kalaboukis

• Why don't the Democrats talk about jobs anymore? • I thought the Democrats were FOR the "little guy" • Where is the Democrat's plan for creating JOBS? • Why have they gone from JOBS to HANDOUTS? • When did class warfare start? Was it the "Squad" • A vibrant economy supports everything, yes even socialist programs • Even leftists elsewhere used to talk about jobs • Even Hillary Clinton used to talk about Jobs only 4 years ago • They don't talk about job creation anymore, its all handouts, intersectionality, racial justice, and mismanaging COVID-19

• Despite the fact that every successful person became successful largely due to luck, the "success porn" industry is bigger than ever • Anthony Robbins has probably had millions of attendees to his seminars: the only person I know who ascribes some of their success to him is Mark Benioff (Salesforce founder) • Its the same for studies: if you can't reproduce the exact same conditions (which you can't), you will get different results • You need to think critically about every piece of information which comes to you, or you read • People will routinely lie and obfuscate on surveys and polls because they are lazy or they just want to prank you • Bottom Line: When it comes to anything coming from a human, it's suspect

• Stop telling me to "be safe" • I'm an adult - I know how to wash my hands too • You are not my parent - and I don't need parenting • Telling people these things infantilizes them and is an insult • This also seems to be the message in every freaking commercial • Just shut up, don't tell me how to live my life and sell your product • I will never tell anyone to "be safe" because I think you are smart enough to know what you need to do

• If there was a pharmaceutical that acted as a social feed, it would be banned • Social feeds are designed to find out what your buttons are and then to push them to keep you in a constant state of outrage • This is why Facebook, Instagram, etc drive FOMO and for some, self-harm • These algorithms exist purely to drive you to specific kinds of emotions mostly outrage - they keep you scrolling and viewing and tapping • They want you to be outraged all of this time - which is why most of what you see on these feeds is "fake", designed or presented in such a way as to drive your emotions • How do you deal with this - now that you understand that your feed is designed to learn your buttons then press them, stop letting it - either step away or don't let it bother you so much.

• Why are Democrat mayors allowing their cities to turn into sh**holes? • How does this help anything? • The only thing I can see is that people will just flee their cities • If they flee, then their tax revenues will drop to nothing • What is the upside of them doing this? • Is it just to "stick it to Trump?" • If that the case, you can see that it is already backfiring • I used to love going to San Francisco, now its a warzone • Why would people want to live in a $4500 a month box among the discarded needles and human feces? • People have to wear masks to block the smell - not the virus • What kind of cities are they trying to create when they allow this to happen?

• Biden stole the most compelling part of his acceptance speech from Jack Layton, a leftist from Canada • Canada has 3 major national parties: left, lefter and leftist, and this is from the ex-leader of the leftmost one • He's done this before - has he ever had any original thoughts? • He's proven that he is just an empty vessel and they are filling him with the most • He's been in politics for over 40 years

• Unrest and lockdowns are driving people with the means to flee are fleeing • Politicians never think of the unintended consequences of raising taxes • Rich people always have options to leave • California is thinking about a retroactive tax for anyone who has left the state in the last 10 years • If you CAN leave, most people will • The superrich don't care - the working rich need to work to maintain their wealth - most of them can work remotely - why not just move to Florida and pay Florida taxes • Do you really want to stay in a place where you don't feel safe anymore? • Are we finally seeing people being driven out of these cities by mayoral mismanagement?

• The Democrats have become the party of jerks • Are there any Democrats out there who are still good, decent people? If so, I don't know any - they are being drowned out by the too-loud voices of the jerks • Prior to Obama they used to be nice people • Is there any shred of decency left in the Democratic Party? • One example: When they don't have a good argument they bash the character of the individual • Why can't we have a civil discourse any longer?

• Why are there so many bullies and jerks all of a sudden? • Whatever happened to decency and being good to your fellow human? • I don't know one Democrat who is not a jerk or a bully • How do you deal with bullies? PUSH BACK. • Bullies are full of hot air - they don't expect you to push back • When you put up resistance they run - and go find a "softer target" • Americans shouldn't back down when being bullied • If you acquiesce then they bully you even more • If you are a commercial enterprise do you really want to cut off half your customer base - look at what's happening with Goodyear • Bullies only want to fight the weak, they run from the strong.

• The Chinese Communist Party is in deep with tech companies • Any company which does business in China has a CCP tendril stuck in it • CCP run Chinese companies have tendrils everywhere in the world • Things that are not made in China may still be run by Chinese companies run by the CCP in other parts of the world, like Italy, with tons of Chinese factories • We enabled them because we are too cheap to pay for American made goods • Noticed that the "Made in China" labels are getting bigger? • We are so naive to think that the CCP wants to deal with us fair and square • How to disengage? We need to be careful about our interactions • We are so happy-go-lucky that we'll just download and install TikTok because its fun, not thinking that people are stealing our data • Americans are win-win people, but China wants to win at our expense • They have no compunction about crushing us • We are trusting people, and the CCP is non-trusting, so we need to be less trusting in our dealings with them

• Why is everyone so damn pessimistic? • Do you think the future is going to be awful? • We have to, Star Trek-style, get beyond the gone beyond petty squabbles • We need a more optimistic vision of the future • The sad state of science fiction of today • We can't we relate to an optimistic future?

• My origin story: philosophers only create more philosophers • I'm a philosopher, engineer, futurist • It's all about the truth • Over the course of life, we determine certain things are "true" • It a wonder we can communicate at all • Are are all messed up - people don't think things through • People are too lazy to do that - they don't understand the unintended consequences of their actions • Let's decide on reality - and then agree to disagree on other things • Let's not get stuck - X = X and A = A, and lets move on • You have to prove these truths to yourself

• When did it become a bad idea to start idolizing successful entrepreneurs and a good idea to idolize politicians? • Everyone on the bankroll of government is paid via theft • Politicians are actually thieves • Entrepreneurs make money through trade • Why are the thieves lauded and the traders derided? • Why do people aspire to be thieves? • We used to look at millionaires as goals for ourselves instead of targets to steal from • If you have a certain level of success it's ok (enough to be taxed) but beyond that - its "apply a 50% wealth tax" • Today' "rich" did it through trade unless they are politicians - then they made it through theft.

• The tech titans feel that they fully control the public • They say that they are doing whatever they can to be fair and balanced • So they are lying directly to our faces • They are already controlling our lives by controlling the messaging to us • Do you really think that they are feeding us the truth? • Everything that comes into our feed is suspect • People need to research on their own • All messages which come to you are shaped by what the company wants to see, buy, etc. • Everything is controlled - you need to step away from the feed and think, research and use alternative sources to get to the truth • Every aspect of our lives is being controlled by these companies • Verify everything - don't just drink from the spigot and believe everything

• Dichotomy between consumption and creation • People have been led to believe that you can live your life only consuming • Consumption is super easy, but creation is hard • But you don't get paid to consume - you only get paid to create • People want to live their lives WITHOUT EFFORT • Someone has to create the thing that you are consuming • Every job creates a product or a service, which is paid for • We are too focused on consumption • We have to STOP GIVING PEOPLE FREE STUFF • Let people try and figure out how to get through tough times themselves • We need to do better than just giving away our own (our children's) money

• One upside of the lockdowns: many of us don't need to commute anymore • Some people in my area used to commute 4 hours a day • Does anyone out there actually miss their commute, stuck in a car? • The truth is that commuting was bad for humans as well as the planet • Even though we've had the ability to work remotely for a while, we needed a crisis like this to actually change • Think of the upsides: no commute, less pollution, live in cheaper locations, no need for giant office campuses (repurpose as housing), more time to cook healthier foods, exercise, spend time with family • Let's take this opportunity to fully disconnect ourselves from the past of work

• Tech companies have become the public square • We used to have the ability to speak freely on our soapboxes • Radio, TV, and Newspapers are run by corporates and governments • They are the ones who amplified free speech - your voice was stifled • You couldn't get the broad reach • When the internet was first launched millions of people could go to anyone website • Free speech came back to the masses • Since then, the search engines and tech companies, either run by corporates or governments are the ones who allow/disallow the free speech • These 5-6 players make the decision if your message is going to get out • They have become the public square, and if they can silence us, then they are suppressing free speech • They are the arbiters of the public square now • If they decide that you shouldn't be heard - then they are eliminating your right to free speech • They are the public square, so they should start acting like it • They need to stop suppressing the voices that they don't like • They need to take responsibility for that and allow all voices to be heard

• It's official, we seem to have lost our sense of reality • in 2020 reality is not important • logic is not important • thinking is not important • what's important is emotions and feelings • we have given up our basic humanity • humans are this wonderful combination of emotion logic & reason • why are we allowing emotion to rule our lives?

• The proper response to a viewpoint is not violence, but a verbal response • Speech cannot be violent unless the recipient deems it to be • Therefore, any "pain" caused by speech is SELF-INFLICTED • Why do people feel hurt when they hear something they don't like to hear • Sticks and stones. Namecalling is not violence unless you interpret it as violence • Only the Narcissist says "You made me do this" as a response to speech • Only the Recipient of speech can decide if speech is violence • It all in the reception - am I being hurt or will I ignore it • YOU are in charge of how you react to the speech • If you respond to speech with physical violence, YOU are the one in the wrong. • YOU are doing it to YOURSELF

• It's all about outrage, no connection with reality • Sure, there has always been "yellow journalism" - reporting to sell papers • People don't want facts, they want drama and stories • There was always some of that - but it WAS founded in truth • Now, they no longer connect to reality - they now peddle pure lies to drive their agenda • The News should be "creative non-fiction" but now its just "fiction" • Whatever you report USED TO have to be factual • There is a BIG difference between reporting and journalism. Now its all journalism - it's all about your thoughts and feelings, not the truth • It's all about their "interpretation" of the "truth" • These are all stories now. No basis in FACT • If you feel OUTRAGED, then they win.

• When the internet first started, sites like Yahoo! curated the internet • Now its 99% auto-curated, but with bias • Humans used to determine if sites were useful • Now its junk - reducing the human input really messed up the internet • Google originally used "PageRank" to rank sites, which is sort of human-curated • Not like that anymore, now its all tweaked and redesigned • They created an algorithm that obfuscates the user from the content • Google or Facebook control what content people see • Let's bring back hand curation - maybe then we'll actually see sites of quality again

• Why is Diversity & Inclusion more important than innovation and salaries? • Does D&I truly create a cognitively diverse workforce, or it is only looking at external physical appearance and not diversity of thought? • What is the "standard of diversity?" • Should companies overrepresent specific groups just because of the way they look? • I thought "its what's on the inside that counts" • We are making decisions on peoples least useful feature (their external appearance) and making decisions based on that • Whatever happened to look at hiring by merit and skill, instead of hiring by the way people look. • No matter what people look like on the outside, you should hire for people who increase business value

• Everyone's opinion is just as valuable as everyone else - unless they are artists - actors/musicians/celebrities /TikTok stars • They are JUST entertainers • They know NOTHING about anything other than their "craft" • 99% of the time they know nothing else: politics, ethics, health • New Reality Show: Send the Protester and rioters to a Communist country like Cuba or Venezuela and film how that kind of stuff goes over there • See if these communists enjoy living in these communist paradises • They would never allow that to be shown to the rest of the world • Communist regimes are great at controlling the narrative and creating for based societies - kind of like the kind of country they want us to be.

• Socialist and Communists need Capitalist systems to feed them • Socialism and Communism have been proven to not work • Communes (true communism) never last • Secular communes last an average of 2 years • Religious Communes may last up to 20 years • Let's use technology to live in the system we like • Different laws can apply to each of us • How about we elect multiple presidents? • Each of us can get our own presidents and those laws apply to each of us • Each of us lives under a different government - so we all get what we want • They all live concurrently within the country • We are all subject to government systems • Courts handle disputes between the systems • We all live where we are but are governed under different systems • Solves all political wrangling, forever.

• Words are words now - they are not commitments • People are flakier than they have ever been • People only believe what they do, not what they say • Our trust levels with each other have really taken a dive • How good are people's words nowadays? • Focus on actions, not words • Words mean nothing • This is a pretty obvious truth