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Originally posted by Bytemite:

Niki, I've gotten into this argument with Sig as well, and frankly, I don't think you can blame voters for politicians being ambitious and powerhungry in the first place, for becoming inevitably corrupted by the power their position grants them, for the way the game changes them because that's the only way to play, or people for expecting their leaders to act with a little bit of decency.

So no, I don't put it on the voters. I don't buy the arguments of the power-elite that we're all dumb animals and it's our own fault for putting them in charge. I don't believe that if the voters were to just vote for the right person, EVERYTHING could be fixed and "America could be put back on course"/"We could create a modern day utopia"/ etc.

I even think that ends up perpetuating the problem, some kind of bizarre blame the victim mentality that all the politicians are laughing up their sleeves at us falling for, because if we continue to believe it's our fault, if we continue to not hold them accountable, nothing ever has to change. And that feeds in directly to the question of "what's the right choice," and what they want us to conclude is "well, it's certain political party, and everything that goes wrong is the fault of other political party." Even though they end up 'compromising' on everything and those compromises are generally good for them and their corporate buddies and bad for everyone else.

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Originally posted by THG:

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Originally posted by Bytemite:

Niki, I've gotten into this argument with Sig as well, and frankly, I don't think you can blame voters for politicians being ambitious and powerhungry in the first place, for becoming inevitably corrupted by the power their position grants them, for the way the game changes them because that's the only way to play, or people for expecting their leaders to act with a little bit of decency.

So no, I don't put it on the voters. I don't buy the arguments of the power-elite that we're all dumb animals and it's our own fault for putting them in charge. I don't believe that if the voters were to just vote for the right person, EVERYTHING could be fixed and "America could be put back on course"/"We could create a modern day utopia"/ etc.

I even think that ends up perpetuating the problem, some kind of bizarre blame the victim mentality that all the politicians are laughing up their sleeves at us falling for, because if we continue to believe it's our fault, if we continue to not hold them accountable, nothing ever has to change. And that feeds in directly to the question of "what's the right choice," and what they want us to conclude is "well, it's certain political party, and everything that goes wrong is the fault of other political party." Even though they end up 'compromising' on everything and those compromises are generally good for them and their corporate buddies and bad for everyone else.

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Come back!

T

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:


We're at end-stage stupidity.

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Thiel went on to champion the future politician, writing a blurb for Vance's 2016 book "Hillbilly Elegy," hiring Vance to work at his VC firm Mithril Capital, and investing in Vance's own venture fund, Narya Capital.

He helped bankroll Vance's campaign, pouring at least $15 million into his 2022 senatorial bid, according to data from OpenSecrets, and aiding him in securing an endorsement from Trump following a 2021 Mar-a-Lago meeting where he introduced the two, The New York Times reported.

While he did not contribute financially to the 2024 presidential race — "an extra $1 million or $10 million does not make any difference," he said of Trump, who reportedly called him a "scumbag" — he was among Trump's first supporters in Silicon Valley, backing him in 2016, speaking at the Republican National Convention that year, donating $1.25 million to pro-Trump groups, and serving as a member of his transition team.

With Vance's placement on the ticket and the Trump-Vance win, Thiel has secured his standing as a conservative kingmaker and one of tech's most powerful political players.

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A—JFK assassination files

B—UFOs

C—What happened when Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself

D—Origins of COVID

E—Something else (please specify in the comments)

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Linda McMahon, the former professional wrestling executive who led Trump's Small Business Administration in his first term and has served in a leadership capacity at a variety of pro-Trump outside groups groups, is helping to lead his transition. She donated more than $21 million to help Trump's campaign this election cycle —more than $20 million to the Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC and another $937,800 to his campaign and affiliated joint fundraising committees.

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Mellon
Uihlein, Richard & Elizabeth A
Sheldon Adelson
Griffin, Kenneth C.
Yass, Jeffrey S. & Janine
Musk
Singer, Paul E.
Schwarzman, Stephen A.
Dunn, Timothy M
Bigelow, Rob

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