While the GOP is busy trying to tear down democracy, there are some difficult realities facing America right now that could really use their attention. We are starting 2021 off in bad shape, considering that this is the most prosperous country on earth. #velshi
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I don’t know how many GOP members of the House and Senate watch @VelshiMSNBC so I have a favor to ask of you: If you know any, or know anyone who knows any, could you pass this message on to them for me? #velshi
While the GOP is busy trying to tear down democracy, there are some difficult realities facing America right now that could really use their attention. We are starting 2021 off in bad shape, considering that this is the most prosperous country on earth. #velshi
America is not the most populous nation in the world; it’s only about 4.25% of the global population. Yet America accounts for nearly a quarter of the world’s coronavirus cases and deaths. #velshi
55 million Americans are living in poverty. You’ve seen images of cars lined up at food banks. 1 in 6 Americans are now food insecure, meaning they aren’t certain whether they will have the resources to put food on the table for their next meal. #velshi
In America, most people’s health care coverage is, stupidly, tied to their job, so 29 million Americans now don’t have health insurance. Up to 40 million renters are far enough behind on their rent to be living in fear of eviction. #velshi
Almost half of Americans own stock, but most of the gains go to the wealthiest 20% - people like the 659 American billionaires who control FOUR TRILLION dollars in wealth. That’s equal to what the 165 MILLION poorest Americans have, combined. #velshi
I have spent months travelling this country, talking to Americans who earn wages for a living or run small businesses about their fears and aspirations they all want the same things... #velshi
Americans want a fair chance to survive. To not lose their business. To not have to choose between staying home from work or going to work and possibly dying from an invisible virus. #velshi
Nobody I spoke with during #VelshiAcrossAmerica aspired to be a billionaire. They just wanted to keep the doors of their businesses open, their staff paid, their job, their health insurance, food on their table. That’s all they wanted. It’s all they still want. #velshi
Republicans argued for NINE MONTHS (since the last relief bill) to give Americans $600 of their own money back. $66 for every month Republicans stood in the way. $2.22 a day. That same $600 check is substantially less than rent for most Americans. So much for relief.#velshi
This relief bill is pathetic, and it’s shameful. And it needs to be fixed. We need to change the warped way in which so-called fiscal conservatives twist themselves into knots to justify giving taxpayer funded dollars to Americans in need. #velshi
The so-called “conservative” senators objecting to the hole that giving people $2000 instead of $600 would blow in the deficit were SILENT when it came to giving money to corporate America and the wealthy. #velshi
But here’s the thing, Senators: it’s not your money. It belongs to the American people. Americans don’t want your charity. They want their money. They need their money to make it to the other side of this pandemic. #velshi
More from Ali Velshi
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1. The death of Silicon Valley, a thread
How did Silicon Valley die? It was killed by the internet. I will explain.
Yesterday, my friend IRL asked me "Where are good old days when techies were
2. In the "good old days" Silicon Valley was about understanding technology. Silicon, to be precise. These were people who had to understand quantum mechanics, who had to build the near-miraculous devices that we now take for granted, and they had to work
3. Now, I love libertarians, and I share much of their political philosophy. But you have to be socially naive to believe that it has a chance in a real society. In those days, Silicon Valley was not a real society. It was populated by people who understood quantum mechanics
4. Then came the microcomputer revolution. It was created by people who understood how to build computers. One borderline case was Steve Jobs. People claimed that Jobs was surrounded by a "reality distortion field" - that's how good he was at understanding people, not things
5. Still, the heroes of Silicon Valley were the engineers. The people who knew how to build things. Steve Jobs, for all his understanding of people, also had quite a good understanding of technology. He had a libertarian vibe, and so did Silicon Valley
How did Silicon Valley die? It was killed by the internet. I will explain.
Yesterday, my friend IRL asked me "Where are good old days when techies were
Where are good old days when techies were libertarians.
— Cranky (@rushingdima) January 9, 2021
2. In the "good old days" Silicon Valley was about understanding technology. Silicon, to be precise. These were people who had to understand quantum mechanics, who had to build the near-miraculous devices that we now take for granted, and they had to work
3. Now, I love libertarians, and I share much of their political philosophy. But you have to be socially naive to believe that it has a chance in a real society. In those days, Silicon Valley was not a real society. It was populated by people who understood quantum mechanics
4. Then came the microcomputer revolution. It was created by people who understood how to build computers. One borderline case was Steve Jobs. People claimed that Jobs was surrounded by a "reality distortion field" - that's how good he was at understanding people, not things
5. Still, the heroes of Silicon Valley were the engineers. The people who knew how to build things. Steve Jobs, for all his understanding of people, also had quite a good understanding of technology. He had a libertarian vibe, and so did Silicon Valley
