2024 Meltdown and Meme Thread

[Ben]

Looks like Musk is having a bit of a meltdown over the H1-B kerfuffle:

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1872860577057448306

Heh. Saw that. I see pros and cons to both sides of this argument and what Vivek has said about it, which I might post if I feel like writing paragraphs. Otherwise, my BLUF is that the pro and con Republicans need to get their *expletive deleted*it together on this and not let it tear them apart, because H1B is a poster child for a workable compromise.

[JTHunter]

Heh. Saw that. I see pros and cons to both sides of this argument and what Vivek has said about it, which I might post if I feel like writing paragraphs. Otherwise, my BLUF is that the pro and con Republicans need to get their *expletive deleted*it together on this and not let it tear them apart, because H1B is a poster child for a workable compromise.

Agreed.  If I'm not mistaken, the H1Bs are for SKILLED people who are "pre-vetted" before coming to the U.S.
These visas have nothing to do with the unskilled and/or criminal element invading this country now.

[dogmush]

Looks like Musk is having a bit of a meltdown over the H1-B kerfuffle:

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1872860577057448306

FTR, I don't think that's a meltdown.  It's a Tropic Thunder reference. 

[Hawkmoon]

Agreed.  If I'm not mistaken, the H1Bs are for SKILLED people who are "pre-vetted" before coming to the U.S.
These visas have nothing to do with the unskilled and/or criminal element invading this country now.

H1B visas are also supposed to be for skilled jobs for which we don't have qualified people already in the U.S. Those visas are not supposed to be granted so employers can hire cheap foreign labor to displace qualified citizens.

[Ben]

H1B visas are also supposed to be for skilled jobs for which we don't have qualified people already in the U.S. Those visas are not supposed to be granted so employers can hire cheap foreign labor to displace qualified citizens.

That is why I didn't want to get into writing paragraphs about it, but suggested it was ripe for compromise. Probably freeze the program immediately, then overhaul it and start it again. There has to be some reasonable middle ground between "A half dozen nazi scientists" and "Cheap labor via thousands of code monkeys that were previously working in a New Dehli call center bilking US senior citizens out of their life's savings".

We absolutely should be importing talent, key word being "talent". But with Ellis Island style safeguards and background checks. Twenty years ago, Vivek would have been wrong about foreign engineers being superior to US engineers and with a better work ethic. In the days of US Tiktok tide pod eating challenges versus Chinese Tiktok complex math challenges, and MIT valuing DEI over merit, Vivek has a point.

[BobR]

H1B visas are also supposed to be for skilled jobs for which we don't have qualified people already in the U.S. Those visas are not supposed to be granted so employers can hire cheap foreign labor to displace qualified citizens.

I can remember the H1B visa kerfuffle going on back in the late 70s and early 80s. I was stationed at Moffett Field (heart of Silicone Valley) and nearly every start up and established company was carrying on about how if not allowed to expand the H1B visa program then China would overtake the US and we would become a nation of dolts. IIRC there is a cap on the number of H1B visas handed out every year so it is nothing like the influx of undesirables flooding across the nation's borders on a daily basis.

The main influx of H1B visa holders into that area was Indian which eventually changed the demographics of the area. While these days the biggest pool of H1B applicants are still Indian you have to wonder how many Chinese nationals have been approved over the years. I have no idea how many are approved but take a look at their recent J20 aircraft up against our F35 and also the incorporation of the EMALS launch system on their latest amphib naval ship. All it takes is a boatload of people taking a tiny part of something and reporting it back to the mother land before they have the whole thing.

I feel most of the Indan H1B workers are here to better their lives by making a decent wage while the Chinese H1B holders are here for something much different. Of course this is all supposition, I have been wrong before and may be this time. I can only hope so.

bob

[Ben]

while the Chinese H1B holders are here for something much different. Of course this is all supposition, I have been wrong before and may be this time. I can only hope so.

bob

That's an absolutely valid point, and likely runs much farther than the Chinese. It's another reason to have stringent background checks and even monitoring, which I would obviously be against for US citizens, but I think it's valid for a visitor, especially in the tech and scientific sectors.

I'm thinking that the national security concerns are something that Elon and Vivek (and much of the Silicon crowd) do not grock.

[dogmush]

I'm thinking that the national security concerns are something that Elon and Vivek (and much of the Silicon crowd) do not grock.

They might grok them.  Recall SpaceX was sued by Biden's DOJ for not hiring enough foreigners.
 Every thing SpaceX touches is ITAR controlled

[Angel Eyes]

I can remember the H1B visa kerfuffle going on back in the late 70s and early 80s.

H-1A and H-1B started in 1990:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1990

I was stationed at Moffett Field (heart of Silicone Valley)

Er ... Silicon, not Silicone.   

[BobR]

H-1A and H-1B started in 1990:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1990

Er ... Silicon, not Silicone.   

Well then let's just call it the H1 visa program back then. It isn't like I was involved, I had a job. You are correct the split for H1A and H1B didn't come about until 1990.

I will go pour another drink in penance.

bob

[HankB]

I've worked with H1B visa holders from both China and India as well as one young lady from Germany. A few were sharp, but I'd say 3/4 of the Chinese and Indian workers were a waste of oxygen, and just weren't very bright or innovative no matter WHAT kind of degree they had. Every one of them needed constant guidance and direction. ("Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap.") But they worked cheap and the company knew they couldn't quit and go elsewhere for a period of time because of their work visa restrictions. (Retention became a problem when the company discontinued its pension plan for new hires.)

[dogmush]

Er ... Silicon, not Silicone.   

IIRC Silicone Valley is in Southern Cali, near LA.

[WLJ]

IIRC Silicone Valley is in Southern Cali, near LA.

That's Silicon Valley
Silicone is famously used in something thus the wink

[Ben]

That's Silicon Valley
Silicone is famously used in something thus the wink

No, Dogmush had it. That's Silicone Valley by LA. Silicon Valley is by San Francisco.

[WLJ]

No, Dogmush had it. That's Silicone Valley by LA. Silicon Valley is by San Francisco.

Wait, there is an actual Silicone Valley? I often used the term Silicone Valley to describe girls who took the augmentation bit too far 

[Ben]

Wait, there is an actual Silicone Valley? I often used the term Silicone Valley to describe girls who took the augmentation bit too far 

It's actually the San Fernando Valley. It was the epicenter of the porn industry from like the 70s-80s until the Internet got fast.

[WLJ]

It's actually the San Fernando Valley. It was the epicenter of the porn industry from like the 70s-80s until the Internet got fast.

I see said the blind man.
Didn't know it had that nickname.

[WLJ]

https://x.com/DefiantLs/status/1873536984247095598

[K Frame]

I heard that reference once in my life in, I believe, an article in Playboy, back in the early 1990s.

[WLJ]

Remember these?

“This image was not created, funded, or authorized by the DC government, and our teams are currently working to remove them,” DDOT DC wrote on X in response to Morell’s post.

Yeah sure

DC’s transportation agency scrambling to remove city ads likening MAGA supporters to garbage after uproar
https://nypost.com/2024/12/29/us-news/dc-scrambling-to-remove-city-transit-ads-likening-maga-supporters-to-garbage-after-uproar/

[K Frame]

U Oregon parts ways with employee after his anti-Trump rant went viral.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/university-of-oregon-breaks-ties-with-employee-who-told-trump-supporters-to-jump-off-a-bridge/articleshow/116651809.cms

Oddly enough, not seeing any information on this anywhere else.

Edit In:

I didn't find anything else on him because I spelled his name wrong.

AND HOLY *expletive deleted*it, when this guy was a student he was charged in the hazing death of a college freshman! WTF? How the hell did he ever get a job overseeing Greek life with that on his *expletive deleted*ing record?

https://abc30.com/post/man-convicted-fresno-state-hazing-death-fire-comments-trump-voters/15528678/

[K Frame]

CNN staff is saying that the reason their network viewership is falling horrifically in the days post Trump's election win is because...

The network didn't go after Trump hard enough.

Yep.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnXbmDzlGv8

[Ben]

AND HOLY *expletive deleted*it, when this guy was a student he was charged in the hazing death of a college freshman! WTF? How the hell did he ever get a job overseeing Greek life with that on his *expletive deleted*ing record?

"University" and "Oregon" pretty much answers that question. Such a wonderful state that was ruined by a couple of geographic concentrations of dipshits.

[Angel Eyes]

U Oregon parts ways with employee after his anti-Trump rant went viral.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/university-of-oregon-breaks-ties-with-employee-who-told-trump-supporters-to-jump-off-a-bridge/articleshow/116651809.cms

Serrato: "“If you are so sad about your groceries being expensive, get a better *expletive deleted*ing paying job.  Do better in life."

Right back at ya, loser.

[WLJ]

 

https://x.com/LibertyCappy/status/1873763599111622711