I’ve been closely following Elon for months. I was kicked off twitter personally by him for being too honest. I told him he didn’t have the qualifications to speak in his indoctrination videos on the *woke mind virus* and that causing communism in America. He’s been pushing this concept for a while now. He boosts Trump’s Truth social tweets and also pushes obvious Russian propaganda. Clandestine is the big Russian propaganda account and it’s always about the left being woke and the downfall of America. I used to push back on these tweets and I’m very knowledgeable about what is truth and what is BS. Everything Elon elevates is 100% BS. Other than wokeness he talks about Biden’s immigration “failures” having more babies, racist remarks all day long. I have 1000’s of screenshots of real Nazis and antisemitism. He’s also in charge of Starlink and I am 100% certain he was helping Putin on the day the Ukrainians were ready to take out Russian Black Fleet. Very odd how it lost signal at that exact moment. I digress. My point is that he’s a huge national security risk and a definitive threat to all of us. His disinformation machine is humming on twitter. He has talked about the failing mainstream media and sowing fear of wrong information in the wrong direction. He’s manipulating the trends to what suits his political agenda. He’s a danger. Twitter is a danger. Why haven’t our intelligence agencies investigated him yet? Thiel too. Both are shady AF.
Murdoch, too, whose insidious influence has corrupted our political system & deceived a large proportion of our population.
There are 5 billionaires now living who have done so much harm to America: Putin, Trump, Koch, Murdoch & now Musk, although plenty of other billionaires & russorepublofascists (Flynn, Bannon, Leo, Miller, congressional Republicans, etc.) are aiding them.
@Bluequeen. I was kicked off X, too. I guess when I told people to short Tesla.... I am also off Facebook. They want my SSN, which is a crime, and my driver's license/passport. They aren't going to get them. Thom Hartmann met the same fate. Maybe we can start a class action.
Our recourse is to sweep the election. Register Democrats to save democracy.
My credit card was charged 10 times Hartmann's podcast rate and I was charged for an Alternate contribution I didn't make. Many of my comments disappear when I'm about to post. I feel like someone is sabotaging some substacks. I was supposed to stop using my own name and come up with an online name and personal information to post on Reich's substack. I hope this posts.
Gloria. ;ve found that often when typing a comment, and /or about to post, that my comment disappears, but it hasn't. It is simply that another substack commenter as posted their comment. If I scroll up and down I can find my comment awaiting post.
The $80 dollars for Hartmann was for a yearly subscription that I probably subscribed to a year ago. The disappearing of my comments continues as well as repeatedly having to verify my account. It takes about 30 minutes to verify my accounts which is only good for one hour when I have to do it again. It's almost too much trouble and it causes me to be unable to keep up with ongoing discussions.
Wow!!! and I have never bothered to subscribe to Hartman's Podcast, but only have limited access to read postings by others, your comments, give me room for pause to ever consider subscribing to Hartman's podcast but he is a "good guy"? so a glitches' in the payment system?
The democratically expressed will of the people is not what rules the USA. Government by the people for the people was long ago replaced by « he who holds the gold rules. »
Victo, that is exactly what those who hold the gold do. They own and fund the politicians of both parties. Both Biden and Trump need their money and bought politicians and bought politicians to win the brass ring. Does the Israeli Lobby ring any bells with you?
Yes, it is truly a farce and a tragedy. The only solution is to stop funding or voting for either corrupt party and elect independents who are willing to be honest with us and won't have to spend billions of dollars to sell their lies or spread chaos and conflict to gain power.
Who are those independents? What chance do they have in a two-party system? Joe Biden is one of the most progressive presidents we have had in years. Support him!
Which party had full control of government for 2 years under Biden? You actually expect Biden and team will do anything for you when he has not so far.
"Full control" is BS. Sinema calls herself an independent. Killed many bills that would have benefitted her own state. Manchin is a coal operator, property over country.
We are already on the battlefield of a new Civil War that is becoming more uncivil by the day. These oligarchs with their obscene wealth and media control are ravaging our democracy and gaslighting us into subservience. The Civil War of the 19th century was grossly mislabeled. It should've been called the Race Wars because details aside, it was a battle of wealthy Whites against enslaved Blacks. TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY, anyone with a shred of rational intelligence must stay loud and vote BLUE with a very heavy finger!
Our civil wars are all about dueling ideologies . However both of them are bogus. There is a middle way and places of agreement that could be built on but the polarization of America for power is the strategy of both parties, of both Biden and Trump. Neither party has any interest in parting with power or serving the people. Neither party believes in honesty, fairness or Democracy. The handwriting is on the wall just open the eyes.
— More than three-quarters of veterans in the new House (62) are Republicans, while fewer than a quarter (18) are Democrats,
Practically every ex SEAL I read of is a right wing extremist, and that goes for special operators as well, I must be a lone wolf in that score. The ones that served with and under me were devotees of Donald Rumsfeld, because he elevated them and gave them all the toys they want in their wish list. Also promotions and medals galore.
SEALS are not the only special operators.. As regards the political disposition of SEALS, one need only look at the Congress
Crane, Zinke, Crenshaw, Lutrell, Van Orden, all of them right wing Republicans and then there is infamous Erik Prince whose sister Betsy DeVos is a notorious right winger as well.
I actually met him in Manchester, NH and he is a sober nice guy. BTW he was on ships, not some desk rat. Bannon is very smart and sober, you risk at your own peril my friend.🦨
Hating on a handful of Billionaires isn't enough to solve our systemic problems that begin with the corporate corruption, the intelligence-military-industral complex capture and big money bankrolling of both political parties making them servants of the interests of the 1%. , the national security state and American empire / World dominance. Both will use any anti-democratic lie , distortion, deception or underhanded means to secure and hold power DNC virtue signaling and posturing as saviors of Democracy is a hypocritical farce and a clever scam. Neither party believes in the first directive of Democracy : government for and by the people, because both are disgusted by the ignorant, easily fooled, childlike masses, preferring to demean and shout them down instead listening to them. Both invest heavily in manufacturing consent and manipulating consensus instead of allowing themselves to be informed and directed by them.
Symptoms of the disease. Signs of a problem but not its causes. There are no adults guarding the cookie jar because they have all been paid off. DNC, Biden and Reich only have a problem with the greed of the billionaires who support the other party or who go off script and or go rogue. Reich is a great mind reader as well. He knows the billionaires supporting Trump are only doing it for the tax cuts. Of course there could be no other reason for doing so. I assume their explanations might differ considerably. In defense of one of them, Musk has preserved a means of communication outside centralized control where alternative narratives are still allowed, not gaslighted or ghosted. He also may well have prevented WW III by interfering with Ukraine's planned attack on the Black Sea fleet. For which he got zero praise by anyone in the mainstream war mongering media .
1. Reich "knows the billionaires supporting Trump are only doing it for the tax cuts." He's never suggested any such thing. They are also buying deregulation and the ability to continue profiting from the use of fossil fuels. 2. "preserved a means of communication outside centralized control"- I call BS, both because twitter was not subject to much "centralized control" before and because now X IS subject to such control (Elon's). 3. "alternative narratives" -- those would be the narratives based on "alternative facts" (a nice phrase for LIES).
Lies lies and more lies. Fake facts .. isn’t this the lingo of the far right and Trump himself. Are we trying to out Trump Trump. Every political spin has a wealth of information left out and now deleted when possible. Apparently you are not savy to propaganda except when it comes to the other guys rhetoric. The facts are government control for our safety has intruded aggressively into the information ecosystem which Hilary said must be controlled for an effective Democracy
Welcome to 21st Century gilded age, this is what all these super wealthy and true elitist want and an end to democracy and all that goes with it, such as the New Deal, which brought us Social Security, which they detest, for they perceive it as less money for themselves
J’aime, pointing the finger at Putin as a billionaire corrupter of the American system is a joke. The key owners and thus corrupters of the « American system » that has been falsely long claimed to be a government of the people by the people are all home grown American good old boys.
You hit the nail on the head, calling out those 5 billionaires. The best thing that could happen is that Koch, Musk and Murdock be stripped of their assets & tried for crimes against humanity. Deport Musk & Murdock. Put Charles Koch in jail for fraud and mass murder. Put a trillion dollar bounty on Putin and his clandestine operatives for terrorist activities and war crimes. And let's be done with their deception and the divisive, highly profitable, hate they spread. All of these politically active billionaires suffer from the same affliction, malignant narcissism. Their insatiable egos tell them they are, and their way is the best way, but it is all a delusion fueled by their pathology and blinding greed. Everyone of these people are the last people in the world we should select for public leadership roles, or allow to finance it, in any partisan measure. As business leaders everyone of them has shown the capacity for acting without regard for those they've employed.(The opposite of "woke" is pathological narcissism.)Everyone of them has discovered that there are only two ways one can get away with mass murder and/or mass corruption, and that's with great wealth, great power or both. They all want power, or want to control it.
Richard, you still fail to see that it is the U.S. that provoked Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. Try reading Chas Freeman, John Mearsheimer, Jeffrey Sachs, Noam Chomsky and a host of others whose voices your MSM never allows the people to hear. The U.S.’s Commander-in-Chief is as responsible, if not more so than any other for the loss of lives in Ukraine and Palestine. Far from being « the adult in the room ».
Absolutely false! You appear to be a Putin apologist regurgitating disinformational russofascist propaganda. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was totally unprovoked. It's all about fulfilling Russia's multi-century obsession of expanding empire, following their usual pattern of stoking rebellion in a neighboring country, sending Russian troops into their territory to ostensibly support the rebels, eliminating the native population, replacing them with Russians & acquiring that territory, then after conquering that country, moving onto the next country, which in this case is likely to be Moldova or Georgia, but in time, if not stopped, will include Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Finland, & eventually all of Europe.
Reading comprehension is not your strong point. Where in my post did I say Koch supports Trump? I listed him as 1 of the most harmful billionaires & I stand by that statement.
Musk is in some ways an insurrectionist. He does his work through Twitter, the media in general, and whining that he isn't getting everything he deserves ($50 billion). He regularly works to undermine our democracy which is not the same as free speech. He complains about immigrants when he is one, and no better than the thousands who are trying to come here to escape horrific conditions in the places they started from. Because he backed certain cutting edge corporations, he is seen as a genius. He has some money sense and was able to get in on a field that was just changing at his entrance on the scene, but he is just another guy who knows how to manipulate money, media, and people. I had hoped people would drop off Twitter when that Musk jerk took it over, but that does not seem to have happened. I am not sure why, but Twitter is again pushed everywhere, even by Democratic candidates and organizations. That's shameful, but their response, well, we need to be there to . . . . No you don't!! That lets Musk use you, manipulate your feeds, and do other damage. Facebook is not much better, but Zuckerberg is a little less blood-thirsty in his talk. I doubt he is less blood-thirsty in real life, in his businesses. A good start would be to employ our anti-trust laws to break up the huge conglomerates and cut the power of the owners/CEOs. None of those guys made their fortunes or gained power solely on their own abilities no matter what they claim; it takes a village and they certainly used theirs.
We are powerless, my Senator is JD Vance.. perhaps I should write him and complain about his campaign financing. Soooo.. what is an actionable approach for an average person like me? Analysis paralysis! What do you recommend as a way to fight this horrible problem?
Organize the left? With each sacred cause elbowing its way to the front of the line, accusing others of not being liberal enough. If you aren't willing to fall on your knees, debase yourself for every cause you are ex communicated.
Their weakness and their downfall is myopia, tunnel vision.
Compare that to the right, They fall in line, whereas the left demands that you fall in love, and unconditionally at that.
Anyone remember that cartoon popular doing the Vietnam war? Pogo.
So true, William. When we follow gut feelings instead of reason we frequently become our own worst enemies. Arrogant oligarchs, self-righteous leftists, revanchist Confederates follow their gut feelings. Trump is his own worst enemy.
We need to reinstate politics campaign reform. The only way I see this happening is through a constitutional amendment or maybe SCOTUS to reverse it decision. Both of these are long shots at best but doable.
If we can get MAGA supports to open their eyes and join us, we might have a chance.
Bret, big ask you have there, If we can get MAGA support. If we could get Catholics and evangelicals to become atheists we would solve our political social problems. Sorry if I seem snide or snarky.
I would not put all Catholics in the MAGA wing. The US has had two Catholics President. The current one is definitely anti-mega. The second one would most likely not support ed any of MAGA views.
As a Catholic I can say that most Catholics I know are more moderate then you would think.
Musk is obviously on the side of insurrectionists, at any rate. He certainly does not support Democracy or any kind of fairness. and he is obscenely wealthy, which in itself should be illegal. Nobody should be in a position to buy our government including the Courts, and take our chance to have the freedom of self rule, and the rights given by settled laws! laws that are being thrown out now like so much trash! Nobody should own communications, and have the ability to just silence the humans in the town square! and lie! and misinform! General Strike! Make them pay taxes like anyone else! Stop the subsidies! Tax the rich! Put 'em in jail! Just like any other citizens! No more white collar courts, lawyers and "Justice"!!!!
Laurie, it is so destructive that so many buy into the warped myth of rich male hero who can do anything and will save, well, something. Musk has been pushed by our media and a lot of public figures for years with little evidence he is a hero of any kind. He is for himself alone and just wants the adulation his wealth and financial prowess will bring him. Maybe a general strike at all his operations would be a good thing to focus some attention on his selfishness and abuses of workers and the American people (not paying taxes, demanding $56 billion for what, and warping coverage and proliferation of information that is anti-democratic and blatantly for Trump whom Musk and friends seem to be "bribing" maybe with campaign money for largess if/when Trump gets elected. I don't know how we come out OK in this one.
In California, the Tesla plant he had, he moved to Texas, = less regulation= exploit his workers more=more racial discrimination and more pollution dumped via his Tesla manufacturing and there are many other electric car options, I would NEVER EVER buy one of his cars and support an egotistical tyrant, hell bent on destroying democracy
Indeed, and lower than whale sh.t and that's pretty low and how low can they go, persons like Musk, Trump, Murdoch of Fox. etc... well the very rock bottom and evil F's
Oh Inverted Pyramid (strange name, but OK), you can check out Musks comments about nearly everything almost anywhere. The media covers him almost to excess. Few of those Musk comments are positive toward any kind of common good, just good for himself or what he sees as good for himself. He often sounds like a whiny toddler. I am sad so many rich men sound like toddlers, wanting whatever they want when they want it or there will be some kind of tantrum (usually money-related).
Indeed, you are so right on!!! and likewise, I hear those same comments, made by democratic politicians, that I or we need to have a presence on X, formerly Twitter, really???
The naïve German people followed, blindly, the antics of Adolf Hitler. That same sick scenario is again playing out here in this country. The united front of ignorance is alive and well and at the disposal of one Donald Trump. Donnie Boy craves power, and he will stop at nothing in order to acquire it. Including copying everything Hitler did to nullify the truth. We as a people must learn to listen to reality and put aside Trump's lies and his basic stupidity. The people who chose to follow Trump don't do it because they like the guy, they follow him because they are him.
Remember that Hitler had help; the Brownshirts were terrifying enforcers, People would just disappear, afraid that something they said and was heard by even the children, could mean death. It was that bad, because the kids were told to report certain things that their parents said. we hear about the threats to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and their families, threats to kill even wives and babies and 83 year old husbands. That has been happening for a few years now. Remember the AR-15 pins replacing the American flag on the lapels of MAGAs in Congress? Weight lifting Marjorie Traitor Greene physically threatening A.O.C. and others? Some are most likely, just afraid, and can't afford not to follow orders. there was a kind of hemorrhage of republicans out of the government.
Laurie--There exists a fragment of our society that identifies itself with the doctrines which support everything Hitler shoved down the throats of the German people just before he destroyed their country. History is a great teacher but what has happened to the students?
Donald ; "The students" cannot afford newspapers that aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Our Fourth Estate is failing US. Because they are owned by the very wealthy, and are in with the billionaires. Some are too busy working multiple jobs to spend much time reading , even those with significant content. Civics has not been taught in recent decades, because school systems want to avoid "controversy". We have had some really shitty 'leaders' for presidents, too, winning Electoral votes instead of actual votes made by the humans. similarly, we have had disappointing Supreme court picks from the Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation. Too much money in politics, and the disastrous Citizens United made what was once highly illegal, 'just' fine. Project 2025; what little I have read of it, sounds like Hell on Earth, not resembling anything I was taught about Democracy, liberty, ethics, rule of law, fairness or any pursuit of happiness for most humans, We have had assassinations and stolen elections : (Bush V Gore), and possibly more., in the past. If this Project 2025 happens, Elections will resemble what Hungary or Russia do. Shams. or worse. People just did not want to discuss politics especially, or religion in the 50's as I remember it as a very young child. the McCarthy era made them afraid to.
Laurie--At times throughout history the good have given way to tyranny and worse. May be the wickedness that is engulfing us at present is a sign of things to come, sadly. Oh, what fools these mortals be.
Very concerning for This mortal! I'm old, but I think of my children and grandchildren. So many changes have already happened, like sharks following the seals up to Maine, where we used to go swimming. I don't go to play in the surf, or even walk in it because I don't want to get attacked. But this 2025 thing! It sounds and looks like my worst nightmare. Very cruel and mean "people" running the country! A real horror show, that is not "just a movie".
Laurie Blair: A first year Chinese teacher was puzzled by a certain homework assignment given to her students. The homework was beyond the thinking capability or life experience of her students. Finally, she realized that the children would be forced to ask their parents for help in order to complete the assignment and that the homework was a way to determine what the parents thought. There was nothing she could do to prevent this. She had to give the assignment, collect and turn in the homework. This same technique can be used here or anywhere: find out what the parents are thinking by having their children need help to complete some school assignment. Seems very innocent, most parents would give help without giving it a second though.
Interesting ; But one wonders how some parents would react to an assignment exploring the gruesome evidence of the Holocaust! This is why being on a school board might be challenging. This is Probably why President Biden took his own children to the memorial sites in Europe to see the actual evidence.
Az ; if only this was only about being a well travelled tourist! These billionaires buy government seats ; "Our" representatives. and judges, local and federal, 'up' to the "Supreme Court"! They erase laws that have been on the books for decades, depriving voters/ humans of rights that can save them from death if they need medical care, or whatever else they will erase! the Fourteenth Amendment section three ; disqualification clause ; History? It looks like they 'just' brushed it aside, because it threatened Their status, too. They violated their oaths of office by overturning Roe v. Wade! Almost 50 years on the Book as a Constitutional right! How many women have died or been harmed by this lack of medical care? or , at least been harmed? How many more will be hurt of killed? Choices?! Whether to give birth or not? taken away with a law concerning religious belief?!?!! The Constitution does not allow that very specifically! And a disabled, disqualified criminal rapist thieving tax cheat is running the Congress and has 'show trials with Pressers and rallies right at the Court where he is facing charges! insulting the Prosecutors, witnesses, and even the judge! violating gag orders with impunity, because the judge understandably does not want his family harmed, because this insect has threatened every one in the courtroom! He should not have bail anymore, and be jailed! And the documents case is open and shut! the Disqualification clause was "self executing!" they are executing Democracy and all of our freedoms if they get away with these and the crimes planned for 2025!
Not quite Az. The American dream is rags to riches, Horatio Alger, Trump and his ilk were born on third base, the rest of us in the stands or dugout.. Assuming you are familiar with Béisbol as it is called in Spanish.
Az ; There is a world of difference between owning a modest home that can be left for the kids to get some equity from for , perhaps, a down payment on a home ( like we did, split between 3 heirs), or college costs, and having generational wealth that allows one to buy a Supreme Court Justice or pay Leonard Leo to fatten the coffers of the Federalist society to groom more of these Christian , right wing sycophants, waiting to take a seat on the bench to be very activist partisans, or the Heritage Foundation "products", doing likewise. A very big difference in 'wealth'. Obscene it is , The wealth that can threaten a still relatively fledgling Democracy, allowing it to be basically bought, the citizens robbed of the most basic rights of body autonomy, to the threat of death, and forced to have a criminal on the ballot of an upcoming election. the remedy of the 14th amendment, section3. disqualification clause removed by the very Court that had violated its own Oaths to uphold the Constitution when they reversed settled law of nearly 50 years to strip women and girls of their rights to medical care that can be life saving, and life affirming (life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness). then these rogues allowed a disabled disqualified, convicted rapist, insurrectionist who stole National security records and top secret documents ; a crime that would have been immediate jail for anyone else, and the case is being judged by an inexperienced sycophant of said ex-president who has shown bias for the man who appointed her to the judge position in the court that would handle the case. She had been reprimanded/ corrected by the 11th circuit a year or so previously for similar errors. This also allows quite a few Congress "members" who took part in an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan 6th 2021 to remain in government from which they were disqualified. Allowed enabled to continue the coup. Az ; blaming the victims in this sad story is showing who you really are! If not actually one of them, certainly a friend ; or maybe a Russian troll? don't think too hard, I did not even mention Clarence Thomas, the 'Supreme Court Justice" who has a wife that was involved in the insurrection, and there is evidence that she texted representatives in congress, urging them to support the coup. she was present at the ellipse, when tRUMP gave his incendiary speech . exhorting them to "fight like Hell!" Nothing has been done on Thomas' part to recuse himself from hearing or ruling on any case concerning these actions. His wife , a lawyer, certainly knew what she was doing, and that it flouted the laws.
Az, sadly, there is truth to what you say, but it is far from being the whole truth. France might be a fascist or communist country were it not for the Americans.
We do not have much time! What must we do??? I have been pushing people to read Project 2025, texting our senators and congressmen in DC to get out in public explaining Project 3025 everyday. I also text Media Hosts to do the same. I do this almost daily asking them to donate his daily. So many people do not even know what it is. Also our leaders are NOT out , seen explaining it. We need leaders explaining the extreme danger trump and billionaires are , why and how they are.
Shelia, keep doing what you're doing!! The truth is so important right now and we need to keep bringing things like Project 2025 to the forefront constantly!! I do not expect the media to do much explaining on it. We must never quit!! Vote Blue, America!!
Yes, try google. If it can no longer be accessed that way, let me know, I will send you a link . I think you will get it using Google. Be prepared, it is awful and scary. I was encouraged today, a gentleman said that he held a Project 2025 meeting at his home for his entire family and many friends. He read a lot from it and they discussed it. All left the gathering shocked, saying they would no longer support trump and would vote h by or President Biden. They also plan to hold meetings for their own families and friends. Great. People just don’t know about it. I have been texting Media Hosts and our DC senators and congresspeople every day begging them to get out in public talking about Project 2025. We have to spread this as much as possible and then do it some more. Thanks for asking about this!’n
Shelia, I emailed R. Maddow at MSMBC about the NECESSITY of Maddow hosting a panel (and not just 10 min. of banter) explaining the major pertinent parts of project 2025. I have known about 2025 since the end of last year, and as a regular viewer of Morning in America Joe (no typo) and other segments, I notice commentators mention 2025 in passing, but no detail. Reading articles in Salon and other periodicals, I learn that the American voting public knows next to nothing about 2025. Naturally, I have yet received no response. Suspect I will never. Joe and Mikka are too busy celebrating Mikka's birthday and hosting authors who write uplifting books about how faith changed their lives. I think we are way beyond that now.
It should be large font in newspapers, radio, TV and on social media! Project 2025 should be treated like an incoming, violent super storm! Our Courts should be prosecuting those involved with planning and plotting against our Republic! Against the human citizens who are descendants of those who wrote the Constitution! And those many who came to this country to have freedom, and the indigenous tribes who are now just beginning to get into government and demand fair treatment and clean water access to their lands! Those who fought in wars to protect our flag, and defend this Freedom! Those who serve now in harm's way! NO MORE SUBSIDIES for TRAITORS!
"If we want to guard what’s left of our freedom, we must meet the anti-democracy movement head on with a bold pro-democracy movement that protects the institutions of self-government from oligarchs like Musk and Thiel and neofascists like Trump."
In the '90s, a Libertarian friend of mine, in all earnestness asserted to me: "Money is freedom." (That may be true for the likes of Musk.) I replied: "Embrace that thinking and you'll end up having neither." She was working 24/7 trying to run a business that eventually failed. Her libertarian views have changed a lot now that she's working just as hard being an unlicensed home healthcare worker through an agency. So much for "money is freedom." I've long said that Capitalism is in >every way< as inherently inimical to democracy as Communism. (Leninism, Stalinism, etc. which are fascist implementations of the idea.) Don't even get me started on Hitler trying to pass himself off as a socialist - national or otherwise.
"If “capitalist democracy” is becoming an oxymoron, it’s not because of public assistance or because women got the right to vote. It’s because billionaire capitalists like Musk and Thiel are intent on killing democracy by supporting Trump and the neofascists surrounding him. "
With due respect to Dr Reich, "capitalist democracy" was >always< an oxymoron - a view I've held for over 50 years. It's an accident of history the truth of that perspective is unquestionably being demonstrated in these times. Capitalism as we've come to know it is designed to maintain the wealth of the wealthy, that requires the captive backs of a permanent, large underclass to support it. The pyramid is its Ur symbol. as seen on the dollar bill, equipped with the "all seeing eye," which apologists claim is supposed to represent the "eye of god." Keep that in mind when it's seeing into your bedrooms. For another 50 years, I've questioned the intent of having twin "Fasces" emblazon the podium of the House: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5142/5622228378_31b7c79eaa_z.jpg
It seems to me that all forms of government eventually lead to an oligarchy, kleptocracy. Whether it’s greed, domination, control, sociopathy, I don’t know, but the scum goes to the top.
Midwest: It is a law of nature. Pack animals, herd animals, even fish, the perpetual struggle for breeding rights, only in humans they are manifested indirectly and in more complicated ways,.
An oligarchy is a klepocracy, and oligarchs have a hammer over their heads.
Russia has 82 billionaires but only a handful of oligarchs. An oligarch has control of a a nations industry or resource, and Putin has control of them.
There's the real conundrum I've wrestled with over a lifetime. Here's the snag. Simply stated, in the absence of government, some kind of government will arise, and the guy with the biggest club will be the one who rules. That's not conjecture; that's history! Freedom of the wild is >definitely< not what you may have been led to believe. What most believe is freedom I call the "freedom fantasy." See the "American Dream," for example. (Or nightmare, depending on your perspective.) The word "dream" should be your first tipoff.
A constitutional form of of government is not a dream but a necessity. Support for Trump is a deluded act of faith, a hope against reality that he will honor some form of constitutional government.
Pay special attention to Articles 28, 71 & 75 - 28 in particular has some chilling implications.
Compared with the US Constitution, the Chinese Constitution is a beast.
The main feature of the US Constitution was all about simplicity and a mechanism for amending it. But that can become a liability, as we see demonstrated now, and is totally at the mercy of the political culture. What МАГАт Яepuблиkan would you entrust to represent at a constitutional convention?
The main feature of the Chinese Constitution is its detail. But that can be a liability in that I - for one - can't imagine how it could possibly be amended by any kind of referendum. Those in power appear to be the only ones capable of changing it.
Let me hasten to add that the Chinese Constitution is truly impressive, and most of the people - perhaps - seem to be living their lives satisfactorily under it. But comes the question of Tibet and the Uigurs. How is any of that freedom of religion apparently guaranteed under their constitution. That's for you to puzzle with.
That brings us to the question you pose saying: "Support for Trump is a deluded act of faith, a hope against reality that he will honor some form of constitutional government."
True enough. A constitution is necessary, but not sufficient. It requires a political structure inclined to honor it, otherwise it's just an old piece of paper.
DZK, thank you for your thoughtful, informative, and very important comment. What you say is absolutely true. As to the Chinese constitution, it is not just a piece of paper; it spells out some rules of the game, and it is in the ruler's interest to follow and enforce them, lest anarchy ensue. Like the defunct USSR, China is ruled according to Marxist-Leninist principles (they didn't work very well for the Soviet Union, did they?). Trump as president, on the other hand, intends to rule like Orban or Putin. His command will be the law. Congress, like the Russian Duma or Hungarian equivalent, will rubber stamp his decrees. He made it clear that he intends to use the DOJ for personal purposes. Chaos likely will follow.
A constitution, agreement, covenant, contract, charter is just a piece of paper unless there is a mechanism for enforcement.
The Supreme Court is a social fiction, created by agreement and it has no powers to enforce its ruling. We only abide because of precedent and faith.
Andrew Jackson nailed it when he said, "Justice Marshall has ruled, now let him enforce his ruling" and continued on with the Indian removal Act
I am not applauding Jackson, but mentioning that sometimes those we abhor are correct, and in this time he was correct. The Supreme court has ruled on many issues, and the only reason their ruling is accepted is because the Federal government accepts the ruling,
If Trump is elected he will ignore any ruling with which he disagrees six of the Justices know that, and will thus not issue any such ruling.
It is recorded that Peter Thiel blames women and thinks little of them it is also known that Peter Thiel is gay. If you have enough money, you are untouchble and exceedingly selfish.
Even though I am gay adjacent and an avid defender of LGBT rights, I know a lot of gays and know that a lot, not all, are misogynists, and a lot of them like Andrew Sullivan of the New Republic are jealous guardians of their own gay rights, but avid critics of the transgendered.. I have ideas as to what lies behind both, but a different story at another time.
Thiel, Trjmp,Bezo's, Musk, all of them are self centered, narcissistic, sociopathic, even psychopathic sons of bitches,and that is how they achieved their wealth. You too can become a wealthy bastard if you are inhuman.
Or inherit it through dynasty. Here come the "family values" - just another, less provocative way of advocating for hoarding money over generations. We need to kill that with a "death tax" and tell those who invented the term, intending to make it appear a moralistic issue, to go $#!7 in their top hats!
All creatures fear death. Humans have developed an ideology that is embedded in the subconscious, that they can cheat the grave, by reproducing, and leaving their acquired (or inherited) wealth and power to their offspring.
In a patriarchal society it is the desirable outcome to produce a male heir, a mini me, that inherits not only the wealth,but the power, however great or small, that comes with that power., which evolved into primogeniture laws. That is how humans deceive themselves into thinking that they can cheat the grave.
John Davidson Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W Mellon, Richard Mellon Scaife, etc ad nauseum, all left he ill gotten gains and power to themselves via their heirs.
BTW, I googled heirs of Andrew Carnegie and got this:
The 13 fourth-generation members of Andrew Carnegie's lineage now have the self-made wealth of white collar professionals. Their children and grandchildren make up a large fifth generation and a growing sixth.
What a laugh, self made wealth (millionaires) if they weren't Carnegie's, they wouldn't be grads of prestigious universities or hired by prestigious law and finance firms.
That is indeed dynasty. That's >exactly< what needs to be flushed down the Ostrogoth/Visigoth/Anglo Saxon privy, buried over, and forgotten. I think we're all entitled to the wealth we make by our own effort. Our kids need to begin building theirs at Mc Donalds, etc. When you're dead, you're done, and I would reinforce the old adage "you can't take it with you" by force of law. And screw those who consider it theft. I consider it restoring that wealth to the country that made that wealth possible.
I was just getting ready to post something till I saw your post. When a foreigner becomes a threat they need to be deported. I don't care how many businesses he has in the United States. People b**** about immigrants coming here to make a better life for themselves and they don't b**** about people coming here to make your life miserable. If you thought foreigners couldn't be president guess again. If Trump wins everybody will be running this country except US. Musk needs to be deported and he should take his f****** businesses with him. Make solar cars. Of course they won't or Musk wouldn't be making money off those Tesla plugins. I didn't know America was here for the benefit of foreign oligarchs. We can make our own electric cars. F*** him. He is a threat to this country and should be deported
Speaking of “wokness”, it seems that billionaires are waking up to the fact that they are a minuscule minority not only in this country but in the world. They are pushing back big time to protect themselves and what they have by no-tax on their wealth, little if any worker’s rights for their employees and gig workers, and less and less voice in government for the majority of people. Oh, and let’s not forget oodles of debt for the majority to drawn themselves in. That is what insulates them and their holdings, that’s what keeps them powerful and protects their hoarded wealth.
We are the ones who forget just how powerful we are in numbers. We are encouraged to fight, finger and gun point, and hate our fellow Americans, and believe we are all contrary in our beliefs and ideals. We the majority are so busy fighting each other that we forget who’s creating the fight in the first place. And let’s not forget who owns the majority of the media.
Why is news of Biden or Democrats so hard to find now except from subscribed sources? And speaking of subscribed sources, I searched Apple News for Biden, Joe Biden, President Biden, and received very little but plenty of TFG. This is a systematic crush of the voice of the people of this country in order to bombard us with war, hatred, fear and deny what’s important: that our country’s ideals must survive right here on planet Earth. And it looks like those with the majority of the cumulative power and money in the country are in complete disagreement with that.
How to unite ourselves? By focusing on what is being done to the majority by the wealthy minority. They are powerful, nimble, and filled with fear and the more they hear about fair taxes, unions, or regulations the more fearful they become. Make no mistake they intend to crush their opposition—the majority of the country—preferably before we realize what’s really going on.
Well said, GP. They hate democracy, because they fear us. Like the business people who supported Hitler and Mussolini they are gambling with more than their money.
Our intelligence agencies have been a little busy making up lies about insurrection, top secret documents, hunters laptop, pee tapes, meritless fisa warrants etc. Also, everything they touch is a fuckin fiasco. So by all means do help Biden with another fake prosecution of a political rival in the name of democracy. It doesn’t help Biden at all, but it helps everyone else see the actual enemies of democracy.
the insurrection was NO lie! Unless your eyes and ears lie... or AI did the whole thing. Unless you really believe that the election was stolen despite NO evidence of that.
The crook Trump who has been at it long before he took the POTUS perch to operate from finally has a STATE case against him that is not FEDERAL, not BIDEN's doing. You lie. The enemies of democracy lie. They gain power over media, love the uneducated (Trump said so) and spread their lies. Fox and Musk (musk),are addictive because they catch you by the hate, ( what they hate is what YOU hate) and it's one-stop shopping for many... The enemy of democracy is ignorance.
You’re a Magat ain’t ya? Nobody cares what your opinion is. No. Body. Know why? Cuz you’re all always WRONG. you’re just another duped treasonous shtgbn.
Wrong place for ya, pal. Back to “Truth Social” where ya belong. (Have to say though that I’m delighted that you are even reading the Professor, maybe some actual truth will rub off on you!”)
Chuck, I noticed that these are primarily about the "deep state" under Trump's administration and there were a bunch of Trump's guys left when Trump left office. Second-guessing about January 6th before the event would be ridiculous. Trump incited his gang and got his handlers to make sure there would be no National Guard or other help for the Capitol Police that day. That is not a failure of the whole system unless Donald Trump a criminal and insurrectionist gets re-elected in November, and he is setting us all up for that using his red state operatives and our Supreme Court Republicans. He doesn't need the FBI, CIA or anyone else to do that. It is clear the FBI does have a Trump bent because they chose to warn him several times before finally getting a warrant to search Mar-a-Lago for the stolen documents and they made sure he wasn't there so there would be no confrontation. That's a lot of slack given to a former president, criminal. No one else would have gotten that kind of leeway. And now, an incompetent sycophantic Trump-appointed judge Cannon is sabotaging the case against Trump regarding the documents. Anyone else who had stolen so many documents (or even one top secret document) is most likely in jail by now. That is not CIA, but FBI did help somewhat here. We are in trouble but it's because we have too many Trumpers and Trumpettes in high office and too many Americans who believe the constant lying that leaks from Trump's mouth along with the mouths of nearly every single Republican in office anywhere. They should be ashamed, but are not.
Ruth, no one else? What about a decrepit old vice president who had classified documents behind his corvette?
I think you should probably be ashamed. And everyone that defends either Trump or Biden. They are both horrible. Umbrage over one to support the other is lunacy. Democrats read the Steele dossier into the congressional record knowing it was a fabrication paid for by an election denier Hillary Clinton. Have you read the Jeff gerth article ? Or is that too deep state? Biden will be destroyed in November. By a game show host. Prepare yourself with whatever cope you like.
I'm sorry Chuck, but the only response I have for you is BS! Grabbing little bits of something from less than quality entities means nothing. Biden did report the documents he had when they were discovered by his team where Trump did not. False equivalencies are beneath you. No, I am not ashamed. I am only sad that so many Americans have been so easily bamboozled by botts and folks who pull out stuff that supports their weird conspiracy theories to stump them and negate their ability to think critically.
When you say « I’m very knowledgeable about what is truth and what is BS » and in the same breath very clear of what is « … obvious Russian propaganda » and are « …100% certain [Elon] was helping Putin » , what is 100% certain is that your selected fantasy is indeed your version of reality.
We are in the grip of vulture capitalism. Thank you Robert for this truly alarming report. You started a list of these traitors to democracy. Can you or someone enlarge on it and give us the names and their corporate affiliations? It would be a great service.
elon is "ants at a picnic," but we still need to reign-in that brainless loser. He still has power despite Twitter's imminent demise because he was GIFTED his fortune like his master, Bunkerboy.
He'll last maybe . . . 3 months into President Biden's second term. (65% of the country support him, so I see no need to worry TOO much.)
The billionaires are more loyal to one another and to their money than they are to any nation-state. I recall reading a prediction to this effect in the early 1990s, but what can we non-billionaires do about it now?
The Democratic Convention needs to become a media showcase of the problems the nation and the world faces today, led by Al Gore, who actually had the presidency stolen from him by SCOTUS. Each day should showcase something new, with a clicker type voting app similar to what Robert Reich uses for his classes to gouge public support, including for other Democratic candidates such as Al Gore, with Biden stepping aside.
Peter, I was with you until you brought up the BS of dumping Biden. That would pretty much insure a Trump victory in November. How could anyone trust a party that can't stand with and support its own president who has actually done an amazing job compared to anyone else in a long time?
David, the SC cons/Republicans are already moving in the direction of pushing the election to our Baby Donnie (or should I say Toddler-Trump? We need a better, more immediate structure for disciplining rogue justices than impeachment. We saw how effective impeachment was when Trump was actually tried for crimes he committed. Most Republicans just couldn't face the truth and couldn't vote to get Trump out of office. Not only are Republicans these days cowards, they are OK with regular lying, cheating (gerrymandering), mis and disinformation, and trying to rewrite history. I can think of no positive reason anyone should either support or vote for Trump and Kump, but there are millions who will, pretending things are just so much worse for them now under Biden than in their poorly remembered past under Trump. It is just so appallingly ridiculous it is hard to imagine it.
Excellent question, NYCgrrl! I hope someone has some answers. We can continue to point out the obvious, but what we really need is a plan for moving forward and doing something about it!!
Those billionaires own EVERYTHING these days, including our government. It's easy to say "Stop paying them," but almost impossible in light of what they own or control. I don't see any easy to to get rid of their influence. We may actually have to go to the mattresses for this; just the thought makes me queasy.
They would be nothing without the people that work for them. That’s why they have to keep the majority in want so they can be easily manipulated. If all their workers left their companies, what would they be? But people have to eat.
Speaking of owning everything, the vulture venture capitalists are buying up everything from housing, hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, etc. it’s not good for any community or the nation as a whole.
One thing we have to fight back against the oligarchy is government which is riddled with its own problems. We can refuse to own their stock or work for their companies but that’s a long shot at best.
We know many of the problems. We need to work on solutions.
The conspiracy theories are great! They own everything..
They don't even own their own companies Pension funds are the major shareholders..
SEC form 4. 13F and 13G. For deeper research then Form 3G which you may not have access to..Form 4C .I've been retired for a long time now,I would need to brush up on forgotten skills for 5 minutes or so.
Blackrock,Vanguard,State Street global are large pension funds They would tell you where the ~ $30 trillion they are holding is,and which companies they are invested in .
MSCI and their funds can be looked at. Not sure on this one I would need to check but 10K for the annual financials,10Q for quarterly,and then company websites,the investor centre has all the the information and history you would need
The easiest portal,Norges investment bank .The 401K for Norway.A wealth of information and education on that site A good place to start. The Singapore fund ( I forget the name of it now) is a slightly more complex site,but good
NYCgrrl, hello from a non-millionaire. What we can do is learn, share knowledge with people who are open to truth, get organized and vote D all down the line. There are more of us than the oligarchs and their followers. We want more people to share the fruits of their labor, however humble it is. And we want fair taxation, so that the prosperous share their wealth with ordinary people. Should only the prosperous enjoy daycare for their children and other dependents? Ordinary people have a right to wide social benefits like schooling that leads to opportunities for personal growth and social enrichment, and healthcare, which is key to life,
assured by America's Constitution. Ordinary people can look at nature as a common benefit for all people, all creatures to live and adapt in an evolving world, not as a mere physical resource to be exploited and probably exhausted for maximum profit. Beliefs may need to be supported, but it's common sense that you can call on your neighbor if you need a hand, since "we all need somebody to lean on" and "I might just have a problem that you'll understand."
Although I like a lot of Bernie’s ideas, I don’t think he would have been able to do half of what President Biden has accomplished. President Biden has had many years in the senate making deals and alliances plus his 8 years as VPUS. He has used that knowledge to get things done. I don’t think that Bernie has the temperament to as be diplomatic as necessary for the job.
The problem with this mode of thinking is we'll never know. Bernie has never been timid while I fear Biden keeps bowing to the 70's and its institutions. Every time I see Clarence Thomas I remember whose watch let him on the court.
I am in complete agreement, and for the same reasons. Biden is a great president. I thought, and still think, he would have been a better president in 2008 than Obama or HRC, which is why I made contributions to his campaign. That doesn't alter the fact that we are 16 years on, and he now looks very frail. To many voters a president must first and foremost appear vigorous, and I'm beginning to think he may be unelectable. For months he has been underwater in the swing states, so this is a huge problem. If he doesn't surge after the debate in June, then the DNC must act, swiftly and ruthlessly.
The future of this nation, and the world, is at stake.
Michael, I can’t imagine replacing Biden as our candidate at this point. There is no potential successor with sufficient following to have a chance. There is no time to unite tens of millions of Americans behind a new candidate.
I agree that Biden looks old and frail. Yet he has the best team I’ve seen in many many years - smart, confident, talented, progressive players who have made an incredible difference under Biden. Sadly, that doesn’t seem like enough to convince voters to elect the Biden team.
I am too old and handicapped to move to Canada or Costa Rica. But I can’t imagine living in a country run by narcissistic, misogynistic, racist, homophobic, corrupt billionaires and their Nazi followers, who have virtual control over the planet’s environment and nuclear arsenal.
I agree about Biden. As Bill Maher observed: "I'd vote for Biden's head in a jar of blue liquid." Nevertheless, there are many people who, when they say "too old" actually mean "too frail." I'm sorry to say, I don't see this going away.
I am weary of the debates, because it is stated Republican policy NOT to debate, and not to answer questions; you just state your position (vast conspiracy against "real America"). Trump will follow this policy unless the moderators threaten him with dismissal if he refuses to follow rules, and then he will just walk off and accuse them of being part of the conspiracy against him. He is an actor-politician, and he and his supporters see the election process as a means of seizing and legitimizing power.
I agree. He wasn’t my first choice in 2020, but I would have considered pretty much anyone besides tfg. President Biden has done much better than I thought he would and I’m impressed. He is starting to look his age more and he isn’t the best at public speaking, most likely because of his lifelong stutter. Logically, if President Biden were to drop out of the race, he would be replaced by VP Kamala Harris. I don’t think the country is ready for a woman president, especially a woman of color. BTW, she was my first pick for president in 2020.
Susan, Biden is definitely starting to look his age, while...Trump looks at least ten years younger. Trump younger because of his dyed blond hair and faux bronze facial tan. But...I think it's not just looks, but optics of a different sort. I remember months ago writing a reply about this self same issue and recommending that it's not just 'looks' but how Biden comports himself, his gestures -- the whole optics of a very tired man -- his performance. I recommended then that he keep his hands away from his face, open his eyes wider to avoid the 'deer in the headlights' look, while having his mouth hanging open as if he doesn't know what happening around him, stop making the sign of the cross, and speak louder and more forcefully. In short, he needs a personal communications consultant.
He needs to project some energy and fight. But that's not all. I feel he's going to let Bibi lose this election for him. To digress a bit, I've never understood why people are so against Harris. To my mind she is a very intelligent woman (...herein might be the root of the problem) and is EXTREMELY articulate. Trump would have no chance in debate with her. I could go on, but I'll just stop now.
I have these exact same thoughts about all of this - and it scares me to death. I am going to vote for Biden but I’m so terrified of the way he’s being vilified in my own party. I’ve kept saying why can’t the Democrats just get someone younger - and I’m not being ageist, I’m being practical! - just imagine Gavin Newsom or someone like him debating Trump. It would be so satisfying to watch. I’m terrified of what the future holds, particularly considering the Israel-Hamas war and all the youth who are against Biden now. We are in deep, deep trouble.
In my opinion Harris `is a very good example of Biden's "It's all about me, and getting my second term" strategy. A big part of that strategy is to stifle any potential competition in the Democratic Party. Harris is smart, competent, attractive, and strong. So Biden keeps her well off center stage. The Democratic Party is full of strong talent like Harris, but have you noticed that they are absent from the public dialogue. Pete Buttigieg is another good example, very smart, articulate, and capable, but not seen much. Seems to me the whole cabinet is kept back stage, except for Antony Blinken who helps Biden make excuses for taking all that crap from Bibi.
And Bibi is grinding down Biden's image, day by day, bomb by bomb. Rhetorically he's burying Biden in Rafa.
A Sanders-Warren ticket would at least show that there is a some strength left in our Party.
Indeed. Bernie's record of legislative accomplishment is not great. Because he is out of step with others. That is a credit to him perhaps but a liability when it comes to getting things done.
The horse has left the barn on the Sanders-for-President front… but the much-needed spirit, energy and economic analysis of Sanders - that drove the support millions of people - remains, and is an option for Democrats to consider this coming August.
There are numerous talented and capable women and men who could serve - a testament to the openness of the Democratic Party - as President and so the delegates could and should applaud the spirit of change possible in a Democracy. Joe Biden is none-the-less a wise and considerate statesman at the helm.
Too old, and his time is past. Why can't we find someone young and charismatic? Why do we always turn to old people? They've done their bit. We need new blood now.
New blood. There’s plenty of new blood in the Biden team. I honestly don’t understand why a wise old man with a great younger team isn’t enough. I’m losing all respect for the shallowness of the American electorate.
They're not seeing the young blood, only the frail old man. And while Wall Street is going great guns, the actual economy is not. Too many people can't afford to buy or rent anywhere, and food prices have NOT come down all that much--and not at all in many places. Have you checked the price of a new vehicle these days? Outrageous! Biden is the clear choice against Trump, but I understand why people aren't excited about it. Biden has accomplished a lot, but if people can't afford basic necessities, unhappiness and anxiety and fear run rampant.
Gavin Newsom should be out there, front and center. He’s strong, he’s intelligent, and he’s got youthful energy and swagger. He is despised by the MAGA creeps but so what. He couldn’t be more hated than Obama was! Why are we just letting this nightmare happen to us, so passively??
I don't think anyone is letting it happen, but fighting back is difficult. Voting isn't the magic elixir everyone pretends it is, because gerrymandering and other devious tactics are keeping people from doing it. Texas Republicans are currently contemplating making it impossible at ALL for Democrats to win in that state. Republicans will cheat any way they can to maintain minority rule. So how do you fight back against that, short of hand to hand fighting in the street?
I have no idea. It’s infuriating. It feels like an unstoppable force. No wonder I’m depressed and anxious. My natural mental health state is pretty even keeled and positive but I’ve been really struggling lately. I feel utterly impotent to change a damn thing, I’m infuriated by the people who want this and those who haven’t done their part to prevent or punish it (Merrick Garland, you feckless weenie ass), and it’s a terrible combination of facts and feelings to live with. I haven’t a clue what I can personally “do.”
I don't, really. I'm familiar with the main players, but although Newsome speaks well in interviews, I don't like that his state is so expensive and there are too many homeless people. If he could actually solve some of California's problems, I'd consider him a good choice to run the country. The other person I like--a lot--is Pete Buttigieg. Smart as hell and is great in interviews. Truly stellar. :) Unfortunately, there are still too many bigots in America, so I don't know what his chances of winning might be.
I also like Buttigieg, but his chance of winning is close to zero for the reasons you state. Although I also think Newsom could make a great president, I agree with you that too many people would have doubts.
Which is why I advocated for Sanders. Hell, even young people like him!
Unfortunately, he is now too old for that position. I wanted him in 2016, but the Russians rigged it for Trump, and here we are--so much worse off than if Hillary had won the electoral vote (we know she won the popular vote by, what, 3000 over the moron?). If I really want to complain about candidate unfairness, I'd go back to Gore, and say he got robbed by SCOTUS. Our country would probably look very different if the people who legitimately won had been allowed to serve.
Elon Musk recently criticized the Biden administration for not developing the number of electric car charging stations they’d targeted - Secretary Buttigieg got buttonholed on this by the press - and yet Musk himself just laid off the entire development team working on charging stations and supporting technology at Tesla. These oligarchs seem to see space flight as the next railroads but there isn’t presently the imperative for such travel as the railroads offered in the 19th century. So far as I can tell, these robber barons equate freedom with not paying taxes or being held to environmental and labor standards of any sort.
I don’t begin to know anything about the costs incurred by NASA when SpaceX sends ships to the international space station so perhaps it’s a wash but I think that’s unlikely. I assume Musk thinks the costs for NASA and the roads the Tesla cars he sells are build for free by magic fairies rather than taxes.
Someone has to remind Musk what happens underground when, for example, New York City is inundated by rain that floods out the subways. Has he never heard of gravity?
"The only Boring Company tunnel currently open to the public is a 1.6-mile “loop experience” under the Las Vegas Convention Center, in which Teslas with hired drivers haul people around underground at about 30 miles an hour."
Just another con to sell Teslas. I hope they're amphibious. Where's he going to put the charging stations so seawater doesn't short them out?
I saw that but there’s other work that needs to be done before installing charging stations. There’s electric distribution updates that need to be made to accommodate the charging stations. This is what Pete Buttigieg said yesterday. The goal is 500k by 2030. Once they get the preliminary work out of the way in these areas, the stations can be built.
I’m not criticizing Buttigieg, but Musk for not doing his part of this. The government didn’t build gas stations either back in the day. I’m not saying subsidies and government infrastructure aren’t needed, just that Musk and his ilk aren’t stepping up.
I don’t disagree with you on this at all. Elon has gotten billions of dollars from subsidies. He doesn’t ever reciprocate or appreciate it either. He’s rich off of handouts and low taxes rates.
What a waste of time and energy and money. We wouldn't need charging stations if they built solar cars. Deport Musk. I don't give a s*** what he paid for his citizenship or whatever he's got going on. He came here to destroy the American dream. Get rid of him! If ever somebody needed to be deported this would be the time. People have lost jobs cuz of him. He has brought nothing to the table that we can't bring there ourselves. Deport Deport Deport. He is a threat to our country. This is why maggots lay on a bunch of s*** about all immigrants being illegal and a threat to our country. Once again defending the real threats to our country which are them
I know people with solar panels on their vehicles. They don't stop at charging stations. What the f*** are you talking about? The vehicle charges their batteries. Solar panels work without electricity except during a power outage at which time you need solar batteries
The Tesla truck is having its share of problems. Maybe if it came with an air freshener that resembles an “appeal to heaven” flag, a shotgun rack and truck nuts it might have a fighting chance.
I think you are right, Sioux Fleming. Cheap labor and taxpayer's money is growing on a tree that is getting sicker and sicker. The "money tree" is not nurtured properly now. Greed will not sustain it. Slavery and harsh control of the workers seems to be their plan. There may be a problem in Houston ; We have all been raised to value Democracy as a goal to "form a more perfect Union". The spoiled and heavily subsidized are biting the hands that feed them!
Laurie, I totally agree with you! There is such a huge gap between the wealthy and the rest of us now. These oligarchs really do plan to use us as slaves with merciless control but the problem will be the rest of us. Looking back through History it never ended very well for the rich. They put the boot on the average and lower groups thinking they were just vassals and what happened? Uprisings! They found themselves at the other end of the stick and wound up either having to flee or being beheaded!!
Laurie, I feel we are at the untrusting stage! It is hard to accept those who would do all they could to tear down our Democracy!! I do not trust the supreme court, politicians, or corporations. I don't know if I ever will again.
Peggy ; It makes sense not to trust those who have been untrustworthy! It takes time to show that things can be done fairly. Actions speak louder than words!
I wonder if the oligarchs like Musk aren’t trying to undermine Biden’s strategic plan by creating market chaos, higher prices, delays- all to fuel campaign rhetoric. The idea of running the US and the world must be heady stuff for them. I can imagine ideas like disenfranchising women, writing school curricula, drilling on private lands, while pocketing billions in tax cuts…imagining an oligarch’s wet dream is within their grasp.
Democracy is indeed an assault on freedom - but only the freedom of the tiny minority of the rich and powerful to maintain their dominance of the majority. Democracy is the only “weapon” the billions have against the dozens who increasingly want to own the planet - and seem to be getting their way.
Sorry but just really want to know since you all seem politically cluey. Am from Australia. So can anyone tell me if you vote for Jill Stein, independent and anti-war which is what is most important now why do people say is a vote for Trump? Also is Biden stepping aside? Tbh am sure he suffers from dementia
I guess you already know, as there’s literally no chance anyone either than Biden or Trump winning, votes that would never go to Trump but don’t go to Biden are a lost vote - so basically the equivalent of a Trump vote.
Seriously i consider Trump a total raving lunatic. My comment about Biden suffering from dementia is real. Been a nurse and because he is a “president” doesn’t mean he can’t suffer from that.
There is no path to winning enough electoral college votes in our two- party system for a third party candidate, such as Jill Stein, to get to 271. She was a spoiler in 2016, taking votes from Hilary Clinton, which led to the election of DJT, even though he received 3 million fewer votes in the popular vote. A vote for a third party candidate who is left leaning is a vote that would not have gone to the right leaning candidate, so in effect takes one from the ostensibly left leaning candidate (Democrat); however, we know that Biden is basically center to right in his policies. Despite the claims on the right about him being far left radical, Biden is not even progressive, let alone radical. Biden is the incumbent and is running for reelection. And I’d watch a few Trump speeches alongside a Biden speech and you tell me which one is demented. I’m not saying either one should be running, but their ages are nearly identical. Trump is older now than Biden was at his inauguration.
Green votes aren't Democrats' votes to be "taken". The Greens are not the Democrats' reserve army of voters; just like the Libertarians aren't for the Republicans.
An obsession with acquiring as much money as possible, legally or illegally, is apparently like a highly contagious disease. Even more bizarre is—
the majority of people supporting Trump & republicans will suffer tremendously from their policies if Trump is elected. Among American oligarchs there seems to be a lot of peer pressure/sibling rivalry going on pressuring others to jump on the Trump train to wealth beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The problem is, many of these oligarchs have been &/or are enriching themselves by exploiting & taking advantage of ordinary Americans. They treat it like it’s a game.
And they talk about a "woke Virus"! Greed is a virus, it seems, spreading rapidly and buying our government, our futures and Threatening the life of our Democracy, and the lives of humans everywhere.
Publix Grocery chain just posted a 49% profit! YES, they are taking advantage of us, big time! And people are angry. I can hear the anger rumbling in the middle of the night, and it's getting louder every day.
Agree with your thoughts, but no grocery chain makes a profit that large. An increase over last year's profit? Publix is owned by its employees, not billionaires or the wealthy, a good thing.
"In March, Publix reported net earnings of $4.3 billion in 2023, up nearly 50% from the $2.9 billion reported in 2022. But the employee-owned supermarket did see net earnings drop 7.8% in the fourth quarter of the year to $1.2 billion. May 2, 2024
If money is what is needed for success, We are doomed? What is the plan? Getting out the vote??? I’m really afraid. Thank you for putting this article out there.
Patricia, don't be afraid! This is their plan. They want to scare us so badly that we will not go to the polls. It will continue to get worse and worse as the election draws near! Whenever things would get scary for me and my sisters, my grandma would say "Hold on to your knickers, girls, it's about to get nasty!" The plan we must have is to continue to speak the truth, encourage people to vote and why, send letters and postcards, sign petitions and make sure to go to the polls in November! Don't worry or be afraid, Patricia. Everyone on this substack and others like this one support you and have your back. You're not alone in this fight!! Vote Blue, America!!!
Peggy, I so appreciate your determination and positivity. But despite my monthly political donations and unblemished voting record, I am unable to quell the fear.
Gerrymandering, voter disenfranchisement, armed poll watchers, MAGA secretaries of state who may very well refuse to certify the vote, and above all else: social and “mainstream” media, contaminated by Musk, Putin , Xi…
I am afraid. I can’t shake the feeling that the Sword of Damocles is hanging by a thread. And there are too many people in power gleefully planning to cut that thread.
I understand your fear, Marge. These manipulators are working round the clock to invoke that fear in all of us. I am confident that we will persevere as long as we don't give up, stay the course and do as much as we possibly can to ensure President Biden gets another four years. Once he is back in the White House and we manage to install a blue Senate and House, the Democrats will work hard at finding a candidate that can fill President Biden's shoes and continue to move us forward. I can't and won't give up no matter how much misinformation, propaganda and lies they throw at me!! America is a Democratic Republic and I want to keep it that way for the younger generations. Stand strong, Marge, and stay in the fight. We'll have time to take a breath after the November elections!! Vote Blue, America!!
Ah yes, I know that is frustrating and the only thing I could tell you that might help is that your vote will negate a republican vote creating a smaller margin!
Lol. Vote blue kill America. Maybe whores like you need to be put in line. It’s gonna get pretty scary when china invades your weak ass and rapes you 40 times. Then it’ll be too late because whores like you don’t raise children that can fight. Instead you go to protests and give everyone brain rot
I think that’s true. He’s destroyed the platform. I stopped checking in when the trolls started to outnumber the thoughtful people posting. He reinstated tfg and all the MAGAts crawled out of the woodwork.
A more worrisome article I’ve never read. We must do everything possible to defeat what the billionaire group of power hungry guys are doing to advance their cause which is at peril of democracy. Defeat Trump for starters.
Henry Ford discovered that his workers would buy his T-ford when he paid them enough. So he created a big middle class.
Franklin Roosevelt created the equality that gave strength to the economy that brought fascism to its knees. And so on.
I think the friends of Trump should be confronted: the donations and the power they bring should be attacked. People should understand that big capital is politically stupid...
(Apologies to those with relatives that have developmental difficulties…)
Roosevelt ended the depression; created unemployment insurance , welfare Food , Social Security and gave people real jobs ; rural electrification, Hope…
He killed communism by helping real wages , supported Unionism…
Well yes, perhaps Democracy constrains the liberty of billionaires to expand their wealth .Insisting on regulations that protect everyone from dangerous pollution limits protects freedom by preventing disability and death.
Predatory financial practices should not be given the freedom to unbalance capital markets.
Democracy institutes such disciplines in the interests of all its citizens . Concentration of wealth corrupts absolutely when its object is desire for political power rather than investment in innovation.
Democracy is in no way incompatible with freedom. In fact, it's necessary for freedom, at least for the vast majority of us. It isn't so compatible with capitalism, but it can be if, & only if, capitalism is highly regulated. I would much rather lose capitalism than democracy.
How can anybody be so out of touch..Railways opened up transport for the masses. Cars meant transport for the individual.Electricity wasn't innovative?. Steel was highly innovative . Large ships meant goods good be moved faster and cheaper, or do we depend on the wind and small sailing ships.
Arguably the greatest innovation was the Haber process,millions and millions of people could be fed using small amounts of land. Radio,then TV Telephones,then cell phones Submarine cables to move vast amounts of data.
Satellites for faster movement of information,pictures .erc
Vast improvements in healthcare extending life for billions..Everything you think has always been there hasn't .
Who was the American politician that said around 1900,everything that will be invented has been invented
All people do is sit on their arses complaining about change None of this stuff has ever helped me they say.
The next big innovations will be through MRNA and individual treatment through that breakthrough Then AI for medical purposes.
You're right ,nothing has been spent on innovation to make life better .
What is it that Peter Thiel thinks he doesn’t have the “freedom” to do under democracy? He’s one of the richest people in the world, with one of the most successful businesses in the world. What’s he being held back from being able to do??????????
RR, please take a moment to expand on the idea that many Americans want a strong, solid, intelligent and compassionate leader, like Joe Biden, and at the same time many Americans want a ruler, like the former New York game show host. They want to be ruled, not led. They want to idolize and worship.
This country needs a conservative voice as well as an open liberal one. What we see with this desire for a ruler is a strange capitulation to authoritarianism. Thanks for your hard work...much appreciated.
Danny Gallagher ; "They want to be ruled, not led. They want to idolize and worship". Rubbish! Speak for yourself! Idolatry and worship is for a religion, not a republic, or governing body.
These individuals share a worldview based upon their own infantilism. All of the most powerful were either Nepo or British Empire babies. They have all been placed and become wealthy by being given familial contacts, handouts and inherited wealth. Having been at school with the child of at least one of them and long ago moved in such social circles, I became a class traitor Pariah because of my inability to comprehend that they had no social conscience. They perceive the world in simplistic faux Darwinian terms as a perpetual conflict between Predators and Prey with the assumption that they, as Winners and Predators, deserve to hold all power because they are innately more intelligent than unwashed welfare recipients. I lost count of the number of times the dinner table talk consensus would regurgitate the politically illiterate notion that social welfare made individuals lazy and feckless. Both as self righteous justification for their power abuses of their employees and self justification for their obsession with trashing all welfare programmes.
Monnina: Ayn Rand mentality. How lovely it must be to believe that your wealth is proof of your superiority! And that superiority means you should have unlimited power.
I literally can not understand this statement. It is utterly meaningless. Although it does suggest that you also choose live in the narrow emotional bandwidth worldview I was writing about.
So what IS zhe way that drmocracy survives this kind of assault? Call out our own coalition of millionaires and billionaires? How can democracy defend itself around the globe?
* (R)eagan's + Bush the Lesser's + Der GropenFuhrer's Trickle-up Windfall tax cuts for the PlutoCorporatocracy +
* Citizens "United" - (the particular fav of Sam "Torquemada" Alito) =
* The feces are in the Fan O' Freedom, yet Former Guy's beloved "poorly educated" voters - even as they wear their head-to-toe "God Bless the USA" duds - vote for the fascists.
Sad!
“Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives."
I’ve been closely following Elon for months. I was kicked off twitter personally by him for being too honest. I told him he didn’t have the qualifications to speak in his indoctrination videos on the *woke mind virus* and that causing communism in America. He’s been pushing this concept for a while now. He boosts Trump’s Truth social tweets and also pushes obvious Russian propaganda. Clandestine is the big Russian propaganda account and it’s always about the left being woke and the downfall of America. I used to push back on these tweets and I’m very knowledgeable about what is truth and what is BS. Everything Elon elevates is 100% BS. Other than wokeness he talks about Biden’s immigration “failures” having more babies, racist remarks all day long. I have 1000’s of screenshots of real Nazis and antisemitism. He’s also in charge of Starlink and I am 100% certain he was helping Putin on the day the Ukrainians were ready to take out Russian Black Fleet. Very odd how it lost signal at that exact moment. I digress. My point is that he’s a huge national security risk and a definitive threat to all of us. His disinformation machine is humming on twitter. He has talked about the failing mainstream media and sowing fear of wrong information in the wrong direction. He’s manipulating the trends to what suits his political agenda. He’s a danger. Twitter is a danger. Why haven’t our intelligence agencies investigated him yet? Thiel too. Both are shady AF.
Murdoch, too, whose insidious influence has corrupted our political system & deceived a large proportion of our population.
There are 5 billionaires now living who have done so much harm to America: Putin, Trump, Koch, Murdoch & now Musk, although plenty of other billionaires & russorepublofascists (Flynn, Bannon, Leo, Miller, congressional Republicans, etc.) are aiding them.
Jaime ; Birds of a feather.
@Bluequeen. I was kicked off X, too. I guess when I told people to short Tesla.... I am also off Facebook. They want my SSN, which is a crime, and my driver's license/passport. They aren't going to get them. Thom Hartmann met the same fate. Maybe we can start a class action.
Our recourse is to sweep the election. Register Democrats to save democracy.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
My credit card was charged 10 times Hartmann's podcast rate and I was charged for an Alternate contribution I didn't make. Many of my comments disappear when I'm about to post. I feel like someone is sabotaging some substacks. I was supposed to stop using my own name and come up with an online name and personal information to post on Reich's substack. I hope this posts.
Gloria. ;ve found that often when typing a comment, and /or about to post, that my comment disappears, but it hasn't. It is simply that another substack commenter as posted their comment. If I scroll up and down I can find my comment awaiting post.
I figured that out, but not disappearing altogether. Thanks.
Gloria, this is very worrisome. Keep us updated.
The $80 dollars for Hartmann was for a yearly subscription that I probably subscribed to a year ago. The disappearing of my comments continues as well as repeatedly having to verify my account. It takes about 30 minutes to verify my accounts which is only good for one hour when I have to do it again. It's almost too much trouble and it causes me to be unable to keep up with ongoing discussions.
I have been asked to "protect" my :"handle". I am who I am.
I meant Alter Net news which is an excellent news source.
Wow!!! and I have never bothered to subscribe to Hartman's Podcast, but only have limited access to read postings by others, your comments, give me room for pause to ever consider subscribing to Hartman's podcast but he is a "good guy"? so a glitches' in the payment system?
The democratically expressed will of the people is not what rules the USA. Government by the people for the people was long ago replaced by « he who holds the gold rules. »
Gary, just "holding" the gold gets you nowhere. Power lies in organization. Organize and act!
Victo, that is exactly what those who hold the gold do. They own and fund the politicians of both parties. Both Biden and Trump need their money and bought politicians and bought politicians to win the brass ring. Does the Israeli Lobby ring any bells with you?
Yes, it is truly a farce and a tragedy. The only solution is to stop funding or voting for either corrupt party and elect independents who are willing to be honest with us and won't have to spend billions of dollars to sell their lies or spread chaos and conflict to gain power.
Overturn Citizens United!
Who are those independents? What chance do they have in a two-party system? Joe Biden is one of the most progressive presidents we have had in years. Support him!
Which party had full control of government for 2 years under Biden? You actually expect Biden and team will do anything for you when he has not so far.
"Full control" is BS. Sinema calls herself an independent. Killed many bills that would have benefitted her own state. Manchin is a coal operator, property over country.
Ditto Manchin.
Is this an overt attempt to start and ferment CIVIL war .
DESPICABLE !!!
We are already on the battlefield of a new Civil War that is becoming more uncivil by the day. These oligarchs with their obscene wealth and media control are ravaging our democracy and gaslighting us into subservience. The Civil War of the 19th century was grossly mislabeled. It should've been called the Race Wars because details aside, it was a battle of wealthy Whites against enslaved Blacks. TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY, anyone with a shred of rational intelligence must stay loud and vote BLUE with a very heavy finger!
Yes but more a matter of buy a country and sell it out than an armed war.
True; Nothing Like a little violence (war) to reset your ideals. Again Germany and Hitler rise was engineered by industrial giants.
BTW will musk get voted his billions , or will stock holders vote their Own pockets first ?
If musk wins we are all in trouble it will indicate that ideology is in the drivers seat. Then Civil war is a real possibility…
🙏
Our civil wars are all about dueling ideologies . However both of them are bogus. There is a middle way and places of agreement that could be built on but the polarization of America for power is the strategy of both parties, of both Biden and Trump. Neither party has any interest in parting with power or serving the people. Neither party believes in honesty, fairness or Democracy. The handwriting is on the wall just open the eyes.
True ; dead humans can't be effective slaves.
"Foment", not "ferment".
Bannon is an off the rail alcoholic and a real embrasment to his naval career.
The military, hence its vets are conservative
— More than three-quarters of veterans in the new House (62) are Republicans, while fewer than a quarter (18) are Democrats,
Practically every ex SEAL I read of is a right wing extremist, and that goes for special operators as well, I must be a lone wolf in that score. The ones that served with and under me were devotees of Donald Rumsfeld, because he elevated them and gave them all the toys they want in their wish list. Also promotions and medals galore.
What was your BUDS class?
SEALS are not the only special operators.. As regards the political disposition of SEALS, one need only look at the Congress
Crane, Zinke, Crenshaw, Lutrell, Van Orden, all of them right wing Republicans and then there is infamous Erik Prince whose sister Betsy DeVos is a notorious right winger as well.
You need Daily Kos
Thx, but ahead of you.
Bret--That's why he always takes the 5th, it's the only size he ever purchases.
I actually met him in Manchester, NH and he is a sober nice guy. BTW he was on ships, not some desk rat. Bannon is very smart and sober, you risk at your own peril my friend.🦨
Hating on a handful of Billionaires isn't enough to solve our systemic problems that begin with the corporate corruption, the intelligence-military-industral complex capture and big money bankrolling of both political parties making them servants of the interests of the 1%. , the national security state and American empire / World dominance. Both will use any anti-democratic lie , distortion, deception or underhanded means to secure and hold power DNC virtue signaling and posturing as saviors of Democracy is a hypocritical farce and a clever scam. Neither party believes in the first directive of Democracy : government for and by the people, because both are disgusted by the ignorant, easily fooled, childlike masses, preferring to demean and shout them down instead listening to them. Both invest heavily in manufacturing consent and manipulating consensus instead of allowing themselves to be informed and directed by them.
It ain't enough; but it's a damned good start.
Call them by name, Scrutinize their histories of looting behavior going back decades, make them as "famous" as the Kardashians.
Mercer, Icahn, Ross, Hendricks, Wynn, Uileihn, Schwarzmann, Singer, the lot.
Don't let them hide their bloody hands.
Symptoms of the disease. Signs of a problem but not its causes. There are no adults guarding the cookie jar because they have all been paid off. DNC, Biden and Reich only have a problem with the greed of the billionaires who support the other party or who go off script and or go rogue. Reich is a great mind reader as well. He knows the billionaires supporting Trump are only doing it for the tax cuts. Of course there could be no other reason for doing so. I assume their explanations might differ considerably. In defense of one of them, Musk has preserved a means of communication outside centralized control where alternative narratives are still allowed, not gaslighted or ghosted. He also may well have prevented WW III by interfering with Ukraine's planned attack on the Black Sea fleet. For which he got zero praise by anyone in the mainstream war mongering media .
1. Reich "knows the billionaires supporting Trump are only doing it for the tax cuts." He's never suggested any such thing. They are also buying deregulation and the ability to continue profiting from the use of fossil fuels. 2. "preserved a means of communication outside centralized control"- I call BS, both because twitter was not subject to much "centralized control" before and because now X IS subject to such control (Elon's). 3. "alternative narratives" -- those would be the narratives based on "alternative facts" (a nice phrase for LIES).
Lies lies and more lies. Fake facts .. isn’t this the lingo of the far right and Trump himself. Are we trying to out Trump Trump. Every political spin has a wealth of information left out and now deleted when possible. Apparently you are not savy to propaganda except when it comes to the other guys rhetoric. The facts are government control for our safety has intruded aggressively into the information ecosystem which Hilary said must be controlled for an effective Democracy
Hoo boy...this again.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdurot/2023/10/10/billionaire-charles-koch-shares-his-secret-plan-to-pass-on-his-fortune-and-influence/?sh=4a18d93a52e1
Every billionaire represents a massive societal failure.
Welcome to 21st Century gilded age, this is what all these super wealthy and true elitist want and an end to democracy and all that goes with it, such as the New Deal, which brought us Social Security, which they detest, for they perceive it as less money for themselves
J’aime, pointing the finger at Putin as a billionaire corrupter of the American system is a joke. The key owners and thus corrupters of the « American system » that has been falsely long claimed to be a government of the people by the people are all home grown American good old boys.
You hit the nail on the head, calling out those 5 billionaires. The best thing that could happen is that Koch, Musk and Murdock be stripped of their assets & tried for crimes against humanity. Deport Musk & Murdock. Put Charles Koch in jail for fraud and mass murder. Put a trillion dollar bounty on Putin and his clandestine operatives for terrorist activities and war crimes. And let's be done with their deception and the divisive, highly profitable, hate they spread. All of these politically active billionaires suffer from the same affliction, malignant narcissism. Their insatiable egos tell them they are, and their way is the best way, but it is all a delusion fueled by their pathology and blinding greed. Everyone of these people are the last people in the world we should select for public leadership roles, or allow to finance it, in any partisan measure. As business leaders everyone of them has shown the capacity for acting without regard for those they've employed.(The opposite of "woke" is pathological narcissism.)Everyone of them has discovered that there are only two ways one can get away with mass murder and/or mass corruption, and that's with great wealth, great power or both. They all want power, or want to control it.
I heartily agree with you.
Richard, you still fail to see that it is the U.S. that provoked Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. Try reading Chas Freeman, John Mearsheimer, Jeffrey Sachs, Noam Chomsky and a host of others whose voices your MSM never allows the people to hear. The U.S.’s Commander-in-Chief is as responsible, if not more so than any other for the loss of lives in Ukraine and Palestine. Far from being « the adult in the room ».
Absolutely false! You appear to be a Putin apologist regurgitating disinformational russofascist propaganda. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was totally unprovoked. It's all about fulfilling Russia's multi-century obsession of expanding empire, following their usual pattern of stoking rebellion in a neighboring country, sending Russian troops into their territory to ostensibly support the rebels, eliminating the native population, replacing them with Russians & acquiring that territory, then after conquering that country, moving onto the next country, which in this case is likely to be Moldova or Georgia, but in time, if not stopped, will include Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Finland, & eventually all of Europe.
Koch did not support Trump so facts are not your strong point.
Reading comprehension is not your strong point. Where in my post did I say Koch supports Trump? I listed him as 1 of the most harmful billionaires & I stand by that statement.
... and thank God that Bezos is fair and evenhanded!
Hardly!
Musk is in some ways an insurrectionist. He does his work through Twitter, the media in general, and whining that he isn't getting everything he deserves ($50 billion). He regularly works to undermine our democracy which is not the same as free speech. He complains about immigrants when he is one, and no better than the thousands who are trying to come here to escape horrific conditions in the places they started from. Because he backed certain cutting edge corporations, he is seen as a genius. He has some money sense and was able to get in on a field that was just changing at his entrance on the scene, but he is just another guy who knows how to manipulate money, media, and people. I had hoped people would drop off Twitter when that Musk jerk took it over, but that does not seem to have happened. I am not sure why, but Twitter is again pushed everywhere, even by Democratic candidates and organizations. That's shameful, but their response, well, we need to be there to . . . . No you don't!! That lets Musk use you, manipulate your feeds, and do other damage. Facebook is not much better, but Zuckerberg is a little less blood-thirsty in his talk. I doubt he is less blood-thirsty in real life, in his businesses. A good start would be to employ our anti-trust laws to break up the huge conglomerates and cut the power of the owners/CEOs. None of those guys made their fortunes or gained power solely on their own abilities no matter what they claim; it takes a village and they certainly used theirs.
His "popularity" stems from the notion that he is entirely "self-made"
and that EVERY American has the opportunity to be like him: the mythological
"hero" that ultimately is a result of Unfettered Capitalism! BULLSHIT!!!
Self-made? More like government funded. No fed, no Tesla.
Indeed, Musk and others like him, bemoan the word socialism, but they have no problem whatsoever with it, when corporate welfare benefits themselves
I was actually referring to the mythologizing of it all.
I stand corrected... THANK YOU!
familiarity with the US failure in upward mobility would belie the BS being sold.
But, in the words of Grieder, who will tell the people? I read his book not long after it came out and it made a real impact on me. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/350358.Who_Will_Tell_the_People
Thanks for the recommendation...
Indeed, and a BIG steaming pile at that, of BULLSHIT!!! and just like T-dump and all the rest of MAGA wannabes, UGH!!!
We need to clearly define the boundaries between free speach ( where Musk hides) and toxic propaganda.
So far SCOTUS have been totally useless in this effort.
they have not been useless they have made things worse
Very true, Citizens United is a disastrous decision.
Bret, one of many disasters in the past couple of decades.
If SCOTUS takes up a guess, we know how it is going to rule, only the media plays the guessing game, to gin up sales and subscriptions.
SCOTUS rules against the people and for racist, capitalist theocracy 99.9 % of the time.
We are powerless, my Senator is JD Vance.. perhaps I should write him and complain about his campaign financing. Soooo.. what is an actionable approach for an average person like me? Analysis paralysis! What do you recommend as a way to fight this horrible problem?
Power comes from organization. We still have the freedom to organize and vote. Exercise your freedom (and your duty)!
Organize the left? With each sacred cause elbowing its way to the front of the line, accusing others of not being liberal enough. If you aren't willing to fall on your knees, debase yourself for every cause you are ex communicated.
Their weakness and their downfall is myopia, tunnel vision.
Compare that to the right, They fall in line, whereas the left demands that you fall in love, and unconditionally at that.
Anyone remember that cartoon popular doing the Vietnam war? Pogo.
He said "I saw the enemy and the enemy is us".
So true, William. When we follow gut feelings instead of reason we frequently become our own worst enemies. Arrogant oligarchs, self-righteous leftists, revanchist Confederates follow their gut feelings. Trump is his own worst enemy.
We need to reinstate politics campaign reform. The only way I see this happening is through a constitutional amendment or maybe SCOTUS to reverse it decision. Both of these are long shots at best but doable.
If we can get MAGA supports to open their eyes and join us, we might have a chance.
Bret, big ask you have there, If we can get MAGA support. If we could get Catholics and evangelicals to become atheists we would solve our political social problems. Sorry if I seem snide or snarky.
I would not put all Catholics in the MAGA wing. The US has had two Catholics President. The current one is definitely anti-mega. The second one would most likely not support ed any of MAGA views.
As a Catholic I can say that most Catholics I know are more moderate then you would think.
2A. Musk & minions are doing their best to kill the rest of us, so we must prevent them from succeeding by taking them down first.
I get emails and sign petitions from FAITHFUL AMERICA which is liberal. Here is their email: mail@faithfulamerica.org
"Supreme Inequality" by Adam Cohen.
Musk is obviously on the side of insurrectionists, at any rate. He certainly does not support Democracy or any kind of fairness. and he is obscenely wealthy, which in itself should be illegal. Nobody should be in a position to buy our government including the Courts, and take our chance to have the freedom of self rule, and the rights given by settled laws! laws that are being thrown out now like so much trash! Nobody should own communications, and have the ability to just silence the humans in the town square! and lie! and misinform! General Strike! Make them pay taxes like anyone else! Stop the subsidies! Tax the rich! Put 'em in jail! Just like any other citizens! No more white collar courts, lawyers and "Justice"!!!!
Laurie, it is so destructive that so many buy into the warped myth of rich male hero who can do anything and will save, well, something. Musk has been pushed by our media and a lot of public figures for years with little evidence he is a hero of any kind. He is for himself alone and just wants the adulation his wealth and financial prowess will bring him. Maybe a general strike at all his operations would be a good thing to focus some attention on his selfishness and abuses of workers and the American people (not paying taxes, demanding $56 billion for what, and warping coverage and proliferation of information that is anti-democratic and blatantly for Trump whom Musk and friends seem to be "bribing" maybe with campaign money for largess if/when Trump gets elected. I don't know how we come out OK in this one.
Ruth Sheets ; It would be great if our courts would start functioning an doing their jobs!
In California, the Tesla plant he had, he moved to Texas, = less regulation= exploit his workers more=more racial discrimination and more pollution dumped via his Tesla manufacturing and there are many other electric car options, I would NEVER EVER buy one of his cars and support an egotistical tyrant, hell bent on destroying democracy
John, yep, Musk is scum of the earth, and that is probably an insult to scum!
Indeed, and lower than whale sh.t and that's pretty low and how low can they go, persons like Musk, Trump, Murdoch of Fox. etc... well the very rock bottom and evil F's
Musk, proclaims as always, he is a "free speech" guy, yeah, HIS!!!
Most certainly for Him , not anyone else!
Organize!
... all of these accusations about Elon without one example... emotions overruling facts.
Huh, if I liked you I’d share my pics with you but since you’re a fkn idiot I will not be doing that. Fk. Off.
Stuff it, crawl back into your hole.
Oh Inverted Pyramid (strange name, but OK), you can check out Musks comments about nearly everything almost anywhere. The media covers him almost to excess. Few of those Musk comments are positive toward any kind of common good, just good for himself or what he sees as good for himself. He often sounds like a whiny toddler. I am sad so many rich men sound like toddlers, wanting whatever they want when they want it or there will be some kind of tantrum (usually money-related).
Indeed, you are so right on!!! and likewise, I hear those same comments, made by democratic politicians, that I or we need to have a presence on X, formerly Twitter, really???
?! Moron say wut 😮?!
The naïve German people followed, blindly, the antics of Adolf Hitler. That same sick scenario is again playing out here in this country. The united front of ignorance is alive and well and at the disposal of one Donald Trump. Donnie Boy craves power, and he will stop at nothing in order to acquire it. Including copying everything Hitler did to nullify the truth. We as a people must learn to listen to reality and put aside Trump's lies and his basic stupidity. The people who chose to follow Trump don't do it because they like the guy, they follow him because they are him.
Remember that Hitler had help; the Brownshirts were terrifying enforcers, People would just disappear, afraid that something they said and was heard by even the children, could mean death. It was that bad, because the kids were told to report certain things that their parents said. we hear about the threats to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and their families, threats to kill even wives and babies and 83 year old husbands. That has been happening for a few years now. Remember the AR-15 pins replacing the American flag on the lapels of MAGAs in Congress? Weight lifting Marjorie Traitor Greene physically threatening A.O.C. and others? Some are most likely, just afraid, and can't afford not to follow orders. there was a kind of hemorrhage of republicans out of the government.
Laurie--There exists a fragment of our society that identifies itself with the doctrines which support everything Hitler shoved down the throats of the German people just before he destroyed their country. History is a great teacher but what has happened to the students?
Donald ; "The students" cannot afford newspapers that aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Our Fourth Estate is failing US. Because they are owned by the very wealthy, and are in with the billionaires. Some are too busy working multiple jobs to spend much time reading , even those with significant content. Civics has not been taught in recent decades, because school systems want to avoid "controversy". We have had some really shitty 'leaders' for presidents, too, winning Electoral votes instead of actual votes made by the humans. similarly, we have had disappointing Supreme court picks from the Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation. Too much money in politics, and the disastrous Citizens United made what was once highly illegal, 'just' fine. Project 2025; what little I have read of it, sounds like Hell on Earth, not resembling anything I was taught about Democracy, liberty, ethics, rule of law, fairness or any pursuit of happiness for most humans, We have had assassinations and stolen elections : (Bush V Gore), and possibly more., in the past. If this Project 2025 happens, Elections will resemble what Hungary or Russia do. Shams. or worse. People just did not want to discuss politics especially, or religion in the 50's as I remember it as a very young child. the McCarthy era made them afraid to.
Laurie--At times throughout history the good have given way to tyranny and worse. May be the wickedness that is engulfing us at present is a sign of things to come, sadly. Oh, what fools these mortals be.
Very concerning for This mortal! I'm old, but I think of my children and grandchildren. So many changes have already happened, like sharks following the seals up to Maine, where we used to go swimming. I don't go to play in the surf, or even walk in it because I don't want to get attacked. But this 2025 thing! It sounds and looks like my worst nightmare. Very cruel and mean "people" running the country! A real horror show, that is not "just a movie".
^^^^THIS^^^ Education, please, esp. American civics
PamB ; and financial literacy!
Maybe we need those strong people to fix our country
Wait until you find out what Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton did.
Laurie Blair: A first year Chinese teacher was puzzled by a certain homework assignment given to her students. The homework was beyond the thinking capability or life experience of her students. Finally, she realized that the children would be forced to ask their parents for help in order to complete the assignment and that the homework was a way to determine what the parents thought. There was nothing she could do to prevent this. She had to give the assignment, collect and turn in the homework. This same technique can be used here or anywhere: find out what the parents are thinking by having their children need help to complete some school assignment. Seems very innocent, most parents would give help without giving it a second though.
Interesting ; But one wonders how some parents would react to an assignment exploring the gruesome evidence of the Holocaust! This is why being on a school board might be challenging. This is Probably why President Biden took his own children to the memorial sites in Europe to see the actual evidence.
and the power to deny choices to others!
Az ; if only this was only about being a well travelled tourist! These billionaires buy government seats ; "Our" representatives. and judges, local and federal, 'up' to the "Supreme Court"! They erase laws that have been on the books for decades, depriving voters/ humans of rights that can save them from death if they need medical care, or whatever else they will erase! the Fourteenth Amendment section three ; disqualification clause ; History? It looks like they 'just' brushed it aside, because it threatened Their status, too. They violated their oaths of office by overturning Roe v. Wade! Almost 50 years on the Book as a Constitutional right! How many women have died or been harmed by this lack of medical care? or , at least been harmed? How many more will be hurt of killed? Choices?! Whether to give birth or not? taken away with a law concerning religious belief?!?!! The Constitution does not allow that very specifically! And a disabled, disqualified criminal rapist thieving tax cheat is running the Congress and has 'show trials with Pressers and rallies right at the Court where he is facing charges! insulting the Prosecutors, witnesses, and even the judge! violating gag orders with impunity, because the judge understandably does not want his family harmed, because this insect has threatened every one in the courtroom! He should not have bail anymore, and be jailed! And the documents case is open and shut! the Disqualification clause was "self executing!" they are executing Democracy and all of our freedoms if they get away with these and the crimes planned for 2025!
Not quite Az. The American dream is rags to riches, Horatio Alger, Trump and his ilk were born on third base, the rest of us in the stands or dugout.. Assuming you are familiar with Béisbol as it is called in Spanish.
Az ; There is a world of difference between owning a modest home that can be left for the kids to get some equity from for , perhaps, a down payment on a home ( like we did, split between 3 heirs), or college costs, and having generational wealth that allows one to buy a Supreme Court Justice or pay Leonard Leo to fatten the coffers of the Federalist society to groom more of these Christian , right wing sycophants, waiting to take a seat on the bench to be very activist partisans, or the Heritage Foundation "products", doing likewise. A very big difference in 'wealth'. Obscene it is , The wealth that can threaten a still relatively fledgling Democracy, allowing it to be basically bought, the citizens robbed of the most basic rights of body autonomy, to the threat of death, and forced to have a criminal on the ballot of an upcoming election. the remedy of the 14th amendment, section3. disqualification clause removed by the very Court that had violated its own Oaths to uphold the Constitution when they reversed settled law of nearly 50 years to strip women and girls of their rights to medical care that can be life saving, and life affirming (life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness). then these rogues allowed a disabled disqualified, convicted rapist, insurrectionist who stole National security records and top secret documents ; a crime that would have been immediate jail for anyone else, and the case is being judged by an inexperienced sycophant of said ex-president who has shown bias for the man who appointed her to the judge position in the court that would handle the case. She had been reprimanded/ corrected by the 11th circuit a year or so previously for similar errors. This also allows quite a few Congress "members" who took part in an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan 6th 2021 to remain in government from which they were disqualified. Allowed enabled to continue the coup. Az ; blaming the victims in this sad story is showing who you really are! If not actually one of them, certainly a friend ; or maybe a Russian troll? don't think too hard, I did not even mention Clarence Thomas, the 'Supreme Court Justice" who has a wife that was involved in the insurrection, and there is evidence that she texted representatives in congress, urging them to support the coup. she was present at the ellipse, when tRUMP gave his incendiary speech . exhorting them to "fight like Hell!" Nothing has been done on Thomas' part to recuse himself from hearing or ruling on any case concerning these actions. His wife , a lawyer, certainly knew what she was doing, and that it flouted the laws.
Az--Who else, how about someone with the ability to think in a productive manner.
Az, sadly, there is truth to what you say, but it is far from being the whole truth. France might be a fascist or communist country were it not for the Americans.
I agree BlueQueen! We, as a nation, need to find a way to stop these people from taking over our country. Enough is enough.
We do not have much time! What must we do??? I have been pushing people to read Project 2025, texting our senators and congressmen in DC to get out in public explaining Project 3025 everyday. I also text Media Hosts to do the same. I do this almost daily asking them to donate his daily. So many people do not even know what it is. Also our leaders are NOT out , seen explaining it. We need leaders explaining the extreme danger trump and billionaires are , why and how they are.
Shelia, keep doing what you're doing!! The truth is so important right now and we need to keep bringing things like Project 2025 to the forefront constantly!! I do not expect the media to do much explaining on it. We must never quit!! Vote Blue, America!!
How do we access Project 2025? Through Google?
Yes, try google. If it can no longer be accessed that way, let me know, I will send you a link . I think you will get it using Google. Be prepared, it is awful and scary. I was encouraged today, a gentleman said that he held a Project 2025 meeting at his home for his entire family and many friends. He read a lot from it and they discussed it. All left the gathering shocked, saying they would no longer support trump and would vote h by or President Biden. They also plan to hold meetings for their own families and friends. Great. People just don’t know about it. I have been texting Media Hosts and our DC senators and congresspeople every day begging them to get out in public talking about Project 2025. We have to spread this as much as possible and then do it some more. Thanks for asking about this!’n
Shelia, I emailed R. Maddow at MSMBC about the NECESSITY of Maddow hosting a panel (and not just 10 min. of banter) explaining the major pertinent parts of project 2025. I have known about 2025 since the end of last year, and as a regular viewer of Morning in America Joe (no typo) and other segments, I notice commentators mention 2025 in passing, but no detail. Reading articles in Salon and other periodicals, I learn that the American voting public knows next to nothing about 2025. Naturally, I have yet received no response. Suspect I will never. Joe and Mikka are too busy celebrating Mikka's birthday and hosting authors who write uplifting books about how faith changed their lives. I think we are way beyond that now.
It should be large font in newspapers, radio, TV and on social media! Project 2025 should be treated like an incoming, violent super storm! Our Courts should be prosecuting those involved with planning and plotting against our Republic! Against the human citizens who are descendants of those who wrote the Constitution! And those many who came to this country to have freedom, and the indigenous tribes who are now just beginning to get into government and demand fair treatment and clean water access to their lands! Those who fought in wars to protect our flag, and defend this Freedom! Those who serve now in harm's way! NO MORE SUBSIDIES for TRAITORS!
Can get it on Project2025.org
I just got it there
Try Project2025.org. I just got bit on that !!’nn
https://static.project2025.org › 2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
I got an Error 404 from that.
Thank you for making an effort to make it available …
just search on project 2025 and you'll get plenty of sites to go to
https://www.project2025.org/
Don't ignore Project 47. It has Trump's personal endorsement.
Keep telling people to read Project2025.
and Project 47.
Sheila, thank you for all you do!
"If we want to guard what’s left of our freedom, we must meet the anti-democracy movement head on with a bold pro-democracy movement that protects the institutions of self-government from oligarchs like Musk and Thiel and neofascists like Trump."
In the '90s, a Libertarian friend of mine, in all earnestness asserted to me: "Money is freedom." (That may be true for the likes of Musk.) I replied: "Embrace that thinking and you'll end up having neither." She was working 24/7 trying to run a business that eventually failed. Her libertarian views have changed a lot now that she's working just as hard being an unlicensed home healthcare worker through an agency. So much for "money is freedom." I've long said that Capitalism is in >every way< as inherently inimical to democracy as Communism. (Leninism, Stalinism, etc. which are fascist implementations of the idea.) Don't even get me started on Hitler trying to pass himself off as a socialist - national or otherwise.
"If “capitalist democracy” is becoming an oxymoron, it’s not because of public assistance or because women got the right to vote. It’s because billionaire capitalists like Musk and Thiel are intent on killing democracy by supporting Trump and the neofascists surrounding him. "
With due respect to Dr Reich, "capitalist democracy" was >always< an oxymoron - a view I've held for over 50 years. It's an accident of history the truth of that perspective is unquestionably being demonstrated in these times. Capitalism as we've come to know it is designed to maintain the wealth of the wealthy, that requires the captive backs of a permanent, large underclass to support it. The pyramid is its Ur symbol. as seen on the dollar bill, equipped with the "all seeing eye," which apologists claim is supposed to represent the "eye of god." Keep that in mind when it's seeing into your bedrooms. For another 50 years, I've questioned the intent of having twin "Fasces" emblazon the podium of the House: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5142/5622228378_31b7c79eaa_z.jpg
Also see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasces Symbols are language and language has meaning as meaning signifies purpose and intent.
A Texas bellwether: https://youtu.be/ym9gbDpewwc?si=D60I-79KzKruJYur
It seems to me that all forms of government eventually lead to an oligarchy, kleptocracy. Whether it’s greed, domination, control, sociopathy, I don’t know, but the scum goes to the top.
Midwest: It is a law of nature. Pack animals, herd animals, even fish, the perpetual struggle for breeding rights, only in humans they are manifested indirectly and in more complicated ways,.
An oligarchy is a klepocracy, and oligarchs have a hammer over their heads.
Russia has 82 billionaires but only a handful of oligarchs. An oligarch has control of a a nations industry or resource, and Putin has control of them.
There's the real conundrum I've wrestled with over a lifetime. Here's the snag. Simply stated, in the absence of government, some kind of government will arise, and the guy with the biggest club will be the one who rules. That's not conjecture; that's history! Freedom of the wild is >definitely< not what you may have been led to believe. What most believe is freedom I call the "freedom fantasy." See the "American Dream," for example. (Or nightmare, depending on your perspective.) The word "dream" should be your first tipoff.
A constitutional form of of government is not a dream but a necessity. Support for Trump is a deluded act of faith, a hope against reality that he will honor some form of constitutional government.
Just a little something more for you to ponder: https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-student-protests
I absolutely agree - in principle. Here's the snag. Have you ever read the Chinese constitution? https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/China_2018.pdf?lang=en
Pay special attention to Articles 28, 71 & 75 - 28 in particular has some chilling implications.
Compared with the US Constitution, the Chinese Constitution is a beast.
The main feature of the US Constitution was all about simplicity and a mechanism for amending it. But that can become a liability, as we see demonstrated now, and is totally at the mercy of the political culture. What МАГАт Яepuблиkan would you entrust to represent at a constitutional convention?
The main feature of the Chinese Constitution is its detail. But that can be a liability in that I - for one - can't imagine how it could possibly be amended by any kind of referendum. Those in power appear to be the only ones capable of changing it.
Let me hasten to add that the Chinese Constitution is truly impressive, and most of the people - perhaps - seem to be living their lives satisfactorily under it. But comes the question of Tibet and the Uigurs. How is any of that freedom of religion apparently guaranteed under their constitution. That's for you to puzzle with.
That brings us to the question you pose saying: "Support for Trump is a deluded act of faith, a hope against reality that he will honor some form of constitutional government."
True enough. A constitution is necessary, but not sufficient. It requires a political structure inclined to honor it, otherwise it's just an old piece of paper.
Republicans want to alter the US Constitution
DZK, thank you for your thoughtful, informative, and very important comment. What you say is absolutely true. As to the Chinese constitution, it is not just a piece of paper; it spells out some rules of the game, and it is in the ruler's interest to follow and enforce them, lest anarchy ensue. Like the defunct USSR, China is ruled according to Marxist-Leninist principles (they didn't work very well for the Soviet Union, did they?). Trump as president, on the other hand, intends to rule like Orban or Putin. His command will be the law. Congress, like the Russian Duma or Hungarian equivalent, will rubber stamp his decrees. He made it clear that he intends to use the DOJ for personal purposes. Chaos likely will follow.
A constitution, agreement, covenant, contract, charter is just a piece of paper unless there is a mechanism for enforcement.
The Supreme Court is a social fiction, created by agreement and it has no powers to enforce its ruling. We only abide because of precedent and faith.
Andrew Jackson nailed it when he said, "Justice Marshall has ruled, now let him enforce his ruling" and continued on with the Indian removal Act
I am not applauding Jackson, but mentioning that sometimes those we abhor are correct, and in this time he was correct. The Supreme court has ruled on many issues, and the only reason their ruling is accepted is because the Federal government accepts the ruling,
If Trump is elected he will ignore any ruling with which he disagrees six of the Justices know that, and will thus not issue any such ruling.
It is recorded that Peter Thiel blames women and thinks little of them it is also known that Peter Thiel is gay. If you have enough money, you are untouchble and exceedingly selfish.
Even though I am gay adjacent and an avid defender of LGBT rights, I know a lot of gays and know that a lot, not all, are misogynists, and a lot of them like Andrew Sullivan of the New Republic are jealous guardians of their own gay rights, but avid critics of the transgendered.. I have ideas as to what lies behind both, but a different story at another time.
Thiel, Trjmp,Bezo's, Musk, all of them are self centered, narcissistic, sociopathic, even psychopathic sons of bitches,and that is how they achieved their wealth. You too can become a wealthy bastard if you are inhuman.
Or inherit it through dynasty. Here come the "family values" - just another, less provocative way of advocating for hoarding money over generations. We need to kill that with a "death tax" and tell those who invented the term, intending to make it appear a moralistic issue, to go $#!7 in their top hats!
Yep, that too.
But we are all to blame for inheritance laws.
All creatures fear death. Humans have developed an ideology that is embedded in the subconscious, that they can cheat the grave, by reproducing, and leaving their acquired (or inherited) wealth and power to their offspring.
In a patriarchal society it is the desirable outcome to produce a male heir, a mini me, that inherits not only the wealth,but the power, however great or small, that comes with that power., which evolved into primogeniture laws. That is how humans deceive themselves into thinking that they can cheat the grave.
John Davidson Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W Mellon, Richard Mellon Scaife, etc ad nauseum, all left he ill gotten gains and power to themselves via their heirs.
BTW, I googled heirs of Andrew Carnegie and got this:
The 13 fourth-generation members of Andrew Carnegie's lineage now have the self-made wealth of white collar professionals. Their children and grandchildren make up a large fifth generation and a growing sixth.
What a laugh, self made wealth (millionaires) if they weren't Carnegie's, they wouldn't be grads of prestigious universities or hired by prestigious law and finance firms.
That is indeed dynasty. That's >exactly< what needs to be flushed down the Ostrogoth/Visigoth/Anglo Saxon privy, buried over, and forgotten. I think we're all entitled to the wealth we make by our own effort. Our kids need to begin building theirs at Mc Donalds, etc. When you're dead, you're done, and I would reinforce the old adage "you can't take it with you" by force of law. And screw those who consider it theft. I consider it restoring that wealth to the country that made that wealth possible.
I would like that comment, but I can't, not on my computer not with google Chrome, the likes don't register.
Don’t you think that Reagan really upset the scales of wealth?
Absolutely. He did it under the cover of "The Tax Revolt," that in recent times became "The Tea Party."
I was just getting ready to post something till I saw your post. When a foreigner becomes a threat they need to be deported. I don't care how many businesses he has in the United States. People b**** about immigrants coming here to make a better life for themselves and they don't b**** about people coming here to make your life miserable. If you thought foreigners couldn't be president guess again. If Trump wins everybody will be running this country except US. Musk needs to be deported and he should take his f****** businesses with him. Make solar cars. Of course they won't or Musk wouldn't be making money off those Tesla plugins. I didn't know America was here for the benefit of foreign oligarchs. We can make our own electric cars. F*** him. He is a threat to this country and should be deported
Blue--Elon is going into the petroleum business; he will call it Musk Oil.
Speaking of “wokness”, it seems that billionaires are waking up to the fact that they are a minuscule minority not only in this country but in the world. They are pushing back big time to protect themselves and what they have by no-tax on their wealth, little if any worker’s rights for their employees and gig workers, and less and less voice in government for the majority of people. Oh, and let’s not forget oodles of debt for the majority to drawn themselves in. That is what insulates them and their holdings, that’s what keeps them powerful and protects their hoarded wealth.
We are the ones who forget just how powerful we are in numbers. We are encouraged to fight, finger and gun point, and hate our fellow Americans, and believe we are all contrary in our beliefs and ideals. We the majority are so busy fighting each other that we forget who’s creating the fight in the first place. And let’s not forget who owns the majority of the media.
Why is news of Biden or Democrats so hard to find now except from subscribed sources? And speaking of subscribed sources, I searched Apple News for Biden, Joe Biden, President Biden, and received very little but plenty of TFG. This is a systematic crush of the voice of the people of this country in order to bombard us with war, hatred, fear and deny what’s important: that our country’s ideals must survive right here on planet Earth. And it looks like those with the majority of the cumulative power and money in the country are in complete disagreement with that.
How to unite ourselves? By focusing on what is being done to the majority by the wealthy minority. They are powerful, nimble, and filled with fear and the more they hear about fair taxes, unions, or regulations the more fearful they become. Make no mistake they intend to crush their opposition—the majority of the country—preferably before we realize what’s really going on.
I know that and it’s why I fight so hard. I refuse to be treated like fkn property.
Well said, GP. They hate democracy, because they fear us. Like the business people who supported Hitler and Mussolini they are gambling with more than their money.
Our intelligence agencies have been a little busy making up lies about insurrection, top secret documents, hunters laptop, pee tapes, meritless fisa warrants etc. Also, everything they touch is a fuckin fiasco. So by all means do help Biden with another fake prosecution of a political rival in the name of democracy. It doesn’t help Biden at all, but it helps everyone else see the actual enemies of democracy.
the insurrection was NO lie! Unless your eyes and ears lie... or AI did the whole thing. Unless you really believe that the election was stolen despite NO evidence of that.
The crook Trump who has been at it long before he took the POTUS perch to operate from finally has a STATE case against him that is not FEDERAL, not BIDEN's doing. You lie. The enemies of democracy lie. They gain power over media, love the uneducated (Trump said so) and spread their lies. Fox and Musk (musk),are addictive because they catch you by the hate, ( what they hate is what YOU hate) and it's one-stop shopping for many... The enemy of democracy is ignorance.
"Chuck" is from Vladivostok.
regardless he still needs a response for everyone else
Chuck gets paid to post.
do you know? regardless this needs response.
You’re a Magat ain’t ya? Nobody cares what your opinion is. No. Body. Know why? Cuz you’re all always WRONG. you’re just another duped treasonous shtgbn.
You can tell by the Jesus icon! 🤣 Like a guy replied to me about another troll elsewhere: "He gets paid in rubles and his name is Igor!" 🤣👍
Wrong place for ya, pal. Back to “Truth Social” where ya belong. (Have to say though that I’m delighted that you are even reading the Professor, maybe some actual truth will rub off on you!”)
Chuck, what in heaven's name are you talking about? None of what you say makes sense, but I am sure you have some proof of what you are claiming?
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/politics/john-durham-report-fbi-trump-released/index.html
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fbi-homeland-security-ignored-massive-amount-of-intelligence-before-jan-6-senate-report-says
https://www.cjr.org/analysis/jeff-gerth-on-the-press-versus-the-president.php
You’re going to need to read Ruth. But there’s more where that came from.
Chuck, I noticed that these are primarily about the "deep state" under Trump's administration and there were a bunch of Trump's guys left when Trump left office. Second-guessing about January 6th before the event would be ridiculous. Trump incited his gang and got his handlers to make sure there would be no National Guard or other help for the Capitol Police that day. That is not a failure of the whole system unless Donald Trump a criminal and insurrectionist gets re-elected in November, and he is setting us all up for that using his red state operatives and our Supreme Court Republicans. He doesn't need the FBI, CIA or anyone else to do that. It is clear the FBI does have a Trump bent because they chose to warn him several times before finally getting a warrant to search Mar-a-Lago for the stolen documents and they made sure he wasn't there so there would be no confrontation. That's a lot of slack given to a former president, criminal. No one else would have gotten that kind of leeway. And now, an incompetent sycophantic Trump-appointed judge Cannon is sabotaging the case against Trump regarding the documents. Anyone else who had stolen so many documents (or even one top secret document) is most likely in jail by now. That is not CIA, but FBI did help somewhat here. We are in trouble but it's because we have too many Trumpers and Trumpettes in high office and too many Americans who believe the constant lying that leaks from Trump's mouth along with the mouths of nearly every single Republican in office anywhere. They should be ashamed, but are not.
Chuk is troll. Ignore him.
Ruth, no one else? What about a decrepit old vice president who had classified documents behind his corvette?
I think you should probably be ashamed. And everyone that defends either Trump or Biden. They are both horrible. Umbrage over one to support the other is lunacy. Democrats read the Steele dossier into the congressional record knowing it was a fabrication paid for by an election denier Hillary Clinton. Have you read the Jeff gerth article ? Or is that too deep state? Biden will be destroyed in November. By a game show host. Prepare yourself with whatever cope you like.
I'm sorry Chuck, but the only response I have for you is BS! Grabbing little bits of something from less than quality entities means nothing. Biden did report the documents he had when they were discovered by his team where Trump did not. False equivalencies are beneath you. No, I am not ashamed. I am only sad that so many Americans have been so easily bamboozled by botts and folks who pull out stuff that supports their weird conspiracy theories to stump them and negate their ability to think critically.
LMFAO Ivan, Are ya at least getting more than a measly 1,000,000 in rubles in America for the shit you stir up?!
Crawl back into that hole Chucky boy.
That's no way to talk about your own mother.
The "actual enemies of democracy," are people of your ilk willing to spew lies and fascist propaganda. Save it for your Fux and Xshitter comrades.
My ilk? I voted for Biden. I’m sure I’m the only person in America who regrets voting for him. Don’t let reality get in the way of your pious idiocy.
Yeh, you voted for Biden.Sure thing Chucky. Biden voters for Trump. Chickens for KFC.
You can't be serious!
Very perceptive about a very shady character.
Liars are losers. Haters are hellish.
You should start your own stack if you haven't already
When you say « I’m very knowledgeable about what is truth and what is BS » and in the same breath very clear of what is « … obvious Russian propaganda » and are « …100% certain [Elon] was helping Putin » , what is 100% certain is that your selected fantasy is indeed your version of reality.
Enjoy.
Why don’t you just eff off dude?
Putin bot posting as Gary Champagne. More of them posting every day, the closer we get to November.
We are in the grip of vulture capitalism. Thank you Robert for this truly alarming report. You started a list of these traitors to democracy. Can you or someone enlarge on it and give us the names and their corporate affiliations? It would be a great service.
John, don't ask Robert to do for you what you can do yourself with a little effort.
elon is "ants at a picnic," but we still need to reign-in that brainless loser. He still has power despite Twitter's imminent demise because he was GIFTED his fortune like his master, Bunkerboy.
He'll last maybe . . . 3 months into President Biden's second term. (65% of the country support him, so I see no need to worry TOO much.)
Mental illness has lots of different ways it can be treated, please seek help
I was kicked off Twitter too. I fought about 200 male Nazis attacking me at once.
The billionaires are more loyal to one another and to their money than they are to any nation-state. I recall reading a prediction to this effect in the early 1990s, but what can we non-billionaires do about it now?
Let's not forget SCOTUS' role in Trump's campaign.
Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is set to expire December 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm.
The morbidly wealthy one percent of America is about to lose their precious tax cuts unless Trump is re-elected.
Thomas and Alito would like to retire under a Republican president to ensure conservative replacements.
If Trump is ushered in due to a SCOTUS decision, look no further than sheer politics, payoffs and corruption as the source.
The Democratic Convention needs to become a media showcase of the problems the nation and the world faces today, led by Al Gore, who actually had the presidency stolen from him by SCOTUS. Each day should showcase something new, with a clicker type voting app similar to what Robert Reich uses for his classes to gouge public support, including for other Democratic candidates such as Al Gore, with Biden stepping aside.
Peter, I was with you until you brought up the BS of dumping Biden. That would pretty much insure a Trump victory in November. How could anyone trust a party that can't stand with and support its own president who has actually done an amazing job compared to anyone else in a long time?
Brilliant plan for DEM convention, 2peter
David, the SC cons/Republicans are already moving in the direction of pushing the election to our Baby Donnie (or should I say Toddler-Trump? We need a better, more immediate structure for disciplining rogue justices than impeachment. We saw how effective impeachment was when Trump was actually tried for crimes he committed. Most Republicans just couldn't face the truth and couldn't vote to get Trump out of office. Not only are Republicans these days cowards, they are OK with regular lying, cheating (gerrymandering), mis and disinformation, and trying to rewrite history. I can think of no positive reason anyone should either support or vote for Trump and Kump, but there are millions who will, pretending things are just so much worse for them now under Biden than in their poorly remembered past under Trump. It is just so appallingly ridiculous it is hard to imagine it.
Excellent question, NYCgrrl! I hope someone has some answers. We can continue to point out the obvious, but what we really need is a plan for moving forward and doing something about it!!
NYCgrrl ; We can stop paying them, and support the progressives who are not owned by the traitors.
Those billionaires own EVERYTHING these days, including our government. It's easy to say "Stop paying them," but almost impossible in light of what they own or control. I don't see any easy to to get rid of their influence. We may actually have to go to the mattresses for this; just the thought makes me queasy.
They would be nothing without the people that work for them. That’s why they have to keep the majority in want so they can be easily manipulated. If all their workers left their companies, what would they be? But people have to eat.
Speaking of owning everything, the vulture venture capitalists are buying up everything from housing, hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, etc. it’s not good for any community or the nation as a whole.
One thing we have to fight back against the oligarchy is government which is riddled with its own problems. We can refuse to own their stock or work for their companies but that’s a long shot at best.
We know many of the problems. We need to work on solutions.
The conspiracy theories are great! They own everything..
They don't even own their own companies Pension funds are the major shareholders..
SEC form 4. 13F and 13G. For deeper research then Form 3G which you may not have access to..Form 4C .I've been retired for a long time now,I would need to brush up on forgotten skills for 5 minutes or so.
Blackrock,Vanguard,State Street global are large pension funds They would tell you where the ~ $30 trillion they are holding is,and which companies they are invested in .
MSCI and their funds can be looked at. Not sure on this one I would need to check but 10K for the annual financials,10Q for quarterly,and then company websites,the investor centre has all the the information and history you would need
Nah go for conspiracy theories,much more fun.
The easiest portal,Norges investment bank .The 401K for Norway.A wealth of information and education on that site A good place to start. The Singapore fund ( I forget the name of it now) is a slightly more complex site,but good
GIC Singapore,and Temasek,I remembered
VOTE, educate others and encourage them to VOTE! It’s all most of us can do!
Is this an overt attempt to start and ferment CIVIL war .
DESPICABLE !!!
And, I don't think we are that far away from one. Especially if TFP is found guilty this week and/or he loses in November.
don't shop at Amazon or buy a car from Tesla, for starters.
Tax them to DEATH
It worked in the 1930s
Organize and vote while you still can.
NYCgrrl, hello from a non-millionaire. What we can do is learn, share knowledge with people who are open to truth, get organized and vote D all down the line. There are more of us than the oligarchs and their followers. We want more people to share the fruits of their labor, however humble it is. And we want fair taxation, so that the prosperous share their wealth with ordinary people. Should only the prosperous enjoy daycare for their children and other dependents? Ordinary people have a right to wide social benefits like schooling that leads to opportunities for personal growth and social enrichment, and healthcare, which is key to life,
assured by America's Constitution. Ordinary people can look at nature as a common benefit for all people, all creatures to live and adapt in an evolving world, not as a mere physical resource to be exploited and probably exhausted for maximum profit. Beliefs may need to be supported, but it's common sense that you can call on your neighbor if you need a hand, since "we all need somebody to lean on" and "I might just have a problem that you'll understand."
(Metaphorically) “À la lanterne!" I don’t want to kill them, I just them to pay their fair share in taxes and not poison the environment.
Indeed. But who can blame them? They want to extend Socialism for the Rich.
There is only one solution to their cacophonous bullshit: the nomination of Sanders.
Although I like a lot of Bernie’s ideas, I don’t think he would have been able to do half of what President Biden has accomplished. President Biden has had many years in the senate making deals and alliances plus his 8 years as VPUS. He has used that knowledge to get things done. I don’t think that Bernie has the temperament to as be diplomatic as necessary for the job.
The problem with this mode of thinking is we'll never know. Bernie has never been timid while I fear Biden keeps bowing to the 70's and its institutions. Every time I see Clarence Thomas I remember whose watch let him on the court.
Some due diligence would have paid off. Those in Savannah knew about this guy.
I am in complete agreement, and for the same reasons. Biden is a great president. I thought, and still think, he would have been a better president in 2008 than Obama or HRC, which is why I made contributions to his campaign. That doesn't alter the fact that we are 16 years on, and he now looks very frail. To many voters a president must first and foremost appear vigorous, and I'm beginning to think he may be unelectable. For months he has been underwater in the swing states, so this is a huge problem. If he doesn't surge after the debate in June, then the DNC must act, swiftly and ruthlessly.
The future of this nation, and the world, is at stake.
Michael, I can’t imagine replacing Biden as our candidate at this point. There is no potential successor with sufficient following to have a chance. There is no time to unite tens of millions of Americans behind a new candidate.
I agree that Biden looks old and frail. Yet he has the best team I’ve seen in many many years - smart, confident, talented, progressive players who have made an incredible difference under Biden. Sadly, that doesn’t seem like enough to convince voters to elect the Biden team.
I am too old and handicapped to move to Canada or Costa Rica. But I can’t imagine living in a country run by narcissistic, misogynistic, racist, homophobic, corrupt billionaires and their Nazi followers, who have virtual control over the planet’s environment and nuclear arsenal.
I agree about Biden. As Bill Maher observed: "I'd vote for Biden's head in a jar of blue liquid." Nevertheless, there are many people who, when they say "too old" actually mean "too frail." I'm sorry to say, I don't see this going away.
They wrongly see Biden as a vestige of the old establishment. He has to convince voters that there is a different Biden in office.
keep the faith and work to get him and other Dems elected.
We have no control over how Biden looks, how well he debates Trump, etc etc
I am weary of the debates, because it is stated Republican policy NOT to debate, and not to answer questions; you just state your position (vast conspiracy against "real America"). Trump will follow this policy unless the moderators threaten him with dismissal if he refuses to follow rules, and then he will just walk off and accuse them of being part of the conspiracy against him. He is an actor-politician, and he and his supporters see the election process as a means of seizing and legitimizing power.
I agree. He wasn’t my first choice in 2020, but I would have considered pretty much anyone besides tfg. President Biden has done much better than I thought he would and I’m impressed. He is starting to look his age more and he isn’t the best at public speaking, most likely because of his lifelong stutter. Logically, if President Biden were to drop out of the race, he would be replaced by VP Kamala Harris. I don’t think the country is ready for a woman president, especially a woman of color. BTW, she was my first pick for president in 2020.
Susan, Biden is definitely starting to look his age, while...Trump looks at least ten years younger. Trump younger because of his dyed blond hair and faux bronze facial tan. But...I think it's not just looks, but optics of a different sort. I remember months ago writing a reply about this self same issue and recommending that it's not just 'looks' but how Biden comports himself, his gestures -- the whole optics of a very tired man -- his performance. I recommended then that he keep his hands away from his face, open his eyes wider to avoid the 'deer in the headlights' look, while having his mouth hanging open as if he doesn't know what happening around him, stop making the sign of the cross, and speak louder and more forcefully. In short, he needs a personal communications consultant.
He needs to project some energy and fight. But that's not all. I feel he's going to let Bibi lose this election for him. To digress a bit, I've never understood why people are so against Harris. To my mind she is a very intelligent woman (...herein might be the root of the problem) and is EXTREMELY articulate. Trump would have no chance in debate with her. I could go on, but I'll just stop now.
I have these exact same thoughts about all of this - and it scares me to death. I am going to vote for Biden but I’m so terrified of the way he’s being vilified in my own party. I’ve kept saying why can’t the Democrats just get someone younger - and I’m not being ageist, I’m being practical! - just imagine Gavin Newsom or someone like him debating Trump. It would be so satisfying to watch. I’m terrified of what the future holds, particularly considering the Israel-Hamas war and all the youth who are against Biden now. We are in deep, deep trouble.
In my opinion Harris `is a very good example of Biden's "It's all about me, and getting my second term" strategy. A big part of that strategy is to stifle any potential competition in the Democratic Party. Harris is smart, competent, attractive, and strong. So Biden keeps her well off center stage. The Democratic Party is full of strong talent like Harris, but have you noticed that they are absent from the public dialogue. Pete Buttigieg is another good example, very smart, articulate, and capable, but not seen much. Seems to me the whole cabinet is kept back stage, except for Antony Blinken who helps Biden make excuses for taking all that crap from Bibi.
And Bibi is grinding down Biden's image, day by day, bomb by bomb. Rhetorically he's burying Biden in Rafa.
A Sanders-Warren ticket would at least show that there is a some strength left in our Party.
The DNC does not act swiftly and ruthlessly. Agree about 2008. Never thought Obama was ready. He needed seasoning. Oh well.
My #1 choice in 2008 was Biden. Had to wait 12 years. :(
My #1 choice too, he'd have been a wonderful president. It's really sad that in these difficult times the DNC is incompetent.
Biden opposed the way Obama handled Netanyahu; he thought being more diplomatic would be more effective.
How's that worked out?
Indeed. Bernie's record of legislative accomplishment is not great. Because he is out of step with others. That is a credit to him perhaps but a liability when it comes to getting things done.
The horse has left the barn on the Sanders-for-President front… but the much-needed spirit, energy and economic analysis of Sanders - that drove the support millions of people - remains, and is an option for Democrats to consider this coming August.
Hear hear!
But who will be the standard bearer?
There are numerous talented and capable women and men who could serve - a testament to the openness of the Democratic Party - as President and so the delegates could and should applaud the spirit of change possible in a Democracy. Joe Biden is none-the-less a wise and considerate statesman at the helm.
You ask the big question. Bravo!
I am not sure how you believe that is possible.
Sanders has capably mentored some progressives, Vote for them where you can.
Too old, and his time is past. Why can't we find someone young and charismatic? Why do we always turn to old people? They've done their bit. We need new blood now.
New blood. There’s plenty of new blood in the Biden team. I honestly don’t understand why a wise old man with a great younger team isn’t enough. I’m losing all respect for the shallowness of the American electorate.
and the miserable failure of our press.
I believe the far bigger problem is the Israel-Hamas war and the youth who are vilifying Biden for supporting Israel.
They're not seeing the young blood, only the frail old man. And while Wall Street is going great guns, the actual economy is not. Too many people can't afford to buy or rent anywhere, and food prices have NOT come down all that much--and not at all in many places. Have you checked the price of a new vehicle these days? Outrageous! Biden is the clear choice against Trump, but I understand why people aren't excited about it. Biden has accomplished a lot, but if people can't afford basic necessities, unhappiness and anxiety and fear run rampant.
and they have to blame someone, even if the person is not responsible for their troubles.
Gavin Newsom should be out there, front and center. He’s strong, he’s intelligent, and he’s got youthful energy and swagger. He is despised by the MAGA creeps but so what. He couldn’t be more hated than Obama was! Why are we just letting this nightmare happen to us, so passively??
I don't think anyone is letting it happen, but fighting back is difficult. Voting isn't the magic elixir everyone pretends it is, because gerrymandering and other devious tactics are keeping people from doing it. Texas Republicans are currently contemplating making it impossible at ALL for Democrats to win in that state. Republicans will cheat any way they can to maintain minority rule. So how do you fight back against that, short of hand to hand fighting in the street?
I have no idea. It’s infuriating. It feels like an unstoppable force. No wonder I’m depressed and anxious. My natural mental health state is pretty even keeled and positive but I’ve been really struggling lately. I feel utterly impotent to change a damn thing, I’m infuriated by the people who want this and those who haven’t done their part to prevent or punish it (Merrick Garland, you feckless weenie ass), and it’s a terrible combination of facts and feelings to live with. I haven’t a clue what I can personally “do.”
Well, who do you have in mind?
I don't, really. I'm familiar with the main players, but although Newsome speaks well in interviews, I don't like that his state is so expensive and there are too many homeless people. If he could actually solve some of California's problems, I'd consider him a good choice to run the country. The other person I like--a lot--is Pete Buttigieg. Smart as hell and is great in interviews. Truly stellar. :) Unfortunately, there are still too many bigots in America, so I don't know what his chances of winning might be.
I also like Buttigieg, but his chance of winning is close to zero for the reasons you state. Although I also think Newsom could make a great president, I agree with you that too many people would have doubts.
Which is why I advocated for Sanders. Hell, even young people like him!
Unfortunately, he is now too old for that position. I wanted him in 2016, but the Russians rigged it for Trump, and here we are--so much worse off than if Hillary had won the electoral vote (we know she won the popular vote by, what, 3000 over the moron?). If I really want to complain about candidate unfairness, I'd go back to Gore, and say he got robbed by SCOTUS. Our country would probably look very different if the people who legitimately won had been allowed to serve.
Whatttttttt????
Dear God! I thought you were worried about Biden being old. That train left the track awhile ago!
Elon Musk recently criticized the Biden administration for not developing the number of electric car charging stations they’d targeted - Secretary Buttigieg got buttonholed on this by the press - and yet Musk himself just laid off the entire development team working on charging stations and supporting technology at Tesla. These oligarchs seem to see space flight as the next railroads but there isn’t presently the imperative for such travel as the railroads offered in the 19th century. So far as I can tell, these robber barons equate freedom with not paying taxes or being held to environmental and labor standards of any sort.
I don’t begin to know anything about the costs incurred by NASA when SpaceX sends ships to the international space station so perhaps it’s a wash but I think that’s unlikely. I assume Musk thinks the costs for NASA and the roads the Tesla cars he sells are build for free by magic fairies rather than taxes.
Maybe they're so big on space flight because they hope to use it to escape the planet once they've ruined it.
They haven’t thought spaceflight through to the possibility/probability they won’t be welcomed if they encounter alien life.
Here in Baghdad By the Sea, Musk wants to tunnel to escape sea level rise and gridlock. https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/are-elon-musks-tunnel-projects-in-florida-still-moving-forward-15799474
Where I live, Coconut Grove, five feet above sea level, highest in the county.
Someone has to remind Musk what happens underground when, for example, New York City is inundated by rain that floods out the subways. Has he never heard of gravity?
"The only Boring Company tunnel currently open to the public is a 1.6-mile “loop experience” under the Las Vegas Convention Center, in which Teslas with hired drivers haul people around underground at about 30 miles an hour."
Just another con to sell Teslas. I hope they're amphibious. Where's he going to put the charging stations so seawater doesn't short them out?
I saw that but there’s other work that needs to be done before installing charging stations. There’s electric distribution updates that need to be made to accommodate the charging stations. This is what Pete Buttigieg said yesterday. The goal is 500k by 2030. Once they get the preliminary work out of the way in these areas, the stations can be built.
I’m not criticizing Buttigieg, but Musk for not doing his part of this. The government didn’t build gas stations either back in the day. I’m not saying subsidies and government infrastructure aren’t needed, just that Musk and his ilk aren’t stepping up.
I don’t disagree with you on this at all. Elon has gotten billions of dollars from subsidies. He doesn’t ever reciprocate or appreciate it either. He’s rich off of handouts and low taxes rates.
You have nailed it with this post!
What a waste of time and energy and money. We wouldn't need charging stations if they built solar cars. Deport Musk. I don't give a s*** what he paid for his citizenship or whatever he's got going on. He came here to destroy the American dream. Get rid of him! If ever somebody needed to be deported this would be the time. People have lost jobs cuz of him. He has brought nothing to the table that we can't bring there ourselves. Deport Deport Deport. He is a threat to our country. This is why maggots lay on a bunch of s*** about all immigrants being illegal and a threat to our country. Once again defending the real threats to our country which are them
Lol ur stupid as fuck. “We wouldn't need charging stations if they built solar cars.” Jesus Christ
I know people with solar panels on their vehicles. They don't stop at charging stations. What the f*** are you talking about? The vehicle charges their batteries. Solar panels work without electricity except during a power outage at which time you need solar batteries
The Tesla truck is having its share of problems. Maybe if it came with an air freshener that resembles an “appeal to heaven” flag, a shotgun rack and truck nuts it might have a fighting chance.
🤣
A Confederate Flag bumper sticker, a fake exhaust pipe with a loud roar, and oversized truck tires would also help!
I’m thinking Blues Brothers. 😎
You're funny. As a retired truck driver I expect a lot of problems
🙄
I think you are right, Sioux Fleming. Cheap labor and taxpayer's money is growing on a tree that is getting sicker and sicker. The "money tree" is not nurtured properly now. Greed will not sustain it. Slavery and harsh control of the workers seems to be their plan. There may be a problem in Houston ; We have all been raised to value Democracy as a goal to "form a more perfect Union". The spoiled and heavily subsidized are biting the hands that feed them!
Laurie, I totally agree with you! There is such a huge gap between the wealthy and the rest of us now. These oligarchs really do plan to use us as slaves with merciless control but the problem will be the rest of us. Looking back through History it never ended very well for the rich. They put the boot on the average and lower groups thinking they were just vassals and what happened? Uprisings! They found themselves at the other end of the stick and wound up either having to flee or being beheaded!!
Peggy : beheaded, (or ostracized, which used to be fatal)!
Peggy: then everyone who survived had to learn how to trust and accept others again.
Laurie, I feel we are at the untrusting stage! It is hard to accept those who would do all they could to tear down our Democracy!! I do not trust the supreme court, politicians, or corporations. I don't know if I ever will again.
Peggy ; It makes sense not to trust those who have been untrustworthy! It takes time to show that things can be done fairly. Actions speak louder than words!
So true!
I wonder if the oligarchs like Musk aren’t trying to undermine Biden’s strategic plan by creating market chaos, higher prices, delays- all to fuel campaign rhetoric. The idea of running the US and the world must be heady stuff for them. I can imagine ideas like disenfranchising women, writing school curricula, drilling on private lands, while pocketing billions in tax cuts…imagining an oligarch’s wet dream is within their grasp.
Drilling on PUBLIC lands
Democracy is indeed an assault on freedom - but only the freedom of the tiny minority of the rich and powerful to maintain their dominance of the majority. Democracy is the only “weapon” the billions have against the dozens who increasingly want to own the planet - and seem to be getting their way.
Good point, Barry!
Sorry but just really want to know since you all seem politically cluey. Am from Australia. So can anyone tell me if you vote for Jill Stein, independent and anti-war which is what is most important now why do people say is a vote for Trump? Also is Biden stepping aside? Tbh am sure he suffers from dementia
You blew it with the “dementia”.
I guess you already know, as there’s literally no chance anyone either than Biden or Trump winning, votes that would never go to Trump but don’t go to Biden are a lost vote - so basically the equivalent of a Trump vote.
Although not strictly mathematically of course.
Make of that what you will.
And also you making it out as if i am a troll is ridiculous as i am clearly asking about explanation on yr system. Make of that what you will
I’m English
Make of that what you will.
Seriously i consider Trump a total raving lunatic. My comment about Biden suffering from dementia is real. Been a nurse and because he is a “president” doesn’t mean he can’t suffer from that.
There is no path to winning enough electoral college votes in our two- party system for a third party candidate, such as Jill Stein, to get to 271. She was a spoiler in 2016, taking votes from Hilary Clinton, which led to the election of DJT, even though he received 3 million fewer votes in the popular vote. A vote for a third party candidate who is left leaning is a vote that would not have gone to the right leaning candidate, so in effect takes one from the ostensibly left leaning candidate (Democrat); however, we know that Biden is basically center to right in his policies. Despite the claims on the right about him being far left radical, Biden is not even progressive, let alone radical. Biden is the incumbent and is running for reelection. And I’d watch a few Trump speeches alongside a Biden speech and you tell me which one is demented. I’m not saying either one should be running, but their ages are nearly identical. Trump is older now than Biden was at his inauguration.
Green votes aren't Democrats' votes to be "taken". The Greens are not the Democrats' reserve army of voters; just like the Libertarians aren't for the Republicans.
An obsession with acquiring as much money as possible, legally or illegally, is apparently like a highly contagious disease. Even more bizarre is—
the majority of people supporting Trump & republicans will suffer tremendously from their policies if Trump is elected. Among American oligarchs there seems to be a lot of peer pressure/sibling rivalry going on pressuring others to jump on the Trump train to wealth beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The problem is, many of these oligarchs have been &/or are enriching themselves by exploiting & taking advantage of ordinary Americans. They treat it like it’s a game.
And they talk about a "woke Virus"! Greed is a virus, it seems, spreading rapidly and buying our government, our futures and Threatening the life of our Democracy, and the lives of humans everywhere.
Publix Grocery chain just posted a 49% profit! YES, they are taking advantage of us, big time! And people are angry. I can hear the anger rumbling in the middle of the night, and it's getting louder every day.
Agree with your thoughts, but no grocery chain makes a profit that large. An increase over last year's profit? Publix is owned by its employees, not billionaires or the wealthy, a good thing.
"In March, Publix reported net earnings of $4.3 billion in 2023, up nearly 50% from the $2.9 billion reported in 2022. But the employee-owned supermarket did see net earnings drop 7.8% in the fourth quarter of the year to $1.2 billion. May 2, 2024
Thanks!
Theo, sorry but I can't hear the anger rumbling just yet. Maybe I'm deaf or it could be because I live in Thailand. Far from rumbles.
If you live in Thailand and don't hear rumbles it may be because your hearing aid is out of order.
For most people the more they have i.e. money, power, the more they want.
Well said, Susan!
Susan: EXACTLY
If money is what is needed for success, We are doomed? What is the plan? Getting out the vote??? I’m really afraid. Thank you for putting this article out there.
Patricia, don't be afraid! This is their plan. They want to scare us so badly that we will not go to the polls. It will continue to get worse and worse as the election draws near! Whenever things would get scary for me and my sisters, my grandma would say "Hold on to your knickers, girls, it's about to get nasty!" The plan we must have is to continue to speak the truth, encourage people to vote and why, send letters and postcards, sign petitions and make sure to go to the polls in November! Don't worry or be afraid, Patricia. Everyone on this substack and others like this one support you and have your back. You're not alone in this fight!! Vote Blue, America!!!
Peggy, I so appreciate your determination and positivity. But despite my monthly political donations and unblemished voting record, I am unable to quell the fear.
Gerrymandering, voter disenfranchisement, armed poll watchers, MAGA secretaries of state who may very well refuse to certify the vote, and above all else: social and “mainstream” media, contaminated by Musk, Putin , Xi…
I am afraid. I can’t shake the feeling that the Sword of Damocles is hanging by a thread. And there are too many people in power gleefully planning to cut that thread.
I
you do what you can. all the rest is noise. tune that out
I understand your fear, Marge. These manipulators are working round the clock to invoke that fear in all of us. I am confident that we will persevere as long as we don't give up, stay the course and do as much as we possibly can to ensure President Biden gets another four years. Once he is back in the White House and we manage to install a blue Senate and House, the Democrats will work hard at finding a candidate that can fill President Biden's shoes and continue to move us forward. I can't and won't give up no matter how much misinformation, propaganda and lies they throw at me!! America is a Democratic Republic and I want to keep it that way for the younger generations. Stand strong, Marge, and stay in the fight. We'll have time to take a breath after the November elections!! Vote Blue, America!!
I will vote, although my vote won't count because of the R Legislature's extreme gerrymandering in North Carolina. 😡
Ah yes, I know that is frustrating and the only thing I could tell you that might help is that your vote will negate a republican vote creating a smaller margin!
Lol. Vote blue kill America. Maybe whores like you need to be put in line. It’s gonna get pretty scary when china invades your weak ass and rapes you 40 times. Then it’ll be too late because whores like you don’t raise children that can fight. Instead you go to protests and give everyone brain rot
Musk bought Twitter to elect Trump?!?
I think that’s true. He’s destroyed the platform. I stopped checking in when the trolls started to outnumber the thoughtful people posting. He reinstated tfg and all the MAGAts crawled out of the woodwork.
Add this part, to give America to Putin.
We would certainly be annexed, Putin would outmaneuver him in every way.
so would Orban.
To support the right.
that are really wrong.
You think he bought Twitter to make $$?
When you’re worth more than $197 BILLION, you can afford a “loss leader” company which loses a few hundred million to further your future profits.
A more worrisome article I’ve never read. We must do everything possible to defeat what the billionaire group of power hungry guys are doing to advance their cause which is at peril of democracy. Defeat Trump for starters.
What about historical knowledge?
Henry Ford discovered that his workers would buy his T-ford when he paid them enough. So he created a big middle class.
Franklin Roosevelt created the equality that gave strength to the economy that brought fascism to its knees. And so on.
I think the friends of Trump should be confronted: the donations and the power they bring should be attacked. People should understand that big capital is politically stupid...
Unless they are properly taxed as a 'fail safe'.
I think the friends of Trump should be confronted:
============
Bring it.
Undocumented Commentator ; How would You "bring it"?
Laurie, remember, Undocumented Commentator is a troll.
What is it you want me to do?
Tom, undocumented commentator is a troll.
Franklin Roosevelt created the equality that gave strength to the economy that brought fascism to its knees. And so on.
===========
FDR's economic polices were awful. In fact his polices extend the Great Depression.
Go back to school.
Explain yourself; FDR was in functie till 1945…
Moron !!!
(Apologies to those with relatives that have developmental difficulties…)
Roosevelt ended the depression; created unemployment insurance , welfare Food , Social Security and gave people real jobs ; rural electrification, Hope…
He killed communism by helping real wages , supported Unionism…
Democracy and Freedom are incompatible?
Freedom for whom?
Freedom to do what?
Well yes, perhaps Democracy constrains the liberty of billionaires to expand their wealth .Insisting on regulations that protect everyone from dangerous pollution limits protects freedom by preventing disability and death.
Predatory financial practices should not be given the freedom to unbalance capital markets.
Democracy institutes such disciplines in the interests of all its citizens . Concentration of wealth corrupts absolutely when its object is desire for political power rather than investment in innovation.
Democracy is in no way incompatible with freedom. In fact, it's necessary for freedom, at least for the vast majority of us. It isn't so compatible with capitalism, but it can be if, & only if, capitalism is highly regulated. I would much rather lose capitalism than democracy.
Me too, Jaime!!
How can anybody be so out of touch..Railways opened up transport for the masses. Cars meant transport for the individual.Electricity wasn't innovative?. Steel was highly innovative . Large ships meant goods good be moved faster and cheaper, or do we depend on the wind and small sailing ships.
Arguably the greatest innovation was the Haber process,millions and millions of people could be fed using small amounts of land. Radio,then TV Telephones,then cell phones Submarine cables to move vast amounts of data.
Satellites for faster movement of information,pictures .erc
Vast improvements in healthcare extending life for billions..Everything you think has always been there hasn't .
Who was the American politician that said around 1900,everything that will be invented has been invented
All people do is sit on their arses complaining about change None of this stuff has ever helped me they say.
The next big innovations will be through MRNA and individual treatment through that breakthrough Then AI for medical purposes.
You're right ,nothing has been spent on innovation to make life better .
Dear me
What is it that Peter Thiel thinks he doesn’t have the “freedom” to do under democracy? He’s one of the richest people in the world, with one of the most successful businesses in the world. What’s he being held back from being able to do??????????
It's the principle, Charles Koch would say. If the EPA can regulate your pipe tail emissions it's a tyranny!
RR, please take a moment to expand on the idea that many Americans want a strong, solid, intelligent and compassionate leader, like Joe Biden, and at the same time many Americans want a ruler, like the former New York game show host. They want to be ruled, not led. They want to idolize and worship.
This country needs a conservative voice as well as an open liberal one. What we see with this desire for a ruler is a strange capitulation to authoritarianism. Thanks for your hard work...much appreciated.
Danny Gallagher ; "They want to be ruled, not led. They want to idolize and worship". Rubbish! Speak for yourself! Idolatry and worship is for a religion, not a republic, or governing body.
When I write of my observations I am not "speaking for myself". I'm speaking ABOUT others who confuse me.
I agree that worship and religion should be kept separate from government.
These individuals share a worldview based upon their own infantilism. All of the most powerful were either Nepo or British Empire babies. They have all been placed and become wealthy by being given familial contacts, handouts and inherited wealth. Having been at school with the child of at least one of them and long ago moved in such social circles, I became a class traitor Pariah because of my inability to comprehend that they had no social conscience. They perceive the world in simplistic faux Darwinian terms as a perpetual conflict between Predators and Prey with the assumption that they, as Winners and Predators, deserve to hold all power because they are innately more intelligent than unwashed welfare recipients. I lost count of the number of times the dinner table talk consensus would regurgitate the politically illiterate notion that social welfare made individuals lazy and feckless. Both as self righteous justification for their power abuses of their employees and self justification for their obsession with trashing all welfare programmes.
And do they have their children listen to Milton Friedman tapes like David Koch did with his ?
Keep the illusions alive baby.
Beware of true believers. Beware of "saviors," and beware of crusaders of all sorts! .
🙀
Monnina: Ayn Rand mentality. How lovely it must be to believe that your wealth is proof of your superiority! And that superiority means you should have unlimited power.
These people are more successful than you will ever been.
Depends on how you measure 'successful' doesn't it? I mean Hitler was successful....for a while. Hitler was Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1938.
So true, Terry!
If Trump's allies, the white supremacists/Project 25 Taliban, have their way, most of them will be sent to the ovens.
or South Africa. Hot enough?
Gee Daniel, you either make me laugh sometimes or scare me to death at others!! I would honestly hope that he would not be allowed to go that far!!
It's the men controlling him that will go that far and beyond.
THE NAZIS did and would. Here's their cookbook.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turner_Diaries
I literally can not understand this statement. It is utterly meaningless. Although it does suggest that you also choose live in the narrow emotional bandwidth worldview I was writing about.
So what IS zhe way that drmocracy survives this kind of assault? Call out our own coalition of millionaires and billionaires? How can democracy defend itself around the globe?
Also - Read Heather Cox Richardson's column about Africa today. The oligarch strategy becomes evev more frightening...
GENERAL STRIKE!
* (R)eagan's + Bush the Lesser's + Der GropenFuhrer's Trickle-up Windfall tax cuts for the PlutoCorporatocracy +
* Citizens "United" - (the particular fav of Sam "Torquemada" Alito) =
* The feces are in the Fan O' Freedom, yet Former Guy's beloved "poorly educated" voters - even as they wear their head-to-toe "God Bless the USA" duds - vote for the fascists.
Sad!
“Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives."
- John Stuart Mill
Can’t Fix Stupid !!!
Of Course Fox TV the social media channel will promote Any Story From Any Source ( non CONUS) if they can make a dime. They are for sale …
Miss Anne Thrope ; Well said!