A great companion piece to ‘Dark Money’ is Nancy MacLean’s ‘Democracy in Chains’, which takes a historical look at how economics without morals became entrenched in the U.S., and provided fertile soil for bad seeds like Musk, Thiel, etc. to germinate and grow like invasive species. Another worthwhile pairing, for anyone interested in the national security state behemoth, since it and tech are joined at the hip now, are ‘The Devil’s Chessboard’ and ‘The Jakarta Method’. Finally, ‘American Exception’ is a good, if slightly wonky early on, look at our current tripartite system of ‘governance’; who really runs the country, if you will. It ain’t us, or the people we elect.
A name for people who are interested in the dark rabbit hole of what goes on in the devious minds of the tech fascists, including the inter connectivity with government agencies, here and abroad: Whitney Webb. Her site, Unlimited Hangout, does deep dives into the subject.
I'm currently reading "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" by Shoshana Zuboff, which I think would find itself in good company here. Massive tech companies like Google and Facebook require that the government turn a blind eye to what they're really doing so that they can stay in business, so they will lobby and support whomever they need to in order to achieve that goal.
A relevant quote from page 126:
"The [2012] FTC antitrust investigation [against Google] appears to have heightened Google's fears of a regulatory threat to surveillance capitalism. That year, Google's grant-making operation aimed at civil society organizations took an aggressive turn. According to the Center for Media and Democracy's investigatory research report, 'The Googlization of the Far Right,' the corporation's 2012 list of grantees featured a new group of antigovernment groups known for their opposition to regulation and taxes and their support for climate-change denial, including Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, the Koch brothers-funded Heritage Action, and other antiregulatory groups such as the Federalist Society and the Cato Institute."
El escenario que usted plantea , de ganar Donald Trump es espeluznante, y si pensamos un poco en la idea de Elon Musk de crear una elite mundia procreada por el (fue lo que entendi) mas , la evidente preparacion mediatica del hijo de Donald Trump, que ya muchos lo ven como un futuro presidente de los Estados Unidos esto pica y see xtiende y me queda muy claro lo que significa Fascismo, no conozco mucho la historia de los EEUU, pero , todo esto me recuerda las ideas que alimentaban a los seguidores del Ku Klux Clan. Con el poder tecnologico, que ya de por si se extiemde a las areas: economico y armamentistica, de ganar Donald Trump, no solo los No ricos, los No poderosos de los EEUU lo van a sufrir, sino el resto del mundo. !Que Dios nos agarre confesados!
I highly recommend _How to Stop Fascism: History, Ideology, Resistance_ by Paul Mason (Published by Allen Lane, 2021). We need to move from analytical paralysis to action - but wisely. Even if you disagree with Mason he will strengthen your own understanding and give you greater insight as to what you can do in your particular context.
Excellent “editorial” today. People need to be aware of the tech-bro millionaires who are supporting and financing Trump and his allies. Dangerous people with almost unlimited money. JD Vance was Peter Thiel’s butler and was never successful himself in the tech/venture capitalist world. But Thiel held his hand, introduced him to Trump, and Vance morphed into a further-right clone of Trump who may be a future VP. Scary stuff, and all because of a very wealthy man-baby who is buying himself a country. Keep talking about this, John!
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future! Novel for the most part but only the most part! I talk about it as much as I do Dark Money. The latter could be read as “here’s how the climate situation was suppressed” and the former could be read as “here’s what to do about it, with some fascinating nonfiction context.” Perhaps because I just spent seven years in business journalism, but even the monetary policy parts are interesting, and, I’m going to say it, funny? I mean! what a book!
It’s a novel, but Dave Eggers’ “The Circle” fits in nicely. Taking one person’s idea - with some good intentions - and turning it into something that brings out the absolute worst in people.
I recommend Palo Alto, A History of California, Capitalism, and the World by Malcom Harris. Fascinating history of how tech was shaped by the never ending story of money and exploitation and the politics are carried through today (I see you Hoover Institute)
I just read an article about this somewhere because it was news to me. I can't find it again, but if I do, I'll post it. If anyone else has seen it, please help!
They must have been reading a very different edition of Lord of the Rings than the one my friends and I read, because that one was not about empowering techno fascists.
Well, old Professor Tolkien is pretty clear about good vs evil, and I'm down with all that, but yeah, maybe these bros are confused about who is which. Evidently the young man from Ohio started drinking the Kool aid early on, and now can't tell that he's on the side of America's Hitler. 😕
A great companion piece to ‘Dark Money’ is Nancy MacLean’s ‘Democracy in Chains’, which takes a historical look at how economics without morals became entrenched in the U.S., and provided fertile soil for bad seeds like Musk, Thiel, etc. to germinate and grow like invasive species. Another worthwhile pairing, for anyone interested in the national security state behemoth, since it and tech are joined at the hip now, are ‘The Devil’s Chessboard’ and ‘The Jakarta Method’. Finally, ‘American Exception’ is a good, if slightly wonky early on, look at our current tripartite system of ‘governance’; who really runs the country, if you will. It ain’t us, or the people we elect.
A name for people who are interested in the dark rabbit hole of what goes on in the devious minds of the tech fascists, including the inter connectivity with government agencies, here and abroad: Whitney Webb. Her site, Unlimited Hangout, does deep dives into the subject.
I'm currently reading "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" by Shoshana Zuboff, which I think would find itself in good company here. Massive tech companies like Google and Facebook require that the government turn a blind eye to what they're really doing so that they can stay in business, so they will lobby and support whomever they need to in order to achieve that goal.
A relevant quote from page 126:
"The [2012] FTC antitrust investigation [against Google] appears to have heightened Google's fears of a regulatory threat to surveillance capitalism. That year, Google's grant-making operation aimed at civil society organizations took an aggressive turn. According to the Center for Media and Democracy's investigatory research report, 'The Googlization of the Far Right,' the corporation's 2012 list of grantees featured a new group of antigovernment groups known for their opposition to regulation and taxes and their support for climate-change denial, including Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, the Koch brothers-funded Heritage Action, and other antiregulatory groups such as the Federalist Society and the Cato Institute."
El escenario que usted plantea , de ganar Donald Trump es espeluznante, y si pensamos un poco en la idea de Elon Musk de crear una elite mundia procreada por el (fue lo que entendi) mas , la evidente preparacion mediatica del hijo de Donald Trump, que ya muchos lo ven como un futuro presidente de los Estados Unidos esto pica y see xtiende y me queda muy claro lo que significa Fascismo, no conozco mucho la historia de los EEUU, pero , todo esto me recuerda las ideas que alimentaban a los seguidores del Ku Klux Clan. Con el poder tecnologico, que ya de por si se extiemde a las areas: economico y armamentistica, de ganar Donald Trump, no solo los No ricos, los No poderosos de los EEUU lo van a sufrir, sino el resto del mundo. !Que Dios nos agarre confesados!
I highly recommend _How to Stop Fascism: History, Ideology, Resistance_ by Paul Mason (Published by Allen Lane, 2021). We need to move from analytical paralysis to action - but wisely. Even if you disagree with Mason he will strengthen your own understanding and give you greater insight as to what you can do in your particular context.
Excellent “editorial” today. People need to be aware of the tech-bro millionaires who are supporting and financing Trump and his allies. Dangerous people with almost unlimited money. JD Vance was Peter Thiel’s butler and was never successful himself in the tech/venture capitalist world. But Thiel held his hand, introduced him to Trump, and Vance morphed into a further-right clone of Trump who may be a future VP. Scary stuff, and all because of a very wealthy man-baby who is buying himself a country. Keep talking about this, John!
Silicon Valley on Nietzche
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future! Novel for the most part but only the most part! I talk about it as much as I do Dark Money. The latter could be read as “here’s how the climate situation was suppressed” and the former could be read as “here’s what to do about it, with some fascinating nonfiction context.” Perhaps because I just spent seven years in business journalism, but even the monetary policy parts are interesting, and, I’m going to say it, funny? I mean! what a book!
It’s a novel, but Dave Eggers’ “The Circle” fits in nicely. Taking one person’s idea - with some good intentions - and turning it into something that brings out the absolute worst in people.
Interesting. I'm hoping for a follow-up article about the big money behind the democrats! https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/11/arabella-advisors-money-democrats/620553/
I recommend Palo Alto, A History of California, Capitalism, and the World by Malcom Harris. Fascinating history of how tech was shaped by the never ending story of money and exploitation and the politics are carried through today (I see you Hoover Institute)
Do you have any insight into the Tolkien inspiration for many of these fascist tech ideals? Vance, Theil, and others all cite Lord of the Rings as an influence on their politics. I'm trying to trace back to where this starts: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/19/lord-of-the-rings-jd-vance-00169372
I just read an article about this somewhere because it was news to me. I can't find it again, but if I do, I'll post it. If anyone else has seen it, please help!
They must have been reading a very different edition of Lord of the Rings than the one my friends and I read, because that one was not about empowering techno fascists.
Bwahah! Maybe they think Sauron and friends are the protagonists?
Well, old Professor Tolkien is pretty clear about good vs evil, and I'm down with all that, but yeah, maybe these bros are confused about who is which. Evidently the young man from Ohio started drinking the Kool aid early on, and now can't tell that he's on the side of America's Hitler. 😕