Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team • Hacker News Board

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#951

Post by masondixon » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 1:10 AM UTC

user837387 wrote: post #830

masondixon wrote: post #726

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And if he doesn't?

If he doesn't leave the country worse off then what it is right now then I'll admit that I was wrong in thinking that he would screw up this country. If he actually makes it better then I'll admit that he was a good choice. The country by the way is in pretty good condition right now. People have easily forgotten 2008. I really hope we do not need to do another clean up in 2020. Will you accept you screw up if he scr…

> By the way, I think you are trying to gaslight us by using half truths. The same half truths you've used to convince yourself that Trump is good for the country.

I value rationale debate above all else. The ability to debate ideas is being silenced extremely effectively by the progressives and it will continue. For me, I prioritise this freedom of speech and ability to debate the issues with opposing viewpoints above all else.

This is my true goal.

This election revealed the true liberal media bias with their self-admitted inability to realise what was happening around them.

> Will you accept you screw up if he screws up the country?

Yep.

> If he doesn't leave the country worse off then what it is right now then I'll admit that I was wrong in thinking that he would screw up this country. If he actually makes it better then I'll admit that he was a good choice.

Okay!

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#952

Post by nathanasmith » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 1:20 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #928

tropo wrote: post #926

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about Sarah Palin for State? People laughed when she warned about Russia, Hillary supposedly hit the "reset button" on the relationship, and then... Russia invaded and annexed Crimea.

Like Arpaio, another official who left office in disgrace (this time, resigning abruptly before she was even ousted), in a red state with a red local government, after costing taxpayers millions of dollars defending her unlawful abuses of power. Arpaio, Gingrich, Palin --- these aren't serious Republican thinkers. They're people riding a GOP gravy train. Each chose to court publicity instead of doing their job, and e…

>Arpaio, Gingrich, Palin

>each is being rewarded under the Reality TV Administration of Donald Trump

None of these people as of this moment have been appointed to anything within the Trump administration, yet you say each is being rewarded. Either you know something the rest of us don't or you are peddling BS.

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#953

Post by tptacek » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 1:23 AM UTC

nathanasmith wrote: post #952

tptacek wrote: post #928

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like Arpaio, another official who left office in disgrace (this time, resigning abruptly before she was even ousted), in a red state with a red local government, after costing taxpayers millions of dollars defending her unlawful abuses of power. Arpaio, Gingrich, Palin --- these aren't serious Republican thinkers. They're people riding a GOP gravy train. Each chose to court publicity instead of doing their job, and e…

>Arpaio, Gingrich, Palin >each is being rewarded under the Reality TV Administration of Donald Trump None of these people as of this moment have been appointed to anything within the Trump administration, yet you say each is being rewarded . Either you know something the rest of us don't or you are peddling BS.

Apparently the whole media is peddling BS. Who are we going to believe, the transition committee or our own lying eyes?

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#954

Post by masondixon » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 1:24 AM UTC

Fraterkes wrote: post #914

masondixon wrote: post #768

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think the response by Joyent was appropriate: http://www.dailydot.com/news/github-gendered-pronoun-debate/ Do you think this was appropriate and fair to the accused: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattress_Performance_(Carry_Th... Do you think the BLM riots were justified over this: http://nyti.ms/2ctkwYZ Do you think police shoot more black people than white people? Do you think SJWs consider the potential sid…

Thanks for replying! I was actually hoping that you would ask some more general questions, because I would consider these examples edge-cases, and for me to talk in any useful way about them I would have to do a lot of research (the first link alone has a LOT of background). But briefly: I thought Joyent was being melodramatic, even if I consider Noordhuis' reactions to be a bit petty. Its always convenient to consid…

Thanks. Interesting to read.

Its so rare to engage in a level discussion with a SJW. My experience is mostly reading stuff on Medium. Then there are the protests at college campuses on YouTube. But its easy to get trapped in a filter bubble on YouTube. You click on one video and then you are endlessly served recommendations.

It comes across as very naive a lot of the time, and its hard to find a video from a knowledgeable spokesperson. What I am always looking for is something where someone acknowledges the arguments against what they are doing and logically refutes them - but I don't think I have ever read anything like that. I think its because people believe they are morally justified and therefore criticism is invalid. It is not about utilitarianism, but that there is a duty to act regardless of the consequences or side effects. I think it is an interesting phenomenon and a very dangerous ideology. Safe spaces probably the most dangerous - where it becomes okay to never have your ideas challenged. I only wish this Trump backlash can bring them back to the table of reason, and allow themselves to be challenged.

> the reason that the conversations that they are having on twitter and reddit aren't more nuanced/allowing for "but"s etc. is that you are fighting an uphill battle with that kind of stuff on the internet.

Yes I can see how it would be.

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#955

Post by gone35 » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 2:04 AM UTC

sctb wrote: post #909

gone35 wrote: post #458

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump is the most 'free' President in modern history. He 'owes' the least, to the fewest people. How do you know? Have you actually operationalized it with a quantifiable measure? Can you actually back up your claim with actual, verifiable data? No? Then get the fuck out .

> Then get the fuck out. You can't behave like this to other community members on Hacker News. It's difficult to maintain civil discourse on controversial topics, but nevertheless it's what this site is for so we have to ban accounts that won't follow the guidelines.

I know it was out of line, Scott: I've been lurking for years, and know the guidelines.

You cannot ignore though the insane, unprecedented emotional context we're in right now as a nation. Anyway I apologize.

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#956

Post by hawkice » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 2:07 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #852

bbctol wrote: post #849

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's such an insane thing to have to hope for, but the best case scenario is that Trump is... George W. Bush. That he'll be impolite, but not undiplomatic. That he'll start one, maybe two wars, and keep them non-nuclear. That we'll see a declining market economy, not an authoritarian state. I oppose Paul Ryan on nearly every economic ideal, but I have to hope he pushes his agenda through, as opposed to... Alex Jones?…

The Democratic party did not have a right to the 2016 election. We knew the bench was thin coming into this cycle, and that the GOP bench was particularly strong. I do not mind that the administration is changing party hands. I mind it going to a febrile pumpkin. You know who else has this problem? Much of the Republican party.

Let's be fair, skin-tone wise he would be an anemic pumpkin.

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#957

Post by tptacek » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 2:16 AM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #188

Sniffnoy wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why the implicit equation of "words" with "shouting at people that they're bad"? (Or at least, that's how I'm reading your comment based on the context.) The alternative is actual argument rather than punishment, something overgard in no way ruled out. ...which unfortunately may not be a great tool given the current situation. I think we are at the point where playing nice may no longer be a serious option. But that…

Also, there is the fact that Trump isn't Pinochet. At this stage, he's not even Bill Clinton (pushed the party hard to the right, locked up hundreds of thousands of poor black people to court skittish suburbanites). He'll get there but he's a pure virgin soul compared to pretty much any modern President besides Carter.

Give it a few months.

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#958

Post by akamaka » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 2:26 AM UTC

ch4s3 wrote: post #699

akamaka wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked at your article and it seems he's just saying that when women were enfranchised, the type of democracy we had became less supportive of libertarianism. I have no idea whether that's true or not, but misquoting him is not contributing to an intelligent dialogue.

I didn't quote him, I made an assumption about the quote. He said the country was better before women got the vote. He doesn't say that libertarians should try to figure out how to earn women's vote, but rather that women don't vote for libertarian policies/candidates and that is in his view the problem. Its a very short logical jump to infer that he thinks women shouldn't vote. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not sure he's…

I see what you're saying.

Would it be fair to compare this to saying "I think architecture was better in the ancient times, when low-paid craftmen fashioned each stone by hand"? If I said this, I don't think it should be assumed that I'm in favour of eliminating living wages for laborers.

I agree with you on your last point. I don't think Thiel is too concerned with people misunderstanding him, and he certainly could be more specific.

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#959

Post by pcwalton » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 3:12 AM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #188

Sniffnoy wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why the implicit equation of "words" with "shouting at people that they're bad"? (Or at least, that's how I'm reading your comment based on the context.) The alternative is actual argument rather than punishment, something overgard in no way ruled out. ...which unfortunately may not be a great tool given the current situation. I think we are at the point where playing nice may no longer be a serious option. But that…

Also, there is the fact that Trump isn't Pinochet. At this stage, he's not even Bill Clinton (pushed the party hard to the right, locked up hundreds of thousands of poor black people to court skittish suburbanites). He'll get there but he's a pure virgin soul compared to pretty much any modern President besides Carter.

> locked up hundreds of thousands of poor black people to court skittish suburbanites

That's an utterly meaningless comparison. Bill Clinton was a governor with terrible policies concerning minorities [1], while Donald Trump was a real estate mogul with terrible policies concerning minorities. The fact that their different leadership positions meant that Trump could harm a statistically fewer number of people means exactly nothing.

"Didn't lock up any black people" isn't exactly an achievement for someone who hasn't served in government.

[1]: I agree with you that Bill Clinton deserves to be held completely accountable for his actions as Arkansas governor.

Re: Peter Thiel To Join Trump Transition Team

#960

Post by Turing_Machine » Sat, Nov 12, 2016, 3:25 AM UTC

the_decider wrote: post #479

Turing_Machine wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where are you planning to get your water?

The Water issues can be resolved using technologies developed / enhanced by Israel. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/science/1.698275

Maybe. I would strongly advise resolving those issues before seceding. I would also advise considering what would happen if the Central Valley (and other rural regions of the state) didn't want to join the new entity.