The Nerd Reich | Palantir for Governor? by Gil Duran

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The article examines why tech billionaire Joe Lonsdale—known for extremist statements and support of former President Trump—has become the top donor to San José Mayor Matt Mahan’s bid for California governor. Lonsdale contributed the maximum $78,400, outspending even right‑wing candidates, while Mahan, a newcomer with only a mayoral résumé, has attracted a cascade of Silicon‑Valley money from figures such as Sergey Brin, Y Combinator’s Garry Tan, Michael Seibel, Marc Merrill, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund partner Brian Singerman, and executives from Anduril. The piece argues that Mahan, though running as a Democrat, serves the interests of right‑leaning tech oligarchs, advocating “back‑to‑basics” policies that threaten the poor and oppose progressive initiatives like a billionaire wealth tax. By funding a Democratic candidate with conservative policy leanings, these billionaires aim to capture the governor’s office despite California’s long‑standing Republican drought, highlighting a broader strategy of tech money reshaping state politics.

Read more: https://www.thenerdreich.com/palantir-for-governor/

#JoeLonsdale #MattMahan #Palantir #GavinNewsom #JamesRolph #SteveHilton #GarryTan #SergeyBrin #MichaelSeibel #MarcMerrill #BrianSingerman #DavidMarcus

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NOTES ON TRUMPSPACE: Politics, Aesthetics, and the Fantasy of Home by David Marcus 2023 #punctumbooks

Trumpspace "argues that the fascination and horror Trump has provoked is owing in part to the way he lays bare the obsession with status, self-branding, and achievement-at-any-cost that has been part and parcel of the broader neoliberal ethos. Finally, it analyzes the January 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol through the lens of spatio-political theorizations of settler colonial power and conceptions of home and homeland."

#CulturalStudies #Architecture #Trump #US #Politics #Political #Aesthetics #DavidMarcus #Space #Home #Power #Colonialism #Book #Bookstodon #Libraries #OpenAccess

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https://punctumbooks.com/titles/notes-on-trumpspace-politics-aesthetics-and-the-fantasy-of-home/