Peter Thiel Speaking at RNC in Cleveland Is Interesting and Weird. And Really Good.
There should have been about a dozen of him here if the GOP was serious about becoming a future-oriented party.

So right now as I type the controversial tech billionaire Peter Thiel is killing it at the Cleveland RNC with a speech talking about the need for government to do less but do it better, getting rid of culture-war skirmishes, and building a culture that looks forward to the future. He also attacked American foreign policy, especially "stupid wars" in the Middle East.
It was a good speech, especially because he said he was proud to be gay, American, and from Cleveland. Without a doubt, there is a huge disconnect between much of Trump's actual words and positions and Thiel's vision. But it was great to hear what the PayPal co-founder, early investor in Facebook and Lyft, and other aspects of the most-interesting part of the U.S. economy.
If the GOP was serious about changing its slow march to irrelevance, there should have been 10 Thiels to every Joe Arpaio, rather than the other way around.
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"There should have been about a dozen of him here if the GOP was serious about becoming a future-oriented party."
To be fair that's largely a problem with the gays. Most of my gay friends love centralized big government.
Plus, "future-oriented party"?
it kinda smacks of:
(a) Wrong side of History bullshit
(b) an attempt to avoid saying "Progressive", but still talk in terms of progressive politics
Whatevs...Nick's the writer, not me.
ftfy
"getting rid of culture-war skirmishes"
Is that why his own company pulled out of North Carolina in retaliation for HB 2? Because they were trying to get rid of culture-war skirmishes?
If he disagrees with the actions of the company he founded, he should say so (I don't know how much he runs the company).
He can't both support Paypal's actions *and* deplore culture-war politics.
He doesn't own PayPal anymore, so I do not believe he has any direct influence over the company.
Then he should disavow the monster he created.
The CEO's pull-out statement said:
"This decision reflects PayPal's deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect. These principles of fairness, inclusion and equality are at the heart of everything we seek to achieve and stand for as a company. And they compel us to take action to oppose discrimination."
Does Thiel agree that the "deepest values" of the company he founded include fighting culture war battles and boycotting entire states?
This is a point on which he ought to issue a clarification.
Because when the company CEO talks about the company's "deepest values," that reflects on the founder.
And yet I believe PayPal does business in countries where the penalty for homosexuality is death.
Quiet you! Those are groovy brown people who can do no wrong!
I believe he sold PayPal over a decade ago. I don't understand why you are hung up on that.
A decade? Wow, I haven't been keeping up.
I keep seeing "Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal," and thinking he has a more recent connection.
If he's put that part of his life behind him, then by all means let him move on. Sorry.
Focus your North Carolina outrage on the NBA.
Literally taking their ball and going home.
Yeah, well, they have to do *something* to distract the public from the criminal behavior of their athletes.
NBA Crime Library - Complete database of all NBA arrests
There you go
I've told Eddie this before. It doesn't do any good. He has a hardon for teh gays.
So does Thiel, or so he says.
Anyway, he founds a company, then sells it off, then the new guys go around making bold statements about the company's deepest values.
This clearly implies that the company's action reflect the values he instilled in the company.
If this is false, Thiel ought to disavow this slur against his good name
(Maybe he signed a non-disparagement agreement? "If the new owners do something dumb or evil, I promise not to complain.")
OK, it's been 10 years, sorry Peter old boy, I didn't realize you'd so definitively moved on.
Indeed - it takes two to Culture War.
there should have been 10 Thiels to every Joe Arpaio, rather than the other way around.
Englism majors...
By my calculations there was one Joe Arpaio to one Peter Thiel.
Dinner tonight: everybody gets their own 12 oz, grass-fed ribeye steak; fried on the griddle in bacon fat. A mountain of steamed broccoli, slathered in bacon hollandaise. Vodka crans on tap. Later tonight, strawberry milkshakes.
Fuck it's hot.
What's the address? Medium rare, please.
Nice.
Well, you've been warned...
That's why it's slathered in bacon hollandaise!
Yes, please, I'll take one of everything.
We did chicken cordon bleu, at the husband's request. Spaghetti with garlic, browned butter and sage. Sourdough potato rolls, wedge salad with olives, green beans with bacon fat, sliced peaches with whipped cream.
A vodka cranberry would hit the spot right about now.
You eat good. 🙂
Everybody? I like mine medium, and thanks, that's very white of you.
getting rid of culture-war skirmishes
What does this mean exactly? Do whatever the SJWs want?
Also passing any sort of law or regulations on bathrooms is "engaging in a culture war" no matter which side you are on.
THE LINE MUST BE DRAW HE-YA! THIS FAR, NO FURTHER!
So standing athwart history and yelling stop?
Well as soon as you fight against an SJW you are engaging in culture war stuff. And the same when complaining about redneck retarded socons...
Of course.
The personal is political and all that jazz, yeah?
Apparently "the personal is the political" is bad for Reason except when it is isn't.
http://reason.com/blog/2016/06.....r-politics
I'm not Reason.
I'm also not Charlie Hebo, in case you were wondering.
Hebdo, even.
Also isn't gun control a culture war issue? What do libertarians advocate then? Also "social liberals" support gun control.
Thiel is a hypocrite and liar. Why would you believe a word he says? He just wants to usher in an uber-police state to sell his privacy-busting monitoring software to.
Most absurd campaign ad of the season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrX3Ql31URA
Yeah, I'm sure children watch lots of presidential debates and Hillary Clinton is such a *great* role model.
In other news, Chris Matthews AKA The Vanilla Leg Thrilla dropped a truth bomb: "Americans don't like terrorism".
He makes about $5 million a year.
The Vanilla Leg Thrilla...
Ok. I'm done for the evening. Thanks!
I hope that moment haunts him forever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pZb12hhdpU
From Trump's speech:
Truly this man is an enemy of everything libertarians believe.
I'm in the energy industry and the recent regulation insanity of both the EPA and California has me seriously contemplating a career change. If anyone ever delivered on the promise of deregulation I would lose my shit in a fit of joy.
future-oriented party
So is this code "be libertarian become the Libertarian Moment is upon us because I say so!" or some Whiggish/Marxist inevitability of progress/end of history?
I should point out that the original Whigs supported religious tests and used a conspiracy theory touted by a gay guy to execute innocent people and religious bigotry to provoke riots for political expediency and participated in the slave trade.
You should also point out that the issue of slavery killed the Whigs and gave rise to the Republican party.
Winston was going back to the 17th-Century *English* Whigs.
They broke up the Royal African Company, the slaving monopoly, because it excluded the plucky start-up slavers. They published many tracts on the evils of that monopoly.
So Parliament ended the Royal African Company monopoly and let "independent [slave] traders" set up in competition for a fee - and the number of slaves taken from Africa to the Americas skyrocketed.
I was specifically referring to Shaftesbury who was one of the founders of the Carolinas.
I'm teh disappointed you didn't bring up my references to the Test Act or the Popish Plot...
Why? You brought them up.
There should have been about a dozen of him here if the GOP was serious about becoming a future-oriented party.
Because the future is gay?
Thiel was probably the most rational guy there, but I'm still confused as to why he's stumping for Trump, who is no more an advocate of liberty than Clinton.
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