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Silicon Valley Investors Call For California To Secede From the US After Trump Win (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: As Donald Trump's shock election victory reverberated around Silicon Valley late on Tuesday night, some high-profile technologists were already calling for California to secede from the United States. The broader west coast is a stronghold for the Democrats, and significantly more politically progressive and racially diverse than large swathes of central U.S. California is also the biggest economy in the U.S. and the sixth largest in the world with a gross state product of $2.496 trillion for 2015, according to the IMF. The campaign for independence -- variously dubbed Calexit, Califrexit and Caleavefornia -- has been regarded as a fringe movement. But support was revitalized by influential Uber investor and Hyperloop co-founder Shervin Pishevar, in a series of tweets announcing his plans to fund a "legitimate campaign for California to become its own nation" -- posted even before the full results were in. A few hours later, Hillary Clinton conceded the election to Trump, and Pishevar told CNBC that he was serious about Calexit. "It's the most patriotic thing I can do," he said, adding that the resulting nation would be called New California. "We can re-enter the union after California becomes a nation. As the sixth largest economy in the world, the economic engine of the nation and provider of a large percentage of the federal budget, California carries a lot of weight," he said. Pishevar was supported by others in Silicon Valley. Angel investor Jason Calacanis said that California succession would be simple in the wake of both Brexit and a Trump win. Evan Low, a Democrat serving in the California state assembly, said that he'd support the introduction of a bill to start the independence process. The proposal illustrates the technology industry's frustration with Trump over his repeated criticisms of Silicon Valley companies. Trump has said in the past that he would make Apple build computers in the U.S. He also thinks Amazon CEO "Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post to exert political power and avoid paying taxes, and claimed that Mark Zuckerberg's push for specialist immigration would actually decrease opportunities for American women and minorities." In July, 145 technology leaders wrote in an open letter about how "Trump would be a disaster for innovation."
What else can I say?
If California becomes a country, presumably one with an open southern border and an H-1B peonage system of its own, it would have to implement some form of defense department. Would it have electric dirigible aircraft, wind-powered missiles and a Department Of Hugging It Out?
... some high-profile technologists were already calling for California to secede from the United States.
It's nice to see they've remained well-rooted in reality.
#DeleteChrome
If Texas didn't secede after Obama got elected, I am sure a bunch of spoiled silicon valley plutocrats won't either. They should buy more electric cars or whatever is far-left equivalent to guns&ammo.
You do not have better barbecue than Houston. Maybe the new city-state of Houston can work out some trade agreement with the Republic of California where we send you some real barbecue and you send us your porn. We have a port, it can all go through the Panama Canal without having to risk the Arizona wasteland.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I wonder how California would feel after it's secession when we cut their fucking water off. That State drains water from all their neighbors. Good luck growing almonds.
Speaking as one of those neighboring states, we expect to go along with them for the ride and we've got lots of water.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
6th, actually. We surpassed France earlier this year. :-)
A few months ago, shortly before we knocked off France, Governor Brown had an awesome comeback when Rick Scott, Florida's governor, got a bit lippy with his misconceptions about our economy: "Rick, a fact you'd like to ignore: California is the 7th largest economic power in the world. We're competing with nations like Brazil and France, not states like Florida."
Imagine all the people...
I wonder how California would feel after it's secession when we cut their fucking water off. That State drains water from all their neighbors. Good luck growing almonds.
You're aware that California grows 2/3 of the US crops? California water needs would drastically shrink if we didn't have to feed the rest of the world.
'The rest of the world'?
That would be 'world' as in 'world series'.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
Printed signs in the span of a day? You're right, that's some sci-fi stuff right there! There's no way 21st technology could make a printed sign in less than a weak!
I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
Silicon Valley can just threaten to cut off the US's Netflix, and the whole thing will be over without a shot being fired.
You are welcome on my lawn.
>I wish the voters had picked a different agent for change.
Obviously they picked Agent Orange.
--
BMO
O'bummer better quit dilly-dallying, only 70 days left to take our guns!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff