#ELON MUSK

[gwydionmisha]

It's an ethics AND a safety issue. Trump is planning to stop crash/safety reporting Musk's cars.

A more graphic explanation of why we need to monitor this. (Shows crashed cars, but not the bodies). It's from that time Tesla did deadly beta testing that killed and injured a bunch of people.

Some of these are mostly focused on the national security implications of Musk, SpaceX, and Starlink, but the conflict of interest over things like Self driving cars matter too. It's a fundamental problem that Trump is basically letting Elon Musk make so many decisions for his own benefit.

[ravenkings]

you can take the white man out of apartheid south africa………

[colddeadfingerpeeler]

What a surprise! For him.

World's most divorced man becomes first human to be alienated from both biological and digital children.

[odinsblog]

Elon Musk is a nazi loving billionaire fascist.

[darkfighterofblackshadowdeath]

Elon Musk needs to go play on some train tracks. That asshole is trying to get his grimy hands into the German elections next.

He's had too much influence in German politics already (looking at you Brandenburg). I don't want him to buy votes for the AfD. Actually I don't want him to talk or even think about any elections anywhere ever (again). Motherfucker needs to Starship without damaging our atmosphere.

[saywhat-politics]

Elon Musk seemingly endorsed the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Friday.

The big picture: The X owner has used his social media platform to promote his own ideologies. Since gaining more influence in the incoming Trump administration, the billionaire CEO appears to be exercising that power over politics in the U.S. and abroad.

Musk has shown recent support for other European right-wing populist politicians, including Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and British politician Nigel Farage, who is big Trump champion in the U.K.

Driving the news: "Only the AfD can save Germany," Musk posted on X.

His message was in response to a post from German right-wing influencer Naomi Seibt, criticizing conservative chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz.

Context: Germany will hold a snap election in February, after a center-left coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed.

AfD became the first far-right party this year to win a regional election in Germany since World War II.

[zenosanalytic]

But for real: Elon's INTENSE desire for approval and validation from the world-at-large suggests a childhood where he rarely got either in anything approaching a healthy way.

[animentality]

[contemplatingoutlander]

Although Congress averted a government shutdown, Hakeem Jeffries' remarks about the attempt by a couple of "puppet masters" to overturn the bipartisan funding bill & GOP hypocrisy are still worth repeating.

"In our nation’s 248 year history, 25% of our nation’s debt was accumulated during the four years of the former president. 25%. How dare you lecture America about fiscal responsibility ever."

—Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), House minority leader

Below are some highlights from the transcript of Hakeem Jeffries' remarks before the House on 12/19/24, including his comments on:

The attempt by the "puppet masters" (i.e., Musk and Trump) to overturn the bipartisan government funding bill.

The history of how Democrats repeatedly had to clean up the fiscal messes that Republicans (the so-called party of "fiscal responsibility") created time and again because of their unfounded belief in tax cuts for the wealthy (i.e., "trickle down economics").

HAKEEM JEFFRIES: [Democrats and Republicans in Congress] reached a bipartisan agreement to fund the government, prevent a shutdown and meet the needs of the American people. We reached a bipartisan agreement to provide disaster assistance to people who had their lives turned upside down by extreme weather events hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and wildfires all across America. We reached a bipartisan agreement to be there for farmers and families, children, seniors, working-class Americans all across the country, the men and women who serve this country in uniform and our veterans.

House Republicans have abandoned that bipartisan agreement that we entered into in good faith. A bill that House Republicans negotiated, gave us your word that we were going to move forward together on behalf of the American people.... And then one or two puppet masters weigh in and the extreme MAGA Republicans decide to do the bidding of the wealthy, the well-off, the well-connected millionaires and billionaires, not working-class people all across America. The bill that is before us today is just part of an effort to shut down the government unless we, as representatives of the American people, bend to the will of just a handful of millionaires and billionaires because the provisions in this bill, particularly as it relates to suspending the debt ceiling for two years, are designed to bring about a massive tax cut unpaid for wealthy donors and for wealthy corporations for millionaires and billionaires who, clearly, some in this Congress are working for. And this bill is validation for it.

[added color is mine; all emphasized text is from Hakeem Jeffries' Congressional website]

[See more excerpts below the cut.]

HAKEEM JEFFRIES (Continued): Now, what’s been interesting to me is that for decades, the Republican Party has lectured America about fiscal responsibility, about the debt and the deficit. It’s always been phony. This bill proves it. One thing we do know is that every time a Republican president comes into office, the one thing we can count on Republicans to do is to pass a massive tax cut for wealthy Americans and, in the process, stick working-class Americans with the bill by raising the deficit and the debt. That’s what happened in the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was president. The biggest thing that he did was pass a massive tax cut for the wealthy and the well-off paid for by working families and middle class folks all across the country. Didn’t do anything for middle class Americans. Didn’t do anything to stimulate the economy.... I’ve come to the conclusion that trickle down economics simply means that middle class families, that working-class Americans may get a trickle, but they’re guaranteed to stay down. That’s what your economics are all about. Massive tax cuts for the wealthy and the well-off under President Reagan continued into President Bush. Bill Clinton comes to office, inherits a significant deficit, and under his stewardship, President Clinton turns a deficit into a surplus and passes that surplus to President George W Bush. The so-called party of fiscal responsibility.

And once again, we see the same exact playbook. Republicans inherit a surplus and they immediately blow it to pass massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected, not provide relief to working-class Americans. A tax cut in 2001, unpaid for, and then a tax cut in 2003, unpaid for. And they continue to run up the debt and the deficit prosecuting two failed wars. The so-called party of fiscal responsibility. Want to lecture America, but your record speaks for itself.

President Obama comes in after mismanagement related to the prior administration, including helping to trigger the Great Recession, inherits the deficit from a Republican president of $1.5 trillion, as well as the Great Recession. And working under the leadership of President Obama, Democrats in the House and the Senate, the situation turned around and over an eight year period of time reduced the deficit by $1 trillion. From $1.5 trillion to $500 billion. Progress under Democratic leadership as it relates to getting America’s fiscal house in order. And then Donald Trump comes to office and again follows the same exact playbook... Republicans turned their attention to the GOP tax scam, where 83% of the benefits went to the wealthiest 1%. Why? To subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and shameless. And in the process of doing that, borrow $2.3 trillion added to our debt. Explode the deficit. So-called party of fiscal responsibility. In fact, this debt that we’re dealing with... that’s what this two-year suspension of the debt ceiling is all about. In our nation’s 248 year history, 25% of our nation’s debt was accumulated during the four years of the former president. 25%. How dare you lecture America about fiscal responsibility ever.

And then President Biden comes to office. Gets big things done for the American people on infrastructure, on the CHIPS and Science Act, standing up a clean energy economy, rescuing America from a once-in-a-century pandemic. Gets all of these big things done... and in the process, in his first two years, reduces the deficit by $1.7 trillion. And so we see a very clear pattern. The facts speak for themselves.... which bring us to this very moment. Because this bill is designed to set up the GOP tax scam 2.0. To stick the American people with a bill so you can continue to cut taxes for wealthy donors and well-connected corporations and jam working-class Americans. That’s what this bill today fundamentally is all about. That’s why Republicans are suspending the debt ceiling for two years, the so-called party of fiscal responsibility. And in addition to these massive tax cuts, we know how you want to pay for it. Many Republicans have said this in the public domain, that we want to end Social Security as we know it, end Medicare as we know it, end Medicaid as we know it, end nutritional assistance as we know it, not support our veterans. These are all the reasons why Democrats are opposed to this legislation. [...] Why would you eliminate funding for community health centers? That impacts the heartland of America, urban America, rural America, suburban America, small-town America, Appalachia.... Why would you cut funding for nutritional assistance for children in America? For seniors in America? For veterans in America? Why would you do that?.... This legislation actually cuts a program that was designed to help children and their parents detect cancer. Cruelty is the point. Why would you eliminate that program? We’re going to fight for the children of America.

And so, the reasons are too numerous to articulate.... But we’ve laid out the challenges with this bill, the phoniness in claiming that extreme MAGA Republicans are about working-class Americans or are the party of fiscal responsibility. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you run up the debt and the deficit, middle-class families pay, working-class families pay, and we are going to defend them. House Democrats are going to continue to fight for working families, middle-class families, all those who aspire to be part of the middle class, for the children of America, for the seniors of America, for the unions in America, for the veterans of America, for the least, the lost and the left behind, for the poor, the sick and the afflicted. We are going to continue to fight for everyday Americans. That is why we are voting no on this bill. And to stop this reckless, regressive and reactionary Republican shutdown. Vote no.

[added color is mine; all emphasized text is from Hakeem Jeffries' Congressional website]

[blutah]

Hey Utah, just so you're aware, Mike Lee is floating the idea of Musk/Ramaswamy as Speaker of the House.

It'd be a real shame if you called him at 801-524-5933 or 202-224-5444 and told him how stupid you think that idea is.

[odinsblog]

CHANGES MADE TO THE GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL DUE TO ELON MUSK'S DEMANDS

- Cut $190 million in research funding for children with cancer.

- Eliminated reforms to pharmaceutical benefit managers that would have cracked down on those who jack up drug prices.

- Cut down syndrome research funding.

- Cut funding for breast cancer early detection.

- Cut funding for treatment of sickle cell disease.

President-elect Musk (and vice president Trump) think that tax cuts for the rich are more important than children’s cancer research, preventative breast cancer research, and sickle cell treatments.

👉🏿 https://www.statnews.com/2024/12/20/pediatric-cancer-research-cut-from-gop-spending-bill-backlash-swift/

[kitty-kat-undercover]

America, your neighbors are getting really worried about you all. ❤️

[strawlessandbraless]

What an unsurprising & completely expected turn of events that literally everyone saw coming 😮

Source 🔗

Free 🔗

[jerrycummblr]

It's really simple. If you're born with a vagina and you naturally have elevated testosterone levels, you're a man. If you have a vagina and you take testosterone, you're a woman. But also if you have a vagina, you'll never be a man. But also if you have higher testosterone then you were never a woman. Woman never yes man a vagina testosterone no was an elevated. Vagina man.

[whydidisavethistomyphone]

Elon’s being weird again. Threatening everyone on twitter for calling his weird friends weird.