What makes this so hilarious to me is that he was the darling of the Democrats from about 2011 to 2020 or.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben
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What makes this so hilarious to me is that he was the darling of the Democrats from about 2011 to 2020 or.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben
Sensible people change their minds when the facts change. What do you do?Quote:
Originally Posted by MrFanti
Until he purchased Twitter and came out as a right-wing super-troll people knew him only as the head of Tesla. Maybe they had a generally positive view, but there wasn't any reason to give him much thought as he wasn't constantly in their faces, as he is now.
Just when you think Trump is unhinged from reality, up pops the richest man in the world to prove he can match his master with this
"“The reason I’m here in person is because Pennsylvania is so important to the future of the world,” Musk said at an event in the Philadelphia area hosted by America PAC, the super political action committee he created earlier this year.
“I think this election is going to decide the fate of America. And along with the fate of America, the fate of western civilization,” he added."
Musk Warns of ‘Mad Max’ or ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ Fate Under Harris (yahoo.com)
It is touching to think that this South African with a US passport is concerned at the fate of Shakespeare and Shostakovich in the land of the free and the home of the brave, but, well, I mean to say - Pennsylvania? Isn't that where you find the place known as the 'city of brotherly' to everyone except the people who live there? As for Mad Max and Zombie Apocalypse -is this supposed to be the rational replacement for Hannibal Lecter?
It is just all so mad, and plain crazy. Will it stop after November 5 -or is it January 5th? (Maybe Trump knows something we don't).
More preposterous garbage from the Visionary Commander of Comms, not just the verifiable fact that Dominion voting machines were not used in Pennsylvania, or the $100 bribe to registered voters who sign a petition supporting free speech and the 2nd Amendment (that's the one that gives Americans the means to kill other Americans) -but this
"“the last thing I would do is trust a computer program.”"
Elon Musk and Marjorie Taylor Greene risk Dominion’s wrath with revived conspiracy theories
Hmmm...all those advances in science and engineering that the people who work for him have achieved, was none of it reliant on computing?
Let's hope Dominion sue him, he merits it.
More garbage from the Visionary Commander of Comms
"Musk reiterated a litany of falsehoods tied to Trump’s campaign. He argued that the “constitution is literally under attack”, spread false claims about voting machines and said that a Trump loss in November could ultimately end American democracy. “I fear if Trump does not win, we are going to have a single-party state that is going to be like California, but actually worse,” he said."
And the man tipped to have a prominent job in Govt if Trump is President also said
"“I hate politics,” he said. “I just like building stuff. And making products that people love.”3
But he has never made anything, he gets other people -clever people- to do it for him.
Maybe this is the state of America in a nutshell
"The spectacle was both surreal and potentially illegal. But no one here, not least Musk himself, seemed to care in the slightest."
Conspiracy theories and a $1m check: a night at Elon Musk’s surreal election giveaway | US elections 2024 | The Guardian
And even more garbage from the Visionary Commander of Comms
Set aside the Chic-fil-a nonsense, consider this which is now being repeated in various places, eg Jimmy Vance with Jake Tapper
"“I made a joke that was sort of misconstrued, that it was like, ‘Nobody even bothers to try to kill Kamala.’ That’s pointless. Why? They’ll just get another puppet,” he said. “Nobody even bothers. Nobody’s even tried to kill Biden.”“They’ve tried to kill Trump, twice,” he added. “Trump is not beholden to anyone and that’s why the machine is trying to kill him.”".
Elon Musk suggests Chick-fil-A be put in charge of the southern border in rambling hours-long town hall
Who is this 'they'? The first shooter was alone, and a Republican; the guy off the Golf course was alone and voted Trump in 2016. And what 'machine' is he talking about? And who is the only person who has put murder and Harris and Biden in the same sentence?
The man being sued for running a 'lottery' in Pennsylvania.
What a wild weekend it was, with promises of more hysteria and lies to come.
Illegal immigrants, rounded up and thrown out of the country....is the curtain about to fall on the spectacular career of this (illegal?) immigrant?
Elon Musk’s U.S. citizenship in jeopardy as billionaire's past faces scrutiny: report
Guess who is laughing all the way to the bank? Companies in China? No problem, 'Daddy' will fix it for his boy. Amazing to think what suckers American consumers are: financing the very companies whose products they buy. That's like paying for it twice over. I guess this is the triumph of Capitalism, and sounds awfully like the process that Marx described in the second volume of Capital, but don't tell Daddy that, least of all his mega -or should that be Maga- Rich sonny boy.
'I made it all by myself, Ma' -something you won't hear from the latest American Robber Baron.
Opinion | How US Taxpayers Helped Elon Musk Become the Richest Man on Earth | Common Dreams
Details are lacking, but an intriguing analysis by the BBC suggests there is a contradiction between Trump's campaign promises, and his appointment of Elon Musk to slash the size of the Federal budget.
What the BBC has done is break down Federal spending into mandatory and discretionary spending, but to point out that while it is not know if the $2 trillion of cuts Musk proposes take place in one year (his work is said to last only 6 months) or the whole of the Trump term, the room for cuts is narrow.
Crucially, this:
"It’s also important to note that Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of making Social Security more financially generous, not less, by removing the income tax payable, external on it. And, on defence, Trump said, external he would build an “iron dome missile defence shield” around America, implying greater spending in this area, not cuts."
Can Elon Musk cut $2 trillion from US government spending? - BBC News
So at the same time that Musk wants to fire thousands of Federal employees, Trump may be trying to employ them.
As for who goes, it appears that the majority of Americans who work for the Federal Govt and its agencies are classed as White -are they natural Democrat voters?- , yet one wonders if the majority of the citizens who lose their jobs, if they do, will be Black. Some stats are here-
Three charts on diversity in the federal government's workforce
Oh dear, as if the Great Elon Musk was not enough, now we have his daddy (the biological version) sounding off about the UK, which according to him has gone back '400 years' to 'Tudor times', which, may I say, suggests the Daddy Don't Know Shit about England. Or maybe I have been living here so long I can't see what others do. At least in this Musk there is no importance. I don't even know why he was interviewed as I thought he and The Great Elon Musk were not talking to each other. As for those eyebrows....
Elon Musk’s father calls for Keir Starmer to step down as PM | News | Independent TV
This is getting silly now, it is like children claiming 'my dad can beat your dad any day' -I don't quite understand the bizarre stuff the Great Elon Musk comes up with, so divorced from reality - but maybe this is the point- he is detached from reality but is so convinced of his own prowess he can't tell the difference between sugar and salt, and doesn't care to. Real people were hurt in July, property was damaged, lives were threatened. Is there to be no accountability for the incitement to violence that takes place on media platforms?
Elon Musk to ‘summon MPs to US to explain threats to American citizens’ | Elon Musk | The Guardian
I wonder how much of his behaviour could be explained by Asperger's syndrome. People with Asperger's are unable to grasp the understandings that normally underpin social relations. Perhaps the reason he responds in a childish way to criticism is that he lacks the social skills to come up with a more measured response.
Ths might also explain his sharp shift to the right in recent years. Perhaps he discovered that the perfect antidote to social awkwardness was to use his wealth to curry favour with the right and thereby buy popularity.
Interesting - had not thought of him that way. If he falls out with Trump that will be, as they say, 'interesting'...one common aspect of the 'right' is internal bickering and disagreement. It happened a lot with the three different parties Nigel Farage was leading, indeed has already happened with his Reform UK party. And Trump had multiple firings in his first term, but it doesn't mean the 'Yes' people will get what they want, as they now think they have total control. A few prominent exits and who knows, quite apart from the implications of the policies, tariffs, for example on the US economy. I think I read somewhere that The Great Elon Musk has taunted Jeff Bezos with the 'I am considerably richer than yo' stuff, the world being his playground.Quote:
Originally Posted by filghy2
Then this-
"I am trying to make life multiplanetary to maximize the probable lifespan of consciousness,"".
Jeff Bezos denies Elon Musk claim he urged people to sell their Tesla, SpaceX stock because Trump would lose - CBS News
Huh? An Australian response is in order here.
Gotta luv these free market entrepreneurs... looks tasty for The Great Elon Musk, but for Trump?
"Musk’s relationship with Li, the second-highest ranking person in China, is especially close: Li was the party secretary for Shanghai in 2019, when Tesla opened its first overseas factory there, which is now Tesla’s biggest factory by output. It was built with loans of $521m from Chinese-state owned banks, which were issued at favourable interest rates. The Shanghai government gave Tesla a beneficial corporate tax rate of 15% between 2019 and 2023, lower than the standard 25%. Tesla also reportedly managed to become the first foreign auto company to be allowed to set up without a local partner."
Tesla’s path in China clears as Musk courts both Trump and Xi | Elon Musk | The Guardian
'Tariffs? Not on my watch'...said the Master of the Universe
What is wrong with this man? Set aside the fact that 'Tommy Robinson' is in prison because he is a serial breaker of the law, but what on earth is this?
"Elon Musk has labeled Britain a “tyrannical police state” while endorsing calls for a new election and boosting a video from a jailed far-right activist.".
Elon Musk calls Britain a police state, taunts PM Starmer and boosts Tommy Robinson
What is Musk's definition of a 'tyrannical police state'? I went into town this morning, without being stopped and questioned or searched by the police. The 'tyrannical police state' has not shut down the Mail, or the Telegraph or Rupert Murdoch's papers.
He is a troublemaker, and using his platform to spread lies and division, and for what? A referendum? Less than 6 months after a General Election, just because he doesn't like the result? When it comes to tyranny, maybe The Great Elon Musk should look in the mirror.
Madness.
Two years ago Citizen Musk said that we wasn't supporting Trump for President because he was too old. Now he is sounding increasingly like a Trump clone, accusing the man who testified against Trump in his first impeachment trial of treason.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b2654951.html
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but how long will it be before Trump grows tired of this guy acting like he is the power behind the throne (as he did with Steve Bannon in his first term)? He has already made comments about Elon hanging around Mar-a-Lago too much.
I guess Vindman has to decide whether or not to sue Musk, given that Musk has unlimited funds and can use lawyers to drag any case out so long it either bankrupts Vindman or makes it impossible for him to proceed, which is a tried and tested Trump tactic in law.Quote:
Originally Posted by filghy2
'Libelous on its face': Internet critics blast Musk's 'disgusting' treason accusation
When it comes to treason, if it were proven that Russia was at war with the US when it interfered in the 2016 election, the 100+ contacts the Trump campaign had with Russians would have been an indictable offence, but Mueller's brief was I think skewed in Trump's favour, unable to prove that the contacts with the Russians were financially beneficial or knowingly conspiring against the US though I think that is debatable. By dismissing the Report before it was published, AG Barr managed to deflect the debate on why the Trump campaign had so many direct contact with 'Putin's People' - something Trump has also dismissed in spite of the prosecutions that did follow. 'Russia Russia Russia' also begs the question, Why Russia? 100+ contacts with Russia, but not allies of the US in either North America, say Canada, or the EU, and not China. And no mention by Mueller of the Russian Mafia laundering money in Trump's New Jersey Casinos, or his 'business relationship' with Felix Sater. I guess none of this matters now, unless 'Colonel' Gabbard revives the 'Why Russia?' question.
Key Findings of the Mueller Report | ACS
The situation with The Great Elon Musk may lead to a repeat of what happened in Trump's first term re tariffs -some of which must be damaging to Musk's overseas operations, not just in China, thus
"The columnist built his case in his Friday opinion piece by offering readers as an example the “uneven rollout of tariffs” in Trump’s first term when the administration became “besieged by lobbyists, who filed thousands of requests for special exemptions and carve-outs to allow their clients to import goods and parts without paying the tariffs.”
"Waldman said Trump’s new proposal on tariffs, which promises to be more comprehensive than what he’s seen through in the past, “is a preview of the corruption to come.”“In a second term, Trump won’t just be doling out favors; he’ll also deliver punishments,” Waldman wrote.
He concluded by reminding readers that the public is familiar with how personal Trump's views are toward companies and their CEOs, with the “determining factor” being “whether they treat him like the king he imagines himself to be.”".
Trump’s 'terrible' proposal is 'a preview of the corruption to come': columnist
Come the mid-terms Trump might wish he was somewhere else
with kings and rulers of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins
A fool and his money are soon parted....
"Elon Musk is reportedly planning to donate $100 million to Nigel Farage in a bid to shake up British politics ahead of the next election.The Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) boss, who has openly supported Donald Trump in recent months and spoke at a Republican rally, is said to be considering backing the far-right Reform UK party.".
Elon Musk tipped to give $100m to Nigel Farage in move to shake up British politics
Two points-
1) I wonder if Americans would prefer The Great Elon Musk to spend $100m on them?
2) The Great Elon Musk should do some homework on Nigel Farage, not because of his modest wealth of c£4m, or Reform Party founder Richard Tice (c£40m), but because Farage has a track record of being a poor manager of political parties, as he is now into his third -UKIP, Brexit Party, Reform UK. All three have been dysfunctional because of the lack of vetting of candidates, with some people with views so eccentric or extreme even Farage had to disown them. Then there were the local councillors or Parliamentary candidates who had to be suspended, or expelled, or who resigned, in many cases having fallen out with Farage, as recently happened with Ben Habib. Farage himself is often absent without explanation, often in the US, and is rumoured to be a poor constituency MP. The idea that Reform UK is going to overtake the Conservative Party might not be a fantasy, largely due to the incoherence and divisions in the Conservatives, but Reform UK other than being an anti-immigrant and 'anti-Woke' party has little to offer, but who knows? There are also stricter rules on campaign financing in the UK than there are in the US, though I don't suppose The Great Elon Musk cares much about that.
The Great Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were in Congress to tell Republicans how their little Doggy is going to bark. Speaker Johnson wants most of the Federal Agencies abolished, particularly Public Service Broadcasting, and Planned Parenthood. Hard to know what will happen.
Point is, The Great Elon Musk carried one of his children on his shoulders into the building.
The boy's name is X Æ A-Xii, -how is that pronounced? Does he call him 'Junior', 'Hey, you!' 'Child!' or what? Is it fair to give a child something closer to a Barcode than a Proper Noun?
Elon Musk Meets With Lawmakers About ‘DOGE’ Crusade Against Government Spending
Mike Johnson says he’s aiming to ax 75 percent of all federal agencies with Elon Musk’s help
UFC Fighter Rips Elon To Shreds:
UFC Fighter Rips Elon To Shreds
Looks like Citizen Musk is already getting a payoff for his investment in Trump.
Trump team set to end key vehicle safety rule opposed by Elon Musk's Tesla: report
https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...by-2024-12-13/
Anyone who thinks Trump will not be a tool of corporate interests is a fool. The only corporate interests that will be hurt will be those who don't suck up to him.
Who is running things in the Republican Party - Trump or Musk? Looks like they are going to shut down the US Government because Musk demanded it.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/1...on-cr-00195477
Do these guys have any plan, or do they just like chaos as an end in itself? It seems that Musk doesn't even know (or doesn't care) what was in the funding measure he just had blocked.
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/t...-already-taken
Welcome to the next four years.
I'm guessing Mr. Musk will be the co-president. A man who was born in Pretoria and raised in Bryanston and constitutionally ineligible to be president will now be the de-facto co-president and put in place policies to substantially increase his own net worth which have reached levels of absolute absurdity...Quote:
Originally Posted by filghy2
British Journalist MERCILESSLY Destroys Elon Musk | The Kyle Kulinski Show
Trump and Musk have launched a new class war. In the UK, we must prepare to defend ourselves:
Trump and Musk have launched a new class war. In the UK, we must prepare to defend ourselves | George Monbiot | The Guardian
A UK Class War has already started - at least as far back as 2015 when this article was written.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben
The new class war: Excluding the working class in 21st-century Britain
https://www.ippr.org/articles/the-ne...entury-britain
That guy is seriously weird. Reminds me of this scene from Doctor Strangelove.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddWNMSUbcGI
Good article on how Musk had USAid shut down on the basis of false conspiracy theories pushed by a few cranks on the fringes of the internet. This is how government works under the Trump/Musk regime. Dark times indeed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog...aid-rcna190646
Indeed. Scary - and dark - times...Quote:
Originally Posted by filghy2
It seems Elon Musk, ineligible to be President... as he was born in South Africa, who nobody voted for, is pulling the strings in the Trump regime:
PROOF Elon Musk Is Pulling Trump’s Puppet Strings | The Kyle Kulinski Show - YouTube
We know that Trump is too lazy to focus on the details of governing, so it looks like he's happy to delegate it to the Muskrat. Musk just has to feed him some BS that appeals to Trump's vanity or prejudices and Trump will give the okay. If Musk goes too far and does something really unpopular, Trump will just make him the scapegoat and claim he knew nothing about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben
Meanwhile, the party that complains constantly about unelected bureaucrats has nothing to say about Musk usurping their Constitutional role.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/g...d=BingNewsSerp
Another article on DOGE's role at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the latest government agency to be summarily shut down despite it being established by an act of Congress. There seems to be obvious potential for confict of interest, with Muskrat's minions gaining access to lots of banking and finance data, while Musk is planning to enter the financial payments business.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/featu...igital-wallet?
More on Muskrat's evidence-free claims about massive fraud and waste.
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/e...ans-are-stupid
Here's one area of US Government spending you can bet will not be cut.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b2700645.html
"According to federal data analyzed by The Independent, Musk's own companies have been promised or awarded nearly $21 billion by the U.S. government since 2008.
The cash was still flowing as of Feb 17, with another $76.7 million promised since Donald Trump's inauguration."
Has there ever been a couple who deserved each other more than those two jerks?
Poor Elon doesn't seem to have understood that the fundamental rule of Trump is that he has no loyalty to anyone but himself. Sure you can buy his favours for a time, but he will eventually shaft you once you have served his purposes.