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vgr's profile
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
@vgr

Tweets

Venkatesh Rao

@vgr

Conversational account. For work follow @ribbonfarm, @breaking_smart, @artofgig. Tweets are 90% vacuous views, apathetically held. Mediocritopian. IKEA builder.

Los Angeles, CA
venkateshrao.com
Joined August 2007

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    1. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      Trump campaign now has 3 legal filings going. 2 in PA, 1 in MI, plus a recount request in WI. Legal full-court press. Biden team seems to have burned veterans of 2000 Gore/Florida shitshow working on it, so looks evenly matched.

      8 replies 65 retweets 251 likes
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    2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      One of them is a supreme court filing to basically take over from the PA supreme court... procedural crap but the eleventh-hour Barrett confirmation will make a difference here.

      3 replies 2 retweets 18 likes
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    3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      Just because I’ve made my peace with all outcomes btw doesn’t mean I think they’re the same. If Florida endgame has gone differently in 2000, we might have been way ahead on climate action and possibly avoided Iraq war. 9/11, Katrina, and GFC would likely still have happened.

      2 replies 2 retweets 19 likes
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    4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      Venkatesh Rao Retweeted 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙧

      DDoS is a good metaphor. Both Trump campaign and irregulars are trying to DDoS the process with legal actions and “citizen observer” intimidation.https://twitter.com/beckness/status/1324095054558990336?s=21 …

      Venkatesh Rao added,

      𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙧 @beckness
      Replying to @vgr
      What, really? This is Brooks Brothers 2.0. https://twitter.com/beckness/status/1324093498849742849 …
      3 replies 0 retweets 18 likes
      Show this thread
    5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      One reason I’m livetweeting this election is I want to have an appropriately emotion-charged strong personal memory of it. Which is possible thanks to Twitter. If this is a big historical fork, I want to remember it well.

      2 replies 0 retweets 41 likes
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    6. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      Axios argues that win or lose the strong performance means Trump will retain control of the GOP and perhaps tease a rerun in 2024 if he loses. Well, the battered wife is choosing to stay in abusive marriage. No surprise there.

      3 replies 1 retweet 22 likes
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    7. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      Possibly future: Biden wins but never finds his feet. Trump runs and wins again in 2024 at age 78 and rules a full 2 terms. Kanye win in 2032 and rules till 2040. And in the meantime millennial and zoomer social media celebs fight for 2040+ as planet cooks. This is not a blip.

      5 replies 2 retweets 22 likes
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    8. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      We’re in an indefinite future of the amateurization of politics. Career politicians with at least a bit of a nerdy interest in governance and policy (even Nixon) are giving way to Idiocracy parade. Get used to it. There’s no “normal” in the future. Just a churning of the weird.

      6 replies 4 retweets 35 likes
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    9. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      Reminds me of the state of Tamil Nadu in India which elected a string of assclown filmstars to office for decades. I have nothing against actors turning to politics btw so long as they take it seriously as a different skill/job, not just another role to play.

      1 reply 0 retweets 21 likes
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    10. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      Venkatesh Rao Retweeted Luke Thomas

      Correction: apparently 2 term limit applies even if interrupted, so edit scenario above for Kanye 2028.https://twitter.com/lukethinksshow/status/1324103540118155264?s=21 …

      Venkatesh Rao added,

      Luke Thomas @LukeThinksShow
      Replying to @vgr
      He can't run for two more terms unless they change the Constitution.
      2 replies 0 retweets 5 likes
      Show this thread
      Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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      I think Kanye would be an even bigger disaster than Trump since he’s smarter, more successful, and more messianically sure of himself. Like a nuttier black Reagan. Kim Kardashian as Nancy kinda fits the picture too.

      1:48 PM - 4 Nov 2020
      • 1 Retweet
      • 18 Likes
      • Rahul Ramchandani Scott's 250 space cat ⚫ El Extranjero Rerarom 👾 alien nessie 🦕 adorno much, badiou know this: Daniel Barnes
      3 replies 1 retweet 18 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Well CNN appears to be calling Michigan for Biden. We appear close to electing the Defendent in the legal battle that will drown out Covid news and discipline for weeks, probably leading to a solid third wave death count.

          2 replies 0 retweets 16 likes
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        3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          It’s tempting to cast Reagan as B-grade celeb POTUS like Trump but don’t forget he was a serious politician who was CA governor. I can respect that path. Kanye though has too much A-grade celeb hubris to go up a real learning curve, and like Trump, is uninterested in doing so.

          2 replies 0 retweets 20 likes
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        4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Venkatesh Rao Retweeted Chris Clark

          “Attuned to aesthetics” is one of my strongest negative indicators for political office. I really, really don’t trust the judgment of strong aestheteshttps://twitter.com/chrisclark1729/status/1324109111621898240?s=21 …

          Venkatesh Rao added,

          Chris Clark @chrisclark1729
          Kanye also more aligned with future trends given he's black, neuroatypical and highly attuned to aesthetics. https://twitter.com/vgr/status/1324106376579145728 …
          3 replies 1 retweet 22 likes
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        5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          My top 3 criteria for a politician: - Has at least my level of integrity - Willing to learn the work of governance - Is not an aesthete Note that Trump is an aesthete too, like Kanye. It’s just that his aesthetic is Central Asian Dictator Golden Toilet chic.

          3 replies 1 retweet 57 likes
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        6. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          This is why I’m flipping the bozobit on the political process and going ancap. These 3 traits are going to be election-loser traits for the foreseeable future.

          2 replies 1 retweet 10 likes
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        7. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Venkatesh Rao Retweeted Varun Adibhatla

          Note: merely having a strong aesthetic is not the same as being as aesthete. Being an aesthete means your primary world view is an aesthetic one. You want to see/create beauty on your terms. It’s the essence of authoritarian charisma.https://twitter.com/vr00n/status/1324112430662885377?s=21 …

          Venkatesh Rao added,

          Varun Adibhatla @vr00n
          Replying to @vgr
          Integrity + strong aesthetic is needed for broad charismatic appeals to flip the fickle ones else you have Carter like puritanism which does not lead to viable candidacy
          2 replies 0 retweets 22 likes
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        8. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Fox News has also called Michigan for Biden which is reassuring. They’re not doubt-merchanting this.

          2 replies 0 retweets 15 likes
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        9. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Nate Silver and the Fusheruans are still in doghouse as far as I’m concerned. Polling needs serious reform. There’s far too much preference falsification. The “shy” trump voters turned out to be real after all. Props to Trafalgar even if Trump loses https://www.politico.com/amp/news/magazine/2020/10/29/2020-polls-trump-biden-prediction-accurate-2016-433619 …

          1 reply 0 retweets 29 likes
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        10. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          What polling needs is neither Bayesian nor Fisherian pure paradigms but something that adds an anthropological narrative front end to the modeling. Stuff like “shy trump voter” needs to be teased out early and weighted right. Preference falsification rates need to be modeled.

          3 replies 0 retweets 38 likes
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        11. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Turned on TV. CNN appears to have decided this is kinda over except for the lawsuits, and is now in reflective mood. Anderson Cooper is now talking to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin about lessons learned.

          1 reply 0 retweets 17 likes
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        12. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          CNN played Biden’s afternoon statement. A sort of pre-victory pre-speech. Very presidential and soothing/calming in a 2015 sense that seems almost retro now, but he doesn’t seem zombie-like. The confidence-boost of winning so far and outperforming Hillary at least shows.

          1 reply 0 retweets 22 likes
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        13. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Did not expect Georgia to be in play this long. It’s 50-48% for Trump right now. But Biden’s getting 70% of the late vote count from the suburbs right now. He needs 67% of the 180k left to be counted to win.

          4 replies 0 retweets 17 likes
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        14. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          North Carolina not so much. Likely to stay red.

          2 replies 0 retweets 7 likes
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        15. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          An exact 270 via AZ+NV would kinda be appropriate and an accurate mandate, but yes as an unabashed partisan, much as I dislike the electoral college, I’d like a cushion for a deeper defense of the legal drama.

          1 reply 0 retweets 9 likes
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        16. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Winning without PA is key I think, since it seems the most vulnerable to frivolous legal challenges succeeding.

          1 reply 1 retweet 12 likes
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        17. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          The mix of urban+mail-in has created Jurassic World ending level drama. Joe Biden (played by T-Rex) is in overmatched standoff with Trump (played by Indominus). Will chaotic-neutral energy of electoral system (played by Mossasurus) rear up from water at last minute to eat Trump?pic.twitter.com/FD6nDU0ARB

          2 replies 0 retweets 9 likes
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        18. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Commercial break. Этот сегмент живого твита спонсируется Владимиром Путиным. Пейте больше водки!pic.twitter.com/RHuYZI76Hx

          2 replies 0 retweets 14 likes
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        19. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Venkatesh Rao Retweeted Venkatesh Rao

          This is very niche but I don’t care.https://twitter.com/vgr/status/1324134191483682816 …

          Venkatesh Rao added,

          Venkatesh Rao @vgr
          The mix of urban+mail-in has created Jurassic World ending level drama. Joe Biden (played by T-Rex) is in overmatched standoff with Trump (played by Indominus). Will chaotic-neutral energy of electoral system (played by Mossasurus) rear up from water at last minute to eat Trump? pic.twitter.com/FD6nDU0ARB
          Show this thread
          1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
          Show this thread
        20. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Goddamn Pennsylvania

          1 reply 0 retweets 9 likes
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        21. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          The electoral college creates an interesting faux-discretization of a single scenario into many. Remember we’re now navigating a variety of scenarios and futures all within cone of Biden winning popular vote, which I think is already certain. It’s like aliasing pixelation.

          1 reply 0 retweets 10 likes
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        22. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          An odd shtick nobody else could pull of with a straight face is Trump trying to halt counting where it would favor him and drive it to resolution where he’s behind. He really has no sense of the spirit of a competition. Atlanta commissioner doing a presser on scanner process.

          2 replies 1 retweet 16 likes
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        23. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Quite a process this dude is describing. - invalidated ballots are tossed (missing/mismatched signature) - open, flatten feed ballot through scanner twice - if computer flags an uncertainty, human review panel infers voter intent to countpic.twitter.com/qtvLNghYUT

          1 reply 1 retweet 8 likes
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        24. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Gotta say these people are heroes in the same sense as firefighters, healthcare workers. It’s thankless, low-paid, low-glamour frustrating work with a lot of angry people waiting to yell at you no matter what. This is why I believe in democracy. We invest thankless labor into it.

          1 reply 3 retweets 62 likes
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        25. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Things tend to be valuable in proportion to the amount of thankless grinding labor it takes to make them work. In a way this would be an argument against online voting. The labor is a feature.

          3 replies 0 retweets 32 likes
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        26. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Blockchain people get this and don’t get this. This is literal proof of work. If you designed an online version you should design in an expensive counting process. Elections *should* be costly to run.

          1 reply 1 retweet 26 likes
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        27. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Venkatesh Rao Retweeted Liberty

          If Trump loses, there will be a clear test of the popular remote diagnosis that he is a narcissistic psycho with no soul. If he grows a beard to process, he has a soul. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. I don’t make the rules. The beard test is bipartisan and global.https://twitter.com/LibertyRPF/status/1324145916853575680 …

          Venkatesh Rao added,

          Liberty @LibertyRPF
          Replying to @vgr
          You can't shame someone who doesn't have a conscience. They should teach the basics of sociopathy and malignant narcissism in high school so fewer people fail to recognize the signs.
          4 replies 1 retweet 46 likes
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        28. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Litigiousness goes with trumpcore aesthetic like PB&J. Though US as a whole has a rep for litigiousness, it is not a randomly distributed trait. I think it’s a Jacksonian-America trait. The language points to a subculture: “So sue me” “See you in court” “It’s perfectly legal”

          2 replies 2 retweets 29 likes
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        29. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Perhaps the clearest example of it is sovereign citizen conspiracy theories, ideas that income tax is illegal, etc. My theory is that these are self-soothing tales of agency poor white males began telling themselves in the 1830s after getting a taste of power under Jackson.

          1 reply 0 retweets 18 likes
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        30. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          You grasp at legalistic notions of agency when you’re admitted into society under the letter of the law but not the spirit. When you’re granted frustrating access to the nominal power but denied access to the inner rings. Trump has that same feeling at a fractally higher level.

          1 reply 0 retweets 22 likes
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        31. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Nov 4
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          Basically, starting in 1830s a *national* class emerged in the US whose identity was built around suing richer whites and punching down at still-disenfranchised blacks and browns. A superset of poor-white post-civil war southerner.

          1 reply 0 retweets 10 likes
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