It's also many years of backwards, short-sighted, ignorant, trogolodytes called Republicans who refuse to fund anything that smacks of "public," of progress, science, intelligence, enlightenment, and who are dedicated to privatizing everything from water to prisons to space exploration to technology to security to senior citizens' pensions to education to public health.....and will issue contracts to billionaires instead. The transfer of America's "treasure" in every imaginable way is their holy war. And it stinks.
It's one long, desperate plan to cling to power. Their days are numbered and they know it. Laissez-faire capitalism is devouring itself, and maybe us along with it.
I'm still confident the INEVITABLE Harris Administration can fix things.:) If she dismantles the obsolete, racist electoral college in her first 100 days . . . that's it! Gop is DEAD AND BURIED!!!
Yes, the electoral college has caused the electoral decision to be left to states where 50% of the voters are democratic, and 50% are MAGA nuts! But that is just a small fraction of the voters, the other states have many more democrats and MAGA nuts.
How is it equitable that such a small fraction of the population gets to decide??? Essentially, the majority of voters have been disinfranchised!
For the Peace and stability of our country, we need to change states from "winner takes all" States to proportional allotments of delegates.
Nebraska and Maine do that. why can't we?
Take Wisconsin: We are essentially a 50/50 red/blue State, so *EVERY ELECTION" we have approximately half of our people who are not heard. That's wrong.
True—without the Electoral College, made in the beginning to keep out all the riff-raff (like the poor, or people with brown skin, and always Women!) misogyny could cost this election—many do not trust a woman in power, in 2024. To vote for the hitler of 2024 would be an ignorant move, for anyone—but a few people will do it, they hate women so badly. And if there were no electoral college, Republicans would never win again.
I wish that were true. It's unlikely she'll be able to eliminate the electoral college, but even if she does the GOP will have a firm grasp on most red states for the foreseeable future.
It's not up to Harris to eliminate the electoral college. It's up to citizens who care about this issue to eliminate it. Sign up with the League of Women Voters, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Abolish the Electoral College PAC, or something else reputable, and work like hell over the next ten years to get it done.
Believe me, we feel as bad as you do about our political system. It was not as bad before trump came along, but he wants to tear it apart and build it the way HE wants it. He doesn't give a damn about the average citizen, only the rich!
If laissez-faire capitalism is devouring itself, the problem is that today's entrepreneurs believe that regulation is hurting their businesses. Adam Smith, in 1776, recognized that business requires meaningful regulation.
Does the "little guys" on the right not understand that most of the inflation that they so eagerly blame on the Biden/Harris administration has been caused by the fact that most of our essentials for everyday life are provided by businesses that have been allowed to ignore our antitrust laws so the ever larger corporations can charge us whatever the market will bare. And then they complain about the loss of our mom & pop small town businesses. Can't have it both ways.
No, they would rather blame the administration which has little control over what the corporations and businesses charge us. Put the blame where it belongs!
It’s at the point where business has at least as much power as the government. And now, those in government, whose lucrative careers depend on the graces of business, are succumbing to the corporate will.
Just like Russia's communism devoured itself. It seems the rich, entitled, greedy leaders of both capitalism and communism destroy everything they touch.
Trump, Musk, Vance, Yarvin, the core of American fascism. Aside from Singapore, a highly efficient authoritarian regime was founded in 1933 with financial backing from Europe's richest men and operated by Hitler. A new guard of Nazi loyalists replaced the entire German civil service. Absolute loyalty was demanded of the military, and reluctant officers were eliminated. A core tenet of this Nazi party was the 'cleansing' of German blood from lesser or 'non-humans'. Roots of Nazi ideology were derived from the 'eugenics movement' in the USA of the early 1900's operating from California and backed by the nation's most powerful corporate foundations. How did that turn out in 1945? Again, it rears its ugly head with full fury, and to hell with the common good. This disparity of fortunes cannot hold. Thank you, Robert for your analysis.
Believing in capitalism like it were a religion that it is perfect is pure nonsense. Capitalism without regulation will ultimately devour itself through uncontrolled greed. if history hasn't taught us anything, there are functions of a society that should not be profit-motivated. Infrastructure for one and healthcare for another.
Very well said Annie. Privatization has wreaked havoc on this country and its citizens. Where’s the trickle down Ronnie? What a piece of crap they have pushed on American. Well enough is enough. VOTE BLUE and only BLUE.
Catherine, I believe our enemy is "share-holder capitalism". We absolutely must break up the monopolistic corporations and return to "stake-holder" capitalism.
That's the difference between stake-holder capitalism and shareholder capitalism. The former empowers workers, users, and environmental involvement. The latter only counts percentage increases in profitability for those that own shares in the corporation, everything else be damned.
From your lips to God's ear, Bret! Our educational system has become sorely lacking in teaching our children what they need to know and understand. Civics classes should most definitely be taught again. These issues absolutely must be addressed so the younger generation have a clear understanding of how our government operates and can make informed decision when voting.
Jen, what I find hard to understand is the very people that bring in the profits for the company are being overlooked in favor of the almighty dollar going only to the shareholders and CEOs. The customers, employees, suppliers and local communities are tired of being overlooked. Everyone is saying how the economy is top of their lists for the election; however, they are blaming the wrong people! It is the ultra wealthy and mega corporations who are to blame and President Biden has tried to address it. Our economy looks good right now, but people are still upset about high prices that corporations will not ever bring down but will continue to raise!
These are not difficult concepts, and I believe if more people understood them, they'd be mighty pissed off. I know I am. Our system is rigged to make the rich richer, and to hell with the rest of us.
Why do the low & middle class working people still vote for the old white men (and I'm an oldish southern white woman) who con them into voting for republicans when they never support the interests of anyone but the corporations & people that throw money at them. That's what the "Deep State" really is. Even in our Supreme Court.
Could you explain the difference between share-holder and stake-holder? Most people who have IRA’s and 401k’s hold shares of stock. A large part of my retirement income comes from stocks.
Stakeholder capitalism is the idea that companies should look to serve all stakeholders not just shareholders. Stakeholders are customers, employees, suppliers and local communities. Shareholder capitalism is the view that companies should focus exclusively on serving the interest of the shareholders which are the owners of the stock. In shareholder capitalism stakeholders are overlooked in order to increase the profit of the shareholders. If companies used stakeholder capitalism, everyone would benefit. Shareholders would still receive a profit because stakeholders would benefit. M Tree explains this much better than I can. Stakeholder capitalism would benefit everyone.
While at it, let's get rid of stock options, that entitled executive perk that allows the lucky holder to literally print money when the stock price goes up, and suffer no consequence when the market falls.
Thank you. The few companies that treat their employees as assets and partners are incredibly rare. I had to live through a plant closure of a very successful and profitable location. That was in 2009 and the majority of my fellow employees blamed Obama rather than corporate greed.
"Stakeholder" is a gambling term. It is the disinterested NEUTRAL person who holds the stakes in a bet until the winner is determined. This is exactly the opposite of how the term is used in government and politics.
Please examine the alternate definition of the word. This is the definition being used by the Harris campaign and others.
stake·hold·er
/ˈstākˌ(h)ōldər/
noun
noun: stakeholder; plural noun: stakeholders
1.
(in gambling) an independent party with whom each of those who make a wager deposits the money or counters wagered.
2.
a person with an interest or concern in something, especially a business denoting a type of organization or system in which all the members or participants are seen as having an interest in its success.
I remember that there were laws against monopolies, and they publicized the ones that tried it and stopped them. Now, one corporation may control many items. We never know that though. They hide it well~
The United States of America started out, with the landing of adventurers of purse and person in Jamestown as a shareholder capitalist enterprise, known then as a joint venture, it did not become a colony until 1624/
Nowhere in my public and college education did I get a clear explanation of how the various “companies” that made “discoveries” and established “colonies” on behalf of “countries” like Britain, Spain, Netherlands were chartered.
We were told that the explorations and conquests were national efforts, usually under the control of monarchs.
Musk is simply following the same symbiotic model in which the wealthy, corporations and governments are functioning together for mutual benefit.
We are mushrooms, Vincent, kept in the dark and fed shit. Societies depend upon myths, myths accepted as fact. Voltaire said, "all of ancient history is nothing more than commonly accepted facts".
We have the popular myth about the revolution (taxation without representation) and who creates and perpetuates those myths.?
The real cause is hostile to corporations. The revolution was fomented by wealthy Boston merchants, who because of a monopoly charter granted by the crown to the East India Company and forced by taxes into smuggling. And smuggling was a capital offense for which you are hung or hung in chains. John Hancock was the most notorious and known of smugglers in Boston.
That is what is meant by We hang together or separately.
The Tidewater Aristocrats of Virginia, the planter class, were not discomfited by the laws of the crown that forbade the colonists to make their own clothing, clothe, silverware, hats and had to import everything from London.
Their plantations of tobacco made them filthy rich and could afford the taxes and cost of imports. What they wanted it to be the nobility in a new nation.
To be barons, dukes, called "your grace".
I have another story on that.
Here is a myth that will rankle some, maybe result in calling me racist.
Project 1619 proceeds from a lie. Yes there were 20 African slaves liberated by a privateer from a Portuguese slaver, and the ship landed at Point Comfort (Elizabeth City) not Jamestown, and the cargo, the Africans, were sold, but not as slaves,as indentured servants.
The Virginia Colony was built by indentured servants, mostly from the counties around London, especially Surrey, and also from debtors prisons,and Ireland
Often these indentured servants had no choice,.
The difference was that an indentured servant was not property, and as such was treated more harshly than a slave, because there is a capital investment in a slave as it is property,. And only the foolish and insane destroys their property.
An indentured servant served for a period of time from one to seven years and at the end of the time,he was given a sack of seeds, some food, a musket and a mule and sent on his way to found his own fortune.
There is a book one should read, Fiddler on Pantico Run, about an African
Warrior who was an indentured servant, who on fulfilling his indenture, married a white indentured Irish woman, and settled on Pantico Run, his name was Edward Mozingo, he has descendants today that are white,like the Alabma Judge Tony Mozingo, and even members of the KKK, and descendants who are black, most live in NC.
The first legally recognized case of slavery in America was
John Casor ran away from his cruel master, AnthonyJohnson, himself, a former indentured servant of African ancestry.. The court ruled that Casor was his property.
Slavery was not legalized until 1661 when the House of Burgess ruled that blacks and Indians could be enslaved and ruled against miscegenation. In 1662 it ruled that the status of the mother determined the status of the child.
Sure. But bear in mind that capitalism starts as stake-holder capitalism and inevitably morphs into shareholder capitalism, whereupon it captures the government. Just saying…
Yes Ms. Freeman, we need a kind if Capitalism wherein those who do the labor must also be the owners of the business enterprise. It has a name: Socialism.
Daniel - I've read over the years that putin is actually the richest man in the world. He does own russia, after all. and he owns a large number of fabulously wealthy oligarchs and their fortunes, many of them afraid of windows in high plances.
It is stunning to me that a man with so much money is so totally devoid of human compassion... "stunning" as in being struck by an over-charged stun gun.
Damian, you thought what "was trump""? Trump is NOTHING, now. He once was the face of a movement to "take all", requiring the dissolution of Democracy, but now he is just an overmedicated, ill old man with ADHD, dementia, and rapidly increasing cognitive decline. He is nothing now, but in the way!
Capitalism has become a religion. That is why union busting has become so lucrative, and its impact is far-reaching. Think of one thing that doesn't have a price and can't be sold, including individuals' health and lives. My eight-year-old granddaughter overheard me ask that question of someone, and she answered, "Friendship." I didn't tell her that some people don't value friendship and would sell out their friends for an opportunity to make money.
That's a great lesson. Many people who go into business together learn more about their friendships than ever... they usually end up in court together.
But what is a mixed economy? You should carefull with your language, I think.
Keynes wrote a letter to Hayek longtime ago:"You admit her and there that it is a question of knowing where to draw the line. You agree that the line has to be drawn somewhere (between free enterprise and planning) and that the logical extreme is not possible."
But where to draw it? In the political discours in the U.S. the choice is not capitalist or marxist, but robber barons versus a decent society.
Tom: Daniel has no need to be careful with his language. He is correct we have always had a mixed economy, and it is that mix that Musk, Bezo's, Thiel, etc, etc want to get rid of.
A mixed economy is an economic system that combines aspects of both capitalism and socialism, with some private enterprise and some government involvement.
Private enterprise. The billionaire class is investing in Trump that he will cancel government involvement, like Russia, the only government involvement in Russia is that the oligarchs had best not piss off Putin.
Otherwise it is a perfect libertarian enterprise..
I think (assume) he is talking about the reality of our current situations not our goals for it.
And, we are so out of balance at the moment that many of us would love to have the 50K tax credit from Kamala for a small business build out BUT one must have 50K to get 50K. Good luck getting a bank loan because that's not for little people.
"Capitalism" is not a political system. The monopolistic government entity the post office is in our 1787 constitution, We had "post roads" to properties Geo Washington owned in Cincinnati and environs. Washington established a welfare system in the city named after him. Distributed land rights to Revolutionary War veterans.
You Europeans modeled your governments after ours.
Well, that is true. Many a small business takes much more capital than the glossy business magazines lead people to believe . Just a simple build out for a strip mall store costs no less than..... 75K at this point.
Our enemy is our greed and selfishness which can destroy any and all system of good government. Any club, organization , or group of friends can be destroyed by those two behaviors.
what's MMPI - insurance for friendships that end up in court? I bet you've seen some of those conflicts - I have seen it! lol.
Well the MMPI are the personality studies. That's our nature v. learning debate. Later studies were so inconsistent that our "personality" studies were dismissed over time. Even though there can be a biological component - I stay with learned.
I think the enemy is unregulated capitalism. It isn't in itself evil, but when we let monopolies and unfairness and buying politicians happen, it's toxic as hell.
Were it not for shareholder capitalism, there would have been no United States,and you would not be alive, nor would there have been an internet were we kvetch and pontificate. The problem is no share holder capitalism, but the fact that money buys influence, and there is no known system where money or political connection and nepotism does not buy influence.
True in communist states, Milovan Djilas wrote of this in The New Class
Djilas defines the new class i as the political bureaucracy, "a monopoly over the working class itself." This "new class actually seized the lion's share of the economic and other progress earned by the sacrifices and efforts of the masses.
True today in Russia, which is not capitalist, but oligrachic dependent on the good graces of Putin and the KGB, and china, in which the capitalists are dependent upon the favor and good graces of the state.
Communism is not possible in human societies, we are not ants and termites
There will always be a maximum leader, a fuhrer, at least in a Democracy the position is transient. If it is not transient then it is not a democracy.
You are correct, Ms. Mickus. Engaging in the kind of psychological reductionism which blames our problems on individuals is a blind alley, an intellectual, moral trap. The problem is baked into the system, Capitalism is the problem. Karl Marx pointed this out over a century ago. But he has been so demonized by the powerful, wealthy capitalist elites in the U.S.A. that his words are ignored.
Catherine, "capitalism" is a word, a concept. How could a word or a concept be our enemy? If your ideology impairs your perception of reality then your ideology is the enemy. Elon Musk is not your "random capitalist," and Trump is not your random conservative.
Agreed - no one else "little people" can act like this.
I have a new definition for democracy for workers - its called fairness. Workers right's is not socialism. It's actually democracy. One vote for all.
The union busting is GREED and SELFISHNESS - that's not a system of government - it's Mr. Musk's personal failure as a human being and his character flaw.
I wonder if Putin's financing for Musk's businesses like Space X and Starlink, and maybe a secret transfer of Russian technology to make the technology of those companies much more advanced, helps those companies be so impressive and cheap that Americans can't refuse their services?
If so, it is a genius move by Putin! By sharing Russian advanced technologies through ostensibly American companies, Putin can take over entire sectors of American business, including the military's ability to communicate and to wage war in space, without firing a shot! And American investors are even paying for Putin to do so!
Even better, Musk's security clearances give Putin priveleged access to American technology too!
And Putin can withdraw Musk's technology at any time, crippling the American economy and military!
Wow! You guys had better hope I'm wrong, but it does make perfect sense to me.
ALRA, I think you may have it a bit backward: Putin doesn't have the means to finance Musk. Musk is "buying" Putin. Musk and Thiel are using their takeover of USA to lead BRICS.
Actually Putin is reported to be richer than Musk, because of his longterm “service” in Russia. He would be happy to manipulate yet another useful idiot in the US. Besides Trump.
Alternative: Technology can't be withdrawn. Technology is not a thing. Technology creates things.
Consider technology as a recipe. America had the recipe for nuclear fission, but then was let loose upon the world. Steve Jobs had the technology for the mouse and windows, but Bill Gates stole it and it is now loose upon the world.
Germany had the technology for rockets and guidance, but it too was let loose upon the world.
Technology just means tools and the knowledge to use them.
And yes, Musk's technology CAN be turned off. We've already seen that with Starlink that was turned off in Ukraine to stop it being used to attack the Russian Army.
A dictionary definition is :the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.
But a more fundamental and basic definition is : Knowledge
Stone throwing is a technology, fire starting was a technology developed by hominid ancestors to perform a function: Survival.
From throwing stones by hand, technology advanced, to how to throw bigger stones and more accurately, to cannons and muskets, rifles and bombs and all we are doing is throwing stones. A rifle is merely a tool to throw stones further, faster and more accurately than the arm, a sling shot was a step up from the arm. The spear, the dagger, the sword are all derivative of the fang, the teeth.
Some ape man fell on a broken branch it pierced probably killed him others looked upon him and the light went on. Technology.
Technology produces tools. AI is a tool produced by computer technology.
2. Please repeatedly post "not suckers or losers" comments in social media. According to Facebook, there are 4 million veterans and active duty members on Facebook, as well as 12.5 million family members and 242 million friends with veterans or active duty members. Military sites, veterans; organizations, historical sites. Vote vets has already flipped many 2016 and 2020 Trump voters.
He has a higher security clearance than dumpty at this point, who isn't getting full briefings as a candidate. Interesting twist. Wonder if he briefs the twit, and out in briefs him and vice versa.
We are entirely too liberal in awarding citizenship, and I mean to wealthy asshats
Exactly who do think trump stole all those ultra classified documents for?🤔
Personally, I don't think the Russian Federation, China and all of bricks gives a rat's 🐀 @ss about the US because it's on the virge of being completely sidelined by people who aren't interested in killing their neighbors and trade partners.
Germany now knows what being a US client state really means with pipeline sabotage and negative national growth
Are you saying that the United States is interested in killing it's neighbor and trade partners, and for that reason the Russian Federation, China and BRCS don't give a rats ass about us?
If so then support the claim that the US is interested ij killing it's neighbors and trade partners. I see no evidence of that.
Derek Wessner: No, he wouldn't already be in prison. Look at Trump; he should have been in prison years ago, yet he walks around a free man doing as much harm as he pleases.
OR , cancel student loan debt. He doesn't deserve educated workforce on a tax payer dime and then leave workers with a unpayable compound interest loan
Greed is our current system of government that has nothing to do with capitalism (when did we stop calling it free enterprise?) nor socialism etc.
Greed and selfishness is a character flaw that can be found in any system of government. Including Putin's communistic system. The workers have no rights there.
See John Kenneth Galbraith: “The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” Speaking to the Nat’l Comm. on Pockets of Poverty, Dec, 1963 (speech was written into the Cong Record a few days later).
Probably. Subsidizing Tesla without requiring it to develop affordable EVs in exchange for the public support means handing the market over to China. We don’t have to keep shooting ourselves in the foot. This is just what our bought and paid for politicians Dems Republicans alike choose to do.
Catherine, I wondered why US decided to up the tariff on Chinese electric cars. At the 25% tariff, I (all of us) could buy and import a brand new BYD Seagull for $15,000. Even doubling the tariff means the car would still be less than $30,000. Nothing being built in this country can come close to that! And Tesla, with all it's subsidies has established that reliability remains a huge problem for anything built, or even proposed to be built here.
If the US is serious about getting gas guzzlers off the road, let's do it, and partner with the Chinese to learn how to build the cars here, in the US.! I remember when the funny little VW bugs landed on our shores - - knocked the fins right off the road! We survived. At least until the ecology moms started forcing mixed messages by driving their Hummers to their conservation club meetings...
Has anyone figured out yet, that Greenies are not liberals, but libertarians, and libertarians are not liberal either, neo liberal, but not culturally liberal. Culturally despotic, except for their own personal proclivities..
I know better than to ask why the "lamestream" media haven't given this any real coverage, but it absolutely needs to somehow be put out there to the public as well as DoJ, etc. Most folks who I know don't have much regard for Musk thanks to the shambles he made of Twitter and his high-handed treatment of his employees, and particularly since he's aligned himself with tRump, but these latest revelations about his dealings with Putin are very worrisome. I have to wonder, though, why is he worried about a Harris win, and not any similar action from the Biden administration? Perhaps it's because do-nothing Merrick Garland is unlikely to take sny meaningful actions?
At any rate, thank you, Robert, for shining a light on this. We are indebted to you.
Musk, Trump and Putin are all in cahoots! Who will be the boss? The American people need to reunite to stop these Narcissists from destroying our country!
Current through Pa Acts 2024-53, 2024-56 through 2024-79
Section 3539 - Bribery at elections
Any person who shall, directly or indirectly, give or promise or offer to give any gift or reward in money, goods or other valuable thing to any person, with intent to induce him to vote or refrain from voting for any particular candidate or candidates or for or against any constitutional amendment or other question at any primary or election; or who shall, directly or indirectly, procure for or offer or promise to procure for such person any such gift or reward with the intent aforesaid; or, who with the intent to influence or intimidate such person to give his vote or to refrain from giving his vote for any particular candidate or candidates or for or against any constitutional amendment or other question at any primary or election, shall give to or obtain for or assist in obtaining for or offer or promise to give to or obtain for or assist in obtaining for such person any office, place, appointment or employment, public or private, or threaten such person with dismissal or discharge from any office, place, appointment or employment, public or private, then held by him, shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding fifteen thousand ($15,000) dollars, or to undergo an imprisonment of not more than seven (7) years, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Daniel, your faith in the law is astonishing, especially given what Trump has and continues to get away with. The law is manmade and is administered by people with human failings. I'm reading 'The Goodness Paradox' by Richard Wrangham. I finished the chapter on capital punishment and the discussion on the 'domestication syndrome,' a term used to describe the changes in behavior and appearance that occur in animals as a result of domestication. The question was, why did we evolve to be less aggressive and acquire the changes we also see in domesticated animals? Have we domesticated ourselves somehow? It was interesting to me that even though hunter/gather societies have their rules, there are workarounds where some individuals mysteriously end up dead, outside of the customs, or maybe not a socially acknowledged custom. How do we deal with people when the legal system doesn't shape their behavior or when they can shape the legal system? Is Hitler our only example?
Gloria, "the law is manmade and is administered by people with human failings" illustrates the problem when you consider "man made".
Of course, women aren't perfect beings, but EVERY FUCKING BIT of what we are talking about, the criminality, the wars, the violence, the cruelty, the childishness, are MEN. TRUMP, BANNON, PUTIN, THIEL, MUSK, ORBAN, MILLER, HITLER, MUSSOLINI, KIM, XI, THOMAS/ALITO/KAVANAUGH, and so many others destabilize the planet and take over. Look at how women's rights are constantly diminished and in the balance, worldwide. We need a 50/50 global leadership structure where women are an assumed representative part of any government, as we women represent over 50% of the world's population. The world is completely out of balance, and NOBODY is talking about the simple reason why. The men are violently out of control.
Disclaimer: Sure there are many good men, but not even close to being nearly enough.
Ms Kitterman, I agree, in principle, with your comment, but choose to remind you that when it comes to violence and cruelty, women can and often are even more so than men.
The native Americans would turn their captives over to the women of the tribe for torture., and don't forget AMY COMEY BARRETT, MARGARET THATCHER, GOLD MEIR
The freedoms of Democracy are the source of it's own demise.
Adolph used the freedoms. Trump, Musk, Thiel are using those freedoms
And I read someplace that it as bin Laden ,maybe some one else, that said we will use the freedoms of your democracy to destroy you.
The free speech protected by our Democracy, has been used to subvert our democracy by fascists.
Fascism is not just political, it is ideological, and religionis an ideology, There is Christofascists, six of whom sit on the Supeme court and which conrols the Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society, known by names like People of Prayer, Dominionim, Opus Dei, New Apostolic Reformation and there i Sunni and Shia Islam.
Joanne Free,: too honorable to defend US? "All's fair In Love and war." He does have executive war powers. Unless they have him under some kind of hostage status. Or threats to his family. It is not like TRUMP has not done this kind of thing. Secret service has been compromised before. More than once.
Laurie Blair, I’m not saying that I don’t wish he would use the power given by SCOTUS, but he possibly doesn’t want his legacy to be marred by doing something that we know would be seen as corrupt under the normal-past-rule of law. He might believe that no person should have that immunity. And they shouldn’t, of course. I admire Joe’s character, even as I’m frustrated and worried.
Joanne Free: It is,a question for me that President Biden even has the immunity deal given or written for Donald Trump. Judge Ketangi Brown Jackson based her dissent on the fact that it appeared to be written only for tRump. She objected, said that it should apply to all presidents: not just him. These rules are not supposed to be exclusive.
Once they finagle the orange fool into place he’ll be set aside and JD will be the new patsy. They already have enough non-supreme judges at the ready to sneak Peter pumpkinhead into office (thanks XTC.
Disaster. He is a disaster . I surely hope he is held accountable and does not continue to profit in his businesses . It’s like a train wreck you can’t help watching it but you don’t want be involved .
He is obviously a megalomaniac -- with grandiose delusions. Think Lex Luther!
Some people, like Bill Gates, have made big bucks shorting his publicly held companies. As a federal contractor, violations of the ethics laws can debar him, and may lead to confiscation of the businesses involved.
Indeed, and it would not be much of a loss, to put it mildly. Elon Musk invented nothing. He has used technologies invented by others. His great accomplishment, worthy of admiration, was the marketing of these technologies. As an entrepreneur, he may have outlived his usefulness.
For me, the real question in all this is where are the American security services in all this? Why hasn't the FBI revoked, or at least suspended, his security clearances? Why is NASA still doing business with him? Why haven't his government contracts been suspended or revued for obvious security concerns? Why hasn't Biden stepped in, or indeed Harris as VP?
The only answer I can come up with is that there is, in the hierarchy of the security services, sufficient support for Trump and the Republican agenda that 'they' are letting Musk continue.
And that would be as much of a concern as Musk himself!
The authorities are probably aware of Musk's transgressions, but are reluctant to act before the elections, lest Republicans use this as an example of Biden's tyrannical behavior. For one thing, it will require Congress to hold investigations into Mr Musk, which will require a Dem House and Senate.
But if Reps control either of the houses then it will be difficult for Dems to pursue Musk legally. And then, if Trump wins, then any action by the Dems is moot. So there is no reason for the Dems to take any action before the results of the elections are known.
To make Mr Musk accountable for his behavior will require We The People to vote Blue. Up and down the ticket.
True. Except I if there are substantial numbers of MAGA supporters throughout the administration and the security services, and if Trump wins the Presidency and is 'in waiting', will Biden still be able to act?
Yes. With a Top Secret Clearance, the holder is REQUIRED BY LAW to report ALL contact with foreign nationals, travel outside the country, within a very short period of time of doing so. I forgot the time, [perhaps even prior to, but it's days, not months or years. Classified contractors have security guys to ask prior to doing these things to facilitate compliance.
I sort of disagree, Gloria. There is one legal system and different groups interpreting it, one of which doesn’t care about it (starting at the top with the Sleazy Six).
She has authority now. She could question why the FBI isn't investigating Musk and his Putin links. She could try to convince Biden to have Musk investigated and his security clearances revoked or suspended. She can even make campaign comments on how Musk is talking to America's enemies every day and is STILL allowed to work on secure projects.
I would say the opposite - it is exactly what Harris and Walz should be talking about on the campaign! How Musk and Trump under investigation by the FBI for their close relationship and frequent conversations with Putin, the leader of an enemy country. And investigations into serious security breaches by Musk at Space X and Starlink with Putin. And the funding by Putin and his close associates of Musk's purchase of Twitter. And the funding of Trump's property companies by Putin and his close associates through Deutsche Bank over the last two decades, including during Trump's last term as President.
Don't you think voters might be interested in such investigations?
ALRL, You are on to something, also bureaucratic rules do impede progress.
Private enterprise can and has done much more than a government project.
Government is great at building dams, and getting a program off the ground.
I was a special ops team leader, and the equipment in the government supply catalog was not adequate for the job. To do the job I had to sit down and write up sole source procurement justifications, for the equipment we needed. The equipment was in the civilian market, but to get it in the supply catalog, it had to go through a torturous and lengthy process.
Insulated boots, light weight tents, skidoos, RTV;s, didn't have a Federal Stock number, they might now but not then.
Space X and Blue Origin rockets have failed, and failures cut into the NASA and National Defense budget, but Musk and Bezo's have to eat the failures and are not responsible to congressional oversight. If we were a dictatorship, like Russia and China, then failures and loss of life could be glossed over.
Do you mean like that America is a solid democracy and would never voluntarily elect a fat orange hitler-wannabe, and that you can always rely on the Supreme Court to uphold the Constitution? Is that how things work?
Francisco, SpaceX was founded in 2002. Maybe Muck was farsighted enough to see what could happen, but I seriously doubt many people in govt offices could.
An insurrectionist, organising a peacefull demonstration om 6th of january (costing five lives and many wounded and a lot of damage becoming president of the US?
A businessman, rich and spreading desinformation, with traitorous contacts with Putin?
And the combination of them should bring an new future to America?
What adds insult to injury is that he has government contracts with the very government he is trying to undermine. The money comes from the American taxpayers, and why are we subsidizing a man who wants to destroy government by the rule of law? His contracts also require him to disclose meetings with foreign nationals, particularly foreign leaders. I guess you can be too rich to have to follow laws the rest of us must obey.
I wonder if Putin's financing for Musk's businesses like Space X and Starlink, and maybe a secret transfer of Russian technology to make the technology of those companies much more advanced, helps those companies be so impressive and cheap that Americans can't refuse their services?
If so, it is a genius move by Putin! By sharing Russian advanced technologies through ostensibly American companies, Putin can take over entire sectors of American business, including the military's ability to communicate and to wage war in space, without firing a shot! And American investors are even paying for Putin to do so!
Even better, Musk's security clearances give Putin priveleged access to American technology too!
And Putin can withdraw Musk's technology at any time, crippling the American economy and military!
Wow! You guys had better hope I'm wrong, but it does make perfect sense to me.
Maybe under President Harris the American press will finally report that Musk bought Twitter to turn it into an organizing platform for racist hate groups — the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, the Ku Klux Klan, and of course the adherents to MAGA. Musk removed the guardians and guide rails that kept a lot of the hate speech off of the platform. And he changed the name to X — the Saltire Cross — the international symbol of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
That’s really the difference. Hillary Clinton didn’t invent Trump was a rapist, guilty of massive fraud. Joe Biden isn’t responsible for Jan 6.
Trump being held responsible for crimes he actually committed is not a personal vendetta.
Same with Musk. He looks guilty of several crimes. I dislike Musk because he blithely skirts laws&takes advantage of our government funding. I don’t want him investigated because I dislike him, I want Musk investigated because it looks like he committed crimes.
Musk will certainly be a casualty of a Harris administration. He should immediately be stripped of all his government contracts to begin with and you have outlined the other legal consequences he should face.
There's a word for what has happened to Musk: hubris. He didn't have to buy Twitter and make it into a right-wing cesspool. He didn't have to talk to and toady to Putin. He could have lived on his reputation for electric vehicles. But he wanted to cash in on even more power and money by backing Trump. He wants to be co-dictator.
He deserves everything that's coming to him when Trump loses. And everything should include the Justice Department and the Democratic Congress opening investigations into Musk's role in the campaign and Twitter and his security clearances and contacts with Putin. He should be divested of as much money and power and influence and liberty as possible. This isn't revenge: it's defense of democracy, here and abroad.
“Musk may also be held accountable for conflicts of interest between his being in ‘regular contact’ with Russian president Vladimir Putin, as reported by The Wall Street Journal last Friday, and his status as one of the most important national security contractors to the U.S. government through his SpaceX and Starlink enterprises.”
How high — or low — does it go? Violation of the Logan Act? Espionage? Treason?
The government needs to terminate all of his contracts, revoke his security clearance and find out exactly what information he’s giving Putin.
It is beyond absurd, were he not the world’s richest man he’d likely already be in prison.
Now that they have outsourced the space program to SpaceX, I’m not sure that is an option.
Our enemy is capitalism. Not random capitalists.
It's also many years of backwards, short-sighted, ignorant, trogolodytes called Republicans who refuse to fund anything that smacks of "public," of progress, science, intelligence, enlightenment, and who are dedicated to privatizing everything from water to prisons to space exploration to technology to security to senior citizens' pensions to education to public health.....and will issue contracts to billionaires instead. The transfer of America's "treasure" in every imaginable way is their holy war. And it stinks.
It's one long, desperate plan to cling to power. Their days are numbered and they know it. Laissez-faire capitalism is devouring itself, and maybe us along with it.
I'm still confident the INEVITABLE Harris Administration can fix things.:) If she dismantles the obsolete, racist electoral college in her first 100 days . . . that's it! Gop is DEAD AND BURIED!!!
Yes, the electoral college has caused the electoral decision to be left to states where 50% of the voters are democratic, and 50% are MAGA nuts! But that is just a small fraction of the voters, the other states have many more democrats and MAGA nuts.
How is it equitable that such a small fraction of the population gets to decide??? Essentially, the majority of voters have been disinfranchised!
Yes, indeed.
That is what I feel when I hear how the EC turned out! Our votes don't count so why vote??
For the Peace and stability of our country, we need to change states from "winner takes all" States to proportional allotments of delegates.
Nebraska and Maine do that. why can't we?
Take Wisconsin: We are essentially a 50/50 red/blue State, so *EVERY ELECTION" we have approximately half of our people who are not heard. That's wrong.
IF the EC doesn't prevent her from becoming our president! I am still hoping for the best and I hope you are right!
True—without the Electoral College, made in the beginning to keep out all the riff-raff (like the poor, or people with brown skin, and always Women!) misogyny could cost this election—many do not trust a woman in power, in 2024. To vote for the hitler of 2024 would be an ignorant move, for anyone—but a few people will do it, they hate women so badly. And if there were no electoral college, Republicans would never win again.
That has been McConnell’s concern.
I wish that were true. It's unlikely she'll be able to eliminate the electoral college, but even if she does the GOP will have a firm grasp on most red states for the foreseeable future.
It's possible the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could defang the EC, but probably not before it meets in less than 2 months.
At least the EC cannot nullify so many votes! If the EC is the deciding factor, why do we bother to have a public vote?
It's not up to Harris to eliminate the electoral college. It's up to citizens who care about this issue to eliminate it. Sign up with the League of Women Voters, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Abolish the Electoral College PAC, or something else reputable, and work like hell over the next ten years to get it done.
It would be a good start though
I admire your optimism, but the momentum is towards further dysfunction in your political system. Woe is us. ...from Canada.
Believe me, we feel as bad as you do about our political system. It was not as bad before trump came along, but he wants to tear it apart and build it the way HE wants it. He doesn't give a damn about the average citizen, only the rich!
I wish I had your confidence …
If laissez-faire capitalism is devouring itself, the problem is that today's entrepreneurs believe that regulation is hurting their businesses. Adam Smith, in 1776, recognized that business requires meaningful regulation.
Does the "little guys" on the right not understand that most of the inflation that they so eagerly blame on the Biden/Harris administration has been caused by the fact that most of our essentials for everyday life are provided by businesses that have been allowed to ignore our antitrust laws so the ever larger corporations can charge us whatever the market will bare. And then they complain about the loss of our mom & pop small town businesses. Can't have it both ways.
No, they would rather blame the administration which has little control over what the corporations and businesses charge us. Put the blame where it belongs!
And get rid of hedge funds in any business that are essential, e.g. food, health care, housing, and that siphon off money but add no value.
I'm reminded of an old posit: "When did capitalism start kicking the sh*t out of democracy?" It always has! From our beginnings.
It’s at the point where business has at least as much power as the government. And now, those in government, whose lucrative careers depend on the graces of business, are succumbing to the corporate will.
That’s been going on for decades.
Just like Russia's communism devoured itself. It seems the rich, entitled, greedy leaders of both capitalism and communism destroy everything they touch.
They are more then happy to dismiss the US Consituation like it was some inconvenient piece of trash.
Bret you said it. The Constitution is inconvenient.
Trump, Musk, Vance, Yarvin, the core of American fascism. Aside from Singapore, a highly efficient authoritarian regime was founded in 1933 with financial backing from Europe's richest men and operated by Hitler. A new guard of Nazi loyalists replaced the entire German civil service. Absolute loyalty was demanded of the military, and reluctant officers were eliminated. A core tenet of this Nazi party was the 'cleansing' of German blood from lesser or 'non-humans'. Roots of Nazi ideology were derived from the 'eugenics movement' in the USA of the early 1900's operating from California and backed by the nation's most powerful corporate foundations. How did that turn out in 1945? Again, it rears its ugly head with full fury, and to hell with the common good. This disparity of fortunes cannot hold. Thank you, Robert for your analysis.
https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-horrifying-american-roots-of-nazi-eugenics#:~:text=American%20Eugenics%20Nazi%20Connection
tRump wants generals like Hitler's? Maybe a good idea? How many times did Hitler's generals try to kill him? There's a long list in Wikipedia.
Star studded Hollywood movie, "WAR, INC.," satirizes privatization by Cheney, etc:
https://youtu.be/Sh7NAYj5wng?si=7wQDKZSrMKK7xRNG&t=28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSiDZNHo4cA
Satirizes Fallujah[....in Italian so play it fast]
https://youtu.be/NG5tpIX5vQY?si=DczvT2EqQIzX_aHR&t=4330
Power, I'll look that up today. I want to watch it.
Holy cow. This could be f-ing hilarious.
Believing in capitalism like it were a religion that it is perfect is pure nonsense. Capitalism without regulation will ultimately devour itself through uncontrolled greed. if history hasn't taught us anything, there are functions of a society that should not be profit-motivated. Infrastructure for one and healthcare for another.
Bingo. America’s been sold out.
Familiar and appalling …
Very well said Annie. Privatization has wreaked havoc on this country and its citizens. Where’s the trickle down Ronnie? What a piece of crap they have pushed on American. Well enough is enough. VOTE BLUE and only BLUE.
Exactly and thank you Annie!
Catherine, I believe our enemy is "share-holder capitalism". We absolutely must break up the monopolistic corporations and return to "stake-holder" capitalism.
workers have a stake holder position too. if the company fails, they are left out in the cold too.
That's the difference between stake-holder capitalism and shareholder capitalism. The former empowers workers, users, and environmental involvement. The latter only counts percentage increases in profitability for those that own shares in the corporation, everything else be damned.
Regulation is necessary to keep capitalism reasonably honest.
Everything that has been said here about stakeholder capitalism is true.
But the real problem behind our current situation is a large uneducated portion of our population.
We must bring back civics classes and in particular, government classes back on our high schools.
It is shameful that so many people don't even fully understand the basic organization and purpose of our government, yet they vote.
We must put as much emphasises on government organization and basic economics as we do on sports.
From your lips to God's ear, Bret! Our educational system has become sorely lacking in teaching our children what they need to know and understand. Civics classes should most definitely be taught again. These issues absolutely must be addressed so the younger generation have a clear understanding of how our government operates and can make informed decision when voting.
Just don’t call it socialism. It’s stakeholder capitalism.
YEA YES YES!
As Dr Ha-Joon Chang has written, shareholders simply invest their spare cash, and flee with it at any whim.
Stakeholders are who should have decision making ability: those who work for, supply or buy from or live with a company.
The "shareholder" mantra is just lazy bookkeeping
Jen, what I find hard to understand is the very people that bring in the profits for the company are being overlooked in favor of the almighty dollar going only to the shareholders and CEOs. The customers, employees, suppliers and local communities are tired of being overlooked. Everyone is saying how the economy is top of their lists for the election; however, they are blaming the wrong people! It is the ultra wealthy and mega corporations who are to blame and President Biden has tried to address it. Our economy looks good right now, but people are still upset about high prices that corporations will not ever bring down but will continue to raise!
These are not difficult concepts, and I believe if more people understood them, they'd be mighty pissed off. I know I am. Our system is rigged to make the rich richer, and to hell with the rest of us.
Why do the low & middle class working people still vote for the old white men (and I'm an oldish southern white woman) who con them into voting for republicans when they never support the interests of anyone but the corporations & people that throw money at them. That's what the "Deep State" really is. Even in our Supreme Court.
Could you explain the difference between share-holder and stake-holder? Most people who have IRA’s and 401k’s hold shares of stock. A large part of my retirement income comes from stocks.
Stakeholder capitalism is the idea that companies should look to serve all stakeholders not just shareholders. Stakeholders are customers, employees, suppliers and local communities. Shareholder capitalism is the view that companies should focus exclusively on serving the interest of the shareholders which are the owners of the stock. In shareholder capitalism stakeholders are overlooked in order to increase the profit of the shareholders. If companies used stakeholder capitalism, everyone would benefit. Shareholders would still receive a profit because stakeholders would benefit. M Tree explains this much better than I can. Stakeholder capitalism would benefit everyone.
While at it, let's get rid of stock options, that entitled executive perk that allows the lucky holder to literally print money when the stock price goes up, and suffer no consequence when the market falls.
And look at stock buybacks.
Thank you. The few companies that treat their employees as assets and partners are incredibly rare. I had to live through a plant closure of a very successful and profitable location. That was in 2009 and the majority of my fellow employees blamed Obama rather than corporate greed.
Shareholder capitalism would also
disincentive companies from moving to cheap labor countries.
Do you mean stakeholder?
thanks for that wonderful explanation! I never knew that
Thanks Peggy!
"Stakeholder" is a gambling term. It is the disinterested NEUTRAL person who holds the stakes in a bet until the winner is determined. This is exactly the opposite of how the term is used in government and politics.
Now ask me about "bellwether."
frank its in the dictionary. a shareholder owns stock in a company.
a stakeholder is nothing, its just agency or media jargon for a person or group that may have a stake in a government decision.
Please examine the alternate definition of the word. This is the definition being used by the Harris campaign and others.
stake·hold·er
/ˈstākˌ(h)ōldər/
noun
noun: stakeholder; plural noun: stakeholders
1.
(in gambling) an independent party with whom each of those who make a wager deposits the money or counters wagered.
2.
a person with an interest or concern in something, especially a business denoting a type of organization or system in which all the members or participants are seen as having an interest in its success.
modifier noun: stakeholder
"a stakeholder economy"
I remember that there were laws against monopolies, and they publicized the ones that tried it and stopped them. Now, one corporation may control many items. We never know that though. They hide it well~
The United States of America started out, with the landing of adventurers of purse and person in Jamestown as a shareholder capitalist enterprise, known then as a joint venture, it did not become a colony until 1624/
Nowhere in my public and college education did I get a clear explanation of how the various “companies” that made “discoveries” and established “colonies” on behalf of “countries” like Britain, Spain, Netherlands were chartered.
We were told that the explorations and conquests were national efforts, usually under the control of monarchs.
Musk is simply following the same symbiotic model in which the wealthy, corporations and governments are functioning together for mutual benefit.
We are mushrooms, Vincent, kept in the dark and fed shit. Societies depend upon myths, myths accepted as fact. Voltaire said, "all of ancient history is nothing more than commonly accepted facts".
We have the popular myth about the revolution (taxation without representation) and who creates and perpetuates those myths.?
The real cause is hostile to corporations. The revolution was fomented by wealthy Boston merchants, who because of a monopoly charter granted by the crown to the East India Company and forced by taxes into smuggling. And smuggling was a capital offense for which you are hung or hung in chains. John Hancock was the most notorious and known of smugglers in Boston.
That is what is meant by We hang together or separately.
The Tidewater Aristocrats of Virginia, the planter class, were not discomfited by the laws of the crown that forbade the colonists to make their own clothing, clothe, silverware, hats and had to import everything from London.
Their plantations of tobacco made them filthy rich and could afford the taxes and cost of imports. What they wanted it to be the nobility in a new nation.
To be barons, dukes, called "your grace".
I have another story on that.
Here is a myth that will rankle some, maybe result in calling me racist.
Project 1619 proceeds from a lie. Yes there were 20 African slaves liberated by a privateer from a Portuguese slaver, and the ship landed at Point Comfort (Elizabeth City) not Jamestown, and the cargo, the Africans, were sold, but not as slaves,as indentured servants.
The Virginia Colony was built by indentured servants, mostly from the counties around London, especially Surrey, and also from debtors prisons,and Ireland
Often these indentured servants had no choice,.
The difference was that an indentured servant was not property, and as such was treated more harshly than a slave, because there is a capital investment in a slave as it is property,. And only the foolish and insane destroys their property.
An indentured servant served for a period of time from one to seven years and at the end of the time,he was given a sack of seeds, some food, a musket and a mule and sent on his way to found his own fortune.
There is a book one should read, Fiddler on Pantico Run, about an African
Warrior who was an indentured servant, who on fulfilling his indenture, married a white indentured Irish woman, and settled on Pantico Run, his name was Edward Mozingo, he has descendants today that are white,like the Alabma Judge Tony Mozingo, and even members of the KKK, and descendants who are black, most live in NC.
The first legally recognized case of slavery in America was
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/court-ruling-on-anthony-johnson-and-his-servant-1655/
John Casor ran away from his cruel master, AnthonyJohnson, himself, a former indentured servant of African ancestry.. The court ruled that Casor was his property.
Slavery was not legalized until 1661 when the House of Burgess ruled that blacks and Indians could be enslaved and ruled against miscegenation. In 1662 it ruled that the status of the mother determined the status of the child.
Yes, and this symbiotic relationship easily leads to crony capitalism.
Shareholders are the problem.
Sure. But bear in mind that capitalism starts as stake-holder capitalism and inevitably morphs into shareholder capitalism, whereupon it captures the government. Just saying…
Yes Ms. Freeman, we need a kind if Capitalism wherein those who do the labor must also be the owners of the business enterprise. It has a name: Socialism.
musk is NOT a "random capitalist." musk is THE wealthiest man-child in HISTORY and THE greatest threat to humanity, all life AND Earth!
Daniel - I've read over the years that putin is actually the richest man in the world. He does own russia, after all. and he owns a large number of fabulously wealthy oligarchs and their fortunes, many of them afraid of windows in high plances.
It is stunning to me that a man with so much money is so totally devoid of human compassion... "stunning" as in being struck by an over-charged stun gun.
And obviously he is making plans with some other capitalists to take over government.
We don’t have hard figures, but some think that kleptocrat Putin is actually richer than Musk.
I thought it was trump
Damian, you thought what "was trump""? Trump is NOTHING, now. He once was the face of a movement to "take all", requiring the dissolution of Democracy, but now he is just an overmedicated, ill old man with ADHD, dementia, and rapidly increasing cognitive decline. He is nothing now, but in the way!
but when he is in the lead you go back to saying he is the worst person in the world
One of us need to hone our reading comprehension skills... It isn't me.
daniel h l....you sound alot like you been watching alot of South Park
"Our enemy is capitalism." BS.
Capitalism has become a religion. That is why union busting has become so lucrative, and its impact is far-reaching. Think of one thing that doesn't have a price and can't be sold, including individuals' health and lives. My eight-year-old granddaughter overheard me ask that question of someone, and she answered, "Friendship." I didn't tell her that some people don't value friendship and would sell out their friends for an opportunity to make money.
That's a great lesson. Many people who go into business together learn more about their friendships than ever... they usually end up in court together.
some would sell out their adopted country.
Main street Americans are mostly petit bourgeois capitalists. We have always had a mixed economy.
But what is a mixed economy? You should carefull with your language, I think.
Keynes wrote a letter to Hayek longtime ago:"You admit her and there that it is a question of knowing where to draw the line. You agree that the line has to be drawn somewhere (between free enterprise and planning) and that the logical extreme is not possible."
But where to draw it? In the political discours in the U.S. the choice is not capitalist or marxist, but robber barons versus a decent society.
Tom: Daniel has no need to be careful with his language. He is correct we have always had a mixed economy, and it is that mix that Musk, Bezo's, Thiel, etc, etc want to get rid of.
A mixed economy is an economic system that combines aspects of both capitalism and socialism, with some private enterprise and some government involvement.
Private enterprise. The billionaire class is investing in Trump that he will cancel government involvement, like Russia, the only government involvement in Russia is that the oligarchs had best not piss off Putin.
Otherwise it is a perfect libertarian enterprise..
I think (assume) he is talking about the reality of our current situations not our goals for it.
And, we are so out of balance at the moment that many of us would love to have the 50K tax credit from Kamala for a small business build out BUT one must have 50K to get 50K. Good luck getting a bank loan because that's not for little people.
"Capitalism" is not a political system. The monopolistic government entity the post office is in our 1787 constitution, We had "post roads" to properties Geo Washington owned in Cincinnati and environs. Washington established a welfare system in the city named after him. Distributed land rights to Revolutionary War veterans.
You Europeans modeled your governments after ours.
Well, that is true. Many a small business takes much more capital than the glossy business magazines lead people to believe . Just a simple build out for a strip mall store costs no less than..... 75K at this point.
Money makes everything look "easy".
Our enemy is our greed and selfishness which can destroy any and all system of good government. Any club, organization , or group of friends can be destroyed by those two behaviors.
That's why many private employers require an MMPI and so should the government.
what's MMPI - insurance for friendships that end up in court? I bet you've seen some of those conflicts - I have seen it! lol.
Well the MMPI are the personality studies. That's our nature v. learning debate. Later studies were so inconsistent that our "personality" studies were dismissed over time. Even though there can be a biological component - I stay with learned.
Janet, whatever did you do that has you "ending up in court"? That's all you're talking about today!
Thank you for your usual arrogant dismissal.
I can’t follow the thread lines. To whom is your comment directed? Thx.
most of the time on substack I can't find replies either.
I think the enemy is unregulated capitalism. It isn't in itself evil, but when we let monopolies and unfairness and buying politicians happen, it's toxic as hell.
Shareholder capitalism is the problem .
Were it not for shareholder capitalism, there would have been no United States,and you would not be alive, nor would there have been an internet were we kvetch and pontificate. The problem is no share holder capitalism, but the fact that money buys influence, and there is no known system where money or political connection and nepotism does not buy influence.
True in communist states, Milovan Djilas wrote of this in The New Class
Djilas defines the new class i as the political bureaucracy, "a monopoly over the working class itself." This "new class actually seized the lion's share of the economic and other progress earned by the sacrifices and efforts of the masses.
True today in Russia, which is not capitalist, but oligrachic dependent on the good graces of Putin and the KGB, and china, in which the capitalists are dependent upon the favor and good graces of the state.
Communism is not possible in human societies, we are not ants and termites
There will always be a maximum leader, a fuhrer, at least in a Democracy the position is transient. If it is not transient then it is not a democracy.
You are correct, Ms. Mickus. Engaging in the kind of psychological reductionism which blames our problems on individuals is a blind alley, an intellectual, moral trap. The problem is baked into the system, Capitalism is the problem. Karl Marx pointed this out over a century ago. But he has been so demonized by the powerful, wealthy capitalist elites in the U.S.A. that his words are ignored.
Nationalize SpaceX and StarLink for national security purposes.
He's a "special" capitalist, I'm sure Kamala's top government lawyers would love to have a chance to clip his wings!
Revoke his ownership
It's both since it's the capitalists that are making capitalism into an unfettered monster.
Catherine, "capitalism" is a word, a concept. How could a word or a concept be our enemy? If your ideology impairs your perception of reality then your ideology is the enemy. Elon Musk is not your "random capitalist," and Trump is not your random conservative.
Capitalists making plans to take over government, that's not random.
Capitalists with a plan to take over government, that's not random.
Our enemy is capitalism runamuck. i.e. American capitalism in 2024.
Agreed - no one else "little people" can act like this.
I have a new definition for democracy for workers - its called fairness. Workers right's is not socialism. It's actually democracy. One vote for all.
The union busting is GREED and SELFISHNESS - that's not a system of government - it's Mr. Musk's personal failure as a human being and his character flaw.
I wonder if Putin's financing for Musk's businesses like Space X and Starlink, and maybe a secret transfer of Russian technology to make the technology of those companies much more advanced, helps those companies be so impressive and cheap that Americans can't refuse their services?
If so, it is a genius move by Putin! By sharing Russian advanced technologies through ostensibly American companies, Putin can take over entire sectors of American business, including the military's ability to communicate and to wage war in space, without firing a shot! And American investors are even paying for Putin to do so!
Even better, Musk's security clearances give Putin priveleged access to American technology too!
And Putin can withdraw Musk's technology at any time, crippling the American economy and military!
Wow! You guys had better hope I'm wrong, but it does make perfect sense to me.
ALRA, I think you may have it a bit backward: Putin doesn't have the means to finance Musk. Musk is "buying" Putin. Musk and Thiel are using their takeover of USA to lead BRICS.
Actually Putin is reported to be richer than Musk, because of his longterm “service” in Russia. He would be happy to manipulate yet another useful idiot in the US. Besides Trump.
Alternative: Technology can't be withdrawn. Technology is not a thing. Technology creates things.
Consider technology as a recipe. America had the recipe for nuclear fission, but then was let loose upon the world. Steve Jobs had the technology for the mouse and windows, but Bill Gates stole it and it is now loose upon the world.
Germany had the technology for rockets and guidance, but it too was let loose upon the world.
Technology just means tools and the knowledge to use them.
And yes, Musk's technology CAN be turned off. We've already seen that with Starlink that was turned off in Ukraine to stop it being used to attack the Russian Army.
Hey, wait a minute........ 🤔
A dictionary definition is :the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.
But a more fundamental and basic definition is : Knowledge
Stone throwing is a technology, fire starting was a technology developed by hominid ancestors to perform a function: Survival.
From throwing stones by hand, technology advanced, to how to throw bigger stones and more accurately, to cannons and muskets, rifles and bombs and all we are doing is throwing stones. A rifle is merely a tool to throw stones further, faster and more accurately than the arm, a sling shot was a step up from the arm. The spear, the dagger, the sword are all derivative of the fang, the teeth.
Some ape man fell on a broken branch it pierced probably killed him others looked upon him and the light went on. Technology.
Technology produces tools. AI is a tool produced by computer technology.
Greek, Tekno, the use of tools and skills for a craft or art.
Yep, that's the etymological origin of the word, like so many of our words.
READER ENGAGEMENT
1. Uncle Sam needs you! https://www.mobilize.us/ (And me.)
2. Please repeatedly post "not suckers or losers" comments in social media. According to Facebook, there are 4 million veterans and active duty members on Facebook, as well as 12.5 million family members and 242 million friends with veterans or active duty members. Military sites, veterans; organizations, historical sites. Vote vets has already flipped many 2016 and 2020 Trump voters.
He has a higher security clearance than dumpty at this point, who isn't getting full briefings as a candidate. Interesting twist. Wonder if he briefs the twit, and out in briefs him and vice versa.
We are entirely too liberal in awarding citizenship, and I mean to wealthy asshats
maybe he and Trump can be cellmates-a marriage made in hell
Exactly who do think trump stole all those ultra classified documents for?🤔
Personally, I don't think the Russian Federation, China and all of bricks gives a rat's 🐀 @ss about the US because it's on the virge of being completely sidelined by people who aren't interested in killing their neighbors and trade partners.
Germany now knows what being a US client state really means with pipeline sabotage and negative national growth
Jean, I don't quite understand your syntax.
Are you saying that the United States is interested in killing it's neighbor and trade partners, and for that reason the Russian Federation, China and BRCS don't give a rats ass about us?
If so then support the claim that the US is interested ij killing it's neighbors and trade partners. I see no evidence of that.
And investigate those that awarded those contracts!
I agree with you, Derek, but who would the contracts go to then? Who else has control of satellites and starlinks and such like he did?
The same people who would do so if Musk was hit by a cybertruck* tomorrow.
*{on edit] >> a self-driven cybertruck.
I enjoyed the story of the Jersey boys who converted a cybertruck into a pizza oven.
Also find out if he's actually a legal citizen.
Derek Wessner: No, he wouldn't already be in prison. Look at Trump; he should have been in prison years ago, yet he walks around a free man doing as much harm as he pleases.
And event that is not enough. He has broken laws including the Logan Act and needs to be prosecuted.
He would most assuredly be in prison by now!
whatshisface is the perfect James Bond villain!
yes terminate with no hearing !
there arent any legal rights for poor suspects in America so why should rich people have rights?
Agree
Any subsidies for his vehicles should be stripped away and he needs to be incarcerated for massive fraud.
In addition to prison, how about fining him a several billion?
To suggest that is to assume he has billions. I believe that his business empire is as sound as a Jenga tower. Remove one piece and it will crash.
true, it depends on if he has liquidation or not. But I suspect he has Bahamas or Swiss bank account with cash
Make that at least 200 billion.
That would be a great start for helping pay for government programs and pay down the national debt.
OR , cancel student loan debt. He doesn't deserve educated workforce on a tax payer dime and then leave workers with a unpayable compound interest loan
https://open.substack.com/pub/frankschaeffer/p/duty-to-warn-elon-musk-is-buying?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1pypb7
Several billions??? 100% of his ill-gotten money should be returned to tax-payers in refund checks!
Hundred billion…
Greed is our current system of government that has nothing to do with capitalism (when did we stop calling it free enterprise?) nor socialism etc.
Greed and selfishness is a character flaw that can be found in any system of government. Including Putin's communistic system. The workers have no rights there.
See John Kenneth Galbraith: “The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” Speaking to the Nat’l Comm. on Pockets of Poverty, Dec, 1963 (speech was written into the Cong Record a few days later).
The individual is emphasized at the expense of the collective
their precept informing their outlook.
And for the more extreme, there is no collective or social. Not for nothing did Gov Abbott purge state universities of sociologists (some anyway).
They don't need any stinking sociology. A creed of individualism, free will, and god's wondrous works as seen in the market. For them that has anyway.
Probably. Subsidizing Tesla without requiring it to develop affordable EVs in exchange for the public support means handing the market over to China. We don’t have to keep shooting ourselves in the foot. This is just what our bought and paid for politicians Dems Republicans alike choose to do.
Catherine, I wondered why US decided to up the tariff on Chinese electric cars. At the 25% tariff, I (all of us) could buy and import a brand new BYD Seagull for $15,000. Even doubling the tariff means the car would still be less than $30,000. Nothing being built in this country can come close to that! And Tesla, with all it's subsidies has established that reliability remains a huge problem for anything built, or even proposed to be built here.
If the US is serious about getting gas guzzlers off the road, let's do it, and partner with the Chinese to learn how to build the cars here, in the US.! I remember when the funny little VW bugs landed on our shores - - knocked the fins right off the road! We survived. At least until the ecology moms started forcing mixed messages by driving their Hummers to their conservation club meetings...
Has anyone figured out yet, that Greenies are not liberals, but libertarians, and libertarians are not liberal either, neo liberal, but not culturally liberal. Culturally despotic, except for their own personal proclivities..
No, I can't say that I have.
Robert Reich, how about getting this article to the DOJ pronto? Send a copy to Harris also! Excellent article!
I agree 100%. You need to get Merrick Garland replaced though. Make Jack Smith attorney general.
Garland needs to be replaced immediately! He’s the worst appointment Biden ever made. Smith would make an excellent AG.
Biden still has a few weeks left - - he could start making the change now.
Attorney General in the Harris administration: Thought experiment - who should it be?
Let me start with some ideas:
Sheldon Whitehouse. Jamie Raskin. Liz Cheney.
Anyone but Garland. We’re in this current situation because of his inaction. It’s appalling.
Liz Cheney should be given a high level cabinet position such as Director of Homeland Security!!!
That I agree with but not AG, she is still a hard core conservative. And a conservative is needed in DHS.
Jamie Raskin. He’s well-qualified and a pitbull in his own right!
Keith Ellison. Larry Krasner. Chesa Boudin.
sally q yates
Trump is considering Aileen Cannon for AG :(
That’s why we must make sure he doesn’t win. That’s not orange lipstick on her lips.
I know better than to ask why the "lamestream" media haven't given this any real coverage, but it absolutely needs to somehow be put out there to the public as well as DoJ, etc. Most folks who I know don't have much regard for Musk thanks to the shambles he made of Twitter and his high-handed treatment of his employees, and particularly since he's aligned himself with tRump, but these latest revelations about his dealings with Putin are very worrisome. I have to wonder, though, why is he worried about a Harris win, and not any similar action from the Biden administration? Perhaps it's because do-nothing Merrick Garland is unlikely to take sny meaningful actions?
At any rate, thank you, Robert, for shining a light on this. We are indebted to you.
Worrisome but not surprising, given his numerous positive, even sycophantic, words & gestures towards Putin these past couple of years.
You can lead a horse to water Marlo, but you can't make it drink.
Musk, Trump and Putin are all in cahoots! Who will be the boss? The American people need to reunite to stop these Narcissists from destroying our country!
President Biden has “immunity” and he has his executive action authority. Send this to him as well!
Joe is too honorable to do what we’d like.
As a start, Musk is sued in Philadelphia.
25 Pa. Stat. § 3539
Current through Pa Acts 2024-53, 2024-56 through 2024-79
Section 3539 - Bribery at elections
Any person who shall, directly or indirectly, give or promise or offer to give any gift or reward in money, goods or other valuable thing to any person, with intent to induce him to vote or refrain from voting for any particular candidate or candidates or for or against any constitutional amendment or other question at any primary or election; or who shall, directly or indirectly, procure for or offer or promise to procure for such person any such gift or reward with the intent aforesaid; or, who with the intent to influence or intimidate such person to give his vote or to refrain from giving his vote for any particular candidate or candidates or for or against any constitutional amendment or other question at any primary or election, shall give to or obtain for or assist in obtaining for or offer or promise to give to or obtain for or assist in obtaining for such person any office, place, appointment or employment, public or private, or threaten such person with dismissal or discharge from any office, place, appointment or employment, public or private, then held by him, shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding fifteen thousand ($15,000) dollars, or to undergo an imprisonment of not more than seven (7) years, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Daniel, your faith in the law is astonishing, especially given what Trump has and continues to get away with. The law is manmade and is administered by people with human failings. I'm reading 'The Goodness Paradox' by Richard Wrangham. I finished the chapter on capital punishment and the discussion on the 'domestication syndrome,' a term used to describe the changes in behavior and appearance that occur in animals as a result of domestication. The question was, why did we evolve to be less aggressive and acquire the changes we also see in domesticated animals? Have we domesticated ourselves somehow? It was interesting to me that even though hunter/gather societies have their rules, there are workarounds where some individuals mysteriously end up dead, outside of the customs, or maybe not a socially acknowledged custom. How do we deal with people when the legal system doesn't shape their behavior or when they can shape the legal system? Is Hitler our only example?
Gloria, "the law is manmade and is administered by people with human failings" illustrates the problem when you consider "man made".
Of course, women aren't perfect beings, but EVERY FUCKING BIT of what we are talking about, the criminality, the wars, the violence, the cruelty, the childishness, are MEN. TRUMP, BANNON, PUTIN, THIEL, MUSK, ORBAN, MILLER, HITLER, MUSSOLINI, KIM, XI, THOMAS/ALITO/KAVANAUGH, and so many others destabilize the planet and take over. Look at how women's rights are constantly diminished and in the balance, worldwide. We need a 50/50 global leadership structure where women are an assumed representative part of any government, as we women represent over 50% of the world's population. The world is completely out of balance, and NOBODY is talking about the simple reason why. The men are violently out of control.
Disclaimer: Sure there are many good men, but not even close to being nearly enough.
Ms Kitterman, I agree, in principle, with your comment, but choose to remind you that when it comes to violence and cruelty, women can and often are even more so than men.
The native Americans would turn their captives over to the women of the tribe for torture., and don't forget AMY COMEY BARRETT, MARGARET THATCHER, GOLD MEIR
That's a fascist argument.
The freedoms of Democracy are the source of it's own demise.
Adolph used the freedoms. Trump, Musk, Thiel are using those freedoms
And I read someplace that it as bin Laden ,maybe some one else, that said we will use the freedoms of your democracy to destroy you.
The free speech protected by our Democracy, has been used to subvert our democracy by fascists.
Fascism is not just political, it is ideological, and religionis an ideology, There is Christofascists, six of whom sit on the Supeme court and which conrols the Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society, known by names like People of Prayer, Dominionim, Opus Dei, New Apostolic Reformation and there i Sunni and Shia Islam.
Gloria asked a question. Saying “That’s a fascist argument” doesn’t answer her.
Also, imo it’s unclear what “That” refers to — what Gloria says or what Wrangham says.
Trump would pardon him, that's what Musk is counting on. Donald Trump means lawlessness.
Not state prosecutions.
Joanne Free,: too honorable to defend US? "All's fair In Love and war." He does have executive war powers. Unless they have him under some kind of hostage status. Or threats to his family. It is not like TRUMP has not done this kind of thing. Secret service has been compromised before. More than once.
Laurie Blair, I’m not saying that I don’t wish he would use the power given by SCOTUS, but he possibly doesn’t want his legacy to be marred by doing something that we know would be seen as corrupt under the normal-past-rule of law. He might believe that no person should have that immunity. And they shouldn’t, of course. I admire Joe’s character, even as I’m frustrated and worried.
I'm very frustrated and worried, too.
Joanne Free: It is,a question for me that President Biden even has the immunity deal given or written for Donald Trump. Judge Ketangi Brown Jackson based her dissent on the fact that it appeared to be written only for tRump. She objected, said that it should apply to all presidents: not just him. These rules are not supposed to be exclusive.
Honor winds up standing blindfolded against a wall.
Joanne, that’s tantamount to saying taking action would be dishonorable. Is that what you think?
He knows ALL life on Earth is at stake here! He'll stay until Bunkerboy is in prison.
Add SCOTUS.
We are paralyzed by their inaction because the SCOTUS is already bought, except for the three liberal women justices.
Surely "Supreme Court Republicans of the United States" should be SCROTUS.
Once they finagle the orange fool into place he’ll be set aside and JD will be the new patsy. They already have enough non-supreme judges at the ready to sneak Peter pumpkinhead into office (thanks XTC.
Disaster. He is a disaster . I surely hope he is held accountable and does not continue to profit in his businesses . It’s like a train wreck you can’t help watching it but you don’t want be involved .
He is obviously a megalomaniac -- with grandiose delusions. Think Lex Luther!
Some people, like Bill Gates, have made big bucks shorting his publicly held companies. As a federal contractor, violations of the ethics laws can debar him, and may lead to confiscation of the businesses involved.
Indeed, and it would not be much of a loss, to put it mildly. Elon Musk invented nothing. He has used technologies invented by others. His great accomplishment, worthy of admiration, was the marketing of these technologies. As an entrepreneur, he may have outlived his usefulness.
Where IS James Bond when you need him?
What Elon Musk needs is a female boss.
For me, the real question in all this is where are the American security services in all this? Why hasn't the FBI revoked, or at least suspended, his security clearances? Why is NASA still doing business with him? Why haven't his government contracts been suspended or revued for obvious security concerns? Why hasn't Biden stepped in, or indeed Harris as VP?
The only answer I can come up with is that there is, in the hierarchy of the security services, sufficient support for Trump and the Republican agenda that 'they' are letting Musk continue.
And that would be as much of a concern as Musk himself!
The authorities are probably aware of Musk's transgressions, but are reluctant to act before the elections, lest Republicans use this as an example of Biden's tyrannical behavior. For one thing, it will require Congress to hold investigations into Mr Musk, which will require a Dem House and Senate.
But if Reps control either of the houses then it will be difficult for Dems to pursue Musk legally. And then, if Trump wins, then any action by the Dems is moot. So there is no reason for the Dems to take any action before the results of the elections are known.
To make Mr Musk accountable for his behavior will require We The People to vote Blue. Up and down the ticket.
Unless of course Biden uses his executive powers and immunity?
Any thought of Biden using executive power and immunity should be only after the elections - to restore order - and not before.
True. Except I if there are substantial numbers of MAGA supporters throughout the administration and the security services, and if Trump wins the Presidency and is 'in waiting', will Biden still be able to act?
Why not?
But Biden won't act if Trump wins honestly, and with the majority vote.
But then America will be staring at the Second Civil War, and it will be down to patriots to straighten things out.
Interesting times!
Alt, Biden would still be Pres till Jan 20. He should use every means at his disposal to protect what’s left of the US.
I agree, Andy.
[I’m in the “iPhone won’t let me ❤️ comments” bubble.]
Yes. With a Top Secret Clearance, the holder is REQUIRED BY LAW to report ALL contact with foreign nationals, travel outside the country, within a very short period of time of doing so. I forgot the time, [perhaps even prior to, but it's days, not months or years. Classified contractors have security guys to ask prior to doing these things to facilitate compliance.
even Canada trips must be reported. That is how strict clearances are (or supposed to be, and are, for us normal folk
Rich. Isn't that the point? There are two legal systems.
I sort of disagree, Gloria. There is one legal system and different groups interpreting it, one of which doesn’t care about it (starting at the top with the Sleazy Six).
as implied by the term "normal folk"
Which suggests that elements in the security services or Administration are dragging their feet to 'enable' Musk. Who? Why?
Please stop believing that Harris had any authority as VP.
She has authority now. She could question why the FBI isn't investigating Musk and his Putin links. She could try to convince Biden to have Musk investigated and his security clearances revoked or suspended. She can even make campaign comments on how Musk is talking to America's enemies every day and is STILL allowed to work on secure projects.
ALRA - - the investigations may well be happening. It certainly would be a stupid thing to discuss on the campaign trail, doncha-think?
I would say the opposite - it is exactly what Harris and Walz should be talking about on the campaign! How Musk and Trump under investigation by the FBI for their close relationship and frequent conversations with Putin, the leader of an enemy country. And investigations into serious security breaches by Musk at Space X and Starlink with Putin. And the funding by Putin and his close associates of Musk's purchase of Twitter. And the funding of Trump's property companies by Putin and his close associates through Deutsche Bank over the last two decades, including during Trump's last term as President.
Don't you think voters might be interested in such investigations?
Alt, how do you know she isn’t? Assuming she’s found a way to go without sleep and increase the number of hours in a day.
ALRL, You are on to something, also bureaucratic rules do impede progress.
Private enterprise can and has done much more than a government project.
Government is great at building dams, and getting a program off the ground.
I was a special ops team leader, and the equipment in the government supply catalog was not adequate for the job. To do the job I had to sit down and write up sole source procurement justifications, for the equipment we needed. The equipment was in the civilian market, but to get it in the supply catalog, it had to go through a torturous and lengthy process.
Insulated boots, light weight tents, skidoos, RTV;s, didn't have a Federal Stock number, they might now but not then.
Space X and Blue Origin rockets have failed, and failures cut into the NASA and National Defense budget, but Musk and Bezo's have to eat the failures and are not responsible to congressional oversight. If we were a dictatorship, like Russia and China, then failures and loss of life could be glossed over.
That is the wrong conclusion to reach.That's not how things work.
Do you mean like that America is a solid democracy and would never voluntarily elect a fat orange hitler-wannabe, and that you can always rely on the Supreme Court to uphold the Constitution? Is that how things work?
Why does this traitor have high security contracts with the government?
Whose guarding the chicken coop.
I smell a rat in the highest echelons of the government.
Call it corruption
Francisco, SpaceX was founded in 2002. Maybe Muck was farsighted enough to see what could happen, but I seriously doubt many people in govt offices could.
We don’t need more conspiracy theories.
Francisco. Who is guarding the chicken coop? The foxes are.
How low can you go?
An insurrectionist, organising a peacefull demonstration om 6th of january (costing five lives and many wounded and a lot of damage becoming president of the US?
A businessman, rich and spreading desinformation, with traitorous contacts with Putin?
And the combination of them should bring an new future to America?
I cannot believe what I see...
What adds insult to injury is that he has government contracts with the very government he is trying to undermine. The money comes from the American taxpayers, and why are we subsidizing a man who wants to destroy government by the rule of law? His contracts also require him to disclose meetings with foreign nationals, particularly foreign leaders. I guess you can be too rich to have to follow laws the rest of us must obey.
I wonder if Putin's financing for Musk's businesses like Space X and Starlink, and maybe a secret transfer of Russian technology to make the technology of those companies much more advanced, helps those companies be so impressive and cheap that Americans can't refuse their services?
If so, it is a genius move by Putin! By sharing Russian advanced technologies through ostensibly American companies, Putin can take over entire sectors of American business, including the military's ability to communicate and to wage war in space, without firing a shot! And American investors are even paying for Putin to do so!
Even better, Musk's security clearances give Putin priveleged access to American technology too!
And Putin can withdraw Musk's technology at any time, crippling the American economy and military!
Wow! You guys had better hope I'm wrong, but it does make perfect sense to me.
Kathy, that’s the question. M
Maybe under President Harris the American press will finally report that Musk bought Twitter to turn it into an organizing platform for racist hate groups — the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, the Ku Klux Klan, and of course the adherents to MAGA. Musk removed the guardians and guide rails that kept a lot of the hate speech off of the platform. And he changed the name to X — the Saltire Cross — the international symbol of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
Musk is South African and grew up under the last days of racist apartheid in that country.
That’s really the difference. Hillary Clinton didn’t invent Trump was a rapist, guilty of massive fraud. Joe Biden isn’t responsible for Jan 6.
Trump being held responsible for crimes he actually committed is not a personal vendetta.
Same with Musk. He looks guilty of several crimes. I dislike Musk because he blithely skirts laws&takes advantage of our government funding. I don’t want him investigated because I dislike him, I want Musk investigated because it looks like he committed crimes.
Suki. 👏👏👏
Musk will certainly be a casualty of a Harris administration. He should immediately be stripped of all his government contracts to begin with and you have outlined the other legal consequences he should face.
If only!
There's a word for what has happened to Musk: hubris. He didn't have to buy Twitter and make it into a right-wing cesspool. He didn't have to talk to and toady to Putin. He could have lived on his reputation for electric vehicles. But he wanted to cash in on even more power and money by backing Trump. He wants to be co-dictator.
He deserves everything that's coming to him when Trump loses. And everything should include the Justice Department and the Democratic Congress opening investigations into Musk's role in the campaign and Twitter and his security clearances and contacts with Putin. He should be divested of as much money and power and influence and liberty as possible. This isn't revenge: it's defense of democracy, here and abroad.
May his wings melt soon, John.
I sent this article to the media. Let’s see if they print it. This is a “Holy Cow” moment.
Let's hope he is truly fucked when Harris wins.
“Musk may also be held accountable for conflicts of interest between his being in ‘regular contact’ with Russian president Vladimir Putin, as reported by The Wall Street Journal last Friday, and his status as one of the most important national security contractors to the U.S. government through his SpaceX and Starlink enterprises.”
How high — or low — does it go? Violation of the Logan Act? Espionage? Treason?
But hes a JobCreator(tm) and really special so why would they apply any rules to him? He might whine on xitter
I value your insight and intellect. Hate how scary it all is.