Philosophy Now Forum

Walker wrote:How does a commie become a millionaire?

SCHWEIZER: One of the dirty secrets in Washington, DC, is — if you’re running for office — you do media buys. Alex, if you ran for the Senate and you said to me, “Peter, I want you to buy a million dollars in television ads.” I, as your media buyer, it would show up on the FEC filing that you gave a million dollars to my company. But the industry standard is, I’m entitled to 15 percent of that as a commission for myself, but that never shows up.

Well, Bernie apparently figured this out because Jane, his wife, became his media buyer for his congressional campaigns. So we don’t know exactly how much money she got, but we believe it was probably on the magnitude of $150,000. But the big money came when he ran for president in 2016, and there’s a lot of mystery here, but I think a lot of reason to be concerned because, this time, he’s running for president. He’s got all this money — he’s going to spend $83 million on media buys, 15 percent [of that] is about a $12 million commission.

gaffo wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 12:05 am fk social media - its a virus that has ruined and "closed down" many a good forum, which the net used to host (now replaced with facefk/twits). i point a finger to the cheapass web hosters to! (all comments sections of The Press wedsites - off sourced (so free for them) - to facefk/twits.

I rem the net before facefuk, when we had 100's/1000's for forums (like this one - when will this one close to be hosted on facefk? - like the many others i used to be members of years ago), now the net is a wasteland of social media hosts (Twit/insta and facefuc).........made up of ego centric social justice virtue signalling asshats.

Walker wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 7:27 pm No need to give up your stuff to virtue signal. The important thing is to demonize others who say they will not give up their stuff. Call them unwoke deniers, and you need not even specify what they deny. In the meantime you can keep your stuff. This proven template already exists in many applications.

true. sadly.

Walker wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 7:27 pm For instance, climate virtue signalers need not actually do anything, need not actually give up their car-driving, plane-flying, energy-consuming lifestyles. To virtue signal they only need to use words to demonize those who say there is no need to give up these things.

yep ;-(

Walker wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 7:27 pm For instance, Bernie Sanders need not actually live like the proletariat. To virtue signal, he need only assert that everyone must live like the proletariat, and then demonize those who say that's not necessary.

I know you are good character, so be nice to Bernie. He's older than the hills, and his political record has been then same since the 60's - a socialist. He is not a phony, nor a former Republican turned Socialist (and phony?) like Liz.

you may not agree with the guy's views/or hate socialism (I'm a liberal myself - not a socialist - but like Bernie because he is genuine - even if he have views i disagree with).

Same reason i like Ben Sasse (way more conservative than me - but honest and qenuine "believer" in his views).

I respect them both.

You should re-evaluate your views on Bernie Sir. (not about agreeing with him, about calling him out as a phony).

Walker wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2019 7:27 pm Virtue signaling is based on what one says, not on what one actually does.

yep, i guess we can all call Christian TV Evangalist Ted Haggard as a Virtue Signaler, spitting hate towards gays for 20 yrs..............all the while buggering men!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yep.

its known by a word: Hypocrisy.

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 6:52 pm
Brilliant 'satire' of social media (but so close it barely qualifies as satire).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLc2E4P87QE

attofishpi wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2020 1:35 pm I do hope this is fake news...

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2020 11:01 pm He's a mining CEO ffs.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 4:22 am

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2020 11:01 pm He's a mining CEO ffs.

Which might be a bad thing, and might be a good thing -- we don't know. So I'm not defending him or judging him.

I'm talking about ourselves: about our attitude, our reactions, our own view of life.

Why do we focus on how much money the man has, instead of saying, "Oh, good...somebody's giving help to people who need it." Meanwhile, most of us are giving a lot less, or more likely, nothing? But somehow, we want to obsess over the fact that somebody has more money than we do, and we feel as though that entitles us hate him/her, to feel aggrieved, and to demand he/she give it up.

What makes us deserving of that?

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 4:22 am

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2020 11:01 pm He's a mining CEO ffs.

Which might be a bad thing, and might be a good thing -- we don't know. So I'm not defending him or judging him.

I'm talking about ourselves: about our attitude, our reactions, our own view of life.

Why do we focus on how much money the man has, instead of saying, "Oh, good...somebody's giving help to people who need it." Meanwhile, most of us are giving a lot less, or more likely, nothing? But somehow, we want to obsess over the fact that somebody has more money than we do, and we feel as though that entitles us hate him/her, to feel aggrieved, and to demand he/she give it up.

What makes us deserving of that?

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:49 am Getting into the billions is pretty fucking ridiculous--it indicates that the person is a hoarder, obsessed with increasing their wealth for no purpose other than to feed their mental illness. Freeing these greedy mental-defectives from the burden of their obsession is doing them a favour.

I couldn't live with myself if I had that kind of money while there are so many with nothing, or children who need operations their parents can't afford. Either they are mentally ill or they are the biggest kunts imaginable. Take your pick.

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 11:36 am

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 4:22 am

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2020 11:01 pm He's a mining CEO ffs.

Which might be a bad thing, and might be a good thing -- we don't know. So I'm not defending him or judging him.

I'm talking about ourselves: about our attitude, our reactions, our own view of life.

Why do we focus on how much money the man has, instead of saying, "Oh, good...somebody's giving help to people who need it." Meanwhile, most of us are giving a lot less, or more likely, nothing? But somehow, we want to obsess over the fact that somebody has more money than we do, and we feel as though that entitles us hate him/her, to feel aggrieved, and to demand he/she give it up.

What makes us deserving of that?

Sure. Why didn't this guy chuck his $2 in and make it anonymous.

The ONLY people that deserve praise are the blokes\lasses at the coal face.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 3:26 pm

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:49 am Getting into the billions is pretty fucking ridiculous--it indicates that the person is a hoarder, obsessed with increasing their wealth for no purpose other than to feed their mental illness. Freeing these greedy mental-defectives from the burden of their obsession is doing them a favour.

I couldn't live with myself if I had that kind of money while there are so many with nothing, or children who need operations their parents can't afford. Either they are mentally ill or they are the biggest kunts imaginable. Take your pick.

Maybe. And let all that be true: but does it justify our hatred?

Does it make us good people that we are full of spite and jealousy? And why aren't we even a little bit happy for the people who have received help from their giving? Why are we looking at the portion they have in hand, rather than the portion they gave away -- which after all, they were under no obligation to give?

When we look at them, we need to look in the mirror, too. What kind of people are we becoming? Are the emotions we are experiencing spite, rage, venom, greed, injury, contempt...and so on? And does that make us good people?

Do we not ourselves have enough, and more than most of the world? How much of our own income have we donated? If he is in the 1% in our country, are we not also in the 1% worldwide? (If we have an income of $32K American/annum, we are!) How is it that we've lost sight of our own blessings, and can think of nothing but the advantages held by others -- whether those advantages are legitimate or not?

And there is such a thing as being legitimately wealthy. I have known such people. I am not one of them. But they do not harm me, and it would only be a stroke against my character if their hard work and good results spawned in me nothing but envy, no? Is it not better simply to be glad for them, and to attend to my duty to be a better person myself?

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:27 pm There's quite a difference between being wealthy in a normal way and being a multi billionaire.

There's no point in having billions unless you do give most of it away, because it would be impossible to spend that amount just on yourself. As I said--they are hoarders.

No one does it on their own.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:46 pm

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:27 pm There's quite a difference between being wealthy in a normal way and being a multi billionaire.

It's all "scale," though.

I've stood in an open field in which 4 million people were trying to live on less than $1 a day. I saw how they live. I've entered their homes, partaken of their hospitality and felt the vast sea of human suffering washing up against my feet.

To them, I AM the billionaire. I'm certainly in the 1% of the world's population...but when I go home, I'm an ordinary guy with an ordinary income. I can forgive myself if I'm selfish, because I can see others around me likewise being selfish, and they are at my scale. But the truth is that I own lots of stuff I don't need. I eat better than most of the world ever will, and sleep securely at night. Should they hate me for that?

I've also been to Hollywood. I've stayed with friends who are millionaires. But among their peers, they're totally ordinary. Now, they worked hard for what they got, took risks I wouldn't have with their own futures, and they managed to win. It's never occurred to me for a second to be jealous of them, though they have far more than I do. Would it make me righteous or better than them if I were jealous? Would it make me good if I wanted them to give me their stuff, or worse -- started to hate them just because they had stuff I didn't?

There's no point in having billions unless you do give most of it away, because it would be impossible to spend that amount just on yourself. As I said--they are hoarders.

I don't know if I'd call Bill and Melinda Gates "hoarders." At one time, they were the world's richest people, but nowadays they seem preoccupied with giving it away. Now, I'm sure they still live much better than I do, but I know for a fact they've done a ton of good...much more than I can do with my very average income. Why would I hate them?

No one does it on their own.

The Gates did. Nobody strong-armed them into anything, so far as I know. Bill was sharp, and made money inventing and selling things people really, really wanted to buy. We're communicating on one right now, as a matter of fact. So he became very successful. And now he's being very kind.

But here we are focusing on them. What about us? What about you and me? How much have we given to the relief of the underprivileged? And what on earth could ever justify our hatred?

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 10:16 pm I'm not going to get into a pointless non-argument about individual billionaires and what they do with a teensy (tax deductible) portion of it.

4 million people is an awful lot of people to squeeze onto one field