Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team • Hacker News Board

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#511

Post by mahyarm » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:11 AM UTC

edblarney wrote: post #299

threeseed wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just nonsense. Trump never provided his tax returns for scrutiny so unlike Hillary we don't know who exactly he is beholden to. What we know from his son, sources and leaks is that Russian ogligarchs with ties to Putin do hold significant amounts of his company's debt. It is this type of "pay to play" that is far, far beyond anything that has ever been seen before.

Personal finances are another issue altogether. He is audited every single year, and there is very deep scrutiny of his personal finances. There are many in the IRS who would love to find something wrong. It's the political favours and support that mattes. I will say this: the laws concerning 'conflict of interest' are very weak in the US for the office of the Pres. It's possible that a Malaysian leader could buy fav…

Malaysia is not the Philippines. Manila is in the Philippines.

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#512

Post by riazrizvi » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:13 AM UTC

kafkaesq wrote: post #93

darawk wrote: post #4

This is good news, I think? Thiel has some extremish views, but I generally regard him as intelligent and thoughtful. And he's in close contact with other smart, influential people (e.g. Musk, Sam Altman, etc.), which gives them some indirect influence. Not that this makes things substantially better. But maybe a little bit? Hopefully?

Thiel has some extremish views, but I generally regard him as intelligent and thoughtful. "He seems intelligent and thoughtful, but has scarily extremist views" might be a better angle to take.

How about "not afraid to make reasonable insights that run the risk of being misinterpreted as politically incorrect"? I watched his RNC speech for the first time today (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTJB8AkT1dk). I couldn't fault it. Maybe if we could park our bourgeois principles for a moment and listen to the voices of the economically depressed regions in the country that voted for Trump, we could unite and find a common solution? It seems to me this is what Thiel stands for. Half the country has been suffering at the hands of technological progress, environmental regulation and globalization for almost three decades, while the Bay Area has thrived in its economic bubble. What is progress for if it doesn't help people?

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

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Post by puranjay » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:14 AM UTC

_qbjt wrote: post #349

betolink wrote: post #240

People here giving Thiel a free pass on his views and support for bigotry is just disgusting.

Ironically, bigotry is defined as "intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself". I'm not defending Trump but it's fairly obvious to any non-partisan that the left wing is just as guilty of this.

"The fascists of the future will be the anti-fascists"

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

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Post by dajohnson89 » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:14 AM UTC

Rapzid wrote: post #178

RealGeek wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm sure he'll see a very significant ROI on his $1M once the government starts awarding contracts very conveniently to companies of which he owns a portion. Wasn't Trump rallying against such crony corruption aka 'pay for play'?

If we believe all the recently headlines about who he's bringing in it appears pure "pay to play". Lots of individuals who Trump "owes" through either money or support they provided to him; pure cronyism. I'm not sure Trump realizes what worked best in business, or what he felt worked best for him in what business he has done, is not necessarily best for operating policy. I'm not sure he cares. I suspect he might tho…

>almost worried about what he got himself into.

Uh, no shit?

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#515

Post by tmptmp » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:17 AM UTC

couchand wrote: post #411

tmptmp wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>If people are no longer free to use words or social stigma to advance their views and opinion, because "tolerance," then what do we have left? I agree with you. But we cannot disregard the dishonest behaviour performed by most leftists/liberals over the years. The leftists/liberals hurl so much social stigma against the republicans/Christianity but they dishonestly and criminally keep mum about e.g. Islam. Sam Harr…

To claim that Islam is somehow innately "vicious" or "barbaric" is just insulting.

>>To claim that Islam is somehow innately "vicious" or "barbaric" is just insulting.

First a question: Insulting to whom?

If you think it is insulting to Muslims, then I disagree. It may be offensive to some Muslims. Will criticizing Nazism be considered as insulting (to Germans)?

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#516

Post by rdtsc » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:19 AM UTC

noobermin wrote: post #122

RealGeek wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm sure he'll see a very significant ROI on his $1M once the government starts awarding contracts very conveniently to companies of which he owns a portion. Wasn't Trump rallying against such crony corruption aka 'pay for play'?

Yes. He lied, as many on the left said he was. Here[0], there is talk Jamie Dimon was considered by his advisors for Treasury. To be fair, Dimon declined, but it shows that Trump at least surrounds himself with people who don't give two shits about his "helping the little man." [0] http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/10/donald-trump-advisors-conside...

Alright, who do you think he should have picked for you to say "not bad, that's a good choice?"

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#517

Post by sangnoir » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:23 AM UTC

hueving wrote: post #502

tptacek wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are generations of families --- literally millions of people --- that are linked together through people who are in the US "illegally". People were brought here as children and have known no other life. People who were born in this country and are unassailably citizens, deserving of all the protections previous generations of Americans died on beaches to defend for them, whose parents were brought here illegall…

Why are you scare quoting "illegally"? They are here in violation of the law. If you don't believe in controlled immigration, just state that up front rather than trying to hide behind an appeal to emotion via stories of tearing families apart. Your argument seems to be either that long time violators of a law should gain immunity to the law; or that we should grant citizenship to anyone who enters the country. Which…

> They are here in violation of the law.

Serious question: which law?

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#518

Post by cmurf » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:24 AM UTC

RealGeek wrote: post #70

meritt wrote: post #21

This was obvious from the RNC speech and further reinforced when Thiel donated $1M to Trump. A contrarian bet, sure, but $1M is a pretty small price to pay to have a 50/50 shot at CTO of the USA. I'm sure he'll see a very significant ROI on his $1M once the government starts awarding contracts very conveniently to companies of which he owns a portion. I had very negative feelings about Thiel, and those were magnified…

> I'm sure he'll see a very significant ROI on his $1M once the government starts awarding contracts very conveniently to companies of which he owns a portion. Wasn't Trump rallying against such crony corruption aka 'pay for play'?

Trump rallying against the Electoral College in 2012 as bad for democracy. Now that it gives him the win contrary to democracy what's his opinion?

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/26603855650449408...

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

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Post by defgeneric » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:27 AM UTC

t1m wrote: post #348

Peter Thiel's "Mein Kampf" excludes women and minorities, who he feels have "damaged" democracy: https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/educatio...

As a Marxist, I actually agree with his point here. Of course he was being provocative but I don't think malicious, not by any means.

He did not mean women should not have been given the vote. And "welfare beneficiaries" actually doesn't refer to minorities there (although they'd be included among the beneficiaries of the New Deal).

What he said and meant, translated into Leftist language, is that it was clear by the 1920s that there was no longer any hope for resolving the crisis of bourgeois democracy. In other words, democracy and capitalism had become contradictory, incompatible. That's true, and had been true long before 1920, but the concept of history he articulates isn't totally incorrect. At least he thinks.

It is worth noting that the 1920s was also the decade when the German Left collapsed, all but sealing the fate of the October Revolution with it. Theil misrecognizes history when he blames the failure of the bourgeois revolution on politics, but he isn't wrong to recognize the importance of the bourgeois revolution. He just doesn't go far enough--only the socialist revolution could fulfill the promises of the bourgeois revolution (Great French Revolution).

I give a sort of point-by-point critique of his essay here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12928487

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#520

Post by blahi » Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 7:28 AM UTC

dlss wrote: post #489

tptacek wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why exactly am I meant to be comforted by the fact that the craven opportunists --- the lowest of the low of the Republican party, discredited outsiders like Newt Gingrich and John Bolton --- are getting the most important positions in the United States government for kowtowing to Trump? There are important thinkers in the Republican Party. People with ideas and a moral core, people who have given years of service to…

> Why exactly am I meant to be comforted by the fact that the craven opportunists --- the lowest of the low of the Republican party [...] are getting the most important positions in the United States government for kowtowing to Trump? Twenty-three days ago you and Marco sought to get Peter Thiel removed from YC for his support of Trump[1]. This is to say you were explicitly working to ensure that respectable people w…

>Twenty-three days ago you and Marco sought to get Peter Thiel removed from YC for his support of Trump

WOW. This is insane! Things like this and Mozilla's CEO situation are exactly why Trump won the destitute and the rich alike.

Liberals shoving down their half-baked morals into everybody's throats. How condescending. So much for Egalitarianism. We are equal, just not with Trump voters. What a hypocrisy.