Bill Gates is joining Bloomberg

[fixer]

Not a real surprise. Even though the guy has profited immeasurably from the quasi-free market system this nation provides, one does not even need to reach for their tin foil hat to find that Gates personal political views have always been pretty left of center. Civilian disarmament is just part of the deal.

It also should be pretty apparent that the world elite has always been opposed to civilian ownership of firearms going back from the day the first arquebus was used to blow a majestic knight from his horse. The gun more than anything ever invented makes men equal. Now if you are a little guy like (presumably) all of us are the gun is a comfort. If you are one of the elite however, the gun is a stark reminder that no matter how much money you have, no matter how many dead hookers you have buried on your 200,000 acre ranch, no matter how many politicians and public servants you essentially own, and no matter how many hired guns you may have - the lowest of the low, sufficiently motivated with a high power rifle, can reduce you to worm food with the pull of a trigger. Not very comforting and I think a big reason why so many of the super rich are jumping on the gun control band wagon.

Pretty much where I am at. I mean all you have to do is look at some quotes from Bloomberg in the last 5 years to see the man has a raging case of narcissism. To people like this, it infuriates them that they cannot affect more influence, control, or imposition on the lives of others. In fact, to billionaire psychopaths like Bloomberg, it pretty much infuriates him that he isn't considered the second coming of Christ.

[ford.304]

The attitude I've personally witnessed is all part of the worship of the specialist and the professional. The idea that because we pay people to know how to use something, they couldn't possibly be used effectively or safely by anyone without a certification.

Think about how much modern upper class world works on that principle. You don't get those jobs without having a degree (preferably from an ivy league) or three. Good jobs don't generally pay you six figures to be a generalist. You pay someone to do everything for you - fix your toilet, make a nice meal, install your cabinets, fix your car, fix your computer, even drive you at a certain level. Why would you trust anyone who wasn't a specialist with that kind of power?

Combine that with the rampant fake-pacifism and the idea that "violence never solved anything" (forgetting that professional violence is *still* violence, even if they start by asking you nicely) and you get a bunch of people who can't even grapple with the idea of defending themselves.

[MDS]

I've never dealt with Bloomberg so I can't speak to that. But if you think Bill Gates plays his games from a place of ignorance or naivete... well, I strongly disagree. Google the Halloween documents for a glimpse of the underhanded, conspiratorial kind of tactics that he and his organizations are comfortable with. He didn't build his fortune through simple grit and spit and sticktoitiveness, and I'd be surprised if Bloomberg did, either.

[Vinh]

My nerd respect for Bill Gates just went to zero. Bloomberg terrorizes the east coast as a hobby, but with the addition of Gates, it feels like they might just be able to buy the country outright.