Oligarch at work
This follows several days of Musk and a small cabal of his pet hackers accessing government computer systems and records for reasons that remain unclear, likely viewing sensitive data they have no legal right to see, and possibly interfering with disbursements they have no legal authority over (the Constitution makes it clear that only Congress has authority over spending, not the president, and certainly not some rich guy who hangs out with the president).
These few days have shown clearly that Musk is a much greater threat to the Constitutional order than Trump is. Trump is a lazy old man mostly interested in staging Potemkin "wins" to impress his base. His alleged wave of mass deportations is largely a sham consisting of years-old reports reposted with new dates. The "deals" that staved off his disastrous tariffs were even more phony -- both Mexico and Canada "promised to do" a few things they were mostly doing anyway, giving Trump a face-saving way to back down before the stock market tanked completely. And don't forget the befuddled "spending freeze" that quickly imploded in confusion. Left to his own devices, he'll probably run out of steam and spend the rest of his term golfing, grifting, and occasionally tweeting out incoherent dramatic announcements that end up coming to nothing. Musk seems to see himself as a larger-than-life figure guiding humanity into a new era, as exemplified by his crackpot obsession with colonizing Mars. It's bad enough that this Dunning-Kruger Messiah has hundreds of billions of dollars backing up his fantasies -- allowing him such ill-defined and unaccountable power over the whole US government is potentially disastrous.
Oh, and about that "gesture" at the Trump inauguration, which some of Musk's defenders are still claiming was not what it looked like -- here's a comparison of Musk and another famous person who certainly knew how to do a Nazi salute correctly:
This morning comes news of a court order blocking Musk out of the Treasury's systems and records -- and the Trump administration has agreed to temporarily restrict his access. Now we'll have to wait and see whether he abides by it, and who will enforce it if needed -- and how much damage has already been done. Either way, as long as he remains a close associate of Trump, he'll be a potential threat to the Constitutional system which is the essence of the nation.
Updates: Background here on the court order (link from Annie). One of the two Musk lackeys still allowed access has resigned from DOGE after racist social media posts came to light.
posted by Infidel753 at 2:01 PM
12 Comments:
"These few days have shown clearly that Musk is a much greater threat to the Constitutional order than Trump is."
Absolutely agree. But it was Trump, after all, who brought Musk into the administration and gave him essentially carte blanche to do whatever the hell he wants.
Oh, and there's this:
WSJ: "DOGE Staffer Resigns Over Racist Posts
Employee has links to a deleted social-media account that advocated for racism and eugenics"
Musk is essentially untouchable. The Ketamine Crack Head shelled out over $280M to the Twice Impeached Convicted Felon's campaign to essentially guarantee a pre-pardon for any damage he wants to inflict. The ONLY thing that is going to slow him down is if Agolf Shitler decides to reel him back; though that will not last for long.
We laugh at shows like "Autoline Daily" on YouTube who report that sales of Tesla's have dropped significantly. "...we think buyers are waiting for the next generation of Tesla to come out. Might also be because of Musk's political meddling in EU governments..." Ya think?
Yet his BOD voted to give him, what? Over a $50B bonus that was shot down by a Delaware judge? Sure... let's keep him swimming in ketamine. Perhaps he's do himself in soon.
Sorry, I'm ranting.
Shaw: Yes, Musk used Trump as a stepping stone to power -- though it was still his immense wealth that enabled him to do that.
I saw the story about Elez having to resign. The most interesting part is that such a revelation still meant he needed to go. Musk's lackeys, at least, are not immune from normal standards.
Rad: We'll see. I keep hearing that Trump is getting exasperated with Musk throwing his weight around and hogging the limelight. If they have a falling-out, that's the end of Musk's power within the government. Trump won't be restrained by gratitude for Musk's earlier help. He never is.
Musk must be losing a lot of money over his bullshit lately. It's all just giving people incentives to get off Twitter and not buy his exploding cars. Certainly in Europe his brand is dead.
"Trump won't be restrained by gratitude for Musk's earlier help. He never is." - Point!
The idea of him getting into ATC is hilarious. What isn't hilarious is the fact that MAGA is over the moon happy with this. None of this touches them because THEIR Social Security, Medicare and travel plans won't be affected. This just grounds THOSE people (Libs' and minorities)
Interesting thread that I am observing; per Wonkette, seems that USAID was investigating how Starlink was being throttled back as the war in Ukraine was escalating. Hmmm... and the Ketamine Crack Head made a bee-line to the USAID door with his Tech Bros the minute DOGE came into existence. Like I said, observing, looking for collaborating information.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/what-usaid-was-investigating-musks
Musk is a very dangerous wannabe autocrat and needs to be resisted at every step. Democrats should be a lot fiercer and a lot tougher in opposing him.
I haven't flown on a plane in over 2 decades and don't plan on ever flying again.
My last flight was 15 years ago. I won’t say never again, but not until the FAA and airplane manufacturers (that’s you Boeing) get their messes cleaned up. Will never buy a Tesla either.
Seafury: You probably heard yet another plane has gone down, in or near Alaska. Oh, well, I always preferred trains anyway.
Rade: That would be far from surprising. Musk seems like the type to attach a lot of importance to personal grudges, and he especially wouldn't want anyone looking into his petty games of wielding power over little people (like the Ukrainians).
Nick: They are getting more vocal. Unfortunately, given the lack of a majority in any part of the government, there's little legislators can do. But legal challenges are proving increasingly effective. The party needs to support those, including by funding them.
Mary: Unfortunately, with some of the places I hope to go someday, there's no other option (trains don't cross the Atlantic). But I won't be doing that until this mess is fixed. If you don't absolutely need to fly, so much the better.
Anon: That's another point. Boeing's planes manufactured in the last few years are still suspect.
I heard a serious commentator explain that Musk’s parents moved from Canada to South Africa to fight FOR apartheid—that he holds the US responsible for “ruining” both South Africa and Russia—and he is determined to destroy the US and as much of the West as he can. He’s trying to foment neo-Nazi movements in Germany and the UK.
With regard to the hacker who was fired for his white supremacist views, the missing US VP popped up to defend him and urged Musk to rehire him, and Musk said he will.
Voters who are constituents of Republican elected officials must demand they stop Musk; if just a few join the Democrats, the pressure on Trump will build.
Musk's connections with, and views on, apartheid are something that needs to be publicized a lot more. Certainly the ferocious attack on USAID (which was involved in the campaign against apartheid) suggests that this is indeed part of his motivation.
The Reform party in the UK and the AfD in Germany are not neo-Nazi, however. Anything you see in the US media about the nativist right wing in Europe (what they generally call "far right", although most of those groups are to the left of the US Democrats on most issues) should be considered suspect, if not outright lies. The AfD has expelled members who were actually found to be neo-Nazis.
I'm watching to see whether Elez gets re-hired. It will be a strong indicator of whether any normal standards of accountability apply to these people. The fact that Vance, whose wife is from India, is supporting a man who called to "normalize Indian hatred" shows how deeply corrupt his soul is.
A substantial percentage of Trump's voters this time around were black and Hispanic. I'm hopeful that they'll turn strongly against Musk as his apartheid connections become known, and press Republicans in Congress to do likewise.
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