Mr. Thiel describes Trump and himself as moronic oxymorons!
5
Sounds like Mr. Thiel is starting his run at the presidency in 2020 or 2024. Get your name in the paper; tie it to an election in some way; wiggle the words around til it's your name as the candidate. Voila - instant campaign in a few years.
2
Quoting George Will, ""He (Trump) has an advantage on me, because he can say everything he knows about any subject in 140 characters and I can’t."
Trump is all facade. Behind the facade, as Gertrude Stein once remarked, "There is no there there."
Trump is all facade. Behind the facade, as Gertrude Stein once remarked, "There is no there there."
17
If rich folks had one-tenth of their money in wisdom and self awareness, we'd be a lot better off as a country.
13
The question unasked and consequently unanswered is why anything the Peter Thiel says should be taken seriously unless its is about tech - He is no more qualified to comment on th issues of the day than my plummer. Wail - oh ! that right he has lots and lots of money. Please don't get me wrong -I have high regard for my plummer and think Pay Pal is an extremely clever fix - but Thiel's simplistic view of people and politics is unproductive at best, and his projection of virtuous qualities on to Trump is dangerously naive
9
As a "baby boomer", I am literally sick to death of people like Mr. Thiel telling me how easy it was for me. I am also very tired of people who have obscene amounts of money telling me how wrong I am about what I read and how I think.
11
Mr. Thiel is just another proof that people can be technically clever, inventive and energetic in business, and dumb as posts when it comes to thinking about the Really Big Picture of national and world affairs. Too bad. You can bet that if his business was going under, he wouldn't choose a wildly unqualified successor as CEO "just because the leadership of the company has failed." He would do the deepest possible analysis, identify the crucial needs that must be met, and choose a steady executive with solid track record in ALL areas of need. In this case, that's not a man, but a woman, who could save Thiel's bacon as his successor. This ain't no flophouse hotel, Peter, it's the government of the United States, and we don't need no failed Vegas hotelier making it up as he goes.
9
Is not preventing a person from leaving a room they wish to leave called kidnapping? Apparently this is a rule which applies only to people whose net worth is less that 2.7 billion. Sad.
10
“It’s not a lack of judgment that leads Americans to vote for Trump. We’re voting for Trump because we judge the leadership of our country to have failed,” Mr. Thiel said.
But ... that IS a lack of judgement.
Rational judgement shows many successes of leadership. For example, America has done well in recovering steadily from the Bush-era crash (and would have done even better but for Republican obstructionism).
But for the sake of argument, let's grant the 'failed leadership' premise; good judgement would lead you to nominate and elect someone competent to be president, not someone so utterly and glaringly unqualified and unfit as Donald Trump.
But ... that IS a lack of judgement.
Rational judgement shows many successes of leadership. For example, America has done well in recovering steadily from the Bush-era crash (and would have done even better but for Republican obstructionism).
But for the sake of argument, let's grant the 'failed leadership' premise; good judgement would lead you to nominate and elect someone competent to be president, not someone so utterly and glaringly unqualified and unfit as Donald Trump.
7
"Apparently for Mr. Thiel, some bubbles are acceptable — as long as he gets to set their parameters."
The same can be said for lunatic fringe conservatives everywhere, who casually assume they have the 'religious freedom' to violate the civil rights of others as long as theirs don't get violated in return.
Must be nice living with the unquestioned belief that you are the top of the social pile and have God's sympathy at all times.
The same can be said for lunatic fringe conservatives everywhere, who casually assume they have the 'religious freedom' to violate the civil rights of others as long as theirs don't get violated in return.
Must be nice living with the unquestioned belief that you are the top of the social pile and have God's sympathy at all times.
5
Literally but not seriously? Is Peter Thiel serious? Actually, I follow his argument up to a point, especially his remarks about "single-digit" millionaires' lack of access to legal support under the American system of "justice" that allows unarmed black citizens to be shot by rogue law enforcement officers.
After that, Thiel loses me entirely. Decent, intelligent Europeans didn't take the demagogues of the early 20th Century literally enough. If they had shown concern for the actual language of fascism, they might have prevented its actualization before fascism's boot was on heir necks.
Sixty million European lives lost later, the world woke up. Survivors of six years of unprecedented atrocity created the European Union, imperfect yet a guarantor of peace. Sadly, most of us no longer have the resulting global atrocity of WW2 in our memories, so we fall for specious arguments like Peter Thiels' and revert to our lazy sleep-state of unconcern.
Apparently "Mr. Thiel likes to talk about bubbles." He should take a close look at the one he inhabits. More to the point, *we* should examine it carefully after we read-up a little. To take Trump seriously, we must listen to what actually emerges so loudly from his mouth.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
After that, Thiel loses me entirely. Decent, intelligent Europeans didn't take the demagogues of the early 20th Century literally enough. If they had shown concern for the actual language of fascism, they might have prevented its actualization before fascism's boot was on heir necks.
Sixty million European lives lost later, the world woke up. Survivors of six years of unprecedented atrocity created the European Union, imperfect yet a guarantor of peace. Sadly, most of us no longer have the resulting global atrocity of WW2 in our memories, so we fall for specious arguments like Peter Thiels' and revert to our lazy sleep-state of unconcern.
Apparently "Mr. Thiel likes to talk about bubbles." He should take a close look at the one he inhabits. More to the point, *we* should examine it carefully after we read-up a little. To take Trump seriously, we must listen to what actually emerges so loudly from his mouth.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
14
As this article makes clear, without actually ever stating, is that Thiel supports Trump because Trump verifies Thiel's own narcissistic habit of believing that everything he says is true by virtue of having said it.
18
Thiel is completely delusional. What we do know about Trump is that he is not capable of metaphor. His "ideas" must become reality. He will do anything to get that wall built - even if it bankrupts the US. He is not psychologically capable of bending on that or any other promise. He was taught by his father and Norman Vincent Peale that saying it makes it so. Only be the Congress could hold him in check and at this point the Republicans are so terrified by Trump's sycophantic supporters that they will do almost anything to let him have his way just to save their own skins, very much in the mold of Ryan and McConnell. Our only hope would be to have a Democrat-controlled Senate.
5
"Left unasked was whether the country's titans of capital should be responsible for deciding who qualifies as a journalist."
The decision was made by a jury under direction, not by Mr. Thiel. But Mr. Thiel is entitled to an opinion like everyone else, or to pay legal fees for a cause he believes in.
The decision was made by a jury under direction, not by Mr. Thiel. But Mr. Thiel is entitled to an opinion like everyone else, or to pay legal fees for a cause he believes in.
3
It is good to know the true character of Peter Thiel. Not too often an elite would expose his true character and judgement like Peter Thiel did. I assume Thiel truly believe what he said: "We are voting for Trump because we judge the leadership of our country to have failed." So in Thiel's mind, the "leadership" is the Obama administration. How about the GOP-controlled congress? Not a single word.
8
Mr. Thiel seems to believe he is a prophet. I believe what Mr. Trump stands for is crazy and it is probably going away eventually. How long it will take for enlightenment to triumph over ignorance is another matter.
4
Why the heck are people listening to Mr. Thiel's political opinions in the first place?
He's not a political scientist. He's not a pollster. He's not engaged in the political establishment. He's never held elective or non-elective office. He doesn't have new or interesting political ideas. He doesn't even seem to be all that well informed or have thought through his political opinions any more than your run-of-the-mill campus libertarian.
The only reason he even has a platform at all is that he is rich. Rich, by the way, due in no part to any political insights or ideas on governing.
We need to stop taking seriously the thoughts of uninformed loudmouth billionaires. That's how we ended up with Trump getting this far.
He's not a political scientist. He's not a pollster. He's not engaged in the political establishment. He's never held elective or non-elective office. He doesn't have new or interesting political ideas. He doesn't even seem to be all that well informed or have thought through his political opinions any more than your run-of-the-mill campus libertarian.
The only reason he even has a platform at all is that he is rich. Rich, by the way, due in no part to any political insights or ideas on governing.
We need to stop taking seriously the thoughts of uninformed loudmouth billionaires. That's how we ended up with Trump getting this far.
13
The fact that Thiel says that Trump's Republican party can create "a new American politics that overcomes denial, rejects bubble thinking, and reckons with reality" proves that he is truly through the looking glass.
Trump supporters overwhelmingly live in denial of climate change, consume news and information from a right-wing media bubble (not accepting scientific polling), and think that bellicosity and xenophobia will stop the reckoning of a globalizing economy.
I knew Thiel and I didn't live in the same tax bracket, but I had no ideawe inhabited different planets.
Trump supporters overwhelmingly live in denial of climate change, consume news and information from a right-wing media bubble (not accepting scientific polling), and think that bellicosity and xenophobia will stop the reckoning of a globalizing economy.
I knew Thiel and I didn't live in the same tax bracket, but I had no ideawe inhabited different planets.
10
"After his talk was over, the journalists in the room were barred from leaving until Mr. Thiel had safely left the building..." Sounds like kidnapping - but you'll need at least ten million to sue him. Apparently.
4
I was troubled to hear that Mr. Thiel addressed the National Press Club - much I have been since he was exposed to be bankrolling the Hulk Hogan lawsuit vs. Gawker.
What's most disturbing is that he's using his dot.com success as a platform for attacking both the media and - apparently - those who he doesn't agree with.
I commend Ms. Roller for capturing the essential hypocrisy of Thiel's argument: his justifications only have impact due to the value of his bank account, NOT his viewpoint's legitimacy.
Frankly, I wish Thiel would simply go back to whatever anonymous corner of Silicon Valley he emerged from - and stop lecturing us about what he perceives to be wrong in his gilded world.
What's most disturbing is that he's using his dot.com success as a platform for attacking both the media and - apparently - those who he doesn't agree with.
I commend Ms. Roller for capturing the essential hypocrisy of Thiel's argument: his justifications only have impact due to the value of his bank account, NOT his viewpoint's legitimacy.
Frankly, I wish Thiel would simply go back to whatever anonymous corner of Silicon Valley he emerged from - and stop lecturing us about what he perceives to be wrong in his gilded world.
7
Donald Trump is a miscreant, and at this point no one should need a list of his flaws to know the man represents the worst America has produced. However, as horrible as he is personally and professionally, what's worse is how his candidacy offers him an opportunity to spew ignorance and nastiness at every turn so that the serious issues facing the country are ignored, especially the existential crisis we face if we don't address climate change more robustly than the Republican Congress has allowed across the last 8 years. Mr. Thief is an absolute fool if he doesn't recognize this.
6
I would have known real joy if at the last debate when Donald was hovering, Hillary had walked over and given him a good slap "upside" the head.
2
Peter Thiel may know how to kill it in tech, but he certainly has no idea how our Republic works and he clearly lacks any kind of historical perspective. He wants to wing it when it comes to governance. He doesn't seem to notice that there are starving children who will die thanks to his wrong headedness and his well worn ignorance of history, law and politics. He sounds just like those guys who owned IG Farben in the 1930's. Do the ends justify the means?
5
Mr Thiel says: “No matter what happens in this election, what Trump represents isn’t crazy, and it’s not going away,”
Trump doesn't "represent" his supporters. Their anger is real. Their neglect is real. Their disappointment, their frustration, their despair are all real. But Donald Trump doesn't "represent that; he exploits that. He is no more interested in the plight of his supporters than he is in improving his knowledge of how government works in the US and how the US relates to the rest of the world. Donald Trump has bared his soul to the nation: And what we see is someone who seeks praise, admiration, self-validation. That is why he is running for president. Donald Trump represents no one but himself.
Trump doesn't "represent" his supporters. Their anger is real. Their neglect is real. Their disappointment, their frustration, their despair are all real. But Donald Trump doesn't "represent that; he exploits that. He is no more interested in the plight of his supporters than he is in improving his knowledge of how government works in the US and how the US relates to the rest of the world. Donald Trump has bared his soul to the nation: And what we see is someone who seeks praise, admiration, self-validation. That is why he is running for president. Donald Trump represents no one but himself.
12
So Mr. Thiel. How long have you been eating psychedelic mushrooms?
8
Trump has become a perfect litmus test , now that he represents so many reprehensible things. Mr. Thiel is of no interest to me from now on, regardless of subject matter.
3
“No matter what happens in this election, what Trump represents isn’t crazy, and it’s not going away,” Mr. Thiel said on Monday.
Thiel uses the word "denial" several times in this article. He should look in the mirror if he wants a good example of it. Whether they have $0 net worth or $10 billion, all Trump supporters share that one characteristic. As Zig Ziglar liked to say, "Some people think denial is a river in Africa."
Thiel uses the word "denial" several times in this article. He should look in the mirror if he wants a good example of it. Whether they have $0 net worth or $10 billion, all Trump supporters share that one characteristic. As Zig Ziglar liked to say, "Some people think denial is a river in Africa."
2
A reflection on the moral or ethical rightness of billionaires or silicon valley billionaires might also include Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee. Watch at your own peril.
Thiel is one oily character--I would trust him and what he says about as much as I would trust Trump--not at all!
2
You clearly don't like Thiel.
You didn't need to take all this space to say it.
I like him. I admire his willingness to think for himself.
You find that sort of "pesky" of him. We get it..!
You didn't need to take all this space to say it.
I like him. I admire his willingness to think for himself.
You find that sort of "pesky" of him. We get it..!
1
Thiel = Trump: 2 spoiled rich boys who think they alone are right because their wealth is the proof.
4
I have been looking for some real substance in Thiel's comments, but have not found any. They are apparently as scarce as real substance in Trump's policy proposals.
4
OK, I admit. I don’t take Peter Thiel seriously either. But riddle me this (even after reading the article which *should* have all the answers .... How does the leader of any country say one thing and all the other countries around it realize he means really good stuff but the words that come out of his mouth aren’t to be taken at meaning value? And then, another question. Is this whole vibe thing a Rorschach test? Each voter understands completely. Peter Thiel should be afraid. Trump's other supporters (the ones who are not white males of a with a different Rorschach will not be amused.
Wouldn't it be great if Thiel acknowledged that he was lucky with his timing at FaceBook (we need to be honest that the money he made a PayPal was not enough for him to mess around with our democracy the way he is), and dedicated his wealth to the common good, rather than believing his is smarter than everyone else on the planet, and using his wealth to remake the world in his own (pretty bizarre) image.
Thiel should put his money into art and public parks.
Thiel should put his money into art and public parks.
5
I watched Thiel's speech and found it to be very articulate and reasonable. As a nation our perspective is astonishingly myopic. We jump up and down because of some crass remarks Trump made over a decade ago but willfully disassociate the horrific outcomes in Libya and Iraq from those who engineered it - the HRC, Bush, MIC war hawks.
OK, what about all the "crass remarks" he has made in the last year? any one of those alone are enough to disqualify him as a President. And even if I agree our foreign policy has been a disaster, what makes you think Trump would do any better? He admits he never knows what he is going to do until he does it. He is like the ball in a pinball machine- bouncing what every way the last thing he touched sends him. He has no clue what he would do about anything. All his talk adds up to absolutely nothing. The fact some of his opinions coincide with his supporters is just an accident of history.
4
Many, many people in this country make the fundamental mistake of assuming that being rich equates with being smart. Being rich only means you have a lot of money, not that you are smart!!
15
Put it better than I could have, Emma.
Listening to Thiel speak, I was struck by how his rhetoric substantively matched Trump's own. Rife with self-contradictions and vague arguments that boil down to little more than emotional appeals, his reasoning was very familiar to anyone who's been listening to Trump - indeed, "taking him seriously" - for all this time. It's really unfortunate that the National Press Club thought he was worth the time.
Thiel tries to cast himself as an iconoclast, but it is really only within the bubble of Silicon Valley that he maligns that he could possibly qualify. Outside of it, he is of the same fine tradition of opportunistic industrialists, bankers, and corporate honchos who rely on connections with Washington to further their goals and crush their market competitors. Like them, he celebrates the "common man" while plotting to steal from their future. Again, very much like Trump in this respect.
Listening to Thiel speak, I was struck by how his rhetoric substantively matched Trump's own. Rife with self-contradictions and vague arguments that boil down to little more than emotional appeals, his reasoning was very familiar to anyone who's been listening to Trump - indeed, "taking him seriously" - for all this time. It's really unfortunate that the National Press Club thought he was worth the time.
Thiel tries to cast himself as an iconoclast, but it is really only within the bubble of Silicon Valley that he maligns that he could possibly qualify. Outside of it, he is of the same fine tradition of opportunistic industrialists, bankers, and corporate honchos who rely on connections with Washington to further their goals and crush their market competitors. Like them, he celebrates the "common man" while plotting to steal from their future. Again, very much like Trump in this respect.
8
I don't think anyone has said it better than Maya Angelou, so I'll repeat it here for Pete and all the Man-baby supporters: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."
10
Not to point out the obvious, but wasnt PayPal a "bubble generated" company. And if so, and Peter Thiel is the recipient of the bubble's largesse, then dont we call into question his own success. And if so ... why does he have a platform again?
7
Peter Thiel can go take a hike -- and take his money and political views with him.
9
“No matter what happens in this election, what Trump represents isn’t crazy, and it’s not going away."
I disagree. It may not be going away, but it most certainly is crazy. Very little of what Trump says is true unless you count hyperbole as truth. And even less of what he says makes sense. For instance, in what universe does it make sense that we should have taken Iraq's oil after we invaded? This comment alone should have been disqualifying and yet Trump has said this many times, including in one debate.
In Trump's major speech on immigration, one sentence could be seen as his thesis statement:
“Right now… we’re in the middle of a jobs crisis, a border crisis and a terrorism crisis like never before."
No. No. And no. Wrong on all counts.
The unemployment rate is below average and, in recent months, we've had the highest level of job openings than any month on record (going back to December 2000). The percentage of people in the labor force who were counted by the BLS as "not in the labor force, want a job now" has been running below average and well below the lowest point of the Reagan era. This is true despite the efforts of Republicans to conflate people who don't want a job with those who do.
In 2015 there were fewer illegal immigrants living in the U.S. than there were in 2008. And we did have a point in the past when we arguably had a terrorism crisis like never before: September 11, 2001.
Trump is a con man peddling snake oil.
I disagree. It may not be going away, but it most certainly is crazy. Very little of what Trump says is true unless you count hyperbole as truth. And even less of what he says makes sense. For instance, in what universe does it make sense that we should have taken Iraq's oil after we invaded? This comment alone should have been disqualifying and yet Trump has said this many times, including in one debate.
In Trump's major speech on immigration, one sentence could be seen as his thesis statement:
“Right now… we’re in the middle of a jobs crisis, a border crisis and a terrorism crisis like never before."
No. No. And no. Wrong on all counts.
The unemployment rate is below average and, in recent months, we've had the highest level of job openings than any month on record (going back to December 2000). The percentage of people in the labor force who were counted by the BLS as "not in the labor force, want a job now" has been running below average and well below the lowest point of the Reagan era. This is true despite the efforts of Republicans to conflate people who don't want a job with those who do.
In 2015 there were fewer illegal immigrants living in the U.S. than there were in 2008. And we did have a point in the past when we arguably had a terrorism crisis like never before: September 11, 2001.
Trump is a con man peddling snake oil.
21
I'm not sure that the average Trump supporter understands the difference between "literal" and "serious". Peter Thiel is a classic example of a person who confuses his success and expertise in a specific milieu as an indicator that he is a expert on everything else. In short: hubris.
5
I despise Peter Thiel with every fiber of my being. His funding for Hulk Hogans lawsuit against Gawker is one of the most distasteful episodes ever. I almost feel badly for a man as confused as Peter Thiel, that he would support those against his best interests, but Peter Thiel deserves to get up with fleas after laying down with dogs.
5
It's not lack of judgement that would lead someone to support a pathological liar whose main attributes (other than lying) are being a sexual deviate and a criminal abuser of tax codes. It is far beyond lack of judgement.
3
Any thoughtful person, rather than reading the obviously biased opinion of Ms Roller or any other talking head, should first go to YouTube and listen to Mr. Thiel's immensely thoughtful presentation for themselves.
Just another Silicon Valley accidental billionaire who made his money by being at the right place at the right time and then labels himself a genius. His philosophy seems rather simple-minded and not terribly well thought out to me. It's always amazing how "reality" for these folks always turns out to be what they think.
5
"Left unasked was whether the country’s titans of capital should be responsible for deciding who qualifies as a journalist."
This is a real cop out. If it's important enough to mention in the article, isn't it important enough to actually ask? You got to make a point with out a response from Thiel, does that do a good job of representing the whole story to your readers?
This is a real cop out. If it's important enough to mention in the article, isn't it important enough to actually ask? You got to make a point with out a response from Thiel, does that do a good job of representing the whole story to your readers?
"After his talk was over, the journalists in the room were barred from leaving until Mr. Thiel had safely left the building, so as to ensure no pesky follow-up questions."
1
Mr Thiel said, "But I think one thing that should be distinguished here is that the media always is taking Trump literally. It never takes him seriously, but it always takes him literally."
Some people see Donald Trump as he is and say "Why?" Peter Thiel sees a Trump that isn't and says "Why not?"
Some people see Donald Trump as he is and say "Why?" Peter Thiel sees a Trump that isn't and says "Why not?"
1
One of the questions that might well have been asked of the escaping Mr. Thiel is whether it's just a coincidence that the lawyer he bankrolled to sue Gawker, Charles Harder, was the same one who is threatening to sue New York magazine on Melania Trump's behalf. Thanks for calling him out on his roll in First Amendment suppression.
4
Trump's words are reflective of a resentful demographic group who feel marginalized and identify with him because when he does bother to comment on the real world, not everything he says is untrue. And he provides a scapegoat. Hillary Clinton single handedly had 30 years in public office to counteract the nefarious actions of people just like him and she did nothing about it! And the Republican leadership of our country did fail us (I'm a republican) with a policy for the last 8 years which is best described as No to Everything. So considering all that, here's the problem with Trump. He's a sleazebag reality television psychotic narcissist star who doesn't have a clue how he's going to fix anything. That's his vibe and I'm paying attention to it.
4
"Hillary Clinton single handedly had 30 years in public office to counteract the nefarious actions of people just like him and she did nothing about it"
And what was her role in public office? How is the first lady of Arkansas going to counteract said actions? Or the first lady of the US(a not-officially-recognized public office)? After that, she was one percent of the Senate(less than when you include Cheney); in a position to push legislation, but not one that has much singular power. She finally got some executive power as Secretary of State, but only had power over the State Department, and only had that position for four years.
The expectations being put on Clinton here are completely unrealistic, particularly since she has not yet been president.
And what was her role in public office? How is the first lady of Arkansas going to counteract said actions? Or the first lady of the US(a not-officially-recognized public office)? After that, she was one percent of the Senate(less than when you include Cheney); in a position to push legislation, but not one that has much singular power. She finally got some executive power as Secretary of State, but only had power over the State Department, and only had that position for four years.
The expectations being put on Clinton here are completely unrealistic, particularly since she has not yet been president.
1
I'd only say that it was not the Democrats fault that the Republicans made it their primary strategy to keep the economy down in order to destroy Democrat Presidents. The only goal Republicans had was to defeat Democrats. They had no ideas at all about the economy or anything else. And they managed to prove once and for all that they are totally inept at running a war! Proving they are good for nothing at all! Really, we could get rid of republicans and never miss them.
Of course we take Trump seriously. How else would we take him? I prefer not at all. This is not a reality show and what you say you will do as president, we believe. I believe Trump will build a wall. If this is a joke it's a very bad one. This is The USA not Saturday Night live.
3
MODS: the intro sentence, a quote from the article, was left off my comment: please use this version, with that sentence reinstated:
“…the journalists in the room were barred from leaving until Mr. Thiel had safely left the building, so as to ensure no pesky follow-up questions.”
WHAT? "Safely left the building?" This guy is not the president, nor anyone nearly that important. Who does he think he is and who are these people at the National Press Club that actually kept the journalists in the room? His goons or some special NPC "Security Guards"?
I was a working photojournalist (disclosure: covering many stories for The Times) and I would have called the real police and filed charges had I been kept from leaving when I wanted to. Need to go to the bathroom, or respond to a crisis and not allowed to leave? Now that's Fascism, not shaking up the establishment or whatever other insanities this man babbled.
Don't want "pesky follow-up questions"? Don't respond.
“…the journalists in the room were barred from leaving until Mr. Thiel had safely left the building, so as to ensure no pesky follow-up questions.”
WHAT? "Safely left the building?" This guy is not the president, nor anyone nearly that important. Who does he think he is and who are these people at the National Press Club that actually kept the journalists in the room? His goons or some special NPC "Security Guards"?
I was a working photojournalist (disclosure: covering many stories for The Times) and I would have called the real police and filed charges had I been kept from leaving when I wanted to. Need to go to the bathroom, or respond to a crisis and not allowed to leave? Now that's Fascism, not shaking up the establishment or whatever other insanities this man babbled.
Don't want "pesky follow-up questions"? Don't respond.
6
Proving yet again that wild success in tech can have little to do with judgment, morality, integrity, common sense, or seemingly in Peter Thiel's case, even intelligence.
3
How would Thiel's gay orientation play out in a speech before Trump supporters in the Midwest? He and Trump are only interested in those people for their votes, nothing more, nothing less.
2
Peter Thiel sure knows how to give his PayPal a good name.
1
I wonder why Palantir had to sue the government to stay in the game. Like we'll ever know what it does to or for us at our own expense.
A friend who's into cyber security says "snowden:" is the big catch.
Snowden, Snowden, Snowden.
What's Theil's "feel" on encryption?
A friend who's into cyber security says "snowden:" is the big catch.
Snowden, Snowden, Snowden.
What's Theil's "feel" on encryption?
2
Proving yet again that wild success in tech can have little to do with judgment, morality, integrity, common sense, or seemingly in Peter Thiel's case, even intelligence. Call him lucky? And dangerous?
5
Sorry. I have to take candidates for the presidency seriously given the power they wield.
7
Emma:
No! A member of the cool kids club wants to vote for Trump? Why it's like the football players and cheerleaders hanging out with the science nerds. In making a case for Trump, it might help to put the choice one is making in context. Namely, one is NOT preferring the serial-lying, private-server loving, regulation-ignoring woman whose closest aid is sharing emails with her child abusing husband. Who was against gay marriage too, until she wasn't. And was against gays in the military openly serving, until she wasn't.
From that vantage point, maybe the cool kids aren't so cool?
No! A member of the cool kids club wants to vote for Trump? Why it's like the football players and cheerleaders hanging out with the science nerds. In making a case for Trump, it might help to put the choice one is making in context. Namely, one is NOT preferring the serial-lying, private-server loving, regulation-ignoring woman whose closest aid is sharing emails with her child abusing husband. Who was against gay marriage too, until she wasn't. And was against gays in the military openly serving, until she wasn't.
From that vantage point, maybe the cool kids aren't so cool?
2
Why are their so many idiots like Peter Thiel with money and/or power? Trump, Rick Scott, Giuliani, Cruz, Palin, etc. What they say and do is clearly self serving and dangerous. Why is Trump being given a clean ride to anything? He is a crook, a liar, a cheat, and as never read anything but his own reviews. Thankfully I can afford to move to Europe it this despot is elected!
2
Mr Thiel....another truly frightening oligarch.
4
Even if we assume that Hillary is corrupt or moderately corrupt, as a country we should never have had the choice between a moderately corrupt yet capable woman vs. a fraud, vicious, corrupt, tax-dodging, demeaning man, who has been nothing but a bully all his life. Somehow we think that a capable business man (highly questionable!) is a capable President? That is the only thing he ever had on his side and frankly, even there he is an entitled businessman who started off with a silver spoon. Anyone would be stupid not to be rich when they grew up in a multi-millionaire family.
8
We want a smart POTUS who is on the side of the 99 % of the people and not the puppet of Wallstreet wolves and their profit-centric,people-unfriendly billionaire class with her own ambition to be the first woman president,as if that matters to "us the 99%",who are struggling to put three meals on the table for their children.Hillary stands for status quo where the rich become richer and the poor poorer.
"We the people" are for wresting our democratic govt. from the strangulating grip of Corporatocrazy and to put a stop to the hegemony of Wall street's greedy socially irresponsible and socially insensitive predators.
Trump the potential slayer of wall street,is more people friendly,is decidedly the smarter and more dynamic of the two who can herald the much needed CHANGE from status quo.
"We the people" want CHANGE, radical, transformational , rapid CHANGE , not the slow evolutionary incremental variety of change touted by her which is just a euphemism for no change at all .
Trump has the guts and gumption to take on Wall Street and by opposing end them and make the CHANGE. Wall Street wolves are desperately fighting a losing battle for their very survival and Trump , who has a mind of his own , who is no puppet of anyone,who is fantastically energetic and full of life and verve and nerve,is the man of the hour."We the people"will make TRUMP our next POTUS,have no doubts about it, make no mistake about it. "We the people" LOVE TRUMP. He is COOL , so say all of us ! .
"We the people" are for wresting our democratic govt. from the strangulating grip of Corporatocrazy and to put a stop to the hegemony of Wall street's greedy socially irresponsible and socially insensitive predators.
Trump the potential slayer of wall street,is more people friendly,is decidedly the smarter and more dynamic of the two who can herald the much needed CHANGE from status quo.
"We the people" want CHANGE, radical, transformational , rapid CHANGE , not the slow evolutionary incremental variety of change touted by her which is just a euphemism for no change at all .
Trump has the guts and gumption to take on Wall Street and by opposing end them and make the CHANGE. Wall Street wolves are desperately fighting a losing battle for their very survival and Trump , who has a mind of his own , who is no puppet of anyone,who is fantastically energetic and full of life and verve and nerve,is the man of the hour."We the people"will make TRUMP our next POTUS,have no doubts about it, make no mistake about it. "We the people" LOVE TRUMP. He is COOL , so say all of us ! .
1
Typical NY times reader comments, no one actually watched the interview, you guys are spewing hate for this man based on some snippets. Watch the whole interview, make your own opinion. NY Times is getting frantic, as this election continues to bring out the worst in people. (Mostly journalist), start getting your info from the source and you'll see the distortion of the times reporters opinions.
1
Perhaps Thiel should stick with what he knows: pumping up startups of dubious social value. Then again, this describes Trump to a tee.
4
Isn't what we are seeing is the rise of Plutocracy? People like Thiel and Trump - to say nothing of the BIG money behind every legislative initiative and government action or inaction - people removed from reality, wealthy beyond our imaginations, living a life so unlike ours that they could never even imagine rubbing elbows with us, and taking over our government - which is, ironically and diabolically, being handed to them by those with the least.
5
What if a person says things that if taken literally were considered bad, would that make them a bad person? What happens to the follower of that bad person, would they be considered bad too?
2
The sad thing is, the Thiel actually believes the nonsense he is spouting. It's almost like he needs to be contrarian to reason and humane behavior just because he has 'disruption' wired into him.
Although Silicon V. does not - in the majority support Trump - they in the majority think that the idea of disruption is a good one. But it is so only in theory.
Although Silicon V. does not - in the majority support Trump - they in the majority think that the idea of disruption is a good one. But it is so only in theory.
3
Don't like his words OR his vibe, Peter.
4
“But I think one thing that should be distinguished here is that the media always is taking Trump literally. It never takes him seriously, but it always takes him literally. I think a lot of the voters who vote for Trump take Trump seriously, but not literally.”
What total gibberish. And series of contradictions. So, we should just pick up from Trump's "vibe" what he'll really do? Are you kidding? Trump's "vibe" very much mirrors his words, and in many cases is even worse: physical roughing up of protestors, putting Clinton in jail, imitating a disabled person with flailing arms, giving opponents juvenile nicknames.
As if that's not bad enough, his actual policies are even worse: forget that crazy wall. What about his claims to have a secret plan to beat ISIS, to charge NATO to be our ally, to use nuclear weapons instead of "leaving them around unused," tax breaks for the superwealthy, repealing Obamacare and replacing it with something "really great"?
What can possibly be "really great" in healthcare except to remove all coverage from most Americans, because Trump just doesn't care.
I would tell Mr. Thiel that we voters aren't supposed to be mind-readers, and even if we were---based on past Trump business "success", exploitation of customers and providers, his treatment of women, his history of discrimination against black renters, his "birtherism" insanity-- we'd be wise not to take him literally but suspect him of even worse.
"By your acts ye shall know them."
What total gibberish. And series of contradictions. So, we should just pick up from Trump's "vibe" what he'll really do? Are you kidding? Trump's "vibe" very much mirrors his words, and in many cases is even worse: physical roughing up of protestors, putting Clinton in jail, imitating a disabled person with flailing arms, giving opponents juvenile nicknames.
As if that's not bad enough, his actual policies are even worse: forget that crazy wall. What about his claims to have a secret plan to beat ISIS, to charge NATO to be our ally, to use nuclear weapons instead of "leaving them around unused," tax breaks for the superwealthy, repealing Obamacare and replacing it with something "really great"?
What can possibly be "really great" in healthcare except to remove all coverage from most Americans, because Trump just doesn't care.
I would tell Mr. Thiel that we voters aren't supposed to be mind-readers, and even if we were---based on past Trump business "success", exploitation of customers and providers, his treatment of women, his history of discrimination against black renters, his "birtherism" insanity-- we'd be wise not to take him literally but suspect him of even worse.
"By your acts ye shall know them."
54
Did Trump physically rough up Clinton when he put her in jail? Or is that just a "vibe" that we are not to take literally?
NYT-- thank you for this column. Not because the writer had much if anything to say, and certainly not for the subject who is nothing but a self-centered rich guy-- plenty of those out here in the Silicon Valley. What I value is the majority of the comments: well written, articulate, wise, caring. All qualities we need in abundance, that sadly are in short-supply. Now I can start my day in commerce-- having had a healthy dose of concern for the commons.
Nice "hit piece" by Ms Roller on Peter Thiel who has committed the cardinal sins of holding journalists accountable and being pro-Trump.
1
When will Trump release his tax returns? He promised to do so, and it is standard practice for the major party nominees to release their past ten years of returns well before election day. Is he trying to hide something?
His non-disclosure of what every other major party candidate has released over the past fifty years should be taken into account next week by voters on election day.
His non-disclosure of what every other major party candidate has released over the past fifty years should be taken into account next week by voters on election day.
3
Ms. Roller's piece on Peter Thiel proves that no matter how wacky a person is, if they are a billionaire, people will listen. I.e. Donald Trump! The blank spots in Thiel's support of Trump are glaring. Thiel wants us to take a holistic view of a person that has a rotten core.
5
Here is a gay person who openly supports an anti-gay liar (at best) with millions. The flaw does not lie with Mr Trump but with Mr Thiel. Mr Thiel is a closet gay who would like to have stayed in the closet (just like the "good" old days). I bet many of his kin didn't know of it or didn't care. Why does someone get a kick of staying in the closet? Why does someone carry on a extra-marital affair in secret? There is a certain "hide-and-seek" thrill in maintaining a dual lifestyle, I guess. This "bad" boy attitude gives Mr Thiel some weird thrill which only he can explain but without a therapist session, it seems immature.
2
This idea that we should believe what we'd like to believe about Trump, not his actual words, is idiotic. What is he, Bob Dylan? Last time I checked, Trump wasn't up for the Nobel Prize. Poets carefully earn the right not to be taken too literally. Trump has earned a reputation as a braying, narcissistic ignorant promoter who considers bankruptcy and not paying taxes signs of his great intelligence.
Mr. Thiel is out to prove you can be an idiot and still have a couple of billion dollars to throw around. You don't have to be brilliant or wise to be a business success. You need to be a number cruncher and, Thiel should always remember, have the right idea at the right moment. Timing. This is not pure luck, but it is closer to intuition than brilliance.
In America, we've always given too much weight to what the very wealthy have to say. We would be better off listening to the wisdom of 6th graders. Money changes everything, mostly it changes self regard and the ability to get people to listen to what you have to say, insightful or not.
Those who support Trump now would come to deeply regret it within six weeks, or six days, maybe even six hours, of his taking office if he were to win. Of course, they would not blame themselves.
Conservatives believe the govt. should do very little, so what should it do now in the face of claims of failure? By the way, Trump has also promised a new war in the middle east. Does that mean anything or is it just poetry in motion?
Mr. Thiel is out to prove you can be an idiot and still have a couple of billion dollars to throw around. You don't have to be brilliant or wise to be a business success. You need to be a number cruncher and, Thiel should always remember, have the right idea at the right moment. Timing. This is not pure luck, but it is closer to intuition than brilliance.
In America, we've always given too much weight to what the very wealthy have to say. We would be better off listening to the wisdom of 6th graders. Money changes everything, mostly it changes self regard and the ability to get people to listen to what you have to say, insightful or not.
Those who support Trump now would come to deeply regret it within six weeks, or six days, maybe even six hours, of his taking office if he were to win. Of course, they would not blame themselves.
Conservatives believe the govt. should do very little, so what should it do now in the face of claims of failure? By the way, Trump has also promised a new war in the middle east. Does that mean anything or is it just poetry in motion?
8
As Donald Rumsfeld might say, you go to the polls with the Trump you have, not the Trump you wish to have
4
Donald Rumsfeld?
Oh yes, I remember him. He was one of those stone-faced smarmy Republicans who got the big boot from Washington in 2008 when competent people (Democrats) reclaimed the White House.
Oh yes, I remember him. He was one of those stone-faced smarmy Republicans who got the big boot from Washington in 2008 when competent people (Democrats) reclaimed the White House.
The most important part of the job is how a President uses words. Remember "Axis of Evil" or Iraq as a "Crusade"?
Words are important. Mr. Theil should keep that in mind before running his own mouth.
Words are important. Mr. Theil should keep that in mind before running his own mouth.
4
Thiel is right that Silicon Valley can't see beyond Silicon Valley. If they could, they would realize that those who work and live there who are NOT in tech struggle in what is likely the community with the greatest income gaps in the nation.
4
what 'vibe' am I supposed to get from someone who mocks a reporter with physical disabilities? the only "bubble" on display here is the wish of Trump supporters to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
9
Peter -- I and many of my friends will never, ever, ever, ever do business with anything you are associated with.
8
Frankly, I'm tired of the uber-wealthy in this country dictating the terms of government, public discourse, law, and politics. Equally dismaying is the false equivalence our society enacts between wealth and good ideas. There are certainly individuals who have been very successful in certain areas, but this success and acumen does not automatically translate into any and all areas to which their attention falls.
Even more worrisome are domestic oligarchs who use their titanic personal fortunes as a cudgel against free speech. Sure, it was just one website this one time. But next time?
We are currently living in a neo gilded age, to the detriment of most Americans. This has had a distorting effect upon the workings of our government and our society. It has made life harder and more unequal and unfair for the majority of the American people. Enough with the selfish individuals who are apologists for their own greed and myopic self interest. This applies to the private sector as well as politics.
Even more worrisome are domestic oligarchs who use their titanic personal fortunes as a cudgel against free speech. Sure, it was just one website this one time. But next time?
We are currently living in a neo gilded age, to the detriment of most Americans. This has had a distorting effect upon the workings of our government and our society. It has made life harder and more unequal and unfair for the majority of the American people. Enough with the selfish individuals who are apologists for their own greed and myopic self interest. This applies to the private sector as well as politics.
7
The subtext to Mr. Thiel's comments makes far more sense than his "literal" words: He doesn't like Hillary Clinton or Democrats. That's fine, but putting his imprimatur on a bloviating anti-intellectual is about as far from "a new American politics that overcomes denial, rejects bubble thinking, and reckons with reality.”
Overcomes denial? We'll build a wall on the Mexican border to address an immigration influx from China and other countries? And Mexico will pay for it? How is that not denial or bubble thinking?
What on earth has Trump said _or_ done that indicates the man "reckons with reality"? Ever?
Overcomes denial? We'll build a wall on the Mexican border to address an immigration influx from China and other countries? And Mexico will pay for it? How is that not denial or bubble thinking?
What on earth has Trump said _or_ done that indicates the man "reckons with reality"? Ever?
9
Trump doesn't represent anything but the fantasies of the people supporting him. Trump is very good and not saying the things his listener walks away believing he has said. That is a sign of a lazy and ignorant mind yet strangely most of his supporters are making $70K a year.
Mr Thiel did not decide who qualifies as a journalist the Jury did. I can't believe that so many "journalists" entirely miss the fact that all he did was make possible something the perps in the specific case (and lets face it in most other cases that never see a courtroom) were relying on not being possible for their victims, a good legal team to fight them.
I don't agree with or get his support for Trump it is irrational
Mr Thiel did not decide who qualifies as a journalist the Jury did. I can't believe that so many "journalists" entirely miss the fact that all he did was make possible something the perps in the specific case (and lets face it in most other cases that never see a courtroom) were relying on not being possible for their victims, a good legal team to fight them.
I don't agree with or get his support for Trump it is irrational
If Thiel was anything other than an uber-rich Silicon Valley code writer, he'd get less ink that this post. Wealth seems to confer respectability on people like Thiel. The truth is that he's just another "me too" lightweight who throws his money around the countryside supporting his nutty ideas and beliefs.
Stupid is stupid no matter how much money is behind it.
Stupid is stupid no matter how much money is behind it.
10
Thiel a billionaire displays incredible ignorance and his willingness to accept a liar, a fraud and a sexual predator as leader of this country is appalling.. But then Trump is supposed to be rich, and money doesn't help him think either.
12
“What Trump represents isn’t crazy, and it’s not going away,” says Loopy Mr. Thiel.
Yeah, right. And what despots like Putin represent isn't crazy either, and it's also not going away.
Yeah, right. And what despots like Putin represent isn't crazy either, and it's also not going away.
11
Peter Thiel, has argued that the United States started going off the rails after women won the right to vote. He wrote: "Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of “capitalist democracy” into an oxymoron." He might ask himself why those constituencies, especially women, are bad for libertarians. I think he has it backwards. The real reason he doesn't like Hillary is that she is a woman running to be the leader of the free world. The old boys club will never be the same again.
12
At last count Trump was up to $3,000,000,000 (3 billion dollars) of free press time.
And he's STILL losing.
Why?
Because he's mean, vindictive, shallow, not just 'uninformed' but truly ignorant and incurious, crooked and hates women.
Thiel has found his soulmate.
That's nice.
Now, please, both of you - go away!
And he's STILL losing.
Why?
Because he's mean, vindictive, shallow, not just 'uninformed' but truly ignorant and incurious, crooked and hates women.
Thiel has found his soulmate.
That's nice.
Now, please, both of you - go away!
12
I think the media SHOULD take Trump "literally"! There's no gray area with Trump; he's openly proposing to do things as President that Richard Nixon did in the shadows!
7
Oh, Emma, you have to grow out of that silly 'woman' thing.
2
Love how the Times never touts irresponsible BORROWING for the bursting of the real estate bubble. That would conflict with their view of minorities as "the most vulnerable" victims.
3
My goodness where were you in 2008? Please reread all the NYT's articles on how the banks encouraged and hyped borrowing. Stop blaming the victim for the crime.
2
Right...all those people forcing those poor bankers and mortgage lenders to do their bidding...twisting their arms to make up forms that showed their incomes were higher or their assets were more substantial ...absolutely amazing...all that power of the middle/lowe classes over those poor powerless financial geniuses
Give this man no more attention or he will be running for president next.
17
The one good thing I hope to come from this election is the end of America's 35 year deification of the wealthy. Some of them attained their wealth from smart hard work and talent. They will always deserve the credit given them. But most of the wealthy in this country got where they are from sheer luck (of birth or affiliation usually) or from unscrupulous behavior most of us would refuse to do ourselves. They deserve absolutely no admiration.
15
Wow!. If you ever need an example of how a person can be smart in one area and stupid in others, Thiel will serve. With enough money to surround yourself with enough 'yes' men, you too can dwell forever in LaLa Land.
PS. So right about "mistakenly conflating enthusiasm with success". You can run a drinking game with how often Trump supporters say the election will go to Trump because he has more lawn signs
PS. So right about "mistakenly conflating enthusiasm with success". You can run a drinking game with how often Trump supporters say the election will go to Trump because he has more lawn signs
18
Does anyone seriously seriously listen to this man? A small mind with a big wallet. Please go away.
23
He talks like Trump, simplistic and "feelings" instead of substance.
Acts like Trump, revenge under the guise of help.
Gives to discourse on complex situations no depth
Takes a baby boomer generation and waters that down to a justifier for??
Enter another Trump...
Most of us are dying for a new way... we are tired of the system that we
Baby boomers have been supporting for decades now with no one listening. But we have yet to hear any intelligence from the other side that claims to be the answer and hands out a stupid discourse on "literally and seriously". Seriously?? When there are lots of empty posture slogans and far more stupidity in a possible leader than what we already have... we go for the devil we know. Trump has simply failed to deliver a good reason to switch at this point.
Acts like Trump, revenge under the guise of help.
Gives to discourse on complex situations no depth
Takes a baby boomer generation and waters that down to a justifier for??
Enter another Trump...
Most of us are dying for a new way... we are tired of the system that we
Baby boomers have been supporting for decades now with no one listening. But we have yet to hear any intelligence from the other side that claims to be the answer and hands out a stupid discourse on "literally and seriously". Seriously?? When there are lots of empty posture slogans and far more stupidity in a possible leader than what we already have... we go for the devil we know. Trump has simply failed to deliver a good reason to switch at this point.
5
Evidence of the biggest bubble of them all: too many people with too much money and too few brains.
29
Wow. This man is basically another narcissist. He believes that single digit millionaires can't afford lawyers. He believes that Trump is a good idea because he will keep the masses happy. Like Reagan he believes that government duly elected is a problem for the real legitimate government by business corporation. Money trumps all ideals, and the Founding Fathers spin in their graves, knowing the end of the great experiment is in sight. Theil is garbage.
28
Is your objection that he's wrong, or just that the reality he points out is distasteful?
1
Mr. Thiel is like all enablers, denying the truth of hate in the hopes that his aggrandizing removes him and his ilk from the cross-hairs of those whom he enables. The same type of behavior was presented by certain Jews and Frenchmen in helping the Germans in WWII, by Native Americans in the holocaust that was visited upon the natives of America by the US Government and by the spouses of substance abusers worldwide who shelter their abusers from the police and family rather than taking a stand against them.
I don't understand enabling - other than it being the actions of a coward - but the damage that enablers do is always visited upon them in the end.
I don't understand enabling - other than it being the actions of a coward - but the damage that enablers do is always visited upon them in the end.
10
Typical NYT hit job, complete with an unflattering photo. I don't know that I agree with Thiel, but I do think that he's an intelligent iconoclast. People like him, who criticize the establishment's sacred cows, are often times correct... recall Perot saying in 1992 that NAFTA would create a giant sucking sound from jobs being lost to Mexico. That turned out to be pretty much true.
5
Congratulations New York Times on your usual excellent reporting -- photo and all!
2
Actually, while we gripe about the distress it has caused us, Mexico is now educating their own engineers and keeping them as their assembly plants are now production plants. They are taking back outsourcing from the Chinese and soon our neighbor to the south will be a far better ally than China for US.
How did they do it? Reduced the birth rate and increased education over all these many years. With Canada rising and Mexico, too, I bet we get a bump from that.
How did they do it? Reduced the birth rate and increased education over all these many years. With Canada rising and Mexico, too, I bet we get a bump from that.
1
Thiel is seriously creepy. Despite his Silicon Valley pedigree, his support of a clueless and vindictive opportunist like Trump is not particularly surprising. What he apparently can't grasp is that channeling malaise is not the same thing as having the intelligence and political skill to solve difficult problems. Meanwhile, consistent with Thiel's smug embrace of demagoguery, all one sees on the populist right is the sadly familiar stew of vitriol, blind faith, easy answers and wishful thinking. Could it be a billionaire bubble?
29
The LGBT advocate in me wants to like Mr. Thiel. It never seems possible. Certainly Thiel is brilliant but he spent decades honing a heterosexual persona - something that he is unable to shed. The real Thiel no longer exists. He even contributes money to profoundly anti-gay organizations.
Thiel did not endorse Trump along with his anti-gay intentions. Supporting Trump is that confused, neurotic persona who is more comfortable with the Tea Party than tea dance at the Pines.
Thiel did not endorse Trump along with his anti-gay intentions. Supporting Trump is that confused, neurotic persona who is more comfortable with the Tea Party than tea dance at the Pines.
13
@dcaryheart:Your focus on sex is tiresome. What is it about American gays that their principal preoccupation is to feel sorry for themselves, and now that they r in the cat bird seat, put down the majority of the country for not agreeing with their minority viewpoint?Writer Somerset Maugham, who was admittedly gay, wrote in "The Summing Up" about that beautiful time in life when sex had become unimportant.Personally, I was highly motivated in my younger days, but wonder now in the crepuscular years why I took it so seriously.Knew Jan Morris,formerly JAMES MORRIS , when she came to NY to publicize her book, "Manhattan," a must read for all New Yorkers. She was born in Wales.You are so impressed by her personality that the issue of the sex change which she had undergone seemed irrelevant.All the narcississtic prima donnas here could do worse than use JM as a role model.
Oh, come on Mr. Thiel. You say, "We’re voting for Trump because we judge the leadership of our country to have failed.” How stupid do you think we are? You are supporting The Con Don so you can continue to profit grossly from OUR hard-earned taxpayer money and not have to pay any taxes - just as he doesn't.
It's not that you don't "trust" government or that it has failed. It's because you see your gravy train about to be derailed. It's 40+ years - and one grand recession - late but 90% of us finally understand who the cheaters are. It's not OUR government. It's you loudest hate shouters. Save your money to pay your taxes. It's over for you.
It's not that you don't "trust" government or that it has failed. It's because you see your gravy train about to be derailed. It's 40+ years - and one grand recession - late but 90% of us finally understand who the cheaters are. It's not OUR government. It's you loudest hate shouters. Save your money to pay your taxes. It's over for you.
21
So, words don't matter for Thiel and Trump supporters. Don't take the words I speak seriously. But words indicate who you are and what you believe. As a matter of fact, you can determine a facet of a persons' character by the frequency of certain words he uses. Trump's use of superlative words indicating size, quantity, wealth, success is a sure guide to his hyper ego. So, Thiel, if we can't rely on his words, what can we rely on: his non-payment of taxes, his groping of women, his stiffing investors, contractors, workers, his bribing of politicians.
Words don't count, ok...how about actions?
Words don't count, ok...how about actions?
24
Peter Thiel likes Donald Trump because they are birds of a feather. Mr. Theil may be somewhat more subdued in demeanor, but he's rich, vengeful, and lives in his own world. It's a marriage made in Heaven.
2
If Peter Thiel undergoes gay conversion therapy, a plank in the Republican platform, only then would I take his embrace of Trum seriously.
6
His self-loathing wants him to play with the enemy.
Peter Thiel - Living proof of what I've learned from 38 years in the business world; you can be a nut-job and still make a lot of money.
6
Another rich Republican gay who thinks his money will insulate from the anti-gay bigotry of Evangelical fanatics like Mike Pence. As a gay man, losing my marriage rights under a Trump adminstration is the least of my worries. I worry that Pence and the Evangleicals zealots that control the GOP will first make me wear a pink triangle, before shipping me off to a camp somewhere.
Trump could care less about gays because he is incapable of caring about anyone but himself and his tacky grifter family. Pence, on the other hand, views bigotry and intolerance against gays as an integral part of his Evengelical faith. Sad that a smart man like Thiel can't see this.
Trump could care less about gays because he is incapable of caring about anyone but himself and his tacky grifter family. Pence, on the other hand, views bigotry and intolerance against gays as an integral part of his Evengelical faith. Sad that a smart man like Thiel can't see this.
6
Has Peter Thiel, read RL Stevenson: "The Strange Case of Dr. Jerkyll and Mr. Hyde." This is the story of Donald J. Trump...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are we, the American people willing to trust Trump for 4 years?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are we, the American people willing to trust Trump for 4 years?
2
So Trump just makes lots of vocal noises and it reflects absolutely nothing about him or what he believes in? Is Thiel suggesting we take seriously and elect a person to lead our country who means nothing he says? The reason humans developed language was precisely so we could communicate with each other. Vibes didn't cut it. All this tells me is that Trump is about 100,000 years behind the times. I'll pass.
2
Thiel wants to experiment with the electorate after all he is a man who has earned billions by trying new things. He thinks it would be interesting to see what happens if the voters throw a shark into the tank.
If it all goes terribly wrong, he has his billions to cushion him from the frenzy.
Why are we once again having to put up with these spoiled men who think money gives them the right to determine what the average guy should think or need.
Thiel, take your money and support some good causes like scholarships for the poor or money for the arts and animal sanctuaries but stop trying to tell the rest of us what to do.
The Republican party needs selfless leaders who care about their voters instead of using them as a human shield against progress and problem solving.
Trump is nothing, he has no plans, no far reaching ideas. He is empty. Don't expect him to be a leader. He hates people. He only enjoys the game. The Thiels of this world want to see what happens when a black hole is opened into the complexity of American society.
If it all goes terribly wrong, he has his billions to cushion him from the frenzy.
Why are we once again having to put up with these spoiled men who think money gives them the right to determine what the average guy should think or need.
Thiel, take your money and support some good causes like scholarships for the poor or money for the arts and animal sanctuaries but stop trying to tell the rest of us what to do.
The Republican party needs selfless leaders who care about their voters instead of using them as a human shield against progress and problem solving.
Trump is nothing, he has no plans, no far reaching ideas. He is empty. Don't expect him to be a leader. He hates people. He only enjoys the game. The Thiels of this world want to see what happens when a black hole is opened into the complexity of American society.
6
Tax eluding Trump is rapidly swaying his fans, by fanning the flames of furor over the perfidy of the establishment candidates in general, by his jeopardizing jeremiads. With his embryonic experience in current affairs and tax policies, among other policy issues, he seems to instigate quite a bit of intransigence in his belligerent followers, to turn berserk and run amok. In addition, he seems to be hermetically sealed in an alternate universe, as one reporter put it.
Hillary has huge history of issues of combating her email woes with all her might, and she says she is continuing to evolve. Not Trump. He refuses to learn from his follies. And now the pot is calling a kettle black.
As more of Trump's factories manufacture truths and semi-truths, sane people are flummoxed. It is quite a catch 22 situation.
Hillary has huge history of issues of combating her email woes with all her might, and she says she is continuing to evolve. Not Trump. He refuses to learn from his follies. And now the pot is calling a kettle black.
As more of Trump's factories manufacture truths and semi-truths, sane people are flummoxed. It is quite a catch 22 situation.
1
He belongs in the bubble of deplorables!
6
Both Trump and Thiel live in their own world isolated from reality by their money. Both are arrogant and suffer from megalomania, believing that they have more of a right to determine who should be president than all the rest of us just because they are billionaires.
We the people must teach them a lesson in humility, that the presidency cannot be bought. Especially not by a tax cheat that disparages POW's and Gold star families, while not having served one day in uniform. Especially not by a man that "respects" women by boasting of being a sexual predator. Especially not by an ignorant climate change denier.
We the people must teach them a lesson in humility, that the presidency cannot be bought. Especially not by a tax cheat that disparages POW's and Gold star families, while not having served one day in uniform. Especially not by a man that "respects" women by boasting of being a sexual predator. Especially not by an ignorant climate change denier.
7
Because of his insecurities, Mr. Thiel will read this article and every single comment, so commenters now is your opportunity to speak directly to him:
Mr. Thiel you are an angry, selfish, immature example of all that is wrong in America today. Please refrain from anymore public displays of your ignorance of what will make "America great again". America is great because most Americans are honest, hard working, fair minded souls who love their family and country and are the antithesis of you! From this day forward I will never use PayPal again and I will encourage all my friends and family to boycott your company. Never under estimate us little guys because nothing gives us more pleasure than slaying a foul mouthed dragon.
Mr. Thiel you are an angry, selfish, immature example of all that is wrong in America today. Please refrain from anymore public displays of your ignorance of what will make "America great again". America is great because most Americans are honest, hard working, fair minded souls who love their family and country and are the antithesis of you! From this day forward I will never use PayPal again and I will encourage all my friends and family to boycott your company. Never under estimate us little guys because nothing gives us more pleasure than slaying a foul mouthed dragon.
8
I agree. And would like to follow suit.
It is almost impossible to avoid Paypal in certain areas now. I have some work of mine sold through an image bank type of platform and they will only dispense royalties via Paypal.
It is almost impossible to avoid Paypal in certain areas now. I have some work of mine sold through an image bank type of platform and they will only dispense royalties via Paypal.
1
Then I will boycott for you since your livelihood currently is tied to a monopoly payment plan. All little guys stand up against PayPal so that this artist has a choice.
1
The hypocrisy required to support Mr. Trump truly boggles the mind. On tax cuts for the rich and deregulation, Mr. Trump represents a return to the big-business Reagan consensus, the true "Establishment." Only on protectionism and anti-immigration is he against the globalized free trade regime of the past 30 years; both of those will likely hurt the economy if implemented.
It is President Obama and Secretary Clinton, with their tax hikes on the rich used to fund programs for the middle class like Obamacare and free college education, that are the true change/"anti-establishment" candidates.
The central problem is income and wealth inequality; Mr. Trump's tax cuts for the rich will make that worse, not better, as the huge deficits that result will increase pressure to cut middle class programs.
It is President Obama and Secretary Clinton, with their tax hikes on the rich used to fund programs for the middle class like Obamacare and free college education, that are the true change/"anti-establishment" candidates.
The central problem is income and wealth inequality; Mr. Trump's tax cuts for the rich will make that worse, not better, as the huge deficits that result will increase pressure to cut middle class programs.
6
Apparently, if you are a poor raving madman you either get shot full of thorazine or just shot. If you are a rick raving madman you get airtime, ink, and support another raving madman who rant just the right way to get a once major political party's nomination for the Presidency.
Isn't Thiel the guy who wants to build cities for the uber-rich floating in the open sea and free of regulations and taxation? Oh, he wants to build it with OPM. (other peoples money) Perhaps he can get together with Trump sometime after November 8 and firm up his plans -- if he can line up the financing.
Isn't Thiel the guy who wants to build cities for the uber-rich floating in the open sea and free of regulations and taxation? Oh, he wants to build it with OPM. (other peoples money) Perhaps he can get together with Trump sometime after November 8 and firm up his plans -- if he can line up the financing.
12
Yes both parties leadership have let the people down. Trump is anti-war and more pro-gay than most republicans. Trump's few pluses.
That's it for anything in Thiel says that doesn't then become another billionaire listened to as if he was smart only b/c he's rich.
This country and press must come to grips with the worship of wealth. We're about at the height of absurdity with it. Killing Gawker in revenge for outing him is not the noble character trait needed in today's journalism. His other undesirable character traits have made him persona non grata in SV, yet he's quoted because he's a large donor to Trump. As if that gives us insight into a thing.
The bubble of this reality show election cycle is the one that needs to be broken, and for real reality to be agreed upon by the country instead of an alt-right version that talk radio, supremacist groups & Breitbart insist is finally getting it's day in the sun. Thiel doesn't mention it, and didn't take questions.
That's it for anything in Thiel says that doesn't then become another billionaire listened to as if he was smart only b/c he's rich.
This country and press must come to grips with the worship of wealth. We're about at the height of absurdity with it. Killing Gawker in revenge for outing him is not the noble character trait needed in today's journalism. His other undesirable character traits have made him persona non grata in SV, yet he's quoted because he's a large donor to Trump. As if that gives us insight into a thing.
The bubble of this reality show election cycle is the one that needs to be broken, and for real reality to be agreed upon by the country instead of an alt-right version that talk radio, supremacist groups & Breitbart insist is finally getting it's day in the sun. Thiel doesn't mention it, and didn't take questions.
5
I don't see how you get that trump is anti-war. How is saying he will clean out ISIS in six months, increase military spending, use nukes, and carpet bomb large swaths of territory in the Middle East anti-war? Not to mention killing families of ISIS members.
Stop using logic with Trump. Just because he criticizes Clinton for being pro-war doesn't mean he isn't worse.
Stop using logic with Trump. Just because he criticizes Clinton for being pro-war doesn't mean he isn't worse.
2
That's the trouble, of course, one doesn't know whether to take Trump's remarks seriously, litterally, facetiously,or what. Trump probably doesn't know himself till after his minders tell him.
So, how will translators know?
So, how will translators know?
8
2016, the year of incredibly rich men with grievances and the need for vengeance. All their stupid rhetoric aside the bottom line is that whatever they do is fine, whatever is done to them is wrong. If they grope you against your will that's okay, but if you publicly complain about it, you better watch out. They give press conferences only when they are completely in control. Only they can ridicule. Only they deserve access to the media or the courts. Working women or immigrants? Obviously they don't deserve to be heard. Seems to me that we need more than just an minimum age or net worth to run for president, maybe some test for maturity should also be initiated.
17
Let's assume the following to be true: Trump is terrible in every way; Thiel is self-interested billionaire. Unfortunately, it still leaves one question unanswered: why would almost half of Americans vote for Trump? Unfortunately, the answer is not that half of Americans are "deplorable," but exactly what Thiel said in his speech -- there is something seriously wrong with the way America works today. Millions of ordinary people will not vote for someone who is clearly terrible. Until we recognize this fact, until we start proposing plans to fix the lot of millions of Americans who are on the brink, until politicians stop stalling and start finding compromises and pass sensible laws, the dissatisfaction will propel forward more and more fringe candidates.
You can call Mr. Thiel a "villainous caricature," unfortunately your opinion piece does nothing to address his description of the problem. Instead, you launch an attack on him personally, which is your right. However, it also tells me that you don't have a rebuttal. The last one is what scares me -- if we can not refute the point that America no longer works for a sizable population (almost 50%) and we don't acknowledge it as a problem, how will we ever fix it.
You can call Mr. Thiel a "villainous caricature," unfortunately your opinion piece does nothing to address his description of the problem. Instead, you launch an attack on him personally, which is your right. However, it also tells me that you don't have a rebuttal. The last one is what scares me -- if we can not refute the point that America no longer works for a sizable population (almost 50%) and we don't acknowledge it as a problem, how will we ever fix it.
4
Surely putting an ignorant, bigoted, misogynistic billionaire(?) in charge will fix everything.
4
Unfortunately, the thing that is "wrong" with America, for many of Trump's supporters, is that there are a growing number of non-white people in it, and his white supporters are afraid--very afraid of 2040, which the country tilts to a brown majority. Trump seems to offer hope that this can be stopped.
What's really upsetting is that Trump has no leadership to offer. Most of his plans are "huge," but there is not one concrete solution that he offers to fix the problems. So what are his supporters banking on? His "secret" plans. Health care that's so good, we haven't even seen the plans? I guess we are not worthy of learning his solutions. So who's the elitist, then?
Oh, and yeah, Peter Thiel and these billionaires really care about "the little people"? Give me a break. They care about themselves and their dollars. What's scary is Trump's plans for silencing critics. No thanks--I do not want to live in China.
What's really upsetting is that Trump has no leadership to offer. Most of his plans are "huge," but there is not one concrete solution that he offers to fix the problems. So what are his supporters banking on? His "secret" plans. Health care that's so good, we haven't even seen the plans? I guess we are not worthy of learning his solutions. So who's the elitist, then?
Oh, and yeah, Peter Thiel and these billionaires really care about "the little people"? Give me a break. They care about themselves and their dollars. What's scary is Trump's plans for silencing critics. No thanks--I do not want to live in China.
3
Republicans won't let government work because "the Reagan dogma" says government is always the problem and the only fix is "the market".
When America needed a great leader in the 30's Franklin D. Roosevelt helped US find our way out of the darkness. He did it with HUGE government.
We have the same kind of leader in Barack H. Obama and he has helped this Nation dig out of a hole republicans have been putting US into for nearly a half century.
Most of T rump's grass roots support comes from regions of the Nation that are under the thump of republican obstruction and non government. Open your eyes.
When America needed a great leader in the 30's Franklin D. Roosevelt helped US find our way out of the darkness. He did it with HUGE government.
We have the same kind of leader in Barack H. Obama and he has helped this Nation dig out of a hole republicans have been putting US into for nearly a half century.
Most of T rump's grass roots support comes from regions of the Nation that are under the thump of republican obstruction and non government. Open your eyes.
2
Today's liberals consider themselves to be the enlightened creme de le creme, so if someone smart (such as Peter Theil) takes a different point of view, the excuses come rolling in.
See, we are not so different after all. Liberals and republicans are equally as closed minded and susceptible to echo chambers.
See, we are not so different after all. Liberals and republicans are equally as closed minded and susceptible to echo chambers.
4
A snapshot of arrogance. No surprise he supports Trump. Shrug...
23
Bottom line is that there are waaay too many young billionaires in Silicon Valley.
Smart but no wisdom.
Smart but no wisdom.
1
I completely understand the sentiment that our recent political system has failed many of us and that even as a system it seems broken. I understand the built-up distrust or disgust with the elite and the power of money über Alles.
But I remain utterly baffled by how this leads someone to support Trump.
But I remain utterly baffled by how this leads someone to support Trump.
9
In terms of Trump's general vibe, it consists of narcissism, pathological dishonesty, no intellectual curiosity or rigor, a tiny attention, a disdain for facts and fact-checking, misogyny, using lawsuits to avoid paying contractors and cheating to obtain tax credits...
Thiel has a disturbing tendency toward Trumpish "logic" that makes him as intellectually dishonest as the self-obsessed bully he supports. Both represent intellectual and moral vacuums. They deserve each other.
Eclectic Pragmatist — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
Thiel has a disturbing tendency toward Trumpish "logic" that makes him as intellectually dishonest as the self-obsessed bully he supports. Both represent intellectual and moral vacuums. They deserve each other.
Eclectic Pragmatist — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
8
Two comments. First, I would argue with Thiel's reflection on the experience of baby boomers,"whose lives have been so much easier their parents' or children's," as a generalization that is unsupported, and when applied to war, makes even less sense--is he talking about the same generation that grew up being herded into fallout shelters as children,then to lose 50,000 of their cohort in a war in South-East Asia?He wasn't born yet when the Tet offensive upended our politics.
Second,I have lived through recent bubbles, including the dot-com and the housing bubbles, both of which were predicted before the peak,and also the Beanie Baby and Pokémon bubble.Bear with me.In close succession, over a couple of Holidays, my kids wanted beanie babies, then Pokémon cards. Naturally, the desired critters were hard to find. I later gave some by then worthless Beanie Babies to Goodwill, but my search for a Charzard card led me to eBay, where the auctions were peaking as low as $70 and as high as $over-100. It's embarrassing to admit and I didn't pay the top amounts, in the search for Charzard, but I learned a cheap lesson, because right after Christmas 2000, the market in Pokémon cards crashed.Shortly after that,Nintendo came out with the game and no more bubbles! My kids, now in their twenties, look askance at bubbles,as they had lived the frenzy and excitement,only to be disappointed.Like my dad, who lost his childhood savings in 1929,they are bubble-proof skeptics in money and politics.
Second,I have lived through recent bubbles, including the dot-com and the housing bubbles, both of which were predicted before the peak,and also the Beanie Baby and Pokémon bubble.Bear with me.In close succession, over a couple of Holidays, my kids wanted beanie babies, then Pokémon cards. Naturally, the desired critters were hard to find. I later gave some by then worthless Beanie Babies to Goodwill, but my search for a Charzard card led me to eBay, where the auctions were peaking as low as $70 and as high as $over-100. It's embarrassing to admit and I didn't pay the top amounts, in the search for Charzard, but I learned a cheap lesson, because right after Christmas 2000, the market in Pokémon cards crashed.Shortly after that,Nintendo came out with the game and no more bubbles! My kids, now in their twenties, look askance at bubbles,as they had lived the frenzy and excitement,only to be disappointed.Like my dad, who lost his childhood savings in 1929,they are bubble-proof skeptics in money and politics.
36
Boy, those mythical fallout shelters of the 50s were much worse that the soup lines, the massive unemployment and the Dust Bowl of the Depression. Those kids of the 30s didn't know how good they had it.
The 58,000+ Americans who died as well as all who served in Viet Nam were ostracized and defamed by their Baby Boom cohort for two generations. Viet Nam Vet was the filthiest epithet in the American vernacular.
The 58,000+ Americans who died as well as all who served in Viet Nam were ostracized and defamed by their Baby Boom cohort for two generations. Viet Nam Vet was the filthiest epithet in the American vernacular.
I don't take Peter Thiel too seriously. He's a traitor of the lowest water. Vengeful, opportunistic, and self-serving, just like his hero.
53
Barred from leaving? Can he/they do that?
15
Wow. "If you're a single-digit millionaire like Hulk Hogan, you have no effective access to our legal system...It costs too much." And apparently if you're a single digit billionaire your reasoning powers have imploded.
Mr. Thiel is an angry man who was outed by a now defunct magazine. This has turned him into a surrogate for an even angrier man, Donald Trump. I wonder if his anger contains a fair amount of misogyny!
I have known more than a few gay men who harbor feelings of disgust with women and it sounds like this might be the case with Thiel! I'm sure this is one immigrant, like Mr. Trumps wives, that Donald is happy about!
I have known more than a few gay men who harbor feelings of disgust with women and it sounds like this might be the case with Thiel! I'm sure this is one immigrant, like Mr. Trumps wives, that Donald is happy about!
20
Another 1 %'er shilling for the 1 % What a tool.
34
So, what a person says in public, to the public, when he's appealing to the public for their votes, should not be taken seriously?
Instead, we're supposed to vote based on someone's "vibe'," according to Mr. Thiel.
Vote for the president of the United States based on who has the best "vibe." I'm repeating that, because there cannot be any less substantial reason to vote for someone other than a "vibe," and I'm astonished that anyone has even bothered to ask the obviously vacuous Mr. Thiel his opinion on any serious issue.
Talk about a bubble of delusion. Thiel lives in the teeny-tiny, rarefied world of billionaires. There is no smaller bubble than the billionaire's bubble.
But, ok, let's just say that the only thing I'm going to judge Trump on is his "vibe." As far as this voter is concerned, Trump gives off a terrible vibe. His presence anywhere on any of my electronic devices makes me sick to my stomach. I cannot wait until this election is over, so that I will never have to see Trump's sneering face or hear his grating voice ever again. That's the "vibe" this voter gets from Trump.
Instead, we're supposed to vote based on someone's "vibe'," according to Mr. Thiel.
Vote for the president of the United States based on who has the best "vibe." I'm repeating that, because there cannot be any less substantial reason to vote for someone other than a "vibe," and I'm astonished that anyone has even bothered to ask the obviously vacuous Mr. Thiel his opinion on any serious issue.
Talk about a bubble of delusion. Thiel lives in the teeny-tiny, rarefied world of billionaires. There is no smaller bubble than the billionaire's bubble.
But, ok, let's just say that the only thing I'm going to judge Trump on is his "vibe." As far as this voter is concerned, Trump gives off a terrible vibe. His presence anywhere on any of my electronic devices makes me sick to my stomach. I cannot wait until this election is over, so that I will never have to see Trump's sneering face or hear his grating voice ever again. That's the "vibe" this voter gets from Trump.
97
I generally believe that what a person is telling me is what that person believes to be true. So many times I have seen people in bad relationships (battered wives, etc.) who keep saying "Oh, he doesn't mean what he says". Trust me, yes he does. I despise Trump because I do believe what he says, I believe it completely.
4
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Allison. I would like nothing better to see to see Trump fade from sight and recede out of earshot. Unfortunately, that's not what's likely to happen. Trump will take the notoriety he's amassed from this travesty and start a media 'empire' whose reach will be sufficient to intrude into our day-to-day consciousness, whether we want it or not.
He is the bad smell from the drunken acquaintance that threw up in our back seat after an unfortunate and ill-advised evening out that cannot be removed, no matter what what chemicals we use or how hard we try. The ephemeral stench could but most likely won't have one redeeming quality, however. It could remind us that we should exercise more diligence in our future choices of who we want to represent us but, of course, 'we' weren't the ones that chose him, 'they' were.
He is the bad smell from the drunken acquaintance that threw up in our back seat after an unfortunate and ill-advised evening out that cannot be removed, no matter what what chemicals we use or how hard we try. The ephemeral stench could but most likely won't have one redeeming quality, however. It could remind us that we should exercise more diligence in our future choices of who we want to represent us but, of course, 'we' weren't the ones that chose him, 'they' were.
Peter Thiel represents the real problems we have in this country, the ugly influence of money and how it corrupts our nation. If Thiel is wrong about WHAT HE THINKS TRUMP MEANS, then he will jump on his plane with his LV bag, Gucci sunglasses and Bain de Soliel, and move to the south of France. The rest of us are not so lucky.
52
why would I, in the least, be interested in Mr Thiel's views? This is a complete waste of space and a net loss for the readers.
26
Apparently you were interesting enough in his views to read the story and then comment on it.
1
Thief should take his billions and crawl into a hole somewhere. Last thing we need is some wildly inconsistent billionaire running around giving speeches. he should be crafty and devious, like the Koch brothers.
10
“But I think one thing that should be distinguished here is that the media always is taking Trump literally. It never takes him seriously, but it always takes him literally. I think a lot of the voters who vote for Trump take Trump seriously, but not literally.”
This is an astoundingly perfect example of self-serving, irrational double speak.
This is an astoundingly perfect example of self-serving, irrational double speak.
31
Actually, I don't take Trump literally, but I do take him seriously. His "general vibe" (that of an arrogant, entitled, rhymes-with-grass hole) is the reason I voted against him.
24
All I see is a self centered ego maniac - just like Trump. The 1% will certainly benefit from Trump - at the expense of the American people and our way of life. This is irresponsibility of the highest order. There is NO good reason to support Trump. The people behind him, pulling the strings of his campaign, are rabid anti government zealots determined get government out of the way of big business.
14
If Mr. Thiel were a left leaning Democrat, I doubt whether he would have been subject to the same negative scrutiny.Problem with advocacy journalists today is that they r seldom able to rise above their advocacy to inform us of anything broader than their own prejudices. Take reporters like Carl Rowan, Jimmy Breslin, Tom Wicker, R.W.Apple who were all on the left, but wrote so engagingly that you ended up agreeing with them. No disrespect intended, but Ms. Roller lacks that gift of gentle persuasion.Good writers know what to omit.
3
A good writer would not have conflated Mr. Theil-- who is a self-infatuated jerk-- with the boomer generation, whom she seems to despise.
"After his talk was over, the journalists in the room were barred from leaving until Mr. Thiel had safely left the building..." "Barred"?! By whom, armed guards, goons in black uniforms with German shepherds? Who in America can "bar" a person from walking out of a public room? If I were an editor, I think I might raise hell about this.
12
Delusional, like all Trump supporters. When asked why they support Trump, their excuses for his hateful rhetoric and ridiculous ideas are chillingly reminiscent of the way victims of intimate partner violence excuse the patently abusive behavior of their abusers. He doesn't really mean what he says. He's really a good guy. It's all about what they wish he could be, not what he is. It's not about reality. They're hypnotized by him because he's managed to tap into their fear and weakness. Dangerous stuff.
17
That is exactly what I have been thinking - endless excuses and explanations from the Trump supporters. Just like the battered wife.
2
Most of Trump's support comes from people who equate being rich with being smart. Thiel is also given credence as an "intellectual" because he's rich, so it's fitting that Thiel has emerged as a Trump spokesperson.
Thiel knows about bubbles, because he lives in one, insulated from anything resembling real life. He's obsessed by a fear of dying, and will invest in pretty much any scheme that promises to ensure longevity, and his racism is well-known, too. If he didn't have money, he'd be dismissed as just another nutcase. But, since he's rich he gets invited to the National Press Club. When will we learn that plenty of rich people are completely delusional, and don't warrant attention simply because of their bank balance?
Thiel knows about bubbles, because he lives in one, insulated from anything resembling real life. He's obsessed by a fear of dying, and will invest in pretty much any scheme that promises to ensure longevity, and his racism is well-known, too. If he didn't have money, he'd be dismissed as just another nutcase. But, since he's rich he gets invited to the National Press Club. When will we learn that plenty of rich people are completely delusional, and don't warrant attention simply because of their bank balance?
197
The saying, "when fascism comes to America, it will be carrying a cross wrapped in the American flag", applies here.
Trump has the flag, and Pence has the cross.
Thief's biggest blind spot, is that he thinks he's a so called "evangelical" christian. Yet, the essence of these people, is their antigay bigotry.
This is another case of republicans getting people to vote against their own interests.
Trump is nothing but a crude con man and demagogue, sure to betray Thiel
when he's no longer needed.
Trump has the flag, and Pence has the cross.
Thief's biggest blind spot, is that he thinks he's a so called "evangelical" christian. Yet, the essence of these people, is their antigay bigotry.
This is another case of republicans getting people to vote against their own interests.
Trump is nothing but a crude con man and demagogue, sure to betray Thiel
when he's no longer needed.
118
Mr. Trump betrays no one because he is friends with no one and believes in no one but himself. To betray means that there must have been something positive to begin with. Mr. Trump does not have one positive relationship in his entire life - be it business, family, friends or personal relations. He sees everybody as a sucker and secretly hates himself.
1
If Donald Trump loses a week from today, as I suspect he will, it will not be because his message was not heard by the voters. The media did not boycott his campaign but in fact granted him above-the-fold coverage, even when it wasn't deserved. His conduct and character has been presented to the public with his manner of choosing. And when the voters reject him, it will be because they will do something so unfathomable to people like Mr. Thiel, they will accept everything he has said or done as the best indication of who Donald Trump is.
19
"Whenever there is a hard problem, but people want to believe in an easy solution, they will be tempted to deny reality and inflate a bubble.”
If ever there was a political bubble, it is Donald Trump.
He tells people they will get sick of winning, of his secret plans, of terrific economic policies unnamed, of his being the the best jobs President "God ever created."
His own record is littered with Trump taking advantage of those so foolish to believe in him.
He wants to be a tin-pot strong man dictator of the largest and most powerful country on Earth, jailing his opponents and shutting down the press.
He wants to mange a $4 trillion dollar budget and a $19 trillion economy despite numerous bankruptcies, frauds, feuds, and instability.
Thiel sees the opportunity to have the strong man select his company Palantir for a military contract, as strong men show favor to their minions, at least for a while.
Trump has torn the fabric of this multicultural nation apart, pitting one group against another. He has spun lies upon lies in a fact-free world of demagoguery.
Those that supported this unqualified con man in such efforts should be remembered and associated with his racism, religious intolerance, misogyny, xenophobia, and nativism.
That is the Trump bubble.
If ever there was a political bubble, it is Donald Trump.
He tells people they will get sick of winning, of his secret plans, of terrific economic policies unnamed, of his being the the best jobs President "God ever created."
His own record is littered with Trump taking advantage of those so foolish to believe in him.
He wants to be a tin-pot strong man dictator of the largest and most powerful country on Earth, jailing his opponents and shutting down the press.
He wants to mange a $4 trillion dollar budget and a $19 trillion economy despite numerous bankruptcies, frauds, feuds, and instability.
Thiel sees the opportunity to have the strong man select his company Palantir for a military contract, as strong men show favor to their minions, at least for a while.
Trump has torn the fabric of this multicultural nation apart, pitting one group against another. He has spun lies upon lies in a fact-free world of demagoguery.
Those that supported this unqualified con man in such efforts should be remembered and associated with his racism, religious intolerance, misogyny, xenophobia, and nativism.
That is the Trump bubble.
Perhaps Mr Theil is not acting like a journalist here and trying to report and clarify, but is acting as a businessman - selling a point of view that will help him profit? Is there any evidence that he can separate himself from personal goals and ascend to the pulpit to council us all on the greater good?
11
So for months, we were told that Trump is going to "pivot" from the extreme, hateful and downright stupid rhetoric and proposals he deployed to gain the Republican nomination to something less disgusting and more responsible.
Now that we know the pivot isn't going to happen, from every word that issues from Trump's own mouth, we're invited by Thiel told to simply "not take Trump literally" and just read in anything we like.
The thought is this country could never elevate someone who seems as ignorant and disordered and incapable of improvement as Trump; ergo, he must be better than he seems, and the challenge is figuring out just which wonderful qualities Trump is hiding from us in every rally and debate and interview and tweet.
Thiel is another rich guy who can get away with being deluded.
Now that we know the pivot isn't going to happen, from every word that issues from Trump's own mouth, we're invited by Thiel told to simply "not take Trump literally" and just read in anything we like.
The thought is this country could never elevate someone who seems as ignorant and disordered and incapable of improvement as Trump; ergo, he must be better than he seems, and the challenge is figuring out just which wonderful qualities Trump is hiding from us in every rally and debate and interview and tweet.
Thiel is another rich guy who can get away with being deluded.
25
“Something about the experience of the baby boomers, whose lives have been so much easier than their parents’ or their children’s, has led them to buy into bubbles again & again.”
If Act I was a thinly veiled allegory about naked Clintonism, Act II is a parable about the plan for world domination by the Establishment, aged hippies in pinstripes all, with their infantile, solipsistic worldview amazingly untouched by time.
In Act II, rabid anti-Clinton voters, roughly 54% of US populace according to as-yet-unpodded pollsters, become increasingly aware they are disappearing in droves and being replaced by alien pod replicas that have their physical attributes but lack all anti-Clinton affect.
Bill Clinton had tried to assure concerned donors at a fundraiser for the carpetbagger's Senate bid in 2000 that this body-snatcher stuff was sheer nonsense. "The only way they can win is to convince people we're space aliens." he told them. (Really.)
The story of the Clintons is the story of the death of democracy. The cloying, internally inconsistent Clinton calculus. The unspoken Clinton threats. They permeate the atmosphere like a coiling miasma, choking off all freedom.
Even in NY.
Especially in NY.
When she wrote "The New Colossus," Emma Lazarus hardly had in mind this pair of mutant, deadly, twisted aliens.
Forget standard-issue carpetbaggery. The Clintons are aliens of quite another sort. They are extrinsic, not of this world. They are inhuman. They are dehumanizing…
If Act I was a thinly veiled allegory about naked Clintonism, Act II is a parable about the plan for world domination by the Establishment, aged hippies in pinstripes all, with their infantile, solipsistic worldview amazingly untouched by time.
In Act II, rabid anti-Clinton voters, roughly 54% of US populace according to as-yet-unpodded pollsters, become increasingly aware they are disappearing in droves and being replaced by alien pod replicas that have their physical attributes but lack all anti-Clinton affect.
Bill Clinton had tried to assure concerned donors at a fundraiser for the carpetbagger's Senate bid in 2000 that this body-snatcher stuff was sheer nonsense. "The only way they can win is to convince people we're space aliens." he told them. (Really.)
The story of the Clintons is the story of the death of democracy. The cloying, internally inconsistent Clinton calculus. The unspoken Clinton threats. They permeate the atmosphere like a coiling miasma, choking off all freedom.
Even in NY.
Especially in NY.
When she wrote "The New Colossus," Emma Lazarus hardly had in mind this pair of mutant, deadly, twisted aliens.
Forget standard-issue carpetbaggery. The Clintons are aliens of quite another sort. They are extrinsic, not of this world. They are inhuman. They are dehumanizing…
you really don't like the Clinton's do ya? all dressed up in fancy literary talk.
Personally I do not recall how the Clintons caused the "death of democracy".
You might as well write a poem about this but start with Ronald Reagan, please?
Personally I do not recall how the Clintons caused the "death of democracy".
You might as well write a poem about this but start with Ronald Reagan, please?
12
For your own good, get off the trump dope as soon as possible.
12
I suggest you try your luck a fantasy comic book writing - you have a gift for it!
As to the real world - you are clueless beyond belief. Bill Clinton left America in pretty good shape - only to be squandered and destroyed by G.W. Bush and his cronies. Obama has pulled us out of that deep ditch, despite relentless opposition from wingnuts like you. I'll stick with the Clintons - like all sane people.
As to the real world - you are clueless beyond belief. Bill Clinton left America in pretty good shape - only to be squandered and destroyed by G.W. Bush and his cronies. Obama has pulled us out of that deep ditch, despite relentless opposition from wingnuts like you. I'll stick with the Clintons - like all sane people.
2
Thiel's "theories" about Trump are preposterous, right out of "Through the Looking Glass."
“But I think one thing that should be distinguished here is that the media always is taking Trump literally. It never takes him seriously, but it always takes him literally. I think a lot of the voters who vote for Trump take Trump seriously, but not literally.”
Consider "grab them by the pussy:" everyone with a brain takes that literally and seriously.
“But I think one thing that should be distinguished here is that the media always is taking Trump literally. It never takes him seriously, but it always takes him literally. I think a lot of the voters who vote for Trump take Trump seriously, but not literally.”
Consider "grab them by the pussy:" everyone with a brain takes that literally and seriously.
43
Paul Ryan, the 12 year old boy who is Speaker of the US House, just voted for a man who believes he has the right to grab the vagina of Ryan's wife or daughters!
10
I especially take the groping remarks seriously given Jill Harth's and Ivana Trump's allegations for the '90's!
2
Thiel is yet another bazillionaire narcissist who mistakes the luck and serendipity of his success with superiority to other human beings and exemption from criticism or examination by others. There is much about government to be critical about but almost all of it stems from the party that doesn't believe in government and does all it can to prevent it from functioning.
When a man shows you what he is all about, believe him. Forget about this nonsense of, "he'll be different when in office." Men are what they tell you and show you they are. Thiel is not significantly different from Trump, which is why he is supporting him. All the rest of the words are simply distraction.
When a man shows you what he is all about, believe him. Forget about this nonsense of, "he'll be different when in office." Men are what they tell you and show you they are. Thiel is not significantly different from Trump, which is why he is supporting him. All the rest of the words are simply distraction.
27
It's rather telling that the strongest case Trump supporters can make for him is to claim that he was lying (although that is entirely plausible; we just don't know when).
11
From this article I gather that being a Billionaire allows Mr. Thiel to stand atop of the pyramid of Plato's Republican and assume the role of a Philosopher King. Some day the underclass will rise and eat the rich.
Revolution anyone?
Revolution anyone?
7
The rich are not suitable meals! Feed them to the animals in the zoo!
3
So we have one real and one make-believe billionaire who leave me wondering why more people don’t ask, “If you’re so rich, why ain’t you smart?”
24
Isn't this the same Peter Thiel who said:
"Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of “capitalist democracy” into an oxymoron."
So like the man he supports, Thiel who thinks that giving women the right to vote was a "bad idea" views women as less important then men.
It's amazing, but not surprising that guys like Mark Zuckerberg, defend this guy in the spirit of "supporting different perspectives." Right, what it boils down to is that Money, and how much you have outweighs your ideas and pronouncements, no matter how reprehensible they may be.
"Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of “capitalist democracy” into an oxymoron."
So like the man he supports, Thiel who thinks that giving women the right to vote was a "bad idea" views women as less important then men.
It's amazing, but not surprising that guys like Mark Zuckerberg, defend this guy in the spirit of "supporting different perspectives." Right, what it boils down to is that Money, and how much you have outweighs your ideas and pronouncements, no matter how reprehensible they may be.
21
The rich will support each other over reason and fairness because of self interest!
3
Why do we keep hearing about this guy? Just because he's rich is no reason to listen to the stuff that comes out his mouth. There's not much reckoning with reality in Trump's message either. Good grief.
13
The best line:
“If you’re a single-digit millionaire like Hulk Hogan, you have no effective access to our legal system,” he explained. “It costs too much.”
OMG!
And no follow up questions about poor people with 6 digits or 1 digits...LOL
Maybe I could be wrong, but Peter is suffering from some sort of tumor. I mean I know he is not so out of character, but to make this his focus, he will lose money soon (and disappear back to dotcom) and then no one will listen to him...then what?
“If you’re a single-digit millionaire like Hulk Hogan, you have no effective access to our legal system,” he explained. “It costs too much.”
OMG!
And no follow up questions about poor people with 6 digits or 1 digits...LOL
Maybe I could be wrong, but Peter is suffering from some sort of tumor. I mean I know he is not so out of character, but to make this his focus, he will lose money soon (and disappear back to dotcom) and then no one will listen to him...then what?
9
but it's true! do you think that someone whose net worth is $500,000 could have taken gawker on in a serious way? i feel you are shooting the messenger. of course this is not good, and let's neglect the trump stuff for the moment, but it is simple a fact that it costs multiple millions of dollars to litigate a course case of that magnitude. just because this fact is coming from the mouth of peter thiel doesn't make it untrue.
On November 9 Trump is in the dustbin of History. Who cares what Peter Thiel says?
10
"Here he comes. That's Cathy's clown"
7
WHAT A FOOL. He needs attention, is all.
6
Maybe the bubble is the myth of wealth as measured by things and dollars. Maybe that is the legacy we boomers have built out of the struggles of our parents. Maybe it is time to look at our history and the string of choices and consequences and begin to understand how to love one another instead of building walls of ideology or religion or race or all the other underlying tribal instincts that drive groups. Maybe we have been driven by pride and arrogance so we fail to understand each other. Will we figure it all out in time?
1
Peter Thiel doesn't seem to understand that Trump wants to be called Mr President, live in the White House, attend state functions, meet wealthy foreign dignitaries, place his children in important positions ....... and leave the boring, mundane behind-the-scenes work to his ultra-conservative and rigidly judgmental sidekick Mike Pence.
But unpredictable, spiteful, mentally unstable Donald Trump would still have his finger on the button.
But unpredictable, spiteful, mentally unstable Donald Trump would still have his finger on the button.
12
A Trump world: where the billionaire class like Putin, Theil and Trump, buys off everyone and everything to ensure they will never lose their grip on office ever again. A Plutocracy with theocratic servants EXACTLY as existed in the Middle Ages in Europe and EXACTLY the reason why the Founding Fathers left Europe and established a secular government in America. Pitchfork wielding Deplorables think Trump is an outsider....not even close. He's exactly the same as Henry VIII and the slew of monarchs who used money and the church to retain their grip on power...at the expense of the working class....
9
A hallmark of most Trump supporters seems to be their ability to hear what they want to hear and ignore the rest.
Mr. Thiel who is gay seems to be at war with this wealthy self and his wealthy white male privilege is winning. I wonder what he'll think when Mr. Trump is put in jail and Mike Pence makes homosexuality a crime.
Mr. Thiel who is gay seems to be at war with this wealthy self and his wealthy white male privilege is winning. I wonder what he'll think when Mr. Trump is put in jail and Mike Pence makes homosexuality a crime.
12
A country that worships the wealthy and boastful as opposed to those who pay their taxes on time, serve in the Armed Services or Peace Corps or teach underprivileged kids to read no longer stands for what's right.
16
Thank you Ed, for your wise comment. I wish there was one leader today who could eloquently convince We the People that we should not covet or admire wealth for its own sake. But look what we have: Clinton who worked so hard to become wealthy in Bill's post-presidency years; Trump who either is or is not as wealthy as he claims, but is certainly crass in the way the uber-rich often are; Obama and Michelle who can't wait to follow in Bill and Hill's footsteps to wealth; Romney last time who negated half the population as losers because they were not rich. If ANY of these people tried to lead us to a better place, most thinkers would know how phony they are. But we need a civic wake up call-- but from whom will it come?
If Peter Thiel thinks our county's leadership has failed, and he wants to put the likes of Donald Trump in charge, his judgement is seriously flawed.
Thiel is a bad actor with too much money. He has written that women getting the vote was bad for democracy. He has supported measures that would suppress free speech and a free press. His statements about campus rape are reprehensible: "Why is all blame placed on the man?"
While I defend Thiel's right to think and say what ever he wants, I say his words and ideas represent some of the worst aspects of American society.
Thiel is a bad actor with too much money. He has written that women getting the vote was bad for democracy. He has supported measures that would suppress free speech and a free press. His statements about campus rape are reprehensible: "Why is all blame placed on the man?"
While I defend Thiel's right to think and say what ever he wants, I say his words and ideas represent some of the worst aspects of American society.
15
Wow, with the plethora of anti-Trump and anti-anyone who even suggests Trump may have some good political points, the MSM pretty much confirms that their panic over the possibility of the elites losing power has overwhelmed any lingering sense of journalistic integrity. That this inane hatchet job made it into any newspaper is a prime example.
The Gawker case was not decided by Thiel or Trump, but by a US court, so why complain about Thiel's views? Or are non-PC people not allowed to have opinions? If the case was so important to the far left, why didn't Soros bankroll Gawker? Or perhaps, since both sides were lawyered-up just fine, maybe the Court's verdict was correct? Anyway, it is clear that Thiel is not "responsible for deciding who qualifies as a journalist."
And despite the writer's snide inuendo, single-digit millionaires could easily be bankrupted if they go up against some powerful "news" organization -- such as the NY Times for instance. So is this far leftist writer arguing that in wonderful America, the little guy with single digit millions has as much chance as the billionaire to get justice? Sounds a bit off message to me.
As for Trump's gay bona fides and PERSONALLY opposing gay marriage, it was not so long ago (when, coincidentally, it served their political purposes) that Obama and Hillary were against gay marriage AS A POLICY. And being against wars doesn't mean you don't want a strong military.
The Gawker case was not decided by Thiel or Trump, but by a US court, so why complain about Thiel's views? Or are non-PC people not allowed to have opinions? If the case was so important to the far left, why didn't Soros bankroll Gawker? Or perhaps, since both sides were lawyered-up just fine, maybe the Court's verdict was correct? Anyway, it is clear that Thiel is not "responsible for deciding who qualifies as a journalist."
And despite the writer's snide inuendo, single-digit millionaires could easily be bankrupted if they go up against some powerful "news" organization -- such as the NY Times for instance. So is this far leftist writer arguing that in wonderful America, the little guy with single digit millions has as much chance as the billionaire to get justice? Sounds a bit off message to me.
As for Trump's gay bona fides and PERSONALLY opposing gay marriage, it was not so long ago (when, coincidentally, it served their political purposes) that Obama and Hillary were against gay marriage AS A POLICY. And being against wars doesn't mean you don't want a strong military.
1
These Trumpists are living in a delusional state arguing that the candidate will be doing different than what he says. It is weird like most people that follow Trump they are not open to argument, they are living a crazy illusion that Trump is going to rescue them. Like the religious right praying that God will do it right for them. Fact: There is no God that will do it right for you, there is only your judgment and decision and you are responsible if instead of prosperity Trump leads you where he leads all people dealing with him: Into disaster.
6
I cancelled my PayPal account when I learned Thiel contributed a large sum to the idiots' campaign. Sure, it's just one small, rarely-used account, but at least I"m in no way economically leashed to a deep-pockets ignoramus who supports Trump's very very scary "general vibe."
13
@JV: I refuse to use PayPal, too, so there are at least two of us!
7
Mr. Thiel is a self loathing gay. Republicans, Trump's base hate him but welcomes his money and his propaganda. A grain of truth does not make up for a desert of hatred, fear and resentment. Elevating such men is acquiescence to the heresy that money is speech. Free speech is enshrined in the Constitution for each and every person. We are crippled when we only hear the super rich and their employees. Hubris and planning bias limit Gates, the Kochs, Soros, the Waltons capacity to any knowledge of life for the 99%, or those needs that govern the choices the 99% make. Having only dealt with self esteem wants and never confronted by basic physiological needs, the rich make up their own sense of those needs, and the efforts made to alleviate them. They may even hire others to make up a convincing narrative explaining what the "people" want. Unfortunately, they offer "cake" when we are hungry, like charter schools when poor schools in poverty afflicted districts fail. Charter Schools are all cake. Thiel is a genius, ask him for some cake.
8
So after criticizing people who live in bubbles, Thiel demanded that he be escorted out in a bubble?
12
“He points toward a new Republican Party beyond the dogmas of Reaganism. He points even beyond the remaking of one party to a new American politics that overcomes denial, rejects bubble thinking, and reckons with reality.” Overcomes denial? Reckons with reality? This is the most hilarious thing I've read today.
8
We miss Gawker! Thiel is hated by so many, every morning.
9
I am so glad Peter Thiel finds this to be an enormous exercise in suspencion of disbelief. It's the same sort of ridiculous rhetoric American women, in particular, are SICK AND TIRED of hearing.
It's just in your head.
No, Mr. Thiel, it is not in our heads: the problem is in YOURS.
Your candidate thinks half the population is open game for sexual assault.
Your candidate thinks paying taxes is a joke on the rest of us.
Your candidate thinks magical thinking is sound foreign policy.
Your candidate thinks doing homework is for losers.
Your candidate thinks win at all cost is the only thing that matters.
....and if you are a woman, your candidate has spent tremendous amounts of that he holds dearest: MONEY to tout policies that would strip us of our reproductive rights, and diminish the rights of the LGBT.
I find it beyond offensive that because you have money, you get a platform to spew out nonsense. Then again, that's your candidate's platform too, so it figures.
I find it appalling that you think we, the little people, should take educated guesses on that buffoon of yours you call a candidate when we have a perfectly well articulated version on the other side who is not only qualified but whose aspirations and policies match mine.
I may not have your dollars or your gravitas, but I have two things you cannot have:
My voice, heard here, and my vote. This nasty woman is coming after your ilk on November 8th.
It's just in your head.
No, Mr. Thiel, it is not in our heads: the problem is in YOURS.
Your candidate thinks half the population is open game for sexual assault.
Your candidate thinks paying taxes is a joke on the rest of us.
Your candidate thinks magical thinking is sound foreign policy.
Your candidate thinks doing homework is for losers.
Your candidate thinks win at all cost is the only thing that matters.
....and if you are a woman, your candidate has spent tremendous amounts of that he holds dearest: MONEY to tout policies that would strip us of our reproductive rights, and diminish the rights of the LGBT.
I find it beyond offensive that because you have money, you get a platform to spew out nonsense. Then again, that's your candidate's platform too, so it figures.
I find it appalling that you think we, the little people, should take educated guesses on that buffoon of yours you call a candidate when we have a perfectly well articulated version on the other side who is not only qualified but whose aspirations and policies match mine.
I may not have your dollars or your gravitas, but I have two things you cannot have:
My voice, heard here, and my vote. This nasty woman is coming after your ilk on November 8th.
16
Thiel so strongly supports the first amendment that he secretly bankrolled a legal pursuit of an admittedly sleazy media organization who made public the activities of a rather sleazy individual because that same media organization had he believed harmed him. Thiel is a typical arrogant phony. No wonder he's a supporter of Trump.
12
How come his long standing racism isn't mentioned?
62
Mr. Thiel is like all Trump supporters I have talked to. They support Trump because of what they think he will do once he becomes President, not on what he actually says he is going to do as President.
The standard lines I hear from Trumpers is "Oh, once he gets into office, he will be totally different." or "That's just campaign talk, he really doesn't mean it."
These people are completely disconnected from reality. With Trump, what you see is what you get.
The standard lines I hear from Trumpers is "Oh, once he gets into office, he will be totally different." or "That's just campaign talk, he really doesn't mean it."
These people are completely disconnected from reality. With Trump, what you see is what you get.
363
I believe that is called MAGICAL THINKING.
5
You have hit the nail on the head. Even when he explicitly states that he has "grabbed" women by their genitals, his supporters refuse to accept him at his word. Even something like this -- http://bit.ly/2fqxSa7 -- would not change a Trumpist's world view.
4
Actually, with The Donald, what you see is substantially more than what you get.
59
Why do we listen to billionaires? Sure, they've got pots of money and maybe there's some lessons there. But do we really think money has imparted any kind of wisdom? Most, like Donald Trump, Peter Thiel, et al., are living in their own gilded bubble, isolated from authentic connection to the lives of everyday people.
If we've got to listen to money guys, give me Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, men who've proved their value outside their wealth amassing skills.
If we've got to listen to money guys, give me Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, men who've proved their value outside their wealth amassing skills.
174
I agree! Spotty thinking must be at the heart of every choice for Trump. Talk about unreality... if Trump hasn't said what he will do or given any indication of the intelligence or experience or temperament to guide this country wisely, what can any decision to vote for him be based upon that makes sense. Theil's surely doesn't.
5
Think also of Howard Hughes and one much closer to the CV of Peter Thiel: Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee.
And, I believe there is some controversy about the accuracy of the bio pic of Steve Jobs. I suspect that it is definitely reflective. Appalling.
And, I believe there is some controversy about the accuracy of the bio pic of Steve Jobs. I suspect that it is definitely reflective. Appalling.
2
Ms. Roller left out the obvious Halloween conceit. Mr. Thiel of late made it known that he believes filling up on the blood of the young may well keep him living, why, near on forever. I assume he is not like those misguided goth-mad fools who go so far as to sharpen their incisors and drink the blood directly. Rather, I must assume Mr. Thiel takes his through an IV. One caution about bubbles: If the nurse or technician forgets to flick the IV drip with a finger, bubbles may form, flow into the blood stream, and head straight for the heart. Imagine the ironic end brought about by such bubbles.
From the picture at mid-page, however, Mr. Thiel, like puppet Trump, looks jaundiced. Have the transfusions gone bad, or is it just the pathetic look of two aging men with too many hours under the heat lamp and in the makeup chair, insisting they might forestall the awful responsibility of time? There is a reason zombies have become a metaphor for our friends, our neighbors, and those evil people down the street. Like Mr. Thiel and Mr. Trump, too many of us look into mirrors and see no reflection.
From the picture at mid-page, however, Mr. Thiel, like puppet Trump, looks jaundiced. Have the transfusions gone bad, or is it just the pathetic look of two aging men with too many hours under the heat lamp and in the makeup chair, insisting they might forestall the awful responsibility of time? There is a reason zombies have become a metaphor for our friends, our neighbors, and those evil people down the street. Like Mr. Thiel and Mr. Trump, too many of us look into mirrors and see no reflection.
36
Well said, Ms. Roller.
12
Another Ben Carson type, good at what he's good at, and an idiot elsewhere.
254
What's he brst at? Manipulation and scams. A real pro.
1
Peter Thiel is an angry guy who wants respect. His vendetta against gawker brought him no respect or admiration and his support for Trump brought ire .
He wants to be liked for who he is but you see, he is a libertarian who wants to eliminate taxes and services and functioning government. His view is Everyman for himself and has no place here
Go to Somalia, Mr Thiel where you can lead your life as a lord of your choosing using your money to buy safety and security
The rest of us will pay our fair share and live in a civil society
He wants to be liked for who he is but you see, he is a libertarian who wants to eliminate taxes and services and functioning government. His view is Everyman for himself and has no place here
Go to Somalia, Mr Thiel where you can lead your life as a lord of your choosing using your money to buy safety and security
The rest of us will pay our fair share and live in a civil society
205
Thiel has been furious since someone opened the closet door he was hiding behind ... he's never recovered from that ... he needs to get over himself. Absolutely no one cares.
20
From where I stand and from what I see, Peter Thiel with all his millions, would not be allowed past my front door.
In all the ways that matter, he is a LOSER. A sad man setting an alter on the temple of money, who thinks the pursuit of power is an actual "value".
He stands for the kind of smug, self satisfied bully I most deplore.
In all the ways that matter, he is a LOSER. A sad man setting an alter on the temple of money, who thinks the pursuit of power is an actual "value".
He stands for the kind of smug, self satisfied bully I most deplore.
113
It's interesting that you mention Somalia. I always tell friends that if one took Republicans' policy "goals" for the United States to their logical conclusion, the ensuing geographical entity would not be very United, and would not be much of a State.
No, I say that it would very much look like Somalia or Afghanistan: a place without a functioning government, but with religious law intruding deep into everyone's lives; a place where the few rich and powerful, hiding in their mansions behind their security walls, pay for their own services that a government would normally manage; where the vast majority live in abject poverty, physical danger and insecurity.
If I had vast monetary riches yet lived in a place like Somalia -- peering out from my gleaming compound (with its private military and private school) at the vast wasteland that lays beyond the walls, out at the crumbling buildings, the dirt roads, the crippled and diseased people scrounging for food -- I don't think I'd consider that a fulfilling life.
No, I say that it would very much look like Somalia or Afghanistan: a place without a functioning government, but with religious law intruding deep into everyone's lives; a place where the few rich and powerful, hiding in their mansions behind their security walls, pay for their own services that a government would normally manage; where the vast majority live in abject poverty, physical danger and insecurity.
If I had vast monetary riches yet lived in a place like Somalia -- peering out from my gleaming compound (with its private military and private school) at the vast wasteland that lays beyond the walls, out at the crumbling buildings, the dirt roads, the crippled and diseased people scrounging for food -- I don't think I'd consider that a fulfilling life.
44
Tell me again why anyone with a functioning brain cell cares what this publicity seeker thinks about anything.
106
Because he has the power to summons a whole roomful of "journalists."
3
Well, being concerned citizens, we are wary of the way that he throws his money around. Like the Koch bros, he is promoting ideas that damage our democracy. His naieve ideas about Trump need to be debunked. Thank you Ms Roller and dear readers for giving Thiel the smackdown he deserves! Now lets move on.
2
"If you’re a single-digit millionaire like Hulk Hogan, you have no effective access to our legal system,” he explained. “It costs too much.”
This is true.
This is true.
6
The worst thing about the media coverage of Peter Theil is this: if this idiot didn't have a billion dollars, would anyone in the world care what he thought? Maybe a few dozen of his closest friends. His spouse who would be thinking he had lost it. Now you all have given his views undue seriousness. His arguments are extremely weak. The only reason to vote for Trump is that you are so sick of it that you are ok with a 1 in 3 chance of blowing up the world. Because you have the internal make-up that says in the choice between a bad case of the flu and ebola, you're ok with Ebola because of the high it may give you when you have delirious fever.
80
The people who are voting for Trump think that they'll come out on top in a "Mad Max" apocalypse. This is the most pathetic form of Dunning-Kruger syndrome one can imagine.
8
The willingness of the media to quote and analyze the pronouncements of men like Trump and Thiel reflects a weakness inherent in the American psyche. Our identification with capitalism confuses our understanding of intelligence. We tend to assume that men and women who excel at accumulating wealth must also enjoy a superior knowledge of the world around us.
In fact, however, immersion in industrial concerns can narrow and even distort an entrepreneur's perception of issues not directly germane to the success of his enterprise. A businessman such as Trump or Thiel tends to think in terms of profit and loss, and thus he evaluates an investment or undertaking with respect to its impact on the bottom line. This bias helps explain Trump's skepticism about the worth of our NATO alliance, a reflection of his belief that our partners do not pay their fair share.
None of us interprets reality unfiltered by our own concerns and prejudices, but then virtually no other group enjoys a reputation for worldly wisdom comparable to that of the business community. The only benefit of listening to the tiresome, sometimes inane, comments of a Trump or Thiel derives from the sobering knowledge that these two gentlemen have gained no valuable insights into the issues which trouble us from their business ventures. Trump's sole epiphany from his years of 'public' service, in fact, appears to be the realization that sexually abusing women ranks as a fringe benefit of celebrity. Who knew?
In fact, however, immersion in industrial concerns can narrow and even distort an entrepreneur's perception of issues not directly germane to the success of his enterprise. A businessman such as Trump or Thiel tends to think in terms of profit and loss, and thus he evaluates an investment or undertaking with respect to its impact on the bottom line. This bias helps explain Trump's skepticism about the worth of our NATO alliance, a reflection of his belief that our partners do not pay their fair share.
None of us interprets reality unfiltered by our own concerns and prejudices, but then virtually no other group enjoys a reputation for worldly wisdom comparable to that of the business community. The only benefit of listening to the tiresome, sometimes inane, comments of a Trump or Thiel derives from the sobering knowledge that these two gentlemen have gained no valuable insights into the issues which trouble us from their business ventures. Trump's sole epiphany from his years of 'public' service, in fact, appears to be the realization that sexually abusing women ranks as a fringe benefit of celebrity. Who knew?
29
If Peter Thiel would just go to the website Scribd and search Trump and rape, and read those few lawsuit summaries, he would not support Trump any longer.
11
Or he would double-down on his support.
8
Thiel clearly knows more than any of the rest of us. For example, The Atlantic reports that “Two years ago, he told Glenn Beck that the idea that human activity alters the climate is ‘more pseudoscience’ than science. (97 percent of climatologists, and every major U.S. scientific organization, disagree with him.)” Why would you ever think that the top scientists in the National Academy of Sciences know more about science than a rich lawyer? Thiel's support of Trump equally displays his genius and patriotism.
33
What is so different about Thiel than what people say they are so angry about - A billionaire elite who feels because of his power he can decide who in effect should be the winners and losers in our democracy. Isn't that what Trump is saying when he says only he can save America. For everyone who thinks they are voting for a champion of the masses when they vote for Trump are going to wake up with a migraine on Nov. 9th if he should win. He and Thiel are the oligarths you fear.
21
1. Show me a prominent person in this country -- politician, economist, journalist, educator, entertainer, sports figure, computer wizard or otherwise -- who claims that Mr. Trump is a man who will do good things for this country, and I will show you a fool, a dupe or a person who is conniving to get a job, an appointment or a leg-up of some sort from the Trump administration.
2. I defy anyone to go up on PayPal and not wish we were back in the days when we were keeping our money in cigar boxes under our beds.
2. I defy anyone to go up on PayPal and not wish we were back in the days when we were keeping our money in cigar boxes under our beds.
21
The brutal irony of this election is that Hillary is being saddled with the blame for the failures of "the system." Yes, it's true that many Americans feel disenfranchised. It's true that the middle class is shrinking and under siege. It's even true that Bill Clinton gave too much influence to Robert Rubin and the financial sector. BUT, if you look at the arc of the last 60-70 years, it is the Republican party that consistently fights for plutocratic interests. And no major party candidate is more emblematic of the win-at-any-cost-and-damn-everyone-else ethos than Trump. A narcissistic con-man of epic proportions.
86
Clearly, the trait that this guy shares with Trump is self-loathing. On that point they are both correct.
21
This is a snarky review of Thiel's eloquent interview. To be expected in the NYT where diversity of viewpoints is discouraged.
4
Here is Mr. Thiel's speech. It may be "eloquent" but the problem, as I see it, is that he is ascribing to Trump his own prescriptions for America, not Trump's. I have reviewed Trump's economic policy proposals in detail and I have listened to a number of interviews with his economic advisors. Save Trump's claims to "rip up all trade agreements", and "build a wall" (both of which I am quite certain he will not do), his policies are standard Republican fare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfYLEPRiIyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfYLEPRiIyE
10
EES -- "diversity of viewpoints" means what? Thiel got his "viewpoints" across. They are nearly hallucinatory in their illogic. That you don't like the criticism of this babble reveals it all -- "diversity" means "accepting idiocy" to you.
1 + 1 does not equal 3. You are claiming that some "viewpoint" that it does must be respected.
NO.
1 + 1 does not equal 3. You are claiming that some "viewpoint" that it does must be respected.
NO.
10
Eloquent? What do you mean by eloquent? That you agree with what Theil had to say? Were the quotes accurate? Did Theil say what the NYT says he said? Can you provide any examples of what Theil said being taken out of context or otherwise being misrepresented? If not, I suggest that the tag "snarky" has more to do with your perception than it does with any kind of reality.
2
Seriously, Trump's general vibe is "how to get rich quickly using other people's money".
It's what sends people to the slot machines, trying to find the "lucky" one that's gonna pay off big because you really believe it's time for it to pay off big.
And other people are suckers for giving up that seat before the machine did its magic.
It's what sends people to the slot machines, trying to find the "lucky" one that's gonna pay off big because you really believe it's time for it to pay off big.
And other people are suckers for giving up that seat before the machine did its magic.
16
The mantra that Trumpensteins words don't matter is just untrue. Word matter, especially from leaders. What a jerk.
16
And Words really matter especially when you have absolutely no track record to confirm your ability to do anything. Then words are all you have. God help us!
5
Peter Thiel is Exhibit A against the Supreme Court's ruling that money equals speech, that he who can afford a really powerful megaphone is entitled to shout into it incessantly, no matter how garbled the message. For the rest of us, any hope we might have of not being manipulated by G.I. Luvmoney seems to have vanished with that 2010 ruling.
We get to vote, but in most cases only for those who have passed the rich guy litmus test. Once again press coverage is suspect: I'm amazed how little concern is generated by Peter Thiel casually tossing a million dollars to Trump's campaign. Certainly when Bill Maher gave a million to Obama in 2008 the flying monkeys at Fox and Drudge peppered the land with their droppings.
Elsewhere in the Times today is a prescription for getting out the vote. Remember that Republican Senators have pledged to leave Supreme Court seats vacant rather than confirm honorable judges with whose politics they disagree. The Republican House has shown itself to be a passel of vandals who alternatively vote to shut down the government and then like children hold their breath until they turn blue. So, even if you live in a state that's not in play in the Presidential election, it's possible that your down ticket vote will matter.
Those who amass great wealth will always matter more than the rest of us. However, wouldn't it be great if we could go back to 1972 when Maurice Stans had to slink off to Mexico to accept campaign bribes, er, contributions?
We get to vote, but in most cases only for those who have passed the rich guy litmus test. Once again press coverage is suspect: I'm amazed how little concern is generated by Peter Thiel casually tossing a million dollars to Trump's campaign. Certainly when Bill Maher gave a million to Obama in 2008 the flying monkeys at Fox and Drudge peppered the land with their droppings.
Elsewhere in the Times today is a prescription for getting out the vote. Remember that Republican Senators have pledged to leave Supreme Court seats vacant rather than confirm honorable judges with whose politics they disagree. The Republican House has shown itself to be a passel of vandals who alternatively vote to shut down the government and then like children hold their breath until they turn blue. So, even if you live in a state that's not in play in the Presidential election, it's possible that your down ticket vote will matter.
Those who amass great wealth will always matter more than the rest of us. However, wouldn't it be great if we could go back to 1972 when Maurice Stans had to slink off to Mexico to accept campaign bribes, er, contributions?
51
Mr. Thiel represents a dangerous combination: diseased ideas and the money to propagate them.
As a bonus, he is also a hypocrite on an epic scale.
As a bonus, he is also a hypocrite on an epic scale.
139
More than 100 journalists listen uncritically to the vacuous ramblings of an egomaniac idiot and the NYT publishes several big reports about it, for just one reason: because he is rich.
If you are asking what's wrong with America these days, this is not a bad place to start.
If you are asking what's wrong with America these days, this is not a bad place to start.
120
“No matter what happens in this election, what Trump represents isn’t crazy, and it’s not going away,”
In this you are absolutely correct. What Trump represents is the resentment of the people who have believed in the Republican mantra for most of their adult lives and are profoundly dissatisfied with the results. But they are incapable of accepting that it was the Republican policies of government that has created the situation they find themselves in today. This is the same reaction to believing that the solution to the problem that created the disaster is more of the same, just as a person who finds themselves indebted to the extent that imminent disaster is upon them, continues to acquire more debt in the hope of salvation.
In this you are absolutely correct. What Trump represents is the resentment of the people who have believed in the Republican mantra for most of their adult lives and are profoundly dissatisfied with the results. But they are incapable of accepting that it was the Republican policies of government that has created the situation they find themselves in today. This is the same reaction to believing that the solution to the problem that created the disaster is more of the same, just as a person who finds themselves indebted to the extent that imminent disaster is upon them, continues to acquire more debt in the hope of salvation.
98
Thiel and Trump may be on different coasts however it's obvious that they are cut from the same cloth.
1. They are very thin-skinned and retaliate whenever and however they can. Personal slights turn amp up their toddler behaviors.
2. They have surrounded themselves with yes men so that their "reality" is the only one that counts.
3. They are collecting massive amounts of data on Americans in order to profit now and in the future. Privacy is a concept, but not a practice they embrace. Except for themselves.
4. They see their behavior as beyond reproach.
5. They are no supporters of females.
When this election is over, Thiel will continue on his obsessive path of securing the fountain of youth and Trump will continue to do what he's done for the past 40 years. That means more failing businesses which will be bailed out by Americans and more indecent behavior towards women.
After all, when you're a star...
1. They are very thin-skinned and retaliate whenever and however they can. Personal slights turn amp up their toddler behaviors.
2. They have surrounded themselves with yes men so that their "reality" is the only one that counts.
3. They are collecting massive amounts of data on Americans in order to profit now and in the future. Privacy is a concept, but not a practice they embrace. Except for themselves.
4. They see their behavior as beyond reproach.
5. They are no supporters of females.
When this election is over, Thiel will continue on his obsessive path of securing the fountain of youth and Trump will continue to do what he's done for the past 40 years. That means more failing businesses which will be bailed out by Americans and more indecent behavior towards women.
After all, when you're a star...
40
He's the poster boy for not ever electing businessmen.
They are incapable of imagining what might be good for the country. Their mantra: I don't use that bridge, why should I pay for its maintenance.
Their only goal,, if Reagan, the Bush family, Romney, and Trump are to be believed, is to eliminate their tax obligations.
They are incapable of imagining what might be good for the country. Their mantra: I don't use that bridge, why should I pay for its maintenance.
Their only goal,, if Reagan, the Bush family, Romney, and Trump are to be believed, is to eliminate their tax obligations.
16
What Theil likes about Trump: revenge, control. He demonstrates you can be rich, hip ... and clueless.
12
Billionaire Theil thinks he, on behalf of all, can decide what "journalism" is...Gawker isn't but Breitbart is? Whether you take Trump "seriously" or "literally", you can be sure of one thing: the media will remain under attack. I'm just watching a Trump supporter at a rally screaming at the media pen "Jew-S-A, Jew-S-A". I have no doubt that Trump has files full of every story, article, tweet that he believes criticized him in anticipation of taking revenge. And lest we not forget Mike Pence's attempt to start a "state-run taxpayer-funded news outlet that will make pre-written news stories available to Indiana media, as well as sometimes break news about his administration".
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/01/26/pence-starts-state-run-new...
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/01/26/pence-starts-state-run-new...
178
"Richard Branson: Donald Trump told me he wanted to spend the 'rest of his life' getting revenge"
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/richard-branson-on-meeting-donald-trum...
'Branson said their encounter had taken place years ago, after Trump had invited him to a one-on-one lunch in his Manhattan apartment. “Even before the starters arrived he began telling me about how he had asked a number of people for help after his latest bankruptcy and how five of them were unwilling to help,” Branson wrote. “He told me he was going to spend the rest of his life destroying these five people.”'
And that, people, is the real Donald Drumpf, the crass huckster that one-third of the electorate—the "poorly educated", apparently—would have be crowned their King—LOL ...
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/richard-branson-on-meeting-donald-trum...
'Branson said their encounter had taken place years ago, after Trump had invited him to a one-on-one lunch in his Manhattan apartment. “Even before the starters arrived he began telling me about how he had asked a number of people for help after his latest bankruptcy and how five of them were unwilling to help,” Branson wrote. “He told me he was going to spend the rest of his life destroying these five people.”'
And that, people, is the real Donald Drumpf, the crass huckster that one-third of the electorate—the "poorly educated", apparently—would have be crowned their King—LOL ...
5
Can media outlets stop reporting on what this man says? I believe his vision for America is dangerous and he offers nothing of substance other than his never-ending supply of money. That doesn't make what he says important or newsworthy.
310
That's called fascism.
5
I find Peter Thiel's libertarianism, as far as I understand it, has no problem with the accumulation of wealth and economic power (in monopolies, etc.). How does this jibe with his populism here?
Unfettered capitalism is indeed less and less popular with the crowd, as he states in his Cato Unbound piece, but not for the reasons he implies.
History and economic theory and political theory have shown that unfettered--aside from moments of disruption (which are the exception rather than the norm) capital tends to become more and more concentrated and with it the political apparatus to sustain and further promulgate the inequity.
But...but...although I believe his thinking is deeply flawed and inconsistent (a libertarian against free trade??) he is at least serious in his thinking, which is a mile away from the man into whom he projects deep thought.
Unfettered capitalism is indeed less and less popular with the crowd, as he states in his Cato Unbound piece, but not for the reasons he implies.
History and economic theory and political theory have shown that unfettered--aside from moments of disruption (which are the exception rather than the norm) capital tends to become more and more concentrated and with it the political apparatus to sustain and further promulgate the inequity.
But...but...although I believe his thinking is deeply flawed and inconsistent (a libertarian against free trade??) he is at least serious in his thinking, which is a mile away from the man into whom he projects deep thought.
18
" Apparently for Mr. Thiel, some bubbles are acceptable — as long as he gets to set their parameters."
...And isn't this not the case with Trump and so many extraordinarily wealthy people who simply live in a parallel universe, unencumbered by impulses of empathy? Lacking any sense of the tactile, gritty reality that the majority of America's live, and never understanding the grinding impoverishment of multi generational economic hardships, why would anyone else expect such a person to understand the cruel facts of third world starvation and the moral imperative that we as the world's superpower have an obligation to help develop a better future for those who daily suffer, and the 18,000 mal-nourish, (mostly innocent children) who die of starvation. Go on-- live in your bubble and teach us your absurd notion of reality, twisted by the luxury of your multi billions. For shame!
...And isn't this not the case with Trump and so many extraordinarily wealthy people who simply live in a parallel universe, unencumbered by impulses of empathy? Lacking any sense of the tactile, gritty reality that the majority of America's live, and never understanding the grinding impoverishment of multi generational economic hardships, why would anyone else expect such a person to understand the cruel facts of third world starvation and the moral imperative that we as the world's superpower have an obligation to help develop a better future for those who daily suffer, and the 18,000 mal-nourish, (mostly innocent children) who die of starvation. Go on-- live in your bubble and teach us your absurd notion of reality, twisted by the luxury of your multi billions. For shame!
65
How they expect their children to be able to live in peace and safety while surrounded by extreme desperation is just beyond me.
Have they never heard of the Bastille?
Have they never heard of the Bastille?
2
Theil is a pint in a quart bottle. (A logical inconsistency deserves an ad hominem in mu humble opinion.)
64
Drumpf's gross sense of entitlement appears to exceed that even of the most maniacal Roman Emperor. Can anyone having seen any of Drumpf's performances conclude other than he is descending into lunacy?
The debates are now over and we have entered the home straight. Does anyone need to be reminded of what Tony Schwartz, the ghost writer of Trump’s book "The Art of the Deal,” predicted would be Drumpf's debating skills:
“Trump has severe attention problems and simply cannot take in complex information—he will be unable to practice for these debates, […] Trump will bring nothing but his bluster to the debates. He’ll use sixth-grade language, he will repeat himself many times, he won’t complete sentences, and he won’t say anything of substance.”
And we still haven't seen—nor are we ever likely to see—this huckster's tax returns.
America, don't be complacent, vote, and send packing this delusional, grossly entitled, crass huckster who thinks he should be King. The reality is, that but for his inheriting of great wealth it's likely Drumpf would now be living under an overpass somewhere.
The only remaining question is, when the delusional Drumpf ultimately loses—in what will, hopefully, be the greatest ever losing landslide—may we dare hope that all his businesses will start failing, and he and his "Trump" brand, and his obnoxious elder children, will all emigrate to Russia and never be seen or heard of again—Surely, mankind is entitled to hope.
The debates are now over and we have entered the home straight. Does anyone need to be reminded of what Tony Schwartz, the ghost writer of Trump’s book "The Art of the Deal,” predicted would be Drumpf's debating skills:
“Trump has severe attention problems and simply cannot take in complex information—he will be unable to practice for these debates, […] Trump will bring nothing but his bluster to the debates. He’ll use sixth-grade language, he will repeat himself many times, he won’t complete sentences, and he won’t say anything of substance.”
And we still haven't seen—nor are we ever likely to see—this huckster's tax returns.
America, don't be complacent, vote, and send packing this delusional, grossly entitled, crass huckster who thinks he should be King. The reality is, that but for his inheriting of great wealth it's likely Drumpf would now be living under an overpass somewhere.
The only remaining question is, when the delusional Drumpf ultimately loses—in what will, hopefully, be the greatest ever losing landslide—may we dare hope that all his businesses will start failing, and he and his "Trump" brand, and his obnoxious elder children, will all emigrate to Russia and never be seen or heard of again—Surely, mankind is entitled to hope.
138
Exceed the most maniacal Roman emperor? Like comparing Trump to Hitler, this shows that the people of the English-speaking world need to learn more about history so they have a wider range of catastrophic leaders to compare Trump to.
Trump is like the son or grandson of a dictator who built a nation and confuses his inheritance with god-given power. Except his father and grandfather didn't build a nation, they built some apartments.
Trump is more like Kim Jong-Un, except his father was no Kim Jong-Il. Who was no Kim II-sung.
Comparisons to Hitler and Caligula just stoke his ego.
Trump is like the son or grandson of a dictator who built a nation and confuses his inheritance with god-given power. Except his father and grandfather didn't build a nation, they built some apartments.
Trump is more like Kim Jong-Un, except his father was no Kim Jong-Il. Who was no Kim II-sung.
Comparisons to Hitler and Caligula just stoke his ego.
13
While one needs to be careful in how comparisons of Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler are made it is not entirely surprising that they are made from the time of Hitler's rise to prominence. The parallels and similarities are simply to close for those who have learned the lessons of history many don't want to see us start down that same road before it is too late.
A recent book review of a biography "HITLER Ascent 1889-1939" by Volker Ullrich illustrates the parallels in a way not obviously intended by the author when he writes of Hitler's coming to power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/books/review/hitler-ascent-volker-ullr...
A recent book review of a biography "HITLER Ascent 1889-1939" by Volker Ullrich illustrates the parallels in a way not obviously intended by the author when he writes of Hitler's coming to power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/books/review/hitler-ascent-volker-ullr...
3
I had hoped we could exile the whole revolting brood to one of the Aleutians, but Russia (or Siberia) would work. T rump and Assange could go steady.
1