Has Silicon Valley Hacked Our Culture?

Great piece by Jim Geraghty, picking up Jason Whitlock's claim that the media has shifted hard to the left due to the influence of the tech bazillionaires turning all "news" into outrage clickbait to drive their revenues.

The old journalism saying, "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable" implied punching up; the more powerful you were, the more you needed scrutiny. For Watergate, the Pentagon Papers, My Lai, all that the press needed to do was expose the wrongdoing and the public would instinctively recoil and dole out appropriate consequences.
Today's social-media outrage-mob-driven click-bait journalism is much more about punching down, finding someone who has deviated from the range of acceptable thought and ostracizing them and enforcing the tenets of a shame culture. It's less about exposing the sins of the powerful than exposing the sins of the near-powerless, whether it's those gorillas-in-the-mist reports from Red State America or gleeful exposes about the hypocrisies of religious conservatives. (The hypocrisy of a self-proclaimed environmentalist who enjoys a private jet with a massive carbon footprint never quite stirs the hearts of the media as much as a preacher's affair.)

Geraghty links this to a Silicon Valley defector who noted this about tech culture:

He said that Silicon Valley’s ethos allows startup founders to easily justify their quick riches. "To maintain this status of extreme income and outcome inequality you have to think that somehow the moral universe conspired to make you a billionaire and the other guy not," he said.

I've heard (or thought) the same thing about big-dollar Hollywood actors: They feel a bit guilty about having wealth, status and privilege in such excess, and so they hew hard to progressive religious morality, which helps them cope in three different ways:

1, it tells them they're deserving of their good fortune by virtue of having so much virtue already, and

2, it gives them the chance to "Earn this," as Tom Hanks told Private Ryan. They can partly "earn" their good fortune by evangelizling their religion of progressivism, and

3, it helps them deflect attention -- both public attention and their own attention -- from the fact that if privilege exists at all in this world, they are the primary beneficiaries of that white, male, cis, upper middle class, etc., privilege.

It always shocks me that when a media personality (or, ahem, former media personality) like Keith Olbermann posts a picture of his staff, it's almost entirely white. Like he's not even trying to achieve even the illusion of diversity.

It strikes me that some of the guys who scream the loudest about the need for other people to #PracticeDiversity are doing so precisely because they know they've made almost no effort themselves to do so. Just like Al Gore needs you to cut back on carbon emissions so that he can keep living his luxe carbon-generating lifestyle.

Good Morning Jolt. Thanks to @ArthurK for sending it my way.

Posted by: Ace at 05:33 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 I got nothing.

Posted by: garrett at April 17, 2017 05:36 PM (hMW5D)

2 Fortunately for me, I don't care what kind of morality these idiots try to foist on me. I care what God thinks, I care what my husband thinks.

Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius at April 17, 2017 05:36 PM (FQKBL)

3
National divorce from the media, such as it was and is.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at April 17, 2017 05:36 PM (mbhDw)

4 "Has Silicon Valley Hacked Our Culture?"

Yes, and conservatives should remember this and take a more populist approach to Big Tech.

A handful of billionaire oligarchs are going to control this country while shoving Cultural Marxism down our throats.

But Republicans will still keep fighting to keep the H-1B visas flowing and rubber stamping anything else they ask for.

Imagine if conservatives started demanding something like basic privacy protections from these companies?

Posted by: Maritime at April 17, 2017 05:37 PM (KF19I)

5 The impact of Silicon Valley on the news and "clickbait" is far more pernicious.

More on that here:

The Gatekeepers of Free Speech

http://politicalhat.com/2015/07/22/the-gatekeepers-of-free-speech/

Posted by: The Political Hat at April 17, 2017 05:39 PM (rUIbB)

6 Much to the horror of libertarians, I actually question the "holy" and "sacred" power of profit motive; that it will fix EVERYTHING it touches.

Just like there's more money in junk food than in healthy food, there's more money (a LOT more!) in junk information than there is in healthy information.

And leftist techie billionaires? God help us. The way they make their money in capitalism, then push for socialism... I honestly think they all have fantasies about being "the last billionaire ever."

Posted by: RKae at April 17, 2017 05:39 PM (4DpAT)

7 Think #4 - Deep down, they know they make a ton of money for playing pretend. Sure, they'll tell you how tough it was to master this accent, or that stunt, but it's for a few weeks, months. They have no conception of others who actually did slave away for years starting their own business, or development/trail and error to invent something, before it grew into something yuuuge. They didn't earn it, so no millionaire/billionaire really earned it.

Posted by: Lizzy at April 17, 2017 05:41 PM (NOIQH)

8 >>Today's social-media outrage-mob-driven click-bait journalism is much more about punching down,
finding someone who has deviated from the range of acceptable thought
and ostracizing them and enforcing the tenets of a shame culture

Excellent point.

Posted by: Lizzy at April 17, 2017 05:43 PM (NOIQH)

9 A handful of billionaire oligarchs are going to control this country while shoving Cultural Marxism down our throats.

Posted by: Maritime at April 17, 2017 05:37 PM (KF19I)

They are the new feudal lords, with serfs and an enforcement/gentry class of minion.

More on that here:

Progressives' Futuristic Blues

http://politicalhat.com/2013/01/31/progressives-futuristic-blues/

And

Rise of the Digital Oligarchs

http://politicalhat.com/2015/08/26/rise-of-the-digital-oligarchs/

Posted by: The Political Hat at April 17, 2017 05:43 PM (rUIbB)

10 Much to the horror of libertarians, I actually question the "holy" and "sacred" power of profit motive; that it will fix EVERYTHING it touches.

Posted by: RKae

________

Sort of like that old quote
"The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them."

Posted by: Maritime at April 17, 2017 05:44 PM (KF19I)

11 Speaking of the Jolt, I have a hard time keeping the daily email coming. It just seems to stop, while the NR ad pitches keep coming. Is it a "subscriber only" thing now?

Posted by: goodluckduck at April 17, 2017 05:44 PM (yqvys)

12 Oh and BTW

Fuck Facebook

Posted by: Rick in SK at April 17, 2017 05:45 PM (FZYNt)

13 They are the new feudal lords, with serfs and an enforcement/gentry class of minion.

Uh...doo bappa banana?

Posted by: Minion Dave at April 17, 2017 05:46 PM (0mRoj)

14 Yeah, OK, as far is this goes, it's probably part of the answer.

But the distorted framework within which the media operates on almost all topics, and which (via the marinade of media, pop culture, academia) has misshapen the mindsets of half the country or more, started before and well outside the tech boom.

Recall that the hugely wealthy have in many cases long sought to 1) do actual good, as far as they understood it 2) buy moral protection/credit or assuage guilt by donating to "good works". Carnegie Endowment. Nobel Peace Prize. Ford Foundation. On and on and on.

Those venerable charities bearing the names of the earlier tycoons, in many cases, do vast harm now - because they are completely captured by people consumed by stupid, and/or authoritarian, concepts.

In this case, the capture by authoritarian/stupid worldviews was built in, at inception. I think part of this reflects the unworldliness of the new tycoons. Carnegie and others earned their wealth over many many years, and it required mastering almost all aspects of real life, business, and technology.

Zuckerberg's amazingly wealthy, for a guy with limited real-world experience - he easily could be worth 1/10,000th of what he is, with a tiny change in timing and luck. He and his smaller brethren earned their vast wealth virtually overnight.

Just compare, back-of-envelope style, the life experience of a young tech tycoon and a Carnegie or Rockefeller, at the point where they became hugely wealthy. There *is* no comparison. This has to figure in, too.

Posted by: rhomboid at April 17, 2017 05:46 PM (vP09u)

15 Does Al Gore still value Fred Phelps' endorsement should he run in 2020?

Posted by: fluffy at April 17, 2017 05:47 PM (jw2Xw)

16 I'd of been first but was busy watching the vid on the previous thread.
Again.
And again.

Posted by: Diogenes at April 17, 2017 05:47 PM (0tfLf)

17 privacy protection, copyright and patent reform, Hollywood audit, and antitrust actions against Google algorithms

and have the IRS look hard at any "nonprofit" doing advocacy

Posted by: Boulder terlit hobo at April 17, 2017 05:48 PM (QfEju)

18 The worst aspect of capitalism is that a lot of undeserving people become powerful.

I'm looking at you and your butt Kim Kardashian.

Posted by: Jack Sock at April 17, 2017 05:48 PM (0nM5K)

19 Zuckerberg's amazingly wealthy, for a guy with limited real-world experience - he easily could be worth 1/10,000th of what he is, with a tiny change in timing and luck. He and his smaller brethren earned their vast wealth virtually overnight.

Just compare, back-of-envelope style, the life experience of a young tech tycoon and a Carnegie or Rockefeller, at the point where they became hugely wealthy. There *is* no comparison. This has to figure in, too.

Posted by: rhomboid at April 17, 2017 05:46 PM (vP09u)

Interesting point. I imagine the viewpoint of someone who spent a lifetime building their business empire and fortune would be rather different from someone who became a billionaire comparatively overnight.

Posted by: Insomniac at April 17, 2017 05:48 PM (0mRoj)

20 15 Does Al Gore still value Fred Phelps' endorsement should he run in 2020?
Posted by: fluffy

Fred Phelps has been worm bait for a few years, much like Algore's career

Posted by: Rick in SK at April 17, 2017 05:48 PM (FZYNt)

21 And about those Fed balance sheets. CTRL-P monetary policy allows for all the somethings from nothings with out any actual value creation.

Posted by: Reverse Polish Notation at April 17, 2017 05:49 PM (qfDb3)

22 Can I sue Al Gore now for fraud, malfeasance, fear mongering and being a total douchebag?

Also, I have to pay about $4600.00 to the tax man. Should I get a 6 month extension or do a pay over time plan to stretch paying the monster over 72 months?

Any tax accounts out there?

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at April 17, 2017 05:49 PM (5VlCp)

23 Hmmm. Silicon Valley, not far from Berkeley.
And Zuckerturd has a very punchable face.

Posted by: wth at April 17, 2017 05:49 PM (HgMAr)

24 The Shroud of Turin

The more science advances, the less doubt there seems to be about the shroud's authenticity.

NRO: http://tinyurl.com/kl7gjp3

I would have posted on Easter, but too busy eating lamb and drinkin' wine

Posted by: McCool at April 17, 2017 05:50 PM (mEZce)

25 Hang on to yourself!

Posted by: Gavin Rossdale at April 17, 2017 05:50 PM (ewSN2)

26 Walton continued to live in his large ranch style house and drive a pick up truck. His children inherited all the wealth and guilt that goes with it.

Posted by: Jack Sock at April 17, 2017 05:51 PM (0nM5K)

27 10 Much to the horror of libertarians, I actually question the "holy" and "sacred" power of profit motive; that it will fix EVERYTHING it touches.

Posted by: RKae

________

Sort of like that old quote
"The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them."
Posted by: Maritime at April 17, 2017 05:44 PM (KF19I)

Many on the Right idolize the market the way the Left idolizes the State.

Posted by: josephistan at April 17, 2017 05:51 PM (ANIFC)

28 Me, I like my robber barons unapologetic. Gimme a a good old fashioned robber baron over these nouveau rich oh woe is me fake types types any day.

Posted by: Strobe at April 17, 2017 05:51 PM (gbWkA)

29 Hacked, or Trump Derangement Syndrome

Posted by: Skip at April 17, 2017 05:51 PM (Ot7+c)

30 25 Hang on to yourself!
Posted by: Gavin Rossdale at April 17, 2017 05:50 PM (ewSN2)

Hold on to the night!

Posted by: Richard Marx at April 17, 2017 05:52 PM (0mRoj)

31 RKae, dunno about others, but "holy" and "sacred" are not concepts I apply to profit motive, or market-based (free) economic activities.

The damage inflicted by some of the wealthy is done via ..... state power. Even if it's Steier or one of the young tech tycoons bankrolling some idiotic "environmental" or gun-control thing, with for example the clueless pathetic CA electorate approving it via referendum - it's all about state-imposed behavior controls.

Profit motive and free economic activity have no inherent connection to state coercion. The way to block this coercion is not to prevent the existence of wealthy people. The way to do that is to have a constitutional framework limiting the mischief the state can be made to do on behalf of anyone, incl. clueless tech tycoons.

Oops. We had one of them there frameworks. Something's happened to it, though. Big problem.

Posted by: rhomboid at April 17, 2017 05:52 PM (vP09u)

32 Found The Bell Curve as a pdf
http://tinyurl.com/hjw5hb2

Got some reading material for the flight...

Posted by: McCool at April 17, 2017 05:52 PM (mEZce)

33 Posted by: josephistan at April 17, 2017 05:51 PM (ANIFC)

Sure but like democracy there is no better alternative.

Posted by: Jack Sock at April 17, 2017 05:52 PM (0nM5K)

34 15 Does Al Gore still value Fred Phelps' endorsement should he run in 2020?
Posted by: fluffy
___________

It's always useful to remind people that Fred Phelps was a Democrat politician.

Posted by: Furious George at April 17, 2017 05:54 PM (j+dfT)

35 28
Me, I like my robber barons unapologetic. Gimme a a good old fashioned
robber baron over these nouveau rich oh woe is me fake types types any
day.

Zuckerberg would be a lot cooler if he adopted a top hat and monocle. Well, to be fair, he'd be a lot cooler if he did just about anything but be Zuckerberg.

Posted by: pep at April 17, 2017 05:54 PM (LAe3v)

36 How many of these tech millionaires actually turn a profit with their software? It seems like most of them get rich without ever going in the black. They develop a new app, pump it up for a while, and then sell it to one of the big companies.

Posted by: Colorado Alex in Exile at April 17, 2017 05:55 PM (fKWf6)

37 I've heard (or thought) the same thing about big-dollar Hollywood actors: They feel a bit guilty about having wealth, status and privilege in such excess, and so they hew hard to progressive religious morality, which helps them cope in three different ways:

If it bothers them so bad, how about give it the fuck away?

Problem solved.

Posted by: rickb223 at April 17, 2017 05:55 PM (67teE)

38 I've heard (or thought) the same thing about big-dollar Hollywood
actors: They feel a bit guilty about having wealth, status and privilege
in such excess, and so they hew hard to progressive religious morality,
which helps them cope in three different ways:

Or...THEY JUST GO FUCKING NUTS!!!

Posted by: Shia LaBeouf at April 17, 2017 05:55 PM (qJhUV)

39 They have gone from Fighting The Man to being The Man.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 05:56 PM (LTHVh)

40 Just like Al Gore needs you to cut back on carbon emissions so that he can keep living his luxe carbon-generating lifestyle.

Yeah, it's interesting how the same liberal/OWS people who are angered by "the rich" do not also hold the same anger towards those who are rich in carbon emissions.

On the one hand, you have "rich" people. In general, "rich" people are not taking from anyone else. In fact, many "rich" people use their wealth to help others: begin businesses which end up providing people jobs, donate to charities, pay the majority of Federal/State taxes in this nation which end up being used for all Americans.

Yet, "rich" people are hated.

On the other hand, you have those like Al Gore. They not only do not do anything to help anyone else, they advocate for taking from everybody, in a multitude of ways. They advocate taking cheap energy from not only all Americans, but everyone worldwide. They advocate taking even more taxes from "the rich", which ends up not hurting "the rich", but rather hurting every person helped by "the rich" (charities to which they donate, businesses they run and with which they provide jobs). They advocate taking from companies, which ends up hurting the business which that company provides, the workers for that company, the profit of the company which would go to improving the business or to investing in causes and to the bank accounts of those invested in the stock of the company.

Yet, people like Al Gore are worshiped.

The illogic of liberalism just constantly baffles me...

Posted by: Doctor Neal Page at April 17, 2017 05:56 PM (7A4qQ)

41 Or...THEY JUST GO F***ING NUTS!!!

Posted by: Shia LaBeouf

I KNOW, RIGHT!!!

Posted by: Joaquin Phoenix at April 17, 2017 05:57 PM (LAe3v)

42 To be The Man you've got to beat The Man!

Posted by: Ric Flair at April 17, 2017 05:57 PM (ewSN2)

43
STOP USING GOOGLE. I don't care how convenient it is. Just stop.

Posted by: Anon at April 17, 2017 05:57 PM (hgNhY)

44 Idolizing "markets" would be an odd behavior.

Understanding economic behavior, and how maximum free economic behavior maximizes outcomes for all, appears to be a limited phenomenon sometimes - even among those who have some vague cultural or political affinity/identification with "free enterprise".

The ignorant demonization of market behavior, usually based on ignorance or self-dealing instincts, is widespread. And is an essential element of the toxic crap Ace is talking about here, being pushed by tycoons.

Posted by: rhomboid at April 17, 2017 05:57 PM (vP09u)

45 42 To be The Man you've got to beat The Man!
Posted by: Ric Flair

WWWHHHHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Posted by: Rick in SK at April 17, 2017 05:58 PM (FZYNt)

46 39
They have gone from Fighting The Man to being The Man.

Posted by: Grump928(C)

To attending Burning Man.

Posted by: pep at April 17, 2017 05:58 PM (LAe3v)

47 Shut up and open the border.

Posted by: Chamber of Commerce at April 17, 2017 05:58 PM (IqV8l)

48 I don't want diversity. I want competent employees. Once I have that, I don't care about color, gender or anything else, provided you work well with others.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 05:58 PM (zsHGH)

49 and, as always, Fen's Law explains all.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 05:58 PM (LTHVh)

50 >>I don't want diversity. I want competent employees.

I Want an Oompa-Loompa, Now - Daddy!

Posted by: Veruca at April 17, 2017 05:59 PM (hMW5D)

51 46 39
They have gone from Fighting The Man to being The Man.

Posted by: Grump928(C)

To attending Burning Man.
Posted by: pep at April 17, 2017 05:58 PM (LAe3v)

Which leads to a burning sensation when urinating.

Posted by: josephistan at April 17, 2017 05:59 PM (ANIFC)

52

Why the hate?

I'm really, really a good guy. I have your best interests at heart. And, I'm really smart.

Posted by: Elon Musk at April 17, 2017 05:59 PM (hgNhY)

53 I remember having a fun sit-down-and-shut-up session with my freeloading Commie ex-brother in law right after he was railing on about the evil pharmaceutical companies.

I asked him to name the most "evil M-f****er" (his words) pharmaceutical company. I don't remember which one it was, but its gross margin the prior year was 18%. He thought that was horrible and all robber-barony and eeeeevil.

I asked him to name a company that wasn't evil. He replied Apple. Their gross margin at the time was north of 80%.

Posted by: Furious George at April 17, 2017 06:00 PM (j+dfT)

54 I want Veruca Salt's 'American Thighs'.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:00 PM (zsHGH)

55 53 I remember having a fun sit-down-and-shut-up session with my freeloading Commie ex-brother in law right after he was railing on about the evil pharmaceutical companies.

I asked him to name the most "evil M-f****er" (his words) pharmaceutical company. I don't remember which one it was, but its gross margin the prior year was 18%. He thought that was horrible and all robber-barony and eeeeevil.

I asked him to name a company that wasn't evil. He replied Apple. Their gross margin at the time was north of 80%.
Posted by: Furious George at April 17, 2017 06:00 PM (j+dfT)

And oil companies margin is about 5%.

Posted by: josephistan at April 17, 2017 06:01 PM (ANIFC)

56 Actually, I'm pretty sure Elon Musk is an asshole, but I like what he does with pushing technology and space travel.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:01 PM (zsHGH)

57 Interesting point. I imagine the viewpoint of someone who spent a lifetime building their business empire and fortune would be rather different from someone who became a billionaire comparatively overnight.
Posted by: Insomniac

______

That and most of the oligarchs in our past weren't involved in parts of industry that weren't so directly linked to controlling our culture.

Who would care if a railroad baron or oil tycoon had a right or left wing stance on issues? That was where most of the rich people in society came from.

But someone that's controlling basically our news, our communication, censoring what they don;t want us to see, etc.

It's a lot of power and they are defintely using it.

How many times did the Google CEO visit the White House? It might as well have been an extension of government.

Posted by: Maritime at April 17, 2017 06:02 PM (KF19I)

58 Daddy didn't buy dreadlocks Barbie a pony and look what happened.

Posted by: Strobe at April 17, 2017 06:02 PM (gbWkA)

59 If you wanna ride Space Mountain....

Posted by: Slick Ric at April 17, 2017 06:02 PM (89T5c)

60 practice diversity = celebrate exhaust fucking

tolerance = berate anyone who has the same moral views you held just four years ago

Posted by: wooga at April 17, 2017 06:02 PM (JnYpG)

61 Your worldly wealth is bestowed because of your inner progressive moral standing and your embrace of progressive morality brings you wealth on Earth.

Predestination, progressive style.

Posted by: geoffb5 at April 17, 2017 06:02 PM (d3wbb)

62 55 And oil companies margin is about 5%.
Posted by: josephistan
_______

Forgot about that one. I showed him how to look up crack margins. He didn't believe me. Said it was just propaganda from the evil polluters.

Posted by: Furious George at April 17, 2017 06:04 PM (j+dfT)

63 Just remember all you morons who admire Elon Musk; he is just one lab accident away from being a super villain.

Posted by: Strobe at April 17, 2017 06:04 PM (gbWkA)

64 I have a different theory...

We always want to think of ourselves as normal and good.... we think other 'normal' people are just like us.

So, if you are trustworthy and righteous? You will think of others that way....

BUT...

If you are a liar, you think everyone lies, because... its normal... and thus you will accuse others of telling lies...

Cheaters accuse others of cheating...

REAL Racists... see Racism everywhere...

Connect the dots to Hollywood and the rich...

Posted by: Don Q. at April 17, 2017 06:05 PM (NgKpN)

65
I showed him how to look up crack margins.

How wide is his?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at April 17, 2017 06:05 PM (IqV8l)

66 Just remember all you morons who admire Elon Musk; he is just one lab accident away from being a super villain.
Posted by: Strobe at April 17, 2017 06:04 PM (gbWkA)

All it takes is one bad day...

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:06 PM (zsHGH)

67 Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line!

Posted by: Ric Flair at April 17, 2017 06:06 PM (ewSN2)

68 64 I have a different theory...

We always want to think of ourselves as normal and good.... we think other 'normal' people are just like us.

So, if you are trustworthy and righteous? You will think of others that way....

BUT...

If you are a liar, you think everyone lies, because... its normal... and thus you will accuse others of telling lies...

Cheaters accuse others of cheating...

REAL Racists... see Racism everywhere...

Connect the dots to Hollywood and the rich...
Posted by: Don Q. at April 17, 2017 06:05 PM (NgKpN)

Or maybe you're cynical like me and view pretty much everything with suspicion while not having a particularly high view of yourself.

Posted by: Insomniac at April 17, 2017 06:06 PM (0mRoj)

69 >>I asked him to name a company that wasn't evil. He replied Apple. Their gross margin at the time was north of 80%.

Heh. And Steve Jobs was a total dick. If Sam Walton or the Koch brothers behaved like that guy their heads would explode, but their Apple God could do no wrong.
Walmart stuff made in China = eeevil corporate greed
Apple stuff made in China = whatever, when's the next model coming out?

Posted by: Lizzy at April 17, 2017 06:07 PM (NOIQH)

70 Eh, I didn't phrase that very well...

Posted by: Insomniac at April 17, 2017 06:07 PM (0mRoj)

71 I agree with insomniac

Posted by: Skip at April 17, 2017 06:08 PM (Ot7+c)

72 Insomniac didn't phrase that very well...

Posted by: Joe Biden at April 17, 2017 06:09 PM (ewSN2)

73 I don't think that was deliberate. I think it just ended up that way because the news media is desperate to make money, so outrage and clickbait is all they have left to get noticed.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 17, 2017 06:09 PM (39g3+)

74 I think I got the gist of it

Posted by: Skip at April 17, 2017 06:09 PM (Ot7+c)

75
Wealthy people equals right place at the right time.

There's nothing special about these people. They hit the cosmic jackpot.

In another time they would be emptying chamber pots filled with excrement.

Posted by: E Depluribus Unum at April 17, 2017 06:09 PM (HTdUD)

76 "it helps them deflect attention -- both public attention and their own
attention -- from the fact that if privilege exists at all in this
world, they are the primary beneficiaries of that white, male, cis,
upper middle class, etc., privilege."

It also helps deflect attention from the utterly sleazy tax and accounting gimmicks with which both Hollyweird and Silly-con Valley are absolutely rife.

People who are genuinely "paying their fair share", in a mantra you'll hear chanted in both places, typically don't get THAT rich THAT quickly.

Posted by: torquewrench at April 17, 2017 06:10 PM (qJjMA)

77 You could bring the valley to heel quickly with some tax and IP law changes.

Posted by: JEM at April 17, 2017 06:10 PM (TppKb)

78 I asked him to name a company that wasn't evil. He replied Apple.

Apple is the Correct People, therefore Good.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at April 17, 2017 06:11 PM (oVJmc)

79 74 I think I got the gist of it
Posted by: Skip at April 17, 2017 06:09 PM (Ot7+c)

Glad it came through. I re-read it and felt I wasn't quite on the mark. Then again, I have a history of near-pathological self-criticism.

Posted by: Insomniac at April 17, 2017 06:11 PM (0mRoj)

80 Insomniac Johnson is right!

Posted by: Olsen Johnson at April 17, 2017 06:11 PM (IqV8l)

81 >>How many times did the Google CEO visit the White House? It might as well have been an extension of government.

Obama also hired various google, facebook, etc. execs to assist with tech projects at WH and/or his campaign(like the facebook dude who bought the New Republic), and many of his former staffers got tech exec positions after leaving the WH. Incestuous.

Posted by: Lizzy at April 17, 2017 06:12 PM (NOIQH)

82 And Steve Jobs was a total dick.

Jobs and the rest of these guys would fit in just fine with the "Robber Barons" of the past. If anything, they could probably teach them a few things.

Posted by: tu3031 at April 17, 2017 06:12 PM (qJhUV)

83 You could bring the valley to heel quickly with some tax and IP law changes.
Posted by: JEM
______

I'd also like to see some privacy laws about what sort of tabs they can keep on people.

Google became a big part of Obama's campaign.

That should tell you all you need to know.

Posted by: Maritime at April 17, 2017 06:12 PM (KF19I)

84 69 Walmart stuff made in China = eeevil corporate greed
Apple stuff made in China = whatever, when's the next model coming out?
Posted by: Lizzy
________

Don't forget that if you criticize the Apple stuff made in China, you get the distinct honor of being called a racist who doesn't care about poor villagers in China.

Posted by: Furious George at April 17, 2017 06:12 PM (j+dfT)

85 Apple isn't evil but a benevolent tyrant

Posted by: Skip at April 17, 2017 06:13 PM (Ot7+c)

86 Don't forget that if you criticize the Apple stuff made in China, you get the distinct honor of being called a racist who doesn't care about poor villagers in China.

The ones committing suicide from working conditions.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at April 17, 2017 06:13 PM (oVJmc)

87 Some digital oligarch mood music...

"Digital Bitch" by Black Sabbath:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPsHgn4KqM0

Posted by: The Digital Hat at April 17, 2017 06:13 PM (rUIbB)

88 I hate, hate, hate greedy people who are so worried about paying their fair share of taxes.

* furiously scribbles another check to his charitable foundation to avoid estate taxes and lower his income tax liability *

Posted by: Warren "I'm Noble" Buffett at April 17, 2017 06:15 PM (j+dfT)

89 Google even got congress to cripple other website content owners and force them by law to go through Google to get data on users.

Then they used the media to make it look evil to oppose this legislation.

Microsoft is no better, but I don't like throwing Google hits or web traffic, so I use Bing. It works just as well but doesn't have the world-conquering stench of Google.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 17, 2017 06:16 PM (39g3+)

90 You could bring the valley to heel quickly with some tax and IP law changes.
---
not to mention eliminating H1b visas...

now you have to hire/retain Americans, bitches!

Posted by: redc1c4 at April 17, 2017 06:16 PM (ijXQr)

91 I put Google and Microsoft in the same boat as Apple

Posted by: Skip at April 17, 2017 06:17 PM (Ot7+c)

92 I've dropped all cable and local news sources from my life. Now I watch pornhub exclusively.

Posted by: Under Fire at April 17, 2017 06:17 PM (X+rUO)

93
Generals gathered in their masses,
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction,
Sorcerer of death's construction

Posted by: Grump928(C) notes that masses does, in fact rhyme, with masses at April 17, 2017 06:17 PM (LTHVh)

94 As far as the leftist tech/hollywood/enviroweenie hypocrites the can all eat a bag of dicks. Myself the rightwing/caltholic nobody I freely admit I am a sinner and a hypocrite.

Posted by: USNtakim at April 17, 2017 06:17 PM (hMqvx)

95 Microsoft is no better, but I don't like throwing Google hits or web traffic, so I use Bing. It works just as well but doesn't have the world-conquering stench of Google.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 17, 2017 06:16 PM (39g3+)

Try http://duckduckgo.com

Posted by: The Digital Hat at April 17, 2017 06:18 PM (rUIbB)

96 Yeah we Christians are often hypocrites, God have mercy... but at least we are aware of it and admit our sin.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 17, 2017 06:18 PM (39g3+)

97 If you like your healthcare, you can keep your healthcare...

Posted by: Kenyan Muslim at April 17, 2017 06:18 PM (ewSN2)

98 I've dropped all cable and local news sources from my life. Now I watch pornhub exclusively.

Posted by: Under Fire at April 17, 2017 06:17 PM (X+rUO)

SOON.

Posted by: Lena Dunham forcing "Social Justice" on fappers everywhere at April 17, 2017 06:19 PM (rUIbB)

99 yeah me!

just ordered a new, to me, rifle...

well, the complete barreled receiver, anyway.

the state of #Failifornia will still make me wait 10 days to pick up a non-usable ~100 year old antique though.

Posted by: redc1c4 at April 17, 2017 06:19 PM (ijXQr)

100

The better question is: Is Silicon Valley and Hollywood creating a False Normal?

A Fake Mainstream has been created and it's getting worse. If you just arrived on Earth from another planet, you'd think it was Mainstream to be a homosexual covered with tattoos, be obsessed with sexuality, piercings, and live by social media.

Posted by: Soothsayer 45 at April 17, 2017 06:19 PM (cFrcL)

101 just ordered a new, to me, rifle...

well, the complete barreled receiver, anyway.

*ears perk up*

Posted by: Grump928(C) notes that masses does, in fact rhyme, with masses at April 17, 2017 06:20 PM (LTHVh)

102 There is little room for multiple players in social media ... Ebay, Facebook, Amazon, ... even Google, PayPal, Netflix ... one tends to become dominant quickly. Buying influence counts ... leftist billionaires have a political preference to which the players must cater.

Microsoft used to cheaply absorb small tech player ideas and make them an add on ... and were taken to court. They (allegedly) learned to get a bunch of lobbyists so their (confiscation) domination would be made conveniently legal. So now Trump speaks of anti-trust laws against these dominants, but it will not be easy.

Easy money policy enabled average investors to earn easy (mutual fund) money from stocks for decades, and then too big to fail/jail policy kept floating things higher (as political expedience required).

The leveraged players hence gained control of DC since their leveraged market games were floating the economy on deep (state) debt ... "it's the (highly leveraged funny money) economy, stupid". Average Joe's became 100% stock invested with retirement money ... cuz stocks always go up.

The paper (fiat) money thing has now spread globally, so some buy precious metals, but how does it end? Government controls our easy money games, and a private federal reserve manipulates the rates and (fake) money supply. In that sense we are all communists now ... because all that moeny we think we have is mostly just a data entry ... which is why suddenly a Zuckerberg becomes the third richest man in the world ... and ready to help Merkel or China manipulate the flow of "fake news".

Censorship is US ... just keep the paper assest numbers going up.

Posted by: illiniwek at April 17, 2017 06:20 PM (TmCOq)

103
In the fields the bodies burning,
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind,
Poisoning their brainwashed minds

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:21 PM (LTHVh)

104 Oh Lord yeah

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:21 PM (LTHVh)

105 The 3rd Quarter should bring the new Kel Tec RDB-S.
It's supposed to be Failafornia-complaint.
I'm planning on getting one, even if I'm in WA.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:22 PM (zsHGH)

106 *ears perk up*
Posted by: Grump928(C) notes that masses does, in fact rhyme, with masses at April 17, 2017 06:20 PM (LTHVh)

---
it's the 1916 Mauser receiver chambered in 308 at Old Western Scrounger

Posted by: redc1c4 at April 17, 2017 06:23 PM (ijXQr)

107
PornHub is probably the most honest of the Top 40 internet web destinations. They don't force you to see the ghey, the trannies, the futanari.

You choose.

It's kind of a sad commentary on contemporary society that only pornography can set you free of the left wing agenda.

Posted by: E Depluribus Unum at April 17, 2017 06:25 PM (HTdUD)

108 Some years ago, I read a book called "Guilt, Blame, and Politics" which dealt with the phenomenon covered in the post. It also explains why the children of rich people sometimes become radical zealots.

Posted by: rickl at April 17, 2017 06:25 PM (sdi6R)

109 it's the 1916 Mauser receiver chambered in 308 at Old Western Scrounger

So, Spanish Mauser, yes?

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:26 PM (LTHVh)

110
mmpgh buhbuh ungunhga mmphlplh

Posted by: Dreadlock Girl at April 17, 2017 06:26 PM (UrN3U)

111 I saw that Copes had some for sale also.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:26 PM (LTHVh)

112 Virtue signaling is a display of self-righteousness. Which is to say, it is an exercise of vanity. It is almost as though they could be comfortable in a pagan, Satanic cult. Evil, it is what the self-righteous do.

Posted by: He said without a hint of self-righteousness at April 17, 2017 06:26 PM (uz/Pv)

113 It's supposed to be Failafornia-complaint.

---
better hope you can get a 10 round mag to w*rk in it... and you'll need to lose the flash suppressor as well

Posted by: redc1c4 at April 17, 2017 06:28 PM (ijXQr)

114 Part of that "False Normal" came to mind watching that video clip on the last thread - the left is all "oh women can do anything men can do, women should be in combat just like men, blah blah blah"

Yeah, that lasts right up until the point where that first right hook connects with the ol' headbone, and game over. Some of the wiring must be different there, because take boxing, a decent number of men can take shots and give them right back, but anytime I've even seen a woman in mma take a clean head shot, it's the old Ronda Rousey routine all over again. She could dish it out more than most, but whenever it came to being on the receiving end, it was the same old story.

Posted by: Tom Servo at April 17, 2017 06:28 PM (KeRkT)

115 So, Spanish Mauser, yes?
---
Si, senor...

Posted by: redc1c4 at April 17, 2017 06:29 PM (ijXQr)

116 It's supposed to be Failafornia-complaint.

---
better hope you can get a 10 round mag to w*rk in it... and you'll need to lose the flash suppressor as well
Posted by: redc1c4 at April 17, 2017 06:28 PM (ijXQr)

No flash suppressor, but it has threads.
Kel-Tec will be selling 10 round mags but it'll take AR mags as well.

Only weighs 5 pounds unloaded, 24 inch total length. Might be a great trunk gun.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:29 PM (zsHGH)

117 Yo!

Posted by: Yo! at April 17, 2017 06:30 PM (GwIKd)

118 @Tom Servo

Yup. Mass and muscle matter in a fight.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:30 PM (zsHGH)

119 Fuck Facebook

Posted by: Rick in SK at April 17, 2017 05:45 PM (FZYNt)

Every day, baby!

Posted by: tindr at April 17, 2017 06:31 PM (tHwdc)

120 63 Just remember all you morons who admire Elon Musk; he is just one lab accident away from being a super villain.
Posted by: Strobe at April 17, 2017 06:04 PM (gbWkA)

Too late...

http://preview.tinyurl.com/m94b9ow

Posted by: rickl at April 17, 2017 06:32 PM (sdi6R)

121 So dreadlock girl is on pornhub?

How would someone figure that out?

Posted by: Yo! at April 17, 2017 06:32 PM (GwIKd)

122 Is it just me or does anyone else see the irony of Drudge showing both the Noel Special Forces, and the Finish Women's Special Forces.
Horde Question: who would you rather have interrogating you?

Posted by: Diogenes at April 17, 2017 06:32 PM (0tfLf)

123 I have another FAL at my FFL. I really really really have been enjoying the trashed CAI STG58 that I bought, so I sprang for a used DSA paratrooper with the older forged receiver so I would have a quality build. Also, paratrooper! I see from the tracking that it was delivered today, but I haven't gotten an email from my guy so I guess I won't get it until Wed am.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:34 PM (LTHVh)

124 Humans apparently prefer to redistribute gains from luck, eg. hunting big game meat vs. food from gathering which is determined by hard work.

Acting is "luck" so it makes sense they go commie.

Posted by: Harun at April 17, 2017 06:35 PM (UBBWX)

125 >>85 Apple isn't evil but a benevolent tyrant
Posted by: Skip at April 17, 2017 06:13 PM (Ot7+c)

Do you work in a corporation?

Posted by: Caliban at April 17, 2017 06:35 PM (o+dwv)

126 I get this month's Obamacare gun in three days. Last month was a .30-06, this month was a $129 special on a 38 Hi-Point pistol.

That leaves me with over $700 to spend on ammo or some such since I dropped the $857/mo insurance that covered me and a couple illegals and a drug addict getting expensive counseling.

When they solicit funds for helping starving children they offer to give a pic of the kid you are saving to help motivate you. Maybe the government should have done that with the illegals I was funding so I would have paid up? (But if they were honest about it, I would have recognized them as the drug dealers down the block from where I used to live)

The times they are a changin ... the answer my friend, is blowin in the wind.

Posted by: illiniwek at April 17, 2017 06:35 PM (TmCOq)

127 Crap.
Not Noel.
North.
Stoopid autocorrect.

Posted by: Diogenes at April 17, 2017 06:36 PM (0tfLf)

128 124
Humans apparently prefer to redistribute gains from luck, eg. hunting
big game meat vs. food from gathering which is determined by hard work.

Who you callin' lucky???

Posted by: Trampled Neanderthal Man at April 17, 2017 06:37 PM (KeRkT)

129 "Has Silicon Valley Hacked Our Culture?"
=====

Silicon Valley is "Russians11!!11!!" ???

It's all so clear now.

Posted by: Mortimer, FINISH HER! at April 17, 2017 06:37 PM (UrN3U)

130 @Grump928(C)

FALs tempt me. But if I get a .308, I gotta go with an M1A.
Springfield Armory makes a Scout variant in Walnut and I wants it.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:38 PM (zsHGH)

131 last time i looked, hunting was hard w*rk, even with planted birds.

you still have to hump all over creation, looking for the damn things, and you don't always succeed.

Posted by: redc1c4 at April 17, 2017 06:40 PM (ijXQr)

132 FALs tempt me. But if I get a .308, I gotta go with an M1A.
Springfield Armory makes a Scout variant in Walnut and I wants it.

Palmetto State Armory has been offering one in camo for $1299.00

Posted by: rickb223 at April 17, 2017 06:41 PM (67teE)

133 Shot a friends Rugerr MarkIV lite with suppressor yesterday. You could barely hear it 50 yards away and very accurate. Want.

Posted by: Under Fire at April 17, 2017 06:43 PM (X+rUO)

134 FALs tempt me. But if I get a .308, I gotta go with an M1A.

Springfield Armory makes a Scout variant in Walnut and I wants it.
---
i need to get the compliance parts to build out my CETME kit...

and a kit to build out my FAL receiver, and...

Gavin Newsome would stroke out on the spot if he looked in our toy room.

it would be no great loss either.

Posted by: redc1c4 at April 17, 2017 06:44 PM (ijXQr)

135 the answer my friend, is blowin in the wind.

-
So we're back to Pornhub?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doctor of Thinkology at April 17, 2017 06:45 PM (Nwg0u)

136 Simple answer, Yes.
It is very easy to sell fake news to people that know nothing of history.
None of the mindless fucks care about Suckerberg's wealth because he gave them fakebook and all of the ramifications there of.

When you can't put your phone down for 10 minutes, you could say that culture has taken a nose dive.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 17, 2017 06:46 PM (hUAfE)

137 "last time i looked, hunting was hard w*rk, even with planted birds. redcic4

one has to enjoy being out ... then it is not "work" at all. It is recreation that is cheaper and more productive than movies or ... whatever.

I have deer to shoot, big catfish right in my pond ... but just the effort to clean/gut ... cheaper at the store, no mess. I enjoy the wildlife, but frozen chicken breasts are cheaper, all things considered. Hunting is its own thang ... enjoy it or not.

Posted by: illiniwek at April 17, 2017 06:47 PM (TmCOq)

138 The odd thing to me on the new FAL is that it has a lot of brass kisses on the receiver. One: why didn't they adjust the ejector to stop that and, two: if they are going to sell the rifle, why didn't they clean that off?

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:47 PM (LTHVh)

139 PornHub? Never heard of it.

Posted by: Jon Ossoff at April 17, 2017 06:48 PM (X+rUO)

140 the answer my friend, is blowin in the wind.

-
So we're back to Pornhub?
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Doctor of Thinkology at April 17, 2017 06:45 PM (Nwg0u)

Oh yeah, with classic Jenna Fine. What a performer, back before the heroin habit.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:48 PM (zsHGH)

141 Not Finish.
Norwegian.
Eff it. I'm going to the Pub.

Posted by: Diogenes at April 17, 2017 06:48 PM (0tfLf)

142 But I got it at a good price so maybe I should just take advantage of the fact that they didn't pretty it up.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:48 PM (LTHVh)

143 When you can't put your phone down for 10 minutes, you could say that culture has taken a nose dive.
Posted by: Ben Had at April 17, 2017 06:46 PM (hUAfE)

++++

That phenomenon happened quite quickly as far as things go. Amazing really.

Posted by: washrivergal at April 17, 2017 06:48 PM (Ivjge)

144 FALs tempt me. But if I get a .308, I gotta go with an M1A.

Springfield Armory makes a Scout variant in Walnut and I wants it.
---
i need to get the compliance parts to build out my CETME kit...

and a kit to build out my FAL receiver, and...

Gavin Newsome would stroke out on the spot if he looked in our toy room.

it would be no great loss either.
Posted by: redc1c4 at April 17, 2017 06:44 PM (ijXQr)

Yeah, even my wife looks askance at the collection. Need to clean stuff up and get it sold so I can get a few, select additions and try to maintain.

My friends all think I'm crazy.

Ah well.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:49 PM (zsHGH)

145 My friends all think I'm crazy.

Mrs928 asks me if I'm starting my own militia. I reply 'Maybe ..'.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:51 PM (LTHVh)

146 I need a howitzer.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:52 PM (LTHVh)

147 Too much work. Go for mortars.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 17, 2017 06:52 PM (zsHGH)

148 Mrs928 asks me if I'm starting my own militia. I reply 'Maybe ..'.
=====

Mom always said , "don't start no militias you can't finish".

Posted by: Mortimer, FINISH HER! at April 17, 2017 06:52 PM (r58H0)

149 As a friend told me last night " I I text there is no emotion involved so there is no argument".

Posted by: Ben Had at April 17, 2017 06:54 PM (hUAfE)

150 Too much work. Go for mortars.

M224 ftw.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 17, 2017 06:54 PM (LTHVh)

151 Ossoff?

Oh yeah.

Posted by: a 3 dollar bill at April 17, 2017 06:59 PM (r58H0)

152 139
PornHub? Never heard of it.

Posted by: Jon Ossoff

Release Me!

Posted by: Al Gore's Second Chakra at April 17, 2017 07:30 PM (XcOXh)

153 i think a large part of celebrities pushing leftist agendas (and conservative-leaning Hollywood types staying generally quiet about their beliefs) is due to the fact that the big studios themselves are run by very left-wing people, and the entertainment media is also run by very left-wing people, so doing anything other than pushing leftism 24/7 can be very harmful to one's career.

Posted by: WARPIG at April 17, 2017 08:58 PM (KL5Ns)

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