Punishment for being up late is learning more about the dysfunctional system of making laws and how money gets first priority. Elon Muskrat is a major threat to America and Ukraine
As is plutocracy period. We should never have let it get this far, and allowing it free reign would mean the end of democracy in this society, with knock-on trauma around the globe.
Well said JL. Too late for lamentations, all we can do us to limit the damage they will unleash to be in a better position to replace MAGA, for MADA (Make America Decent Again)
And somehow present a contrasting vision to a world dominated by ugly narcissism. It's strange that so many fall under it's spell, yet hardly unprecedented. We are social beings by nature, and the way out of hell is to look out for one another.
That's hardly a new idea either; yet the "decent" way takes work that is both external and internal. The alternative gets things moving a whole lot faster, but like jumping off a cliff, it gets ugly fast when reality strikes. Wisdom might be about what, in the end, most matters.
The farmers will be the first to see the disaster when Trump’s tariffs make it impossible for them to sell their farm products internationally, and when their work forces get deported.
Uh OK. I will wait and see. I agree whole heartedly that there will be a whole lotta things to be fed up over by then. But that is where my agreeing ends. You seem to have more confidence in the American people than I do.
And how will Trump voters develop a second thought to do the “right thing”. With musk posting 150 times, how many is Harris posting? She and the Dems should be slamming this?
My take is that we should see who becomes DNC chair. I'm for Ben Wickler. But whenever that is decided, perhaps we should flood that office with our rage and suggestions for a new Democratic platform that appeals to the 90 million people who were eligible to vote who DIDN'T.
Please consider forgetting about "Trump voters". They are lost in a wilderness of ignorance, hate and ingrained bigotry. Let 'em go.
If we had harvested 10 percent of those NON voters in the right states, we wouldn't be having this chat. And IMO, we can get them to the decent side of politics with an appeal for ECONOMIC JUSTICE and hope for a better life. They don't believe in ANY party now. If we can offer them some financial relief, we will get their votes.
We have to be lauder, less polite, not always by the book, never the appeaser, not too nice, even if is not in our nature. Take it as a temporary sacrifice...☺️
Kamala Harris is toast. If she had been genuinely ready for the presidency, she would have taken Biden out of office through the 25th Amendment months ago and gone to war with Trump, cast off her hard left wing as getting in the way, and won. Instead, she took the "brat" route and now we have Trump.
Im worried about that too Richard. I didn't have a crystal ball but, based on what we saw coming from Congress this last few days I hope legislators would cool down MAGA worse impulses. 🤞
Once the "everyday" trumper citizens come to the realization of how this is going to personally affect them, I believe they WILL do the right thing in 2 years. Let's certainly hope so. In the meantime, I'm waiting for the dogfight of two very rich, very greedy, very narcistic personalities to happen. I hope they eat each other alive!
JL, “jumping off a cliff” reminded me of some snarky jokes said by climbers that were part of my life years ago: “it’s not the fall that gets you, it’s the landing”….otherwise known as “deceleration trauma”. Haven’t thought of that in years…morbid sense of humor in that group!
or ".... it's the sudden stop", as a friend of mine in primary school told me. "deceleration" is a good word, but we probably didn't know it at the time.
Democrats in Congress keep fighting for things that benefit 90% of the people (or more) who voted for Trump and GOP senators and Congress men and women were voted into office by their "constituencies." It's time Democrats and main stream media start learning how to hold them accountable for the way they vote. This is a tough fight, because one side continues to play by the rules and respect the norms of engagement, while the other does not. One side speaks the truth or tones down the truth in the name of "both side-ism" while the other is Fox News (and a host of other liars and cheaters). Hold them accountable for their votes. Hold them accountable in public during the upcoming hearings of the ridiculous appointments (Hegseth, Gabbard, Patel, Kennedy Jr, the list goes on). HCR and a few others can not be the only one holding them accountable for the way they vote and the way they've turned this country into a stinking mess.
J L, well said. I wish I could rid myself of my cynicism about humankind. What matters, and has always mattered, to those at the top is staying there and extracting as much labor and wealth from the rest of us as possible. Now that we have a climate crisis along with all the other problems, they are convinced their money will save them. It won't, but we will probably all die while they are trying to save their selfish selves.
All the behavior that is sweet and honorable, and all that cruel and selfish is in the mix of human behaviors. Collectively we have at least a measure of choice for which we call forward.
It is encouraging that Republicans continue to battle each other and still cower at the thought that Elon, with one check, could scuttle their future in the House after 2026.
Wouldn't it be nice if a handful of Republican Congresscritters decided to become Democrats or Independents and caucus with the Dems?
I propose to change Citizens United for Billionaires United. Maybe McConnell would agree.🤔.......it's a little adjustment to reflect the reality. I wrote this before my first AM coffee, sorry, ill try again later.
I keep waiting for a new party to emerge--quite possible if Liz and Adam Kinsinger got some of the "old school" Republicans on board. But IMHO they need to do it NOW, not later.
No! It is not about Trump! Or Musk! It is about the Dems inability to take their message to the people. Look at the post here. We are obsessed with Trump while the path to success is promoting those like McGovern. Musk had 150 social media posts in one day. Every dem in the country should take to social media and post the facts. It got to far? So what are we going to do to stop it from going further?
Yah. Why didn't the Dems buy up all the media and stuff it full of their slant ??? Actually the media owners have shot themselves in the foot long term, putting themselves out if business with bad journalism practices. I can't decide if it more satisfying to see them go down drowning in their own excrement or wish theyd descintegrate immediately.
Unfortunately, I underestimated th number of Trump’s talents. The one I knew he possessed was to bring out the worst in everybody (including me). He clearly has another one. He can convince his followers to believe him in preference to their eyes and ears, and certainly in preference to Democrats who lie all the time.
Agree 1000%. We have the worst PR on the planet. If Madison Ave. can you to buy practically anything, why can't we sell our policies, which are truly helping the American public, any better? And the right wing always manages to make it sound we are the devil incarnate. Free school lunch - horrible! Infrastructure act and jobs - it will kill democracy! Improved healthcare - it will kill you! We NEVER get it right. We blather on in wonkspeak, or just assume they will appreciate the outcomes, and here we sit, on the losing end, once again, while they unravel all the good Biden just did.
Kathleen, you mentioned Madison Avenue, but didn't mention what Madison Avenue knows about the U.S. consumer and how it exploits that knowledge. This secret is apparently unknown to Dems' operatives and voters.
Allow me to share it now: Contrary to popular opinion, U.S. consumers do not think; they FEEL. Buying decisions are not based on logic, or even on finance. They are based on EMOTION. The overwhelming majority of U.S. consumers buy goods and services based on how they expect to feel after the purchase. The same is true of U.S. voters.
Regardless of which school of thought they camp in, U.S. economists recently have been confounded by the current phenomenon in which the U.S. economy is the healthiest it's been in decades, yet consumers universally tell pollsters they believe the economy is the worst it's ever been. Consumers are spending more than ever, but believe the economy is in the tank. The Republican propaganda machine has a lot to do with that.
Unfortunately, the message from the Democratic Party has been an offer of better financial security for everyone, which certainly seems to be the most appealing message of any. The offer was rejected by millions of voters, both D and R.
Meanwhile, Trump and his mouthpieces have been hammering away at how bad things are. Crime is up (it's not), the economy is terrible (it's not), immigrants are criminals (they're not) and so on. Without offering any policy proposals, Trump promised to "fix" all these problems and make voters feel better about America. They bought it.
Democrats will not win the hearts and minds of U.S. voters with facts and policies. They will win with feelings. That is the challenge.
Maybe Harris won! Demand Biden use his executive order to do a hand recount in the swing states where the data is HIGHLY SUSPECT.
This is an excellent video summary of the Smart Elections data findings (smart elections.us) for those that may be having difficulty wrapping their head around it:
Sandra, I loved your comment. I've been asking for months for our leadership to drop the nice guy stance and not go by the book all the time, not to be the appeaser in the room and as I wrote a couple of hours earlier, even if is not in our nature. Take as a temporary sacrifice. 😉
I am a confirmed atheist, however: this has always resonated with me---"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Sometimes, we are unable to see into the future well enough to predict outcomes. All we can do is what we think is the right thing.
Sandra: I think there are two separate groups of social media people. Those who accept the message hook line and sinker, and those who have a functioning brain. I think that the people who did not vote are more in the first category and either did not vote or voted for the moron. So the Dems message has to be not only on social media, but in one to one contact on the ground.
Not too late. Promote politicians like McGovern. Break down this info in ways everyone understands. Post this info. Find ways to talk about those in congress with the right ideas. We need to stop burying the lead with Trumps uglyness. Promote those like McGovern that are doing the work.
The media played a huge part in this. They did a horrible job of covering Biden and the good he did during his entire presidency and the coverage of the election was worse. Not sure how we change this since they are mostly republican owned. They pushed the lies told by republicans over any truth. Disgusting is my only conclusion. I haven’t watched or read any news since the election, f—k them.
Judy, I agree with your comment, but offer one little tweak. The major news outlets are all owned by billionaires. As such, they are prostitutes for the almighty dollar and not loyal to any political party. If Democrats started offering tax cuts for the wealthy and promises to eliminate regulations, Corporate Media would switch sides so fast, news audiences would have severe cases of whiplash.
Judy Croft Barkume -- Three Cheers to you! The press has ignored President Biden from the beginning! And that has been P***ing me off for the same length of time! Before your comment, I never connected the dots to the owners of the press. Naivety on my part.
Talk in bullet points and sound bites that the average person gets and say it over and over again. The script must be consistent, like the Republicans. People get confused when the message deviates. They like repetition and clarity. And go buy some newspapers and radio stations.
Hopefully, whoever wins the big Megamillions jackpot on Christmas Eve will give us ALL a gift by using their winnings to buy a radio station or two.....if not a few Congresspeople. I'm sure some of them can't be too expensive.
Please notice HCR cites mainstream media. There are still fine investigative reporters working at such as the NYTimes and even the Bezos compromised Washington Post. Read and write Letters to the Editor.
What stumps me is that there is no attempt at burying the ugliness. Instead the blatant conflicts of interest are paraded in broad daylight. This is what you get when the most powerful man in the world partners with richest man in the world. My friend asked where’s God? I told her that God has nothing to do with this. He gave man free will and they chose this mess….
Some bees, when a killer hornet gets into the hive, surround it and roast it with their body heat. We need to keep the spotlight on the marauding of such as Charles Koch, Elon Musk et al. We need to keep the spotlight on DOGE and the House committee Johnson set up to officially implement the schemes of players without government portfolios. DOGE should be walled off from effective influence on legislation.
The CR PR defeat for MuskTrump may inspire Republicans to use their power for the United States, instead of for MuskTrump. We cannot let the MuskTrumpGOP regime MO become business as usual - to tank bipartisan legislation, strip out negotiated Democratic items, add dangerous MuskTrump items, and then celebrate legislation which strips out the absurdly dangerous without restoring the absolutely necessary (such as restrictions on trade with China.) MuskTrump may chafe at the PR debacle, but will still profiteer on conflicts of interest. In the last Trump term China granted Ivanka Trump trademarks for made in China made voting machines. Of course Trump's Bibles are made in China. Now Musk. That's the least of it.
After WW2 Congress called Fred Trump to testify regarding government waste and fraud. Because of loopholes in government oversight legislation, Trump had been able to profiteer on wartime government contracts. How he did it was supposed to show which/how laws had to be changed.
Robber barons and war profiteers - unmitigated greed as unregulated capitalism -are no good for America. We have disproved - over and again - all the right wing assertions about money. We need to undo all the GOP tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations, return to a system of progressive taxation, and reform the tax code line by line to close the loopholes. People will still get rich, corporations will still make profits. But not wealthy enough to produce Kochs, Musks, et al.
Deregulation is not good for America. Citizens United et al are bad for America. That has been proven definitively. We need to restore/reform campaign finance regulations.
Behind the grievous insults of Christian Nationalism bigotry to individual persons and group, are the injuries of regressive taxation and deregulation to the nation itself.
"The trademarks also cover items including nursing homes, sausage casing, and voting machines. Ivanka’s business applied for these trademarks in 2016."
"After World War II, in 1954, Trump was investigated by a U.S. Senate committee for profiteering from public contracts, including overstating his Beach Haven building charges by $3.7 million. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in 1954, William F. McKenna, appointed to investigate “scandals” within the FHA, cited Fred C. Trump and his partner William Tomasello as examples of how profits were made by builders using the FHA]409 program.
Lin, The only piece I would add to your highly astute observations/ analysis entails the necessity of the opposition repeatedly calling out the putrid underpinnings of every radical far right proposal and amplifying, in alignment with Indivisible’s 2025-2026 charge, precisely what they (the opposition) would do differently. I would note Indivisible’s immediate mission, currently underway by over 3000+ local chapters, is to maintain some amount of democracy until 2026 and achieve significant victories in the midterms—breaking Trump’s hold on Congress and state legislatures prior to our entering the 2028 election cycle.
Rickey, Thank you for posting a link to Marc Elias’s Democracy Docket. As a fellow subscriber, presumably like you, I find Elias’s newsletters immeasurably critical both for their empirical evidence demonstrating their acumen for protecting the rule of law and also for their counsel on how everyday people can contribute, aside from donations, to Democracy Docket’s overall mission persistently to ensure the powers rooted in the structures of government established by our Founders remain sufficiently balanced to protect the country against the excesses of any one branch.
I would only add that I think we should abandon taxation on income altogether. Income taxes, even at their most progressive, can be played by the super-wealthy with their army of lawyers and accountants to shield them from most of it. Instead, we should be taxing wealth. It's too complicated to explain in a comment in this forum, but it is extremely easy to implement and avoids all the loophole dodges that enabled Musk et. al to accumulate such obscene wealth - and now power.
"... we should abandon taxation on income altogether . . . Instead, we should be taxing wealth. It's too complicated to explain in a comment in this forum, but it is extremely easy to implement."
I am leery of any assertion which claims something "is too complicated to explain in a comment in this forum, but it is extremely easy to implement." This forum helps us learn from each other. By participants 'doing their homework' and sharing.
Overall, although a wealth tax - on net worth - can mitigate extreme disparities in wealth, where tried as a government's primary generator of revenue, it has proven unwieldy to administer and ineffective in raising revenue. All but a few countries have abandoned it. Instead many progressives, such as senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, have proposed a wealth tax in addition to the income tax. I'm with them.
Wealth tax
"A wealth tax, also called capital tax or equity tax, is imposed on the wealth possessed by individuals. The tax usually applies to a person’s net worth, which is assets minus liabilities. These assets include (but are not limited to) cash, bank deposits, shares, fixed assets, personal cars, real property, pension plans, money funds, owner-occupied housing, and trusts."
During the 2020 election, the immense and increasing disparity in wealth in the United States prompted politicians such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to propose a wealth tax, in addition to the income tax."
"Under the current system, people can accumulate billions in wealth and avoid paying income taxes on their gains...
This column first describes the existing system for taxing capital gains, then explains how three different proposals would reform it. All three alternative systems—constructive realization, carryover basis, and mark-to-market taxation (a targeted version of which is known as the Billionaires Income Tax)—would increase federal revenues in a highly progressive manner."
"There is every reason why, when next our system of taxation is revised, the National Government should impose a graduated inheritance tax, and, if possible, a graduated income tax."
"Before 1913, federal government revenues came mainly from taxes on goods—tariffs on imported products and excise taxes on items like whiskey. The burden of these taxes fell heavily on working Americans, who spent a much higher percentage of their income on goods than rich people did."
"Tackling income and wealth inequality is at the top of the policy agenda in many countries. This note discusses three approaches of wealth taxation, based on (1) returns with a capital income tax, (2) stocks with a wealth tax, and (3) transfers of wealth through an inheritance (or estate) tax. "
We’ve all been paying taxes for muskrat. As a recent , mine went sky high. We ALL are paying for the legal thieves. When Woody Guthrie said that some can rob you with a Six-gun, he spoke for us all.
TD bach, I respectfully disagree with your idea that income should not be taxed. However, I agree that the wealthy among us can afford to game the current taxation system, which puts them at an unfair advantage over the vast majority.
In my opinion, a flat tax with no deductions is the fairest tax. If everyone who earns an income in the U.S. paid a flat percentage, every citizen would "have skin in the game," from the poorest to the richest.
Critics claim that a flat tax is regressive, but I think their opinions are based on faulty assumptions, specifically that there would always be some allowances and deductions. I posit that all deductions are based in social engineering ... legislators trying to encourage (or force) citizens to behave in a certain way.
The truth is, if every taxpayer paid their fair share, without benefit of loopholes, the effective tax rate would be dramatically reduced, such that everyone could afford to pay what they owe. And no one would need to pay tax preparers to file their tax returns.
$100 is effectively a bigger bite of their spending/saving power, than $1000 is for the spending/saving power of the person with $10,000.
Now compare the impact of a flat tax on a person with the USA median income of $37,585 compared with the median income of the USA
top 1% of which is estimated to be around $788,000 per year. (And that is just income not accumulated and inherited wealth available to the 1%. Which has not been taxed equitably.)
The flat tax rate may be equal but the effective impact is not equitable.
The job of government is to take care of the general welfare and justice as fairness requires leveling the playing field. Which benefits all of us overall.
"We need to keep the spotlight on the marauding of such as Charles Koch, Elon Musk et al."
I should've made clear that our spotlight should be primarily on the predations rather than on the persons.
The essays below are examples of spotlighting the *operations* by which such as Charles Koch, Leonard Leo, and the Roberts Court act to restrict our constitutional rights and degrade our democratic republic.
Volunteer for your local Democratic committee to create a Rapid Response team. You do the homework of spotlighting action points and providing supporting documentation. They create a webpage on their site and share with members.
Yes, Lin! It infuriates me that already Musk has been able to influence legislation so that his economic interests are favored. Jim Mc Govern is my Rep. and I am so pleased that he highlighted this blatant corruption in his comments. I intend to write to him today to thank him for pointing out how eliminating the outbound investment provision hurts Americans and benefits Musk.
You write of surrounding killer hornets to kill them with heat. I’m asking everyone who can, please write to your local Rep. and Senators demanding that they pass this bipartisan bill in the next Congress. Particularly, those of you in Texas and Pennsylvania, let Senator Cornyn and Senators Fetterman and McCormick know you want this measure passed. Keep the heat on McCormick and call him out for abandoning American workers in favor of Musk. Keep the spotlight on what it means to have lost Senator Casey, a co-writer, along with Cornyn, of the bill.
ThankYou for Jim McGovern, he is one of my CSpan heroes.
Along with Richard Neal, Sheldon Whitehouse, Benny Thompson, Jamie Raskin, Hank Johnson, Patty Murray, Chris VanHollen - really most of The Progressive Caucus. We Democrats have a deep bench and we need better messaging to let people know.
Yes, in my email to him, I thanked for highlighting Musk’s corrupt influence, asked him to continue to highlight this, and told him how happy I am that he’s my rep. We love him here!
When I lived in DC I had no voting representation in Congress, so I got in the habit of 'adopting' my CSpan heroes and phoning Thanks. They all need to know what we approve of.
Who would like to organize individual roasting pages for the worst ten autocratic creeps influencing our efforts at democratic government and when they are roasted to dropping out point, replace them with others from the list with next worst ones.
susan, I have no skills to do so, but in my dreams, I'd like to see a youtube channel that fact checks (like Snopes) but did it in such a way as to be catchy and easy to go viral. I had heard the false rumor that the new budget was going to increase the salaries of Congress by 40%, which is NOT TRUE. I didn't know where that misinformation started, but in this clip (which I posted elsewhere) Bernie tells us it was MUSK.
I'd love to see bold graphics and a video of less than say, 30 seconds--imagine this:
Bold yellow type "CONGRESS GETTING A 40% RAISE" and suddenly, the red circle with a line slashes through it with a LOUD AUDIBLE "FALSE" proclamation. Okay, now we need some sort of a cute, fuzzy mascot saying "but but but...who said that?" (cute, fuzzy mascots go viral easily, we need one, be it a real animal, a puppet, or a graphic)
And then up pops the ugliest photo of MUSK available and the voiceover says "HE DID IT" with audible tongue razzing and boos in the background. and horns appear on his head. Up pops the tweet he put up, quickly followed by the image of a gavel smacking the imagine into a crumbled heap with an audible "LIE!!" and a pop up of the graphic of the word "LIE!"(Like whack a mole, perhaps)
It could also apply to any TRUE things that are done, for instance, a graphic saying Biden created whatever number of jobs. Up pops a photo of Biden and the audible says "TRUE!" (up could pop a photo of Biden with a halo. Add the sweet sound of a "ping!")
Our mascot says "but but but.. what jobs? and where?" Now photos of showing folks in hard hats working on construction sights (with label on each saying where and what state) with audible "TA DAs!" and Joe Biden created jobs with the Infrastructure Act.
I totally agree with the sources that lin+ below posts, but this TIKTOK generation is NOT going to look them up, NOT going to read, etc. There was complaint that the Dems were "elitist" (and perhaps others here have noticed that Brian Tyler Cohen has dropped the suits in his videos? ) Our short-attention voter populace seem to need bells and whistles directly delivered to them.
Remember the couch "humping" and "weird" went viral very quickly. Anyone with the skills or connections to create this type of social media channel, be my guest.
This plutocracy that we’re seeing has been coming on for decades. It’s in its late stages now I think.. Perhaps we’re in the “ picking the remaining meat from the bones “ phase..
True, we shouldn't have let it get this far. The reason it has is ignorance on our part - we didn't know how to fight the fight. We need to identify the culprits as to why the vast majority of Americans are stressed financially, i.e., Republican politicians doing the biddings of oligarchs like Musk who fund their campaigns, launch and prosecute a scorched-earth war against them, voting them out of power. We need to rile up their anger and hate.
Too late now. Ordinary Americans are going to have to suffer terribly before we understand why we were wrong to sit on our asses for decades and let our government become increasingly corrupt from unlimited corporate money, gifts & favors and then kill democracy by electing Musk.
WE didn't allow the orange blight and the current corruption in ourto happen. I voted for Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton WON the popular vote. An unbelievable amount of money and misinformation resulted in the stranglehold of the Republicans in government. And don't forget, gerrymandering and a governing body that is much too small for the size and population of this country. 535 Senators and Congress People and nine SCOTUS is way too few for a country of 330 million. No wonder the billionaires are so successful at buying our leaders and corporate media.
Muskolini is indeed a fascist and a Putin fan boy. His calling for chancellor Olaf Scholz to step down, calling him “an incompetent fool” is parroting Putin-speech. Also here, bot a word of compassion for the victims of the terrorist attack on the Weihnachtsmarkt in Magdeburg. Muskolini doesn’t give a sh*t about people, we can all die in hell for what he cares. He cares only about his own legend, and he will destroy everything for it: democracy, the people, and even the Earth and every living being on it.
"Let them eat cake" (if they don't have bread...) Marie said.
In a perverse but powerful way, Musk may lead us to the new "economic populist" movement the Dems need to embrace. I will be pounding the keys on this until my fingers bleed (or develop serious callouses).
We don't need the reaction Marie-Antoinette received...but Musk and Co. COULD spark a revolution by being so selfishly revolting.
We could help by continuously speaking about the excesses of the few who hold too much money while appealing to those whose plights are the stuff of past insurrections - ours needs to be peaceful forceful angry indignation.
Why does Mark Zuckerberg have two mega yachts - large enough for helicopter hangars - while working families have to choose between rent, food and medicine? Why do Walmart employees use food stamps and Medicaid when the Waltons have over $400 billion? Why are Amazon workers needing to strike when Bezos has soooo much money?
This sort of campaign is easy to create and would appeal to many who really don't care about political parties or social justice or international problems. Americans are struggling. We can offer help. Economic reform can be the center pole in a big tent that includes all sorts of people. Then and only then can we win and resume our efforts at intelligent climate policy and social justice.
We have so much political ammunition still locked up in the armory. Time to use it.
Bill Alstrom -- And let us not forget that Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame single handedly destroyed the small independent bookstore business. And then Covid-19 hit, and Amazon was all many/most of us had, including for "stuff." What an incredibly mixed story, eh?
Yeah, Bill, I never understood excess wealth and the need need need to get more more more….like the dragon’s lair overflowing with gold/treasure. For what? I don’t find it thrilling at all….that said, I’d truly appreciate having “enough” and for all to have “enough”….maybe then I could finally finish fixing my fixer-upper home! I NEVER mind paying my fair share of taxes and have consistently voted for measures to help, for example, my local volunteer Fire Dept (a wee town of 1200) or for school improvement….things that benefit “the commons”. Though it does chap my azz that I pay a higher % of taxes on my SS/pension than do the Richie-riches on their income!
Well said, Bill, but these conditions existed pre-election and Americans voted against trans and immigrants instead of for their own wellbeing. Turning the tide of those voter’s concentration could be Musk’s gift?
Btw, in my long career in the hospital lab, I have personally handled the poop (and urine, vomitus, spinal fluid, ascites fluid, synovial fluid, semen, etc) of thousands of people. I can clearly envision lots of "spices" to add to such a pie. C. Dif, Salmonella, cholera?
Let’s not forget about sociopathy and how children of wealthy seemed trained to perceive ordinary humans as cockroaches or animals to toss into fighting rings for their amusement - Bread & Circuses. We’re literally turning America into a Hunger Games.
The likelihood of severe backlash depends on public perception, media coverage, and the specific actions Musk continues to take. Given his high profile, even small missteps often spark significant backlash. BUT, his strong fanbase on X and apparent business successes might cushion the impact unless his behavior causes widespread harm or legal consequences.
Allen, While I don’t dispute the validity of your thesis, admittedly, I am somewhat heartened by the staggering fractiousness within the Republican Party these last few days over funding the government. Though my perspective is mere speculation, observing that not all Republicans were willing entirely to go along with the Musk/Trump renegotiation, I sense, despite principles they hold that vehemently oppose ours, that some Republicans, like us, seemingly hold to the principle that the U.S. should exist as a sovereign country, a struggle we would lose if we let Musk and others like him take over.
Barbara Jo, I love the phrase; “staggering fractiousness”! Yes, and yes again.
I literally laughed out loud when I read that Rand Paul, true to form, opposed Trump’s demand to eliminate the debt ceiling. Serious pain in the ass that he is, this time he actually helped. Sort of, at least.
Turns out ambitious Republicans can be a bitch to manipulate. (Yes, I recognize that Paul is Libertarian. But Thune isn’t. Lol.)
Also want to give a huge shout out to my US Representative, Angie Craig (D-MN) who was recently elected the ranking minority member on the House Agriculture Committee. Craig helped negotiate the $10B aid to farmers provision in the CR. Whoop!
@Swbv, Because the motives among those in the GOP who seemingly “have a spine” are likely not monolithic, I might hold off on the gratuitous letter writing. As I wrote to another reader on this site, I would suggest that the opposition persistently amplify the putrid underpinnings of far-right extremist policy and declare what it (the opposition) would do differently. Along with connecting to the swath of the electorate that increasingly has felt (understandably so) abandoned by the Democratic Party, the opposition feasibly would succeed in maintaining some amount of democracy until 2026 and achieving significant victories in the midterms—breaking Trump’s hold on Congress and state legislatures prior to our entering the 2028 election cycle.
A Dem majority in 2026 would be a blessing. Actually, it would be a blessing for both the right and the left. As it is right now, our nation's governance will be directed towards making laws, regulations, and foreign relations that best suit Mr. Musk. He's got a GOP tailwind ready to do his bidding, led by Mr. Johnson and facilitated by our Supreme Court
@Swbv, I agree. Hence the necessity, at every turn, for the opposition to drive home the freedoms, right, and safeguards that are in peril and show what they would do differently.
Elon Musk is a major threat to Germany and England as well, and he has been cozying up to illiberal leaders across the planet, in France, Italy, Argentina. We should be throwing our energies into separating him from his businesses and his money. This should be done together with allies.
A The Bulwark Podcast pointed out that Trump is probably afraid of what Musk could do to bring him down, by using his money and X platform to campaign against Trump if Trump does not do what he wants.
He’s a threat to Europe, given that he is supporting the neo-Nazi party AfD. The last time the Nazis were in power they occupied the whole of Europe apart from the UK, Sweden and Switzerland, hammered Britain with bombs and killed tens of millions of Europeans.
As for Musk - the Apartheid regime of South Africa was directly inspired by the Nazis, so it’s not surprising he’s keen.
Allen, agreed although I would extend this idea to his being a threat to the entire world. He is meddling in Europe, supporting fascists. He only cares about money and the ability to trample everyone in his path.
Quote: “…House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he had included Musk as well as President-elect Trump in the negotiation of the original bipartisan funding bill.”
Isn’t this historically unusual,
if not improper, for someone who is not yet inaugurated to insert himself into governmental business while the sitting president is still in office? And for someone like Musk who has no legal nor electoral standing to be so involved? Any historical precedent?
I would think it is highly unusual, if not downright unprecedented.
As far as Musk is concerned, if I am understanding it correctly, he still receives fed $$ to fund his whatever it is he does. Ostensibly when the Feds dish out funds whether via contracts or grants, for something that it can't provide directly it is for something that in some way benefits the country. If so, then Musk has a stake in budget negotiations, which strikes me as blatant conflict of interest. Even more absurd is putting him in charge of the DOGE clown show. The least he could do, then, in the name of efficiency, is to cut from the budget any funds that flow into his coffers. Then he should resign and go offer his services to Germany, as he clearly wants to do.
"As Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) explained, Musk is building big factories in China and wants to build an AI data center there, even though it could endanger U.S. security. McGovern charged that Musk’s complaints about the spending in the bill were cover for his determination to tank the provision that would limit his ability to move technology and business to China. And, he noted, it worked. The outbound investment provision was stripped out of the bill before it passed."... This Kinda Shows Musk's Loyalties... The USA is his 3rd Country... He came here for the $$$.... He already has 'X', He has a Orange Puppet, He is working on 'Neuralink'... He is Chummy with Putin, and maybe with Xi... Elon was poised to cause much damage to this Country for the sake of his singular Ambition... What would those that have given 'Their Last Full Measure', and their Families, Think Of Making The Ultimate Sacrifice For Dark Sith Elon... In a Just World Elon would be Stripped Of HisUSA Citizenship, Deported Back To South Africa, and Have His Assets Stripped... Elon Musk Is Now, "Public Enemy #1'...
My wife's oft repeated quote is, "the opposite of justice is poverty."
Trump has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars with all of his ridiculous lawsuits throughout his life. He has screwed over so many people that can't afford to fight back or delay justice when he is in your cross hairs.
He hasn't even paid his half a billion for the cases he lost against E. Jean Carroll and the State of NY. Why?
Billionaires at work. They own the major bully pulpits in the US as well as the entire Federal Government. And the sheeple totally buy into their Bull Shit.
Modern US government just bristles with blatant conflicts of interest above a certain rank. That part of the autocratic corruption our scheme of governance was devised to avoid. It is just weird the scale of crap we have come to tolerate. "Justice" Thomas is in the news again for somehow legalized illegal bribes, while Fanny Willis, who did use poor judgement but claimed no share of billionaire's booty, is "disqualified". Someone (I think it might have been on this forum), said that as a government employee, she cannot accept as much as a cup of coffee from a client; but of course that sort of restriction only applies to plebeian officials. Literally.
Electoral outcomes that are purchased or biased by some application of private money is corruption. Period. But we rarely use the proper word. To what degree are we creating a government of, by and for the people, and to what degree do we cede that right to plutocrats? People like Thomas Paine were asking the same question.
Do those above a certain rank in government bristle at conflict or are they shirking responsibility they owe to the American people? It is our job to hold our elected officials accountable.
I think It is essential that we as a society think a great deal more about the bottom line, which I am interpreting as what, in the end, most matters? What is most precious? What can we do without? What is mere distraction? And what do we need to forego to get there?
I think there is far too little of that in our hyper-commercial, mass media-driven culture. I think we need to ask more probing questions. There is a lot that is questionable.
Problem is not the money Musk gets from the government, that is relatively small. It's that he can choke off NASA, strand people at the Space Station and leave critical military communications via satellite stranded, like when he turned off an attack on Russian fleet at the last minute with no warning. The guy is a menace and military is scrambling to replace him. But Boeing can not keep its planes in the air much less rockets. The real monetary influence question is, how much financial benefits does Musk get from the Chinese government?
What was taken out of the spending bill is what is as important as what was taken out.
" As David Dayen explained in The Prospect, the original agreement had an “outbound investment” provision that restricted the ability of Americans to invest in technology factories in China. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Bob Casey (D-PA) had collaborated on the measure, hoping to keep cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, as well as the jobs they would create, in America rather than let companies move them to China.
President elect Elon Musk is taking full advantage of Trump being of diminished mental capacity. Trump is totally screwed and he doesn't even realize it.
It is probably trite to say, that Trump sold his soul to the devil for a get out of jail free card.
I didn’t see the Congressional pay raise listed in any of my reading. Did that stay in? Will they get 2% more than the military?
Also, no one is mentioning the change to social security that went through easily. Yes, it benefits teachers and other workers but from what I can see it will also benefit members of congress. Many of them paid into social security but after serving only 6 years in Congress they get retirement benefits for life. Now they will also be able to collect both for life? Or maybe I’m not understanding the change.
I don't need the supernatural to explain evil, which looks to me like predatory narcissism, but the concept of selling one's soul for personal gain at other's expense seems reflect a basis in fact, and Trump and his cronies seem about as soul-less a person can become, and it's just weird how (not just in this country) many who claim to be Christian are in thrall of it.
100Panthers, you are absolutely right. Musk has a god complex (among other psychological issues) and a history of tinkering with people's lives/money. His capricious control over Teslas AFTER market was a huge red flag and he should have been curtailed before the 2020s. Bailing him out, granting government contracts, allowing him to keep control of military hardware is a perilous outcome of crony capitalism.
It's a mystery to me, too. Actually, Musk probably doesn't see or even know about such documents. Some underling probably handles those pesky details.
Someone should look into it
When I was a Fed I had to sign something similar saying that I wouldn't engage in any partisan political activities while acting in my official capacity. Of course on my own time I could plot to overthrow the government, as long as I didn't disclose my status as a deep state operative. 🤫
That was never a problem, as I never saw the use in biting the hand that signed my paychecks.
I was "super hatched" so even on my own time I had to report/get permission for what I was doing. I was audited and threatened for stuff like selling my own book or paintings, attending outside professional conferences, etc.
When I was a lawyer for Columbia, I was told I could not sit on a Board of a group working to prohibit fracking in NY b/c of a possible conflict with the Columbia School of Mines and the optics it could cause. And we could NEVER accept a gift or even a lunch from outside counsel or a vendor to the University of any kind. Seems like everyone but the Supremes, Musk and Trump have to adhere to some ethics / conflicts standards.
Robert, I hazard that even if he and TFFFG know about such “rules” they don’t CARE at all….and it appears no one is holding either accountable (tho’ via the impeachments many did try).
Federal government contractors are prohibited from making contributions or expenditures, or promising to make any such contribution or expenditure, to any political party, committee, or candidate for federal office, or to any person for any political purpose or use. So why has musk been able to give $277 million to Trump! The election commission who has this rule hasn’t done a thing to enforce it. It’s time for the government to hold Musk accountable for the things he’s done, including the 1,500 car crashes from his Tesla cars
For a man with worth of over 300 BILLION dollars. 300 million is a pittance. Just .1%. As a comparison, if you have $100,000 in the back .1% is $100. Pretty close to pocket change.
The whole thing is a game of risk Elon and Trump and the other billionaires are playing with monopoly money as you point out.
Elon tried to buy the congressional seat where I live. The candidate he backed was a single 30 year old Maile, former 3rd rate Nascar driver with a high school diploma. His only job has been with Nascar and he claimed he was pro-choice.
Fortunately, Golden (D-ME2) prevailed, but it was closer than it should have been.
The Republicans learned from George Santos, that no one is too crazy to get elected if they lie enough to the voters and the press no longer is interested in vetting candidates.
That $300 million is cash. The majority of elons wealth is in stock holdings which need to be sold in order to become cash. Elon has loan payments from his purchase of twitter that need to be paid in cash. It's about cash flow for elon. He needs Uncle Sam to enable that.
The quarter billion he spent helping elect the insipid orange turd was like lint in his pocket, his stock went up by 20 billion the next day, that’s 20,000 millions. 🤬
George, I suggest that people look at the memos that are released by the Conservative Action Project. It is a program funded by the Council for National Policy (CNP) with its 501c3 monies. These people who refer to themselves as the conservative leadership met with #45 and/or his administration weekly to set goals. None of these nonprofit leaders have electoral standing. I believe they have formed the shadow government that Paul Weyrich (Father of the New Right) desired. They also continue to work behind the scenes to make sure everyone's vote does not count (another objective desired by Weyrich). The Conservative Action Project memos are signed by conservative leaders who do not want anyone to place them under scrutiny or comment on their activities.
Marla, I have been bristling at TFFFG running an in-your-face “shadow” presidency for the past 4 years…nearly boasting about it! IMHO the Logan Act (enacted in 1799) should have been applied to hold him accountable, except no one has ever been convicted of doing so (only two prosecutions—in the wayback— have been brought in our history, but no convictions).
Actually I see the approach as insightful. The Dems should have inserted themselves more at the end of Trumps era. Trump constantly inserts himself in budget decisions. Where are our Dems doing the same. Where is Harris? She needs to start running now?
"Today, Lara Trump announced: “After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many...." It is indeed incredible that Lara Trump devoted any time to thought and contemplation.
“…incredible amount of thought, contemplation…” by Lara Trump. It makes my brain hurt to contemplate how few amps of electrical thought goes into anything from Lara Trump.
While we take some comfort in every small setback for "President" Musk and President-elect Trump, and while we see again and again the extent to which incompetence keeps the Cult from wreaking too much immediate havoc, we still need to be concerned by the fact that the architects of Project 2025 will not be as easily distracted by internecine conflicts as the House members are.
Betsy, Project 2025 backers are the termites that have been feasting on our democracy’s foundation at least since the early 70’s in one form or another. Time to call Orkin!!!!
And then there Project 2025 waiting in the shadows while the entertainment keeps everyone busy. Personally I think the government needs to have a conversation with Musk in an undisclosed location for the next 4 years or longer.
Whether some secret deal was made or implied, or whether this is Trump's way of paying off a huge campaign debt to Musk, or whether Trump is smitten with Musk for having made such a huge fortune without having it handed to him by his daddy, Trump has clearly handed the reins of government to a man not a single American citizen had voted for.
I still cannot get the image out of my mind of Musk bouncing around, like he was on a pogo stick, with a big grin on his face at Trump's campaign rallies. It's pretty scary that this guy seems now to be the one calling the shots, though there is some consolation in the fact that at least some Republican Senators are now wising up to him. While many Republican Senators were too timid to buck the man elected by the people, they are clearly having second thoughts about humbling themselves to this guy.
While the principle of checks and balances between Congress and the President was embedded in the Constitution, Congress is only now waking up to the realization that on the other scale is not the man elected by the people, but a man who only came to the U.S.from South Africa (via Canada) at the age of 31 and only rose to power by funneling money into Trump's campaign.
Citizens United was intentionally designed for the purpose of allowing wealthy people to gain control of power.
In her book, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, Jane Mayer revealed that a group of billionaires relied on a lawyer who was a “litigation machine” to manufacture cases for SCOTUS to rule in their favor.
They openly bragged that they had a 10 year plan to “dismantle the entire regulatory regime that is called campaign finance law.” The current grip that billionaires have on our nation is a result of these long term efforts and their ability to compensate corrupt judges and politicians.
We the people need to organize, mobilize and speak out to demonstrate that people power can trump (pun intended) power bought with money. We can’t just rely on leadership from the Dems-we have to be “united citizens” willing to strategize and take action against those who are working to destroy democracy.
Clarence Thomas has been among the most lavished beneficiaries of this effort and signed off on the decision that it is not a crime for lavishing rewards on public officials ( including Supreme Court Justices) for having made the right decisions.
“The idea that sick children were among the first victims of the funding showdown sparked widespread outrage.”
What is the matter with Republicans? Have they no compassion? Is there nothing in their DNA that feeds into human rights and love of neighbor rather than a magnetic attraction to the billionaire syndrome?!!!!
Narcissists take great joy in causing other people suffering. I know four people who saw their fathers shot dead in front of their eyes by the Nazis while the families were having dinner. This was a common tactic of the Nazis since it increased people’s fear.
No, they do not have any compassion. And that’s clear in the way they want to destroy the only way that many citizens of this country to get health insurance of any kind, the ACA. Without that opportunity, many more children and adults will die for lack of healthcare.
R/W, there have been recent heart wrenching ads on TV for children’s cancer treatment centers…the kid’s bravery and the parents pain and angst at helplessly watching their children go through this brings me to tears every time. This is no “acting” for the camera, the pain is visceral and throbs through the screen. Sometimes folks only “get it” then they have to walk the proverbial mile in someone else’s shoes—not that I would wish that on anyone.
lauriemcf, they do not put their kids/grandkids to bed. Nannies do that for them. They don't think much beyond their own noses.
We watched (as is our usual tradition at Solstice) "A Christmas Carol" (the 1984 George C. Scott version) last night. My favorite quote is from the Ghost of Christmas Present ("So perhaps, in the future, you will hold your tongue until you have discovered what the surplus population is and where it is. It may well be that, in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than MILLIONS like this poor man's child."). What answers your question is from Belle: "Another idol has displaced me; a golden one".
I'm not sure I'm consoled by some hits the orange felon has been taking, as Heather notes here.
These hits, I think, lie in the shadow of the larger license nihilist mega billionaire Musk has newly gotten for his alliance in China with some of the world's most corrupt oligarch cadres.
Isn't that the real story of what the orange felon proceeds to do in the U.S. with his own mega billionaire cabinet?
Or, is he proceeding? The 119th Congress takes office on January 3. Chuck Shumer thus has a bit less than two weeks to schedule a vote in the U.S. Senate clarifying the U.S.'s chief convicted criminal's disqualification from ever again holding any public office. This due to Article 14 Section Three of the U.S. Constitution and its clarity as to disqualification for all insurrectionists or those who give comfort to them. Senate failure to erase this disqualification depends on 2/3 of both houses of Congress agreeing to permit public office even to insurrectionists and those who comfort them.
And if either house -- here most assuredly the Senate -- does not have 2/3 for the orange felon, we don't have him and his billionaire privileged and all their oligarch criminal cohorts around the world.
I wish there was a way to encourage our timid Democratic senators to do the right thing for the country. If the GOP had this opportunity to remove a DEM they'd be all over it.
Musk's insertion into this episode of kicking the funding bill extension down the road is more than disturbing it is clarion call to Democrats to start playing hard ball or watch the republic that Ben Franklin, when asked, what kind of government the nascent congress had established replied "...a republic if we can keep it." That's what is, once again, on the table, can we KEEP IT?
Larry, Dems are playing by Marquis of Queensberry rules and (most) Repubs are doing guerrilla warfare….two totally different playing fields!!! Guess that’s what folks do when they want to win at any cost, versus collaborating and compromising to achieve the common good.
Depends on their disposition to fight the rapist, convicted criminal, insurrectionist (adjudicated by Colorado state Supreme Court), vengeful enemy of free press in America, and errand boy for all the worst oligarchs and dictators around the world.
Also depends on special prosecutor Jack Smith and the speed and bite with which he issues his final report -- with only 12 days remaining that Dems have the U.S. Senate.
Phil, please explain where you think there is any actual evidence that proves that Trump is an insurrectionist to the degree necessary to support such a political move. I am NOT saying that ib don't think he is, but THINKING is not the same as proof beyond average reasonable doubt. Typically such proof would come from either (a) a conviction in a court of law after evidence is presented by a sworn jury voting UNANIMOUSLY or (b) an impeachment AND conviction by the House and Senate requiring 67% of the Senators to vote to convict.
As far as I can tell, regardless of whether Trump is in fact a leader of an insurrection, there has been no valid adjudication of that fact by either source noted above. And while I can't stand the man any more than you can, i still believe this is a country of laws that we must follow (even when others refuse, i.e. two wrongs don't make a right).
So as much as I understand your frustration, I do not see any purpose in even trying to suggest that Trump should just be presumed guilty of insurrection without some valid legal adjudication of that fact before even considering the idea of using the 14th Amendment to keep him from office. If we were to do that, we would be doing essentially the same thing he tried to do in 2020, that is overriding the results of the election.
In wish it weren't so. I wish Biden and Garland hadn't dragged their feet on getting those important nee critical cases against Trump started 18 months earlier so we might at least have federal adjudication of his potential crimes long before the election (then there MIGHT have been a valid reason to try to keep him out of office). But they did drag their feet and now we are near the burden of that result.
It sucks. But trying to reverse those stupid and negligent courses of action illegally are only worse.
Sorry I think you are just wrong here and I expect Chuck Schumer won't be convinced of your relatively specious arguments either.
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for this to happen because it shouldn't happen.
Remember, Jon, the Constitution specifies age 35 as qualifying age.
It's so easy to recognize a person's age.
You saw the images from many sources showing the fat, lying, orange felon urging on his fellow insurrectionists. You heard the testimony from the congressional Jan. 6 committee -- many dozens of people (most all insider Republicans) testified.
It's so easy. If we're wrong on what we saw, wrong on what we heard, the Senate can heed the call to vote and give the convicted criminal the 2/3 blessing that he was never an insurrectionist, never gave aid or comfort to fellow insurrectionists.
Then the disqualification is lifted. Easy.
If he cannot get 2/3 of the vote blessing him, he's still the bastard we all saw.
The Constitutional restrictions on being President in Article 2 are factual, not opinion. You either ARE 35 or not. You either ARE a natural born citizen or not. The 14th Amendment restriction is subjective not objective. What constitutes an insurrection? What constitutes participating in one assuming you can define it?
There is no "presumption" that someone is one. I know it has never been tested but I am certain that the SCOTUS (especially THIS one) would not agree that you can just "assume: someone you accuser of insurrection is one. Proof would generally be required. No sensible legal scholar would ever suggest that you can just conjure up the idea that someone is an insurrectionist without actual proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sorry you just have it backwards. The proof has to come FIRST and THEN if the Congress wants to set it aside they can by voting the 2/3 to lift the restriction. But that restriction requires a vote too and I daresay there is not ever going to be such s vote against Trump.
You are simply relying on an oatmeal mush of unsupportable allegations. If you seriously believe that that is sufficient to declare a candidate for President to be disqualified, I have several bridges I'd like to sell you.
Over 140 police officers getting their heads bashed in. Doors and windows smashed. Feces on the walls. The fat, orange guy glorying in his mayhem on TV for hours.
I saw it. We saw it. Heard the testimony from the many others who saw it.
Objectively, factually so. Difference, Jon, between reality and reality TV frauds and lifelong con men.
Eff the Clarence court. Article 14, Section Three vests all authority in the Congress to release an insurrectionist from disqualification.
Such blessing, such release requires 2/3 vote from both houses. If the Senate meets and does not give the convicted criminal blessing to continue his criminality, the Constitution's disqualification stands.
Read it, Jon. It's the one document all public officials take an oath to honor, as written.
I took that oath as U.S. Army translator/interpreter of Vietnamese 55 years ago.
Trust me Phil I read the Constitution in my Con Law class at law school and i have read it periodically again over the years. No one in our system is just "assumed" to be an insurrectionist. That requires an adjudication. Otherwise we could just say "Phil needs to be exonerated by the Congress because he's an insurrectionist".
So what if "we all saw it"? Do you remember your basic criminal law history in high school? You have to be found guiltily before you are considered guilty? Why do you think that this crime is somehow different from every other crime we consider in this country?
It's just nonsense, Phil, and I know your are smarter than that to buy into it.
Jon-our reliance on what’s legal vs. what’s right has been a problem in our “nation of laws”. It seems self-evident” that some issues like legal slavery, legal control over women’s bodies, legal rights for corporations as people, legally installing someone as president who incited an insurrection is just plain wrong. (He invited them to DC and told them to march to the capital. He also urged them to go after Pence.)
How do we reconcile what’s right and what’s wrong when it comes to preserving and elevating the best of humanity? How can we insure that our laws are just?
I’m hoping the fiasco we’re now facing will help us to grapple with these kinds of questions. (Note: I won’t be holding my breath either).
I wonder what Mike Johnson’s line of reasoning is for including Musk in the budget negotiation. “Elon Musk is very rich.” Is that it? So what? Mike Johnson has to say why he did this. Why, Mike? Why did you include Elon Musk in the budget negotiation? Cough it up.
There is no way that he asks himself that. I don’t remember much from catechism, but I do remember this: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.".
While Putin would have loved a federal government shutdown, he must be thrilled that Musk is operating as a powerful king intent on hurting the country.
You are up late again , and so am I. I feel that we have a tenuous hold on what we have known and enjoyed as American democracy. What say you? Nancy Ford , Houston.
I am up late as you and some others are. My understanding is that for our government getting funded, the Congress has to give what Musk wants for his business. Trump loses his things. Musk is not elected, but Trump is. Something is fundamentally wrong about our democracy.
All democracies have political faults. I see this existential crisis in Western democracies as an age old fight between those individuals who see others in society as mere material prey for indulging personal power abuses, vastly profiteering off their subsequent suffering. Versus those who see themselves as active players in an organic changing society, like an extended family with complex emotional and physical interconnections and personal responsibilites. No one can serve two masters.
I also wonder how much of a chilling effect the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson had upon Lara Trump’s proposed running for political high office ?
So we have two ginormous egos, and one with more money than the rest of us, thinking they run the world. Our government has allowed this to happen - mainly the spineless Republicans who seem to have never grasped the basic idea of democracy. One or both of these megalomaniacs has to be stopped.
Fred, we don’t just need good seatbelts, we need racing harnesses, crash helmets & industrial strength airbags for this ride! Gonna be a looooong 4 years.
Forget the seatbelts, like the 911 flight who died fighting back. Looking for directions & strategies to fit various styles especially living in a RED state with only MAGAs in control & being a Senior and more than hounding my MaGA congressional repr
It's a shame Musk doesn't seem to understand that during a government shutdown, contractors also don't get paid. Like his.
It also shows how utterly out of touch with the reality of everyday Americans because he's never been poor, never struggled to pay bills, and never known what it's like to be hungry, but too poor to afford much more than oatmeal and crackers.
I also said this elsewhere, that in a shutdown, most bases chow halls don't close, but if they run out of food, base funds have to be utilized to pay for it since there isn't any coming from DOD. And that many, many bases don't have enough housing for all the families stationed there, so they live on "the economy", which is to say, off base.
Guess Musk doesn't mind if they have to worry about paying rent and other bills. But then, again, he's never had that worry, so he can play Alfred E. Neuman all he wants.
Heh, Don, “what, me worry?” Musk…..must be oxygen deprived living in the rarified atmosphere at the tippy-top of his mountain of money. No wonder he’s so out of it.
Musk is up front and out loud about what the wealthy have been doing quietly, anonymously, behind the scenes from the beginning.
What it points out is that concentrated wealth is a danger to democracy and society in general.
Billionaires should be banned. Bernie Sanders is right; tax them out of existence. We all would be better off. Our democracy would be stronger and healthier.
I’m heading to bed now. It’s been an interesting few days watching the chaos going on in the Congress. The fact that President “Musk” totally derailed the bipartisan budget is alarming. Trump’s hold is not as tight as he thinks, and it’s unclear if he actually realizes the influence and pressure Musk is wielding on X and with speaking directly to members of Congress. Having a default executive branch headed by wealthy oligarchs is dangerous. I know my responsibility is to stay informed. talk to friends and family, and make sure my elected officials know that they work for us.
Punishment for being up late is learning more about the dysfunctional system of making laws and how money gets first priority. Elon Muskrat is a major threat to America and Ukraine
As is plutocracy period. We should never have let it get this far, and allowing it free reign would mean the end of democracy in this society, with knock-on trauma around the globe.
Well said JL. Too late for lamentations, all we can do us to limit the damage they will unleash to be in a better position to replace MAGA, for MADA (Make America Decent Again)
And somehow present a contrasting vision to a world dominated by ugly narcissism. It's strange that so many fall under it's spell, yet hardly unprecedented. We are social beings by nature, and the way out of hell is to look out for one another.
That's hardly a new idea either; yet the "decent" way takes work that is both external and internal. The alternative gets things moving a whole lot faster, but like jumping off a cliff, it gets ugly fast when reality strikes. Wisdom might be about what, in the end, most matters.
Let's see what happens in the midterm election. Hopefully, at least part of the trump's voters will have a second thought and do the right thing 😉
Oh, by the midterms, Americans will be mind-blowingly fed up, just wait and see. Hell, we're fed up right now.
The farmers will be the first to see the disaster when Trump’s tariffs make it impossible for them to sell their farm products internationally, and when their work forces get deported.
Uh OK. I will wait and see. I agree whole heartedly that there will be a whole lotta things to be fed up over by then. But that is where my agreeing ends. You seem to have more confidence in the American people than I do.
💯💯💯
Some of us are fed up to the max, others Google “what’s a tariff,” And others bow down to
Obvious evil…. A coalition maybe
And how will Trump voters develop a second thought to do the “right thing”. With musk posting 150 times, how many is Harris posting? She and the Dems should be slamming this?
I feel the same frustration. But Harris making a lot of noise right now will only make her sound like a sore loser. She has a bright future.
But I think we could forgive her if she would like to lick her wounds after a hard fought fight.
There is a fascinating Video by "Belle of the Ranch" that examines how Democrats are handling the current time we are in.
https://youtu.be/2N8cb5Oq_d8?list=UU0YvoAYGgdOfySQSLcxtu1w
My take is that we should see who becomes DNC chair. I'm for Ben Wickler. But whenever that is decided, perhaps we should flood that office with our rage and suggestions for a new Democratic platform that appeals to the 90 million people who were eligible to vote who DIDN'T.
Please consider forgetting about "Trump voters". They are lost in a wilderness of ignorance, hate and ingrained bigotry. Let 'em go.
If we had harvested 10 percent of those NON voters in the right states, we wouldn't be having this chat. And IMO, we can get them to the decent side of politics with an appeal for ECONOMIC JUSTICE and hope for a better life. They don't believe in ANY party now. If we can offer them some financial relief, we will get their votes.
We have to be lauder, less polite, not always by the book, never the appeaser, not too nice, even if is not in our nature. Take it as a temporary sacrifice...☺️
revoke e
lon's citizenship
Kamala Harris is toast. If she had been genuinely ready for the presidency, she would have taken Biden out of office through the 25th Amendment months ago and gone to war with Trump, cast off her hard left wing as getting in the way, and won. Instead, she took the "brat" route and now we have Trump.
Democratic Party needs new warriors.
By midterms, Donald might have eliminated voting, Congress, anyone not loyal to him . Procrastination got us where we are now .
Only if we and our leaders let him.
tramp may also be so alzheimered that he can't be president.
Midterms? I'm worried about the next 3, 4, 5, 6 months.
Im worried about that too Richard. I didn't have a crystal ball but, based on what we saw coming from Congress this last few days I hope legislators would cool down MAGA worse impulses. 🤞
Once the "everyday" trumper citizens come to the realization of how this is going to personally affect them, I believe they WILL do the right thing in 2 years. Let's certainly hope so. In the meantime, I'm waiting for the dogfight of two very rich, very greedy, very narcistic personalities to happen. I hope they eat each other alive!
JL, “jumping off a cliff” reminded me of some snarky jokes said by climbers that were part of my life years ago: “it’s not the fall that gets you, it’s the landing”….otherwise known as “deceleration trauma”. Haven’t thought of that in years…morbid sense of humor in that group!
or ".... it's the sudden stop", as a friend of mine in primary school told me. "deceleration" is a good word, but we probably didn't know it at the time.
True, a fraction of a second before landing, everything looked so perfect 👌
Democrats in Congress keep fighting for things that benefit 90% of the people (or more) who voted for Trump and GOP senators and Congress men and women were voted into office by their "constituencies." It's time Democrats and main stream media start learning how to hold them accountable for the way they vote. This is a tough fight, because one side continues to play by the rules and respect the norms of engagement, while the other does not. One side speaks the truth or tones down the truth in the name of "both side-ism" while the other is Fox News (and a host of other liars and cheaters). Hold them accountable for their votes. Hold them accountable in public during the upcoming hearings of the ridiculous appointments (Hegseth, Gabbard, Patel, Kennedy Jr, the list goes on). HCR and a few others can not be the only one holding them accountable for the way they vote and the way they've turned this country into a stinking mess.
J L, well said. I wish I could rid myself of my cynicism about humankind. What matters, and has always mattered, to those at the top is staying there and extracting as much labor and wealth from the rest of us as possible. Now that we have a climate crisis along with all the other problems, they are convinced their money will save them. It won't, but we will probably all die while they are trying to save their selfish selves.
All the behavior that is sweet and honorable, and all that cruel and selfish is in the mix of human behaviors. Collectively we have at least a measure of choice for which we call forward.
It is encouraging that Republicans continue to battle each other and still cower at the thought that Elon, with one check, could scuttle their future in the House after 2026.
Wouldn't it be nice if a handful of Republican Congresscritters decided to become Democrats or Independents and caucus with the Dems?
The poison of Citizens United is still coursing through the veins of our democracy. And Thomas continues his pandering to the highest bidder.
I propose to change Citizens United for Billionaires United. Maybe McConnell would agree.🤔.......it's a little adjustment to reflect the reality. I wrote this before my first AM coffee, sorry, ill try again later.
🎯🎯🎯
I keep waiting for a new party to emerge--quite possible if Liz and Adam Kinsinger got some of the "old school" Republicans on board. But IMHO they need to do it NOW, not later.
No! It is not about Trump! Or Musk! It is about the Dems inability to take their message to the people. Look at the post here. We are obsessed with Trump while the path to success is promoting those like McGovern. Musk had 150 social media posts in one day. Every dem in the country should take to social media and post the facts. It got to far? So what are we going to do to stop it from going further?
Yah. Why didn't the Dems buy up all the media and stuff it full of their slant ??? Actually the media owners have shot themselves in the foot long term, putting themselves out if business with bad journalism practices. I can't decide if it more satisfying to see them go down drowning in their own excrement or wish theyd descintegrate immediately.
Unfortunately, I underestimated th number of Trump’s talents. The one I knew he possessed was to bring out the worst in everybody (including me). He clearly has another one. He can convince his followers to believe him in preference to their eyes and ears, and certainly in preference to Democrats who lie all the time.
Agree 1000%. We have the worst PR on the planet. If Madison Ave. can you to buy practically anything, why can't we sell our policies, which are truly helping the American public, any better? And the right wing always manages to make it sound we are the devil incarnate. Free school lunch - horrible! Infrastructure act and jobs - it will kill democracy! Improved healthcare - it will kill you! We NEVER get it right. We blather on in wonkspeak, or just assume they will appreciate the outcomes, and here we sit, on the losing end, once again, while they unravel all the good Biden just did.
Kathleen, you mentioned Madison Avenue, but didn't mention what Madison Avenue knows about the U.S. consumer and how it exploits that knowledge. This secret is apparently unknown to Dems' operatives and voters.
Allow me to share it now: Contrary to popular opinion, U.S. consumers do not think; they FEEL. Buying decisions are not based on logic, or even on finance. They are based on EMOTION. The overwhelming majority of U.S. consumers buy goods and services based on how they expect to feel after the purchase. The same is true of U.S. voters.
Regardless of which school of thought they camp in, U.S. economists recently have been confounded by the current phenomenon in which the U.S. economy is the healthiest it's been in decades, yet consumers universally tell pollsters they believe the economy is the worst it's ever been. Consumers are spending more than ever, but believe the economy is in the tank. The Republican propaganda machine has a lot to do with that.
Unfortunately, the message from the Democratic Party has been an offer of better financial security for everyone, which certainly seems to be the most appealing message of any. The offer was rejected by millions of voters, both D and R.
Meanwhile, Trump and his mouthpieces have been hammering away at how bad things are. Crime is up (it's not), the economy is terrible (it's not), immigrants are criminals (they're not) and so on. Without offering any policy proposals, Trump promised to "fix" all these problems and make voters feel better about America. They bought it.
Democrats will not win the hearts and minds of U.S. voters with facts and policies. They will win with feelings. That is the challenge.
I think, Kathleen, most Dems assumed folks can think for themselves….oopsie!!!!
Maybe Harris won! Demand Biden use his executive order to do a hand recount in the swing states where the data is HIGHLY SUSPECT.
This is an excellent video summary of the Smart Elections data findings (smart elections.us) for those that may be having difficulty wrapping their head around it:
Watch on your computer with the volume on.
https://youtu.be/fF22jp2VBJg?
Sandra, I loved your comment. I've been asking for months for our leadership to drop the nice guy stance and not go by the book all the time, not to be the appeaser in the room and as I wrote a couple of hours earlier, even if is not in our nature. Take as a temporary sacrifice. 😉
I am a confirmed atheist, however: this has always resonated with me---"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Sometimes, we are unable to see into the future well enough to predict outcomes. All we can do is what we think is the right thing.
Couldn't agreed more Linda. By the way, I have a feeling that we agreed on many things but I can confirm that we are both atheists 😁
Sandra: I think there are two separate groups of social media people. Those who accept the message hook line and sinker, and those who have a functioning brain. I think that the people who did not vote are more in the first category and either did not vote or voted for the moron. So the Dems message has to be not only on social media, but in one to one contact on the ground.
Will have a tee made with that, we desperately need decent again
Mayor Duggan (Detroit) while a Democrat, is running as an independent for Governor of Michigan so there can be a neutral meeting of minds.
Not too late. Promote politicians like McGovern. Break down this info in ways everyone understands. Post this info. Find ways to talk about those in congress with the right ideas. We need to stop burying the lead with Trumps uglyness. Promote those like McGovern that are doing the work.
The media played a huge part in this. They did a horrible job of covering Biden and the good he did during his entire presidency and the coverage of the election was worse. Not sure how we change this since they are mostly republican owned. They pushed the lies told by republicans over any truth. Disgusting is my only conclusion. I haven’t watched or read any news since the election, f—k them.
Judy, I agree with your comment, but offer one little tweak. The major news outlets are all owned by billionaires. As such, they are prostitutes for the almighty dollar and not loyal to any political party. If Democrats started offering tax cuts for the wealthy and promises to eliminate regulations, Corporate Media would switch sides so fast, news audiences would have severe cases of whiplash.
Judy Croft Barkume -- Three Cheers to you! The press has ignored President Biden from the beginning! And that has been P***ing me off for the same length of time! Before your comment, I never connected the dots to the owners of the press. Naivety on my part.
Give up on mainstream media. It’s a lost cause.
Talk in bullet points and sound bites that the average person gets and say it over and over again. The script must be consistent, like the Republicans. People get confused when the message deviates. They like repetition and clarity. And go buy some newspapers and radio stations.
Hopefully, whoever wins the big Megamillions jackpot on Christmas Eve will give us ALL a gift by using their winnings to buy a radio station or two.....if not a few Congresspeople. I'm sure some of them can't be too expensive.
"Give up on mainstream media. It’s a lost cause."
Please notice HCR cites mainstream media. There are still fine investigative reporters working at such as the NYTimes and even the Bezos compromised Washington Post. Read and write Letters to the Editor.
What stumps me is that there is no attempt at burying the ugliness. Instead the blatant conflicts of interest are paraded in broad daylight. This is what you get when the most powerful man in the world partners with richest man in the world. My friend asked where’s God? I told her that God has nothing to do with this. He gave man free will and they chose this mess….
God’s worst boo-boo
Some bees, when a killer hornet gets into the hive, surround it and roast it with their body heat. We need to keep the spotlight on the marauding of such as Charles Koch, Elon Musk et al. We need to keep the spotlight on DOGE and the House committee Johnson set up to officially implement the schemes of players without government portfolios. DOGE should be walled off from effective influence on legislation.
The CR PR defeat for MuskTrump may inspire Republicans to use their power for the United States, instead of for MuskTrump. We cannot let the MuskTrumpGOP regime MO become business as usual - to tank bipartisan legislation, strip out negotiated Democratic items, add dangerous MuskTrump items, and then celebrate legislation which strips out the absurdly dangerous without restoring the absolutely necessary (such as restrictions on trade with China.) MuskTrump may chafe at the PR debacle, but will still profiteer on conflicts of interest. In the last Trump term China granted Ivanka Trump trademarks for made in China made voting machines. Of course Trump's Bibles are made in China. Now Musk. That's the least of it.
After WW2 Congress called Fred Trump to testify regarding government waste and fraud. Because of loopholes in government oversight legislation, Trump had been able to profiteer on wartime government contracts. How he did it was supposed to show which/how laws had to be changed.
Robber barons and war profiteers - unmitigated greed as unregulated capitalism -are no good for America. We have disproved - over and again - all the right wing assertions about money. We need to undo all the GOP tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations, return to a system of progressive taxation, and reform the tax code line by line to close the loopholes. People will still get rich, corporations will still make profits. But not wealthy enough to produce Kochs, Musks, et al.
Deregulation is not good for America. Citizens United et al are bad for America. That has been proven definitively. We need to restore/reform campaign finance regulations.
Behind the grievous insults of Christian Nationalism bigotry to individual persons and group, are the injuries of regressive taxation and deregulation to the nation itself.
"The trademarks also cover items including nursing homes, sausage casing, and voting machines. Ivanka’s business applied for these trademarks in 2016."
https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/ivanka-trump-trademarks/
"AP traces the printing of Trump’s ‘God Bless America’ Bibles to the country he accuses of stealing American jobs: China"
https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/best-of-the-week/second-winner/2024/ap-traces-the-printing-of-trumps-god-bless-america-bibles-to-the-country-he-accuses-of-stealing-american-jobs-china/
"After World War II, in 1954, Trump was investigated by a U.S. Senate committee for profiteering from public contracts, including overstating his Beach Haven building charges by $3.7 million. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in 1954, William F. McKenna, appointed to investigate “scandals” within the FHA, cited Fred C. Trump and his partner William Tomasello as examples of how profits were made by builders using the FHA]409 program.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/9/1891371/-What-did-you-do-in-WWII-Daddy-Answer-Screw-patriotism-it-about-War-Profiteer
https://www.scribd.com/document/336565709/Fred-C-Trump-1954-Senate-Banking-Committee-Interview-Transcript
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14719972-600-hive-from-hell-roasts-hunting-hornets/
Lin, The only piece I would add to your highly astute observations/ analysis entails the necessity of the opposition repeatedly calling out the putrid underpinnings of every radical far right proposal and amplifying, in alignment with Indivisible’s 2025-2026 charge, precisely what they (the opposition) would do differently. I would note Indivisible’s immediate mission, currently underway by over 3000+ local chapters, is to maintain some amount of democracy until 2026 and achieve significant victories in the midterms—breaking Trump’s hold on Congress and state legislatures prior to our entering the 2028 election cycle.
and this: https://www.democracydocket.com/
Rickey, Thank you for posting a link to Marc Elias’s Democracy Docket. As a fellow subscriber, presumably like you, I find Elias’s newsletters immeasurably critical both for their empirical evidence demonstrating their acumen for protecting the rule of law and also for their counsel on how everyday people can contribute, aside from donations, to Democracy Docket’s overall mission persistently to ensure the powers rooted in the structures of government established by our Founders remain sufficiently balanced to protect the country against the excesses of any one branch.
Yes!!
I would only add that I think we should abandon taxation on income altogether. Income taxes, even at their most progressive, can be played by the super-wealthy with their army of lawyers and accountants to shield them from most of it. Instead, we should be taxing wealth. It's too complicated to explain in a comment in this forum, but it is extremely easy to implement and avoids all the loophole dodges that enabled Musk et. al to accumulate such obscene wealth - and now power.
"... we should abandon taxation on income altogether . . . Instead, we should be taxing wealth. It's too complicated to explain in a comment in this forum, but it is extremely easy to implement."
I am leery of any assertion which claims something "is too complicated to explain in a comment in this forum, but it is extremely easy to implement." This forum helps us learn from each other. By participants 'doing their homework' and sharing.
Overall, although a wealth tax - on net worth - can mitigate extreme disparities in wealth, where tried as a government's primary generator of revenue, it has proven unwieldy to administer and ineffective in raising revenue. All but a few countries have abandoned it. Instead many progressives, such as senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, have proposed a wealth tax in addition to the income tax. I'm with them.
Wealth tax
"A wealth tax, also called capital tax or equity tax, is imposed on the wealth possessed by individuals. The tax usually applies to a person’s net worth, which is assets minus liabilities. These assets include (but are not limited to) cash, bank deposits, shares, fixed assets, personal cars, real property, pension plans, money funds, owner-occupied housing, and trusts."
During the 2020 election, the immense and increasing disparity in wealth in the United States prompted politicians such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to propose a wealth tax, in addition to the income tax."
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/wealth-tax.asp
"Under the current system, people can accumulate billions in wealth and avoid paying income taxes on their gains...
This column first describes the existing system for taxing capital gains, then explains how three different proposals would reform it. All three alternative systems—constructive realization, carryover basis, and mark-to-market taxation (a targeted version of which is known as the Billionaires Income Tax)—would increase federal revenues in a highly progressive manner."
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/3-alternatives-taxing-capital-gains-wealthy/
Taxation
"There is every reason why, when next our system of taxation is revised, the National Government should impose a graduated inheritance tax, and, if possible, a graduated income tax."
- Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, 1906
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States
"Before 1913, federal government revenues came mainly from taxes on goods—tariffs on imported products and excise taxes on items like whiskey. The burden of these taxes fell heavily on working Americans, who spent a much higher percentage of their income on goods than rich people did."
https://teachdemocracy.org//bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-11-3-b-the-income-tax-amendment-most-thought-it-was-a-great-idea-in-1913.html
"Tackling income and wealth inequality is at the top of the policy agenda in many countries. This note discusses three approaches of wealth taxation, based on (1) returns with a capital income tax, (2) stocks with a wealth tax, and (3) transfers of wealth through an inheritance (or estate) tax. "
https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/imf-how-to-notes/Issues/2024/03/08/How-to-Tax-Wealth-544948
An “after the robbery” tax. I like that
We’ve all been paying taxes for muskrat. As a recent , mine went sky high. We ALL are paying for the legal thieves. When Woody Guthrie said that some can rob you with a Six-gun, he spoke for us all.
TD bach, I respectfully disagree with your idea that income should not be taxed. However, I agree that the wealthy among us can afford to game the current taxation system, which puts them at an unfair advantage over the vast majority.
In my opinion, a flat tax with no deductions is the fairest tax. If everyone who earns an income in the U.S. paid a flat percentage, every citizen would "have skin in the game," from the poorest to the richest.
Critics claim that a flat tax is regressive, but I think their opinions are based on faulty assumptions, specifically that there would always be some allowances and deductions. I posit that all deductions are based in social engineering ... legislators trying to encourage (or force) citizens to behave in a certain way.
The truth is, if every taxpayer paid their fair share, without benefit of loopholes, the effective tax rate would be dramatically reduced, such that everyone could afford to pay what they owe. And no one would need to pay tax preparers to file their tax returns.
Crikey. Flat Tax, Flat Earth.
Equal is not Equitable.
Let's say:
I have $1,000. 10% = $100
I have $,10,000. 10% = $1000
For the person with $1,000,
$100 is effectively a bigger bite of their spending/saving power, than $1000 is for the spending/saving power of the person with $10,000.
Now compare the impact of a flat tax on a person with the USA median income of $37,585 compared with the median income of the USA
top 1% of which is estimated to be around $788,000 per year. (And that is just income not accumulated and inherited wealth available to the 1%. Which has not been taxed equitably.)
The flat tax rate may be equal but the effective impact is not equitable.
The job of government is to take care of the general welfare and justice as fairness requires leveling the playing field. Which benefits all of us overall.
Oh my, the optic of bees swarming trump and musk, one cannot un-see that, Lin! I confess a bit of schadenfreude at the idea … For anyone who’d like to see the actual visual, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/bizarre-bee-havior-in-the-battle-against-the-giant-hornet-129395782/
"We need to keep the spotlight on the marauding of such as Charles Koch, Elon Musk et al."
I should've made clear that our spotlight should be primarily on the predations rather than on the persons.
The essays below are examples of spotlighting the *operations* by which such as Charles Koch, Leonard Leo, and the Roberts Court act to restrict our constitutional rights and degrade our democratic republic.
https://progressive.org/magazine/billionaire-kingmaker-still-dividing-the-nation-maclean-graves/
https://www.propublica.org/article/leonard-leo-teneo-videos-documents
https://journals.law.harvard.edu/lpr/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2015/04/9-1_Whitehouse.pdf
Needs a larger audience to spotlight this information
Volunteer for your local Democratic committee to create a Rapid Response team. You do the homework of spotlighting action points and providing supporting documentation. They create a webpage on their site and share with members.
Yes, Lin! It infuriates me that already Musk has been able to influence legislation so that his economic interests are favored. Jim Mc Govern is my Rep. and I am so pleased that he highlighted this blatant corruption in his comments. I intend to write to him today to thank him for pointing out how eliminating the outbound investment provision hurts Americans and benefits Musk.
You write of surrounding killer hornets to kill them with heat. I’m asking everyone who can, please write to your local Rep. and Senators demanding that they pass this bipartisan bill in the next Congress. Particularly, those of you in Texas and Pennsylvania, let Senator Cornyn and Senators Fetterman and McCormick know you want this measure passed. Keep the heat on McCormick and call him out for abandoning American workers in favor of Musk. Keep the spotlight on what it means to have lost Senator Casey, a co-writer, along with Cornyn, of the bill.
ThankYou for Jim McGovern, he is one of my CSpan heroes.
Along with Richard Neal, Sheldon Whitehouse, Benny Thompson, Jamie Raskin, Hank Johnson, Patty Murray, Chris VanHollen - really most of The Progressive Caucus. We Democrats have a deep bench and we need better messaging to let people know.
https://progressives.house.gov/caucus-members
Yes, in my email to him, I thanked for highlighting Musk’s corrupt influence, asked him to continue to highlight this, and told him how happy I am that he’s my rep. We love him here!
Yes. I phone my thanks also.
When I lived in DC I had no voting representation in Congress, so I got in the habit of 'adopting' my CSpan heroes and phoning Thanks. They all need to know what we approve of.
Wow- thank you Lin!
Who would like to organize individual roasting pages for the worst ten autocratic creeps influencing our efforts at democratic government and when they are roasted to dropping out point, replace them with others from the list with next worst ones.
susan, I have no skills to do so, but in my dreams, I'd like to see a youtube channel that fact checks (like Snopes) but did it in such a way as to be catchy and easy to go viral. I had heard the false rumor that the new budget was going to increase the salaries of Congress by 40%, which is NOT TRUE. I didn't know where that misinformation started, but in this clip (which I posted elsewhere) Bernie tells us it was MUSK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79KDKWEOJ1s&t=22s
I'd love to see bold graphics and a video of less than say, 30 seconds--imagine this:
Bold yellow type "CONGRESS GETTING A 40% RAISE" and suddenly, the red circle with a line slashes through it with a LOUD AUDIBLE "FALSE" proclamation. Okay, now we need some sort of a cute, fuzzy mascot saying "but but but...who said that?" (cute, fuzzy mascots go viral easily, we need one, be it a real animal, a puppet, or a graphic)
And then up pops the ugliest photo of MUSK available and the voiceover says "HE DID IT" with audible tongue razzing and boos in the background. and horns appear on his head. Up pops the tweet he put up, quickly followed by the image of a gavel smacking the imagine into a crumbled heap with an audible "LIE!!" and a pop up of the graphic of the word "LIE!"(Like whack a mole, perhaps)
It could also apply to any TRUE things that are done, for instance, a graphic saying Biden created whatever number of jobs. Up pops a photo of Biden and the audible says "TRUE!" (up could pop a photo of Biden with a halo. Add the sweet sound of a "ping!")
Our mascot says "but but but.. what jobs? and where?" Now photos of showing folks in hard hats working on construction sights (with label on each saying where and what state) with audible "TA DAs!" and Joe Biden created jobs with the Infrastructure Act.
I totally agree with the sources that lin+ below posts, but this TIKTOK generation is NOT going to look them up, NOT going to read, etc. There was complaint that the Dems were "elitist" (and perhaps others here have noticed that Brian Tyler Cohen has dropped the suits in his videos? ) Our short-attention voter populace seem to need bells and whistles directly delivered to them.
Remember the couch "humping" and "weird" went viral very quickly. Anyone with the skills or connections to create this type of social media channel, be my guest.
No need to reinvent the wheel.
Share and support, for instance:
https://www.propublica.org/
https://truenorthresearch.org/
https://joycevance.substack.com/
https://accountable.us/
Excellent letter regarding Musk’s sabotaging of outbound investment provision in CR. Please spread far and wide!
https://delauro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/delauro-letter-congressional-leadership-musk-chaos-government-funding?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
This plutocracy that we’re seeing has been coming on for decades. It’s in its late stages now I think.. Perhaps we’re in the “ picking the remaining meat from the bones “ phase..
Chump is the master vulture, now aided by one with a few more brain cells
True, we shouldn't have let it get this far. The reason it has is ignorance on our part - we didn't know how to fight the fight. We need to identify the culprits as to why the vast majority of Americans are stressed financially, i.e., Republican politicians doing the biddings of oligarchs like Musk who fund their campaigns, launch and prosecute a scorched-earth war against them, voting them out of power. We need to rile up their anger and hate.
Too late now. Ordinary Americans are going to have to suffer terribly before we understand why we were wrong to sit on our asses for decades and let our government become increasingly corrupt from unlimited corporate money, gifts & favors and then kill democracy by electing Musk.
“We” did not let it get this far. The other half of the electorate did.
WE didn't allow the orange blight and the current corruption in ourto happen. I voted for Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton WON the popular vote. An unbelievable amount of money and misinformation resulted in the stranglehold of the Republicans in government. And don't forget, gerrymandering and a governing body that is much too small for the size and population of this country. 535 Senators and Congress People and nine SCOTUS is way too few for a country of 330 million. No wonder the billionaires are so successful at buying our leaders and corporate media.
Every country thinks that "it can't happen here" until it does.
Maybe the people who voted for this are waking up to what was really going to happen under the Orange Zit & Musketeer's reign! Shame shame!
-Pulled Quote -
''Musk—who doesn’t answer to any constituents—seemed untroubled at the idea of hurting ordinary Americans.''
Fascists are like that...
Muskolini is indeed a fascist and a Putin fan boy. His calling for chancellor Olaf Scholz to step down, calling him “an incompetent fool” is parroting Putin-speech. Also here, bot a word of compassion for the victims of the terrorist attack on the Weihnachtsmarkt in Magdeburg. Muskolini doesn’t give a sh*t about people, we can all die in hell for what he cares. He cares only about his own legend, and he will destroy everything for it: democracy, the people, and even the Earth and every living being on it.
You know him well, while most Americans still see him as the brilliant business man, sort of like a twin chump. They are twin evil.
Michael, Musk is having his very own “let them eat cake” vibe going on. His whole self-satisfied smugness is so off-putting. Ick.
"Let them eat cake" (if they don't have bread...) Marie said.
In a perverse but powerful way, Musk may lead us to the new "economic populist" movement the Dems need to embrace. I will be pounding the keys on this until my fingers bleed (or develop serious callouses).
We don't need the reaction Marie-Antoinette received...but Musk and Co. COULD spark a revolution by being so selfishly revolting.
We could help by continuously speaking about the excesses of the few who hold too much money while appealing to those whose plights are the stuff of past insurrections - ours needs to be peaceful forceful angry indignation.
Why does Mark Zuckerberg have two mega yachts - large enough for helicopter hangars - while working families have to choose between rent, food and medicine? Why do Walmart employees use food stamps and Medicaid when the Waltons have over $400 billion? Why are Amazon workers needing to strike when Bezos has soooo much money?
This sort of campaign is easy to create and would appeal to many who really don't care about political parties or social justice or international problems. Americans are struggling. We can offer help. Economic reform can be the center pole in a big tent that includes all sorts of people. Then and only then can we win and resume our efforts at intelligent climate policy and social justice.
We have so much political ammunition still locked up in the armory. Time to use it.
Bill Alstrom -- And let us not forget that Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame single handedly destroyed the small independent bookstore business. And then Covid-19 hit, and Amazon was all many/most of us had, including for "stuff." What an incredibly mixed story, eh?
Yeah, Bill, I never understood excess wealth and the need need need to get more more more….like the dragon’s lair overflowing with gold/treasure. For what? I don’t find it thrilling at all….that said, I’d truly appreciate having “enough” and for all to have “enough”….maybe then I could finally finish fixing my fixer-upper home! I NEVER mind paying my fair share of taxes and have consistently voted for measures to help, for example, my local volunteer Fire Dept (a wee town of 1200) or for school improvement….things that benefit “the commons”. Though it does chap my azz that I pay a higher % of taxes on my SS/pension than do the Richie-riches on their income!
Well said, Bill, but these conditions existed pre-election and Americans voted against trans and immigrants instead of for their own wellbeing. Turning the tide of those voter’s concentration could be Musk’s gift?
I think the people voted for Harris but with Putin and Musk’s help the election was hacked.
This is an excellent video summary of the SMART Elections data findings, for those that may be having difficulty wrapping their head around it:
Watch on your computer with the volume on.
https://youtu.be/fF22jp2VBJg?
We need to remind everyone how our country does best when the middle class is strong. Robert Reich has written a book on “The Common Good” and many excellent Substack articles. https://www.amazon.com/Common-Good-Robert-B-Reich/dp/052552049X
But of course as Trump’s Wharton professor said about him, ‘He was the dumbest student I ever had.’ (So Trump wouldn’t know).
Wonder if musk prefers pies to cake, thinking about the chocolate pie scene in that wonderful movie, “The Help!”
🤣 and, at the same time 🤮!
Me, too!
Btw, in my long career in the hospital lab, I have personally handled the poop (and urine, vomitus, spinal fluid, ascites fluid, synovial fluid, semen, etc) of thousands of people. I can clearly envision lots of "spices" to add to such a pie. C. Dif, Salmonella, cholera?
🤣🤮once again!!!!
He may sorely regret his path soon.
🤑🤮🤢
Let’s not forget about sociopathy and how children of wealthy seemed trained to perceive ordinary humans as cockroaches or animals to toss into fighting rings for their amusement - Bread & Circuses. We’re literally turning America into a Hunger Games.
NOTE:
The likelihood of severe backlash depends on public perception, media coverage, and the specific actions Musk continues to take. Given his high profile, even small missteps often spark significant backlash. BUT, his strong fanbase on X and apparent business successes might cushion the impact unless his behavior causes widespread harm or legal consequences.
Allen, While I don’t dispute the validity of your thesis, admittedly, I am somewhat heartened by the staggering fractiousness within the Republican Party these last few days over funding the government. Though my perspective is mere speculation, observing that not all Republicans were willing entirely to go along with the Musk/Trump renegotiation, I sense, despite principles they hold that vehemently oppose ours, that some Republicans, like us, seemingly hold to the principle that the U.S. should exist as a sovereign country, a struggle we would lose if we let Musk and others like him take over.
Barbara Jo, I love the phrase; “staggering fractiousness”! Yes, and yes again.
I literally laughed out loud when I read that Rand Paul, true to form, opposed Trump’s demand to eliminate the debt ceiling. Serious pain in the ass that he is, this time he actually helped. Sort of, at least.
Turns out ambitious Republicans can be a bitch to manipulate. (Yes, I recognize that Paul is Libertarian. But Thune isn’t. Lol.)
Also want to give a huge shout out to my US Representative, Angie Craig (D-MN) who was recently elected the ranking minority member on the House Agriculture Committee. Craig helped negotiate the $10B aid to farmers provision in the CR. Whoop!
To be honest, I can't tell the difference between Libertarians and MAGA anymore. Two peas in a poisonous pod.
And we should, amidst our letter writing, be sure to include notes of "Thanks" to those in the GOP who still seem to have a spine
@Swbv, Because the motives among those in the GOP who seemingly “have a spine” are likely not monolithic, I might hold off on the gratuitous letter writing. As I wrote to another reader on this site, I would suggest that the opposition persistently amplify the putrid underpinnings of far-right extremist policy and declare what it (the opposition) would do differently. Along with connecting to the swath of the electorate that increasingly has felt (understandably so) abandoned by the Democratic Party, the opposition feasibly would succeed in maintaining some amount of democracy until 2026 and achieving significant victories in the midterms—breaking Trump’s hold on Congress and state legislatures prior to our entering the 2028 election cycle.
A Dem majority in 2026 would be a blessing. Actually, it would be a blessing for both the right and the left. As it is right now, our nation's governance will be directed towards making laws, regulations, and foreign relations that best suit Mr. Musk. He's got a GOP tailwind ready to do his bidding, led by Mr. Johnson and facilitated by our Supreme Court
@Swbv, I agree. Hence the necessity, at every turn, for the opposition to drive home the freedoms, right, and safeguards that are in peril and show what they would do differently.
Good point!
As long as they keep eating their own, there is hope.
LMAO Allen, never thought about like that. Sort of Shakespearean?
"To know, or not to know: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous MAGA dysfunction,
Or to take sleep against a sea of troubles,
And by sleep end them? To worry: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand MAGAA dysfunctional shocks..."
Should have gone to bed earlier!
Elon Musk is a major threat to Germany and England as well, and he has been cozying up to illiberal leaders across the planet, in France, Italy, Argentina. We should be throwing our energies into separating him from his businesses and his money. This should be done together with allies.
A The Bulwark Podcast pointed out that Trump is probably afraid of what Musk could do to bring him down, by using his money and X platform to campaign against Trump if Trump does not do what he wants.
He’s a threat to Europe, given that he is supporting the neo-Nazi party AfD. The last time the Nazis were in power they occupied the whole of Europe apart from the UK, Sweden and Switzerland, hammered Britain with bombs and killed tens of millions of Europeans.
As for Musk - the Apartheid regime of South Africa was directly inspired by the Nazis, so it’s not surprising he’s keen.
I call him Evil Elon. I wouldn't want to insult a muskrat, Allen! :) I remember you Allen and hope you and your wife are doing well.
And Germany and the UK and, and, and....
He’s very dangerous to Europe. He is trying to get the German neo-Nazi AfD elected with a majority. Like that never goes wrong.
And unlike in the US, Musk has no European citizenship and no rights here.
I hope both the EU and Germany will counter with a resounding NO -NON- NEIN.
lol ~
Allen, agreed although I would extend this idea to his being a threat to the entire world. He is meddling in Europe, supporting fascists. He only cares about money and the ability to trample everyone in his path.
Allen, your voice has the authenticity of experience! Wishing you and the family a safe and peaceful season. Glad to see you here!
This is a worthy watch from Sen Bernie Sanders. For those who use social media, I highly suggest adding to your account!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79KDKWEOJ1s&t=22s
What do you propose we do to stop him
A traitor who is a lot less smart than he thinks he is. The worst bullies are often those who have been bullied.
Threat to the Universe!
Quote: “…House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he had included Musk as well as President-elect Trump in the negotiation of the original bipartisan funding bill.”
Isn’t this historically unusual,
if not improper, for someone who is not yet inaugurated to insert himself into governmental business while the sitting president is still in office? And for someone like Musk who has no legal nor electoral standing to be so involved? Any historical precedent?
I would think it is highly unusual, if not downright unprecedented.
As far as Musk is concerned, if I am understanding it correctly, he still receives fed $$ to fund his whatever it is he does. Ostensibly when the Feds dish out funds whether via contracts or grants, for something that it can't provide directly it is for something that in some way benefits the country. If so, then Musk has a stake in budget negotiations, which strikes me as blatant conflict of interest. Even more absurd is putting him in charge of the DOGE clown show. The least he could do, then, in the name of efficiency, is to cut from the budget any funds that flow into his coffers. Then he should resign and go offer his services to Germany, as he clearly wants to do.
"As Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) explained, Musk is building big factories in China and wants to build an AI data center there, even though it could endanger U.S. security. McGovern charged that Musk’s complaints about the spending in the bill were cover for his determination to tank the provision that would limit his ability to move technology and business to China. And, he noted, it worked. The outbound investment provision was stripped out of the bill before it passed."... This Kinda Shows Musk's Loyalties... The USA is his 3rd Country... He came here for the $$$.... He already has 'X', He has a Orange Puppet, He is working on 'Neuralink'... He is Chummy with Putin, and maybe with Xi... Elon was poised to cause much damage to this Country for the sake of his singular Ambition... What would those that have given 'Their Last Full Measure', and their Families, Think Of Making The Ultimate Sacrifice For Dark Sith Elon... In a Just World Elon would be Stripped Of HisUSA Citizenship, Deported Back To South Africa, and Have His Assets Stripped... Elon Musk Is Now, "Public Enemy #1'...
Totally agree with you Apache.
My wife's oft repeated quote is, "the opposite of justice is poverty."
Trump has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars with all of his ridiculous lawsuits throughout his life. He has screwed over so many people that can't afford to fight back or delay justice when he is in your cross hairs.
He hasn't even paid his half a billion for the cases he lost against E. Jean Carroll and the State of NY. Why?
And he supports Nigel Farage in the UK and the Neo-Nazi party in Germany. What a peach.
Maybe he should be “cobblered”🍑🥧
Support Jim McGovern now! Post on social. Take his message to the bank. Drown out Musk and Trump
Bullies at work. Rules, laws, precedent, manners, and decency trampled.
The more I see it at the federal level, the more I see it locally.
Billionaires at work. They own the major bully pulpits in the US as well as the entire Federal Government. And the sheeple totally buy into their Bull Shit.
Modern US government just bristles with blatant conflicts of interest above a certain rank. That part of the autocratic corruption our scheme of governance was devised to avoid. It is just weird the scale of crap we have come to tolerate. "Justice" Thomas is in the news again for somehow legalized illegal bribes, while Fanny Willis, who did use poor judgement but claimed no share of billionaire's booty, is "disqualified". Someone (I think it might have been on this forum), said that as a government employee, she cannot accept as much as a cup of coffee from a client; but of course that sort of restriction only applies to plebeian officials. Literally.
Electoral outcomes that are purchased or biased by some application of private money is corruption. Period. But we rarely use the proper word. To what degree are we creating a government of, by and for the people, and to what degree do we cede that right to plutocrats? People like Thomas Paine were asking the same question.
Do those above a certain rank in government bristle at conflict or are they shirking responsibility they owe to the American people? It is our job to hold our elected officials accountable.
! ! !
To be sure, the British system of class and rank, and the injustices and corruption attending to it were uppermost in Mr. Paine's mind.
I know it is confusing. Sometimes I just want to get to the bottom line.
I think It is essential that we as a society think a great deal more about the bottom line, which I am interpreting as what, in the end, most matters? What is most precious? What can we do without? What is mere distraction? And what do we need to forego to get there?
I think there is far too little of that in our hyper-commercial, mass media-driven culture. I think we need to ask more probing questions. There is a lot that is questionable.
Problem is not the money Musk gets from the government, that is relatively small. It's that he can choke off NASA, strand people at the Space Station and leave critical military communications via satellite stranded, like when he turned off an attack on Russian fleet at the last minute with no warning. The guy is a menace and military is scrambling to replace him. But Boeing can not keep its planes in the air much less rockets. The real monetary influence question is, how much financial benefits does Musk get from the Chinese government?
What was taken out of the spending bill is what is as important as what was taken out.
" As David Dayen explained in The Prospect, the original agreement had an “outbound investment” provision that restricted the ability of Americans to invest in technology factories in China. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Bob Casey (D-PA) had collaborated on the measure, hoping to keep cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, as well as the jobs they would create, in America rather than let companies move them to China.
President elect Elon Musk is taking full advantage of Trump being of diminished mental capacity. Trump is totally screwed and he doesn't even realize it.
It is probably trite to say, that Trump sold his soul to the devil for a get out of jail free card.
I didn’t see the Congressional pay raise listed in any of my reading. Did that stay in? Will they get 2% more than the military?
Also, no one is mentioning the change to social security that went through easily. Yes, it benefits teachers and other workers but from what I can see it will also benefit members of congress. Many of them paid into social security but after serving only 6 years in Congress they get retirement benefits for life. Now they will also be able to collect both for life? Or maybe I’m not understanding the change.
Things only pass that benefit them personally.
I don't need the supernatural to explain evil, which looks to me like predatory narcissism, but the concept of selling one's soul for personal gain at other's expense seems reflect a basis in fact, and Trump and his cronies seem about as soul-less a person can become, and it's just weird how (not just in this country) many who claim to be Christian are in thrall of it.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/20/business/elon-musk-wealth-government-help/index.html
Check this out. Tens of Billions may be relatively small to some, likely not to the US taxpayer.
Thank you for the link. The article also hints at the fragility of Musk’s endeavors.
Metastatic corruption.
100Panthers, you are absolutely right. Musk has a god complex (among other psychological issues) and a history of tinkering with people's lives/money. His capricious control over Teslas AFTER market was a huge red flag and he should have been curtailed before the 2020s. Bailing him out, granting government contracts, allowing him to keep control of military hardware is a perilous outcome of crony capitalism.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/2/17413732/tesla-over-the-air-software-updates-brakes
Musk has gotten millions of US dollars for SpaceX - not a "small amount".
Change the ‘m’ to a ‘b’! The musk-rat sneers at millions!
The money he gets from the gov is relativity small. How much is relatively small?
It's a mystery to me, too. Actually, Musk probably doesn't see or even know about such documents. Some underling probably handles those pesky details.
Someone should look into it
When I was a Fed I had to sign something similar saying that I wouldn't engage in any partisan political activities while acting in my official capacity. Of course on my own time I could plot to overthrow the government, as long as I didn't disclose my status as a deep state operative. 🤫
That was never a problem, as I never saw the use in biting the hand that signed my paychecks.
$COTUS judges are guests of honor at right wing functions. At least the ones the right wing bought and paid for are.
I was "super hatched" so even on my own time I had to report/get permission for what I was doing. I was audited and threatened for stuff like selling my own book or paintings, attending outside professional conferences, etc.
When I was a lawyer for Columbia, I was told I could not sit on a Board of a group working to prohibit fracking in NY b/c of a possible conflict with the Columbia School of Mines and the optics it could cause. And we could NEVER accept a gift or even a lunch from outside counsel or a vendor to the University of any kind. Seems like everyone but the Supremes, Musk and Trump have to adhere to some ethics / conflicts standards.
Hang in there . I/we very much value your insight here.
Robert, I hazard that even if he and TFFFG know about such “rules” they don’t CARE at all….and it appears no one is holding either accountable (tho’ via the impeachments many did try).
But your net worth does not compare to the musk-rats! He exists in his own time and space!
Federal government contractors are prohibited from making contributions or expenditures, or promising to make any such contribution or expenditure, to any political party, committee, or candidate for federal office, or to any person for any political purpose or use. So why has musk been able to give $277 million to Trump! The election commission who has this rule hasn’t done a thing to enforce it. It’s time for the government to hold Musk accountable for the things he’s done, including the 1,500 car crashes from his Tesla cars
Not to mention the persistent violations of environmental regulations with Space X operations.
George, Musk might not have any legal or electoral standing but have ownership of a governmental position he bought with almost 300 million dollars.
Country for sale anyone?
For a man with worth of over 300 BILLION dollars. 300 million is a pittance. Just .1%. As a comparison, if you have $100,000 in the back .1% is $100. Pretty close to pocket change.
The whole thing is a game of risk Elon and Trump and the other billionaires are playing with monopoly money as you point out.
Elon tried to buy the congressional seat where I live. The candidate he backed was a single 30 year old Maile, former 3rd rate Nascar driver with a high school diploma. His only job has been with Nascar and he claimed he was pro-choice.
Fortunately, Golden (D-ME2) prevailed, but it was closer than it should have been.
The Republicans learned from George Santos, that no one is too crazy to get elected if they lie enough to the voters and the press no longer is interested in vetting candidates.
Gary, the "press" was working hard vetting Joe Biden for four years.
Just imagine how much damage he can make with that money!!!
In any case ,the 300 millions he invested in his position of power, will pay off just by being able to have unrestricted access to the Chinese market.
just imagine how much good he could do if he were a different sort of person - childhood cancer research for starters.
Exactly. He is the worst sort of billionaire. No heart, no empathy.
Just what I was thinking Laurie….damn shame.
That $300 million is cash. The majority of elons wealth is in stock holdings which need to be sold in order to become cash. Elon has loan payments from his purchase of twitter that need to be paid in cash. It's about cash flow for elon. He needs Uncle Sam to enable that.
Patricia,now he needs MAGA to keep enabling this .
Yes, I'd say we are in agreement. My original comment was directed toward Jon.
The quarter billion he spent helping elect the insipid orange turd was like lint in his pocket, his stock went up by 20 billion the next day, that’s 20,000 millions. 🤬
George, I suggest that people look at the memos that are released by the Conservative Action Project. It is a program funded by the Council for National Policy (CNP) with its 501c3 monies. These people who refer to themselves as the conservative leadership met with #45 and/or his administration weekly to set goals. None of these nonprofit leaders have electoral standing. I believe they have formed the shadow government that Paul Weyrich (Father of the New Right) desired. They also continue to work behind the scenes to make sure everyone's vote does not count (another objective desired by Weyrich). The Conservative Action Project memos are signed by conservative leaders who do not want anyone to place them under scrutiny or comment on their activities.
https://conservativeactionproject.com/
We really only have one President at a time, not 3. Even faux Presidents.
Ahem.
Marla, I have been bristling at TFFFG running an in-your-face “shadow” presidency for the past 4 years…nearly boasting about it! IMHO the Logan Act (enacted in 1799) should have been applied to hold him accountable, except no one has ever been convicted of doing so (only two prosecutions—in the wayback— have been brought in our history, but no convictions).
Barbara, he should be convicted for violating the Logan Act and for many, many, many worst things than that. Shame on our timid leaders.
It will be revealed at some point just how over-the-top were Musks rewards for his machinations. Sun light is the best disinfectant.
Actually I see the approach as insightful. The Dems should have inserted themselves more at the end of Trumps era. Trump constantly inserts himself in budget decisions. Where are our Dems doing the same. Where is Harris? She needs to start running now?
George Ferrick,
Why are these infractions of law within our government being allowed????
Each time we give way, we are destroying ourselves!!!!
What is going on???
I did not vote for this!!!!
I do not want my children and grandchildren forced to live under a Godless dictatorship!!!!
"Today, Lara Trump announced: “After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many...." It is indeed incredible that Lara Trump devoted any time to thought and contemplation.
Someone must have told her that she wasn't going to become the next senator from FL, so she very graciously said that she didn't want the job anyway.
No one wanted to hear her sing off-key again. Talk about a threat…
Also guessing Orange Clown got sick of kissing DeSantis' high heels?
All that thought and contemplation must have just worn her out, poor thing.
Nothing a serious shopping expedition won't cure, of course.
“…incredible amount of thought, contemplation…” by Lara Trump. It makes my brain hurt to contemplate how few amps of electrical thought goes into anything from Lara Trump.
While we take some comfort in every small setback for "President" Musk and President-elect Trump, and while we see again and again the extent to which incompetence keeps the Cult from wreaking too much immediate havoc, we still need to be concerned by the fact that the architects of Project 2025 will not be as easily distracted by internecine conflicts as the House members are.
Betsy, Project 2025 backers are the termites that have been feasting on our democracy’s foundation at least since the early 70’s in one form or another. Time to call Orkin!!!!
Unfortunately “termites “ appear to have protected status
The laws of the land do not apply to the oligarchy
😡🤬☹️
Thank you
And then there Project 2025 waiting in the shadows while the entertainment keeps everyone busy. Personally I think the government needs to have a conversation with Musk in an undisclosed location for the next 4 years or longer.
Whether some secret deal was made or implied, or whether this is Trump's way of paying off a huge campaign debt to Musk, or whether Trump is smitten with Musk for having made such a huge fortune without having it handed to him by his daddy, Trump has clearly handed the reins of government to a man not a single American citizen had voted for.
I still cannot get the image out of my mind of Musk bouncing around, like he was on a pogo stick, with a big grin on his face at Trump's campaign rallies. It's pretty scary that this guy seems now to be the one calling the shots, though there is some consolation in the fact that at least some Republican Senators are now wising up to him. While many Republican Senators were too timid to buck the man elected by the people, they are clearly having second thoughts about humbling themselves to this guy.
While the principle of checks and balances between Congress and the President was embedded in the Constitution, Congress is only now waking up to the realization that on the other scale is not the man elected by the people, but a man who only came to the U.S.from South Africa (via Canada) at the age of 31 and only rose to power by funneling money into Trump's campaign.
Citizens United was intentionally designed for the purpose of allowing wealthy people to gain control of power.
In her book, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, Jane Mayer revealed that a group of billionaires relied on a lawyer who was a “litigation machine” to manufacture cases for SCOTUS to rule in their favor.
They openly bragged that they had a 10 year plan to “dismantle the entire regulatory regime that is called campaign finance law.” The current grip that billionaires have on our nation is a result of these long term efforts and their ability to compensate corrupt judges and politicians.
We the people need to organize, mobilize and speak out to demonstrate that people power can trump (pun intended) power bought with money. We can’t just rely on leadership from the Dems-we have to be “united citizens” willing to strategize and take action against those who are working to destroy democracy.
Clarence Thomas has been among the most lavished beneficiaries of this effort and signed off on the decision that it is not a crime for lavishing rewards on public officials ( including Supreme Court Justices) for having made the right decisions.
“The idea that sick children were among the first victims of the funding showdown sparked widespread outrage.”
What is the matter with Republicans? Have they no compassion? Is there nothing in their DNA that feeds into human rights and love of neighbor rather than a magnetic attraction to the billionaire syndrome?!!!!
Narcissists take great joy in causing other people suffering. I know four people who saw their fathers shot dead in front of their eyes by the Nazis while the families were having dinner. This was a common tactic of the Nazis since it increased people’s fear.
Hard to “like” this, Kristin…reading it gave me the shivers. What evil beasts we humans can be.
😓
Yes hard to “ liked”. Frightening
No, they do not have any compassion. And that’s clear in the way they want to destroy the only way that many citizens of this country to get health insurance of any kind, the ACA. Without that opportunity, many more children and adults will die for lack of healthcare.
R/W, there have been recent heart wrenching ads on TV for children’s cancer treatment centers…the kid’s bravery and the parents pain and angst at helplessly watching their children go through this brings me to tears every time. This is no “acting” for the camera, the pain is visceral and throbs through the screen. Sometimes folks only “get it” then they have to walk the proverbial mile in someone else’s shoes—not that I would wish that on anyone.
They think compassion is "woke."
I wonder this to - what do they think when they put their children or grandchildren to bed?
lauriemcf, they do not put their kids/grandkids to bed. Nannies do that for them. They don't think much beyond their own noses.
We watched (as is our usual tradition at Solstice) "A Christmas Carol" (the 1984 George C. Scott version) last night. My favorite quote is from the Ghost of Christmas Present ("So perhaps, in the future, you will hold your tongue until you have discovered what the surplus population is and where it is. It may well be that, in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than MILLIONS like this poor man's child."). What answers your question is from Belle: "Another idol has displaced me; a golden one".
Seems to fit the MAGAt personae to a "T".
Lacking human characteristics, since 2000 at least
Answers:Everything ( see answers to next questions).No compassion. Yes, nothing.
Musk's contracts with America should be null and void for conflicts of interest
I'm not sure I'm consoled by some hits the orange felon has been taking, as Heather notes here.
These hits, I think, lie in the shadow of the larger license nihilist mega billionaire Musk has newly gotten for his alliance in China with some of the world's most corrupt oligarch cadres.
Isn't that the real story of what the orange felon proceeds to do in the U.S. with his own mega billionaire cabinet?
Or, is he proceeding? The 119th Congress takes office on January 3. Chuck Shumer thus has a bit less than two weeks to schedule a vote in the U.S. Senate clarifying the U.S.'s chief convicted criminal's disqualification from ever again holding any public office. This due to Article 14 Section Three of the U.S. Constitution and its clarity as to disqualification for all insurrectionists or those who give comfort to them. Senate failure to erase this disqualification depends on 2/3 of both houses of Congress agreeing to permit public office even to insurrectionists and those who comfort them.
And if either house -- here most assuredly the Senate -- does not have 2/3 for the orange felon, we don't have him and his billionaire privileged and all their oligarch criminal cohorts around the world.
I wish there was a way to encourage our timid Democratic senators to do the right thing for the country. If the GOP had this opportunity to remove a DEM they'd be all over it.
Musk's insertion into this episode of kicking the funding bill extension down the road is more than disturbing it is clarion call to Democrats to start playing hard ball or watch the republic that Ben Franklin, when asked, what kind of government the nascent congress had established replied "...a republic if we can keep it." That's what is, once again, on the table, can we KEEP IT?
Larry, Dems are playing by Marquis of Queensberry rules and (most) Repubs are doing guerrilla warfare….two totally different playing fields!!! Guess that’s what folks do when they want to win at any cost, versus collaborating and compromising to achieve the common good.
Absolutely, been posting that for at least 25 years
What are the chances this will happen?
Depends on Dems, Linda.
Depends on their disposition to fight the rapist, convicted criminal, insurrectionist (adjudicated by Colorado state Supreme Court), vengeful enemy of free press in America, and errand boy for all the worst oligarchs and dictators around the world.
Also depends on special prosecutor Jack Smith and the speed and bite with which he issues his final report -- with only 12 days remaining that Dems have the U.S. Senate.
Thus far, it seems they are more disposed to dithering. "Do I dare to eat a peach? Shall I wear white flannel trousers and walk upon the beach?"
They are the Prufrock party.
brilliant comparison!
Phil, please explain where you think there is any actual evidence that proves that Trump is an insurrectionist to the degree necessary to support such a political move. I am NOT saying that ib don't think he is, but THINKING is not the same as proof beyond average reasonable doubt. Typically such proof would come from either (a) a conviction in a court of law after evidence is presented by a sworn jury voting UNANIMOUSLY or (b) an impeachment AND conviction by the House and Senate requiring 67% of the Senators to vote to convict.
As far as I can tell, regardless of whether Trump is in fact a leader of an insurrection, there has been no valid adjudication of that fact by either source noted above. And while I can't stand the man any more than you can, i still believe this is a country of laws that we must follow (even when others refuse, i.e. two wrongs don't make a right).
So as much as I understand your frustration, I do not see any purpose in even trying to suggest that Trump should just be presumed guilty of insurrection without some valid legal adjudication of that fact before even considering the idea of using the 14th Amendment to keep him from office. If we were to do that, we would be doing essentially the same thing he tried to do in 2020, that is overriding the results of the election.
In wish it weren't so. I wish Biden and Garland hadn't dragged their feet on getting those important nee critical cases against Trump started 18 months earlier so we might at least have federal adjudication of his potential crimes long before the election (then there MIGHT have been a valid reason to try to keep him out of office). But they did drag their feet and now we are near the burden of that result.
It sucks. But trying to reverse those stupid and negligent courses of action illegally are only worse.
Sorry I think you are just wrong here and I expect Chuck Schumer won't be convinced of your relatively specious arguments either.
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for this to happen because it shouldn't happen.
Remember, Jon, the Constitution specifies age 35 as qualifying age.
It's so easy to recognize a person's age.
You saw the images from many sources showing the fat, lying, orange felon urging on his fellow insurrectionists. You heard the testimony from the congressional Jan. 6 committee -- many dozens of people (most all insider Republicans) testified.
It's so easy. If we're wrong on what we saw, wrong on what we heard, the Senate can heed the call to vote and give the convicted criminal the 2/3 blessing that he was never an insurrectionist, never gave aid or comfort to fellow insurrectionists.
Then the disqualification is lifted. Easy.
If he cannot get 2/3 of the vote blessing him, he's still the bastard we all saw.
And the Constitution applies.
The Constitutional restrictions on being President in Article 2 are factual, not opinion. You either ARE 35 or not. You either ARE a natural born citizen or not. The 14th Amendment restriction is subjective not objective. What constitutes an insurrection? What constitutes participating in one assuming you can define it?
There is no "presumption" that someone is one. I know it has never been tested but I am certain that the SCOTUS (especially THIS one) would not agree that you can just "assume: someone you accuser of insurrection is one. Proof would generally be required. No sensible legal scholar would ever suggest that you can just conjure up the idea that someone is an insurrectionist without actual proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sorry you just have it backwards. The proof has to come FIRST and THEN if the Congress wants to set it aside they can by voting the 2/3 to lift the restriction. But that restriction requires a vote too and I daresay there is not ever going to be such s vote against Trump.
You are simply relying on an oatmeal mush of unsupportable allegations. If you seriously believe that that is sufficient to declare a candidate for President to be disqualified, I have several bridges I'd like to sell you.
I saw it, Jon.
Over 140 police officers getting their heads bashed in. Doors and windows smashed. Feces on the walls. The fat, orange guy glorying in his mayhem on TV for hours.
I saw it. We saw it. Heard the testimony from the many others who saw it.
Objectively, factually so. Difference, Jon, between reality and reality TV frauds and lifelong con men.
Eff the Clarence court. Article 14, Section Three vests all authority in the Congress to release an insurrectionist from disqualification.
Such blessing, such release requires 2/3 vote from both houses. If the Senate meets and does not give the convicted criminal blessing to continue his criminality, the Constitution's disqualification stands.
Read it, Jon. It's the one document all public officials take an oath to honor, as written.
I took that oath as U.S. Army translator/interpreter of Vietnamese 55 years ago.
Trust me Phil I read the Constitution in my Con Law class at law school and i have read it periodically again over the years. No one in our system is just "assumed" to be an insurrectionist. That requires an adjudication. Otherwise we could just say "Phil needs to be exonerated by the Congress because he's an insurrectionist".
So what if "we all saw it"? Do you remember your basic criminal law history in high school? You have to be found guiltily before you are considered guilty? Why do you think that this crime is somehow different from every other crime we consider in this country?
It's just nonsense, Phil, and I know your are smarter than that to buy into it.
Jon-our reliance on what’s legal vs. what’s right has been a problem in our “nation of laws”. It seems self-evident” that some issues like legal slavery, legal control over women’s bodies, legal rights for corporations as people, legally installing someone as president who incited an insurrection is just plain wrong. (He invited them to DC and told them to march to the capital. He also urged them to go after Pence.)
How do we reconcile what’s right and what’s wrong when it comes to preserving and elevating the best of humanity? How can we insure that our laws are just?
I’m hoping the fiasco we’re now facing will help us to grapple with these kinds of questions. (Note: I won’t be holding my breath either).
I wonder what Mike Johnson’s line of reasoning is for including Musk in the budget negotiation. “Elon Musk is very rich.” Is that it? So what? Mike Johnson has to say why he did this. Why, Mike? Why did you include Elon Musk in the budget negotiation? Cough it up.
Do You Ever Think that Mike Johnson Asks Himself, "What Would Jesus Do?"...
There is no way that he asks himself that. I don’t remember much from catechism, but I do remember this: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.".
Hell, no
My guess, Musk self-served in the presence of a vacuum because Trump was busy golfing.
Because the rotten pumpkin told him to.
It reminds me of that story:
would you sleep with me for a million dollars?
Well, yes.
How about $5?
Of course not, what do you think I am?!
We’ve already established what you are, now we are just haggling about the price.
While Putin would have loved a federal government shutdown, he must be thrilled that Musk is operating as a powerful king intent on hurting the country.
You are up late again , and so am I. I feel that we have a tenuous hold on what we have known and enjoyed as American democracy. What say you? Nancy Ford , Houston.
I am up late as you and some others are. My understanding is that for our government getting funded, the Congress has to give what Musk wants for his business. Trump loses his things. Musk is not elected, but Trump is. Something is fundamentally wrong about our democracy.
All democracies have political faults. I see this existential crisis in Western democracies as an age old fight between those individuals who see others in society as mere material prey for indulging personal power abuses, vastly profiteering off their subsequent suffering. Versus those who see themselves as active players in an organic changing society, like an extended family with complex emotional and physical interconnections and personal responsibilites. No one can serve two masters.
I also wonder how much of a chilling effect the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson had upon Lara Trump’s proposed running for political high office ?
I totally agree with your observation that for democracy to best work, every voter must see her/himself as an active member of an extended family.
So we have two ginormous egos, and one with more money than the rest of us, thinking they run the world. Our government has allowed this to happen - mainly the spineless Republicans who seem to have never grasped the basic idea of democracy. One or both of these megalomaniacs has to be stopped.
James, the Injustices6 who sit on SCOTUS caused a lot of what we’re seeing and experiencing. Let’s give them credit where credit is due.
I agree they should have credit. The SCOTUS justices who did their part are also spineless Republicans who have a tenuous grasp of democracy.
And who were behind the scenes getting the Supremes line up?
McConnell, Theil, Murdoch ..... etc
They deserve all the shame credit too.
More like “discredit” IMHO, Marlene!
Agreed
Damn. Just Damn. And the new administration isn't even started yet. To say "Brace Yourselves for the Next Four Years" is a wild understatement.
Fred, we don’t just need good seatbelts, we need racing harnesses, crash helmets & industrial strength airbags for this ride! Gonna be a looooong 4 years.
Forget the seatbelts, like the 911 flight who died fighting back. Looking for directions & strategies to fit various styles especially living in a RED state with only MAGAs in control & being a Senior and more than hounding my MaGA congressional repr
It's a shame Musk doesn't seem to understand that during a government shutdown, contractors also don't get paid. Like his.
It also shows how utterly out of touch with the reality of everyday Americans because he's never been poor, never struggled to pay bills, and never known what it's like to be hungry, but too poor to afford much more than oatmeal and crackers.
I also said this elsewhere, that in a shutdown, most bases chow halls don't close, but if they run out of food, base funds have to be utilized to pay for it since there isn't any coming from DOD. And that many, many bases don't have enough housing for all the families stationed there, so they live on "the economy", which is to say, off base.
Guess Musk doesn't mind if they have to worry about paying rent and other bills. But then, again, he's never had that worry, so he can play Alfred E. Neuman all he wants.
Heh, Don, “what, me worry?” Musk…..must be oxygen deprived living in the rarified atmosphere at the tippy-top of his mountain of money. No wonder he’s so out of it.
I hear he micro-doses. Not sure what substance but with 14 children could be viagra.
Musk is up front and out loud about what the wealthy have been doing quietly, anonymously, behind the scenes from the beginning.
What it points out is that concentrated wealth is a danger to democracy and society in general.
Billionaires should be banned. Bernie Sanders is right; tax them out of existence. We all would be better off. Our democracy would be stronger and healthier.
tax the rich--to death, if possible
Entrepreneurs have their uses, they should also have their limits. Elon Musk’s recent activity illustrates that principle rather well.
It also brings up, again, the issue of public financing of election campaigns.
ZB, I commented here recently that I now am better understanding the phrase “eat the rich”….lol…and pass the ketchup!
covers over some of the bitter taste!
I’m heading to bed now. It’s been an interesting few days watching the chaos going on in the Congress. The fact that President “Musk” totally derailed the bipartisan budget is alarming. Trump’s hold is not as tight as he thinks, and it’s unclear if he actually realizes the influence and pressure Musk is wielding on X and with speaking directly to members of Congress. Having a default executive branch headed by wealthy oligarchs is dangerous. I know my responsibility is to stay informed. talk to friends and family, and make sure my elected officials know that they work for us.