how much time and money than can spend (last I checked, it's up to 10% of time and 10% of money).
This is all correct -- Notably, you can't spend 501(c)(3) dollars on (c)(4) activities. All of those employees that work for both entities have to accurately record their time and expenses the (c)(3) must charge the (c)(4) for any support that they give it. It's a big pain in the ass but worth it to keep the IRS off your case.
Re: Welcome, ACLU
#483Peter Thiel insists that the immigration EO is does not constitute a religious ban [1], but Rudy Giuliani says this is exactly what the President asked for [2] (Also, we heard him say as much many, many times). [1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2017/01/28/peter-thiel-s... [2] http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/316726-giuliani-t...
It's not just Peter Thiel but anyone of sound mind -- the top 5 countries by Muslim-majority population are not included. * Indonesia 204,847,000 (87.2%) * Pakistan 178,097,000 (96.4%) * India 172,245,158 (14.2%) * Bangladesh 145,312,000 (90%) * Nigeria 75,728,000 (47.9%) If Indonesia suddenly became plagued by radical Islamic terrorism then it would be on the list too. The seven countries targeted by the immigration…
12/17/2015 “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.”
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/donald-j.-trump-...
1/28/16/ Spicer: “Trump is doing what he said he would do”
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/316730-spicer-tru...
(also, Trump retweeting various people saying he's keeping all his promises in this regard)
1/29/16 Trump: “This is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting.”
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/29/14432362/tr...
Sure, it's not targeted at Muslims, it's a ban for people from certain Muslim-majority countries with exceptions for non-Muslims.
And then you have Giuliani saying Trump asked him how to do a Muslim ban legally, and Flynn Jr. calling it a necessary Muslim ban
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9GKL6i38pI
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/michael-g-flynn-delete...
Gonna go out on a limb and say anyone 'of sound mind' as you say would say, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...
Re: Welcome, ACLU
#484Earlier quoted context omitted.
In that case, I fully expect to see continued activity on this front even after the next Democratic adminstration and congress continues the Bush-Obama-Trump programs that are (finally) meeting resistance. I won't hold my breath waiting for that, though. Usually what happens is that when one's favored party regains power the criticism suddenly disappears.
The ACLU is not a partisan group. They've criticized Obama where they felt it appropriate: https://action.aclu.org/secure/president_obama_deportations
I wasn't calling out the ACLU. I am rather skeptical of the commitment of certain folks who are just now finding their voice.
This is from long experience, at least on the left end of the pond, where the mainstream Democratic partisans attempt to shout down any protest when Democratic politicians do something but encourage it when Republicans do equivalent things.
Re: Welcome, ACLU
#485Does YC have a page of their particular positions on various political matters which guides their decisions on which non-profits to support and which ones not to? I'm genuinely interested in reading a "platform" as it were on what YC believes and is willing to support.
Yes this is somewhat dangerous for YC. I would like to see that this was planned before November and their support was not determined by who the president turned out to be. Combined with the outspoken politics of Paul Graham1, I get the feeling people who identify as conservatives may not feel welcome at YC. 1 http://twitter.com/paulg EDIT: I changed "conservatives" to "people who identify as conservatives" to clarif…
Many conservatives, from traditional big government conservatives like John McCain and Dick Cheney to small government advocates like the Koch brothers are coming out against this change. It is not a clean partisan divide.
Don't let the people kissing up because they have to work with him fool you. This is broadly alarming in many conservative circles too.
https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/id...
https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4652905/koch...
Re: Welcome, ACLU
#486Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wrong. It's entirely irrational to give this level of attention and resource to an issue with such relatively little impact, particularly when noting the contributing events that led up to this issue were largely ignored (and directed by the same presidential candidate many of these organizations openly supported). Virtue signalling is the correct description. This is more about image than substantive change.
Relatively little impact on you perhaps. Many people are impacted, and what particularly scares people is that the order seems deliberately cruel in detaining people who were in transit, has green cards or dual citizenship. There are some 22 million non-citizens in the U.S. and many of them are now very unsure about their future. I bet there are many YC founders among them.
Wrong.
How many are from these 7 countries and do not have a green card? Now how many have been killed in Libya, Syria, or Iraq?
Re: Welcome, ACLU
#487Although I think the American Civil Liberties Union is incredibly valuable and I'm glad they have a lot more money now to fight for the American people, I'm questioning all of this. Where was the outpouring of funding when black people were being gunned down by cops from West Coast organizations? Where has YCombinator been as our own impoverished African-Americans are getting slaughtered in the streets of Chicago? Wh…
Where were you when all these things were happening? Were you asking YCombinator to address these issues? Are they supposed to address every social justice issue by anyone who thinks it should be addressed?
Be glad they're addressing anything, because they're a tech blog that should focus on tech issues, not every social justice issue on the planet, which there are already many blogs and campaigns and donation sites for.
Re: Welcome, ACLU
#488Earlier quoted context omitted.
* Much of pg's writing leans libertarian or even conservative. * Many conservatives do not support Trump's policies. Conservativism is traditionally about preserving stable society and carefully evaluating changes before radically changing society. I think many took a wait-and-see approach to Trump. Sure, he was bombastic during the campaign and said a lot of bad things, but he's a screwd businessman. Surely he will…
Time for conservatives to sack up, speak out, and vote their conscious, then. They've been extremely quiet so far.
They are; the party loyals use softer language (like John McCain), but there are plenty who owe trump nothing and are a bit louder (like the Koch Brothers)
Re: Welcome, ACLU
#489I don't know exactly what this means, as the implementation details are hazy, but if this entails substantial support to the ACLU (in terms of lawyers, money, or both), then that is awesome. I donated to the ACLU yesterday and I'm encouraging everyone I know to do the same.
I don't donate to the ACLU because I believe in the civil rights for all people, outside the womb, and inside. Is there a similar organization I can donate to?
If you're referring to this specific immigration issue, the National Immigration Law Center is a good one: https://www.nilc.org/
Re: Welcome, ACLU
#490Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I remember when HN did not have a political agenda. Discussing politics is not the same as having an agenda. > Right or wrong, this used to be mainly about startups. I don't recall such a time and I've been here quite long. > Now its become a highly political message board This is most likely a reaction to real world developments involving a large number of HN participants. Just like HN isn't a San Francisco local…
It's also the case that not wanting to have political discussions is itself a political agenda . It might not be a secret or pernicious agenda, but it seems people forget what agenda means.
> It's also the case that not wanting to have political discussions is itself a political agenda.
Yes, that's an excellent point. It amounts to a denial of service attack on informed discourse.