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Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

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Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#221

Post by unsnap_biceps »

amazingamazing wrote: post #165
ajcp wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

-> consolidate power in the executive -> which is badly needed In the US power is divided between three branches of government to prevent any one bench from becoming too powerful through checks and balances. Consolidation of power in one branch would mean unchecked, dictatorial powers. -> How did you come to that conclusion from their comment? How did you not?

None of that implies a dictatorship. Also, consolidation in the executive branch does not imply removal of the others.

Where does the consolidated power come from if it's not from the other two branches?

Power here is a zero sum game.

Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#222

Post by afpx »

GiorgioG wrote: post #122
Trasmatta wrote: post #9

> On his personal Substack, he wrote an essay titled “Why I gave up a seven-figure salary to save America,” according to press reports, and described failed U.S. attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from Congress amid allegations of sexual misconduct, as a “victim” of the deep state. The fact that nobody is stopping these people is the clearest evidence anyone needs that there's no such thing as "the dee…

> I've learned the hard way that many people in this country do NOT actually care about democracy. Our democracy has been eroding for decades. Congress collects paychecks while gridlocking progress, even on bipartisan issues that could help ordinary citizens. Super PACs and "campaign contributions" (aka bribes) ensure the wealthy control both parties. Democrats and Republicans both spend recklessly and divide the nat…

How do you fix wealth inequality? That's what I want to know. I feel like we're so far past the point of no return. I'm sure they're all eagerly rubbing their hands together waiting to be a Duke in Peter Thiel's new global Monarchy.

Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#223

Post by tomrod »

rdtsc wrote: post #215
tomrod wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh please. Good faith requires facts, which this current administration does not use. Or perhaps you'd be surprised to learn they aren't eating pets in Springfield?

> Oh please. Oh sure, anytime > Good faith requires facts, which this current administration does not use. I don't know, the OP (or GP?) post said they were wanted to continue discussing the issue in good faith. I'll take them at their word until I see them saying something else, what else should we do, downvote and flag everyone to hell? And it seems it's not about the administration having good or bad faith or good…

Yet Trump claimed they (Haitian immigrants) were eating people's dogs and cats.

So your first part of the comment could have been an exercise towards food faith, and your latter part, perhaps mildly excusable as an ill attempt at humor in normal times, is for most who read it an attempt to muddy the very clear facts that Trump lies all the time.

Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#224

Post by realdjtthrow »

3vidence wrote: post #216

Honest question for Americans. What do you think the federal government is doing to make you "poorer" that deserves dismantling the government. US income tax is generally lower than other advanced economies. Housing and medical insurance is mainly a state issue.

[flagged]

Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#225

Post by tomrod »

Keyframe wrote: post #181
tomrod wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a shame. A lot of people seem to respect a man whose family has been old money for a long time, thinking he is somehow self made.

on the positive side, maybe these young ones will have a help of Grok when introducing code into critical safety systems!

What a terrible name the man ruined by choosing, a perfectly cromulent Heinleinian term.

Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#226

Post by rayiner »

motorest wrote: post #199
rayiner wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except the real issues are immigration and globalization. The NYT did a couple of great podcasts about both issues: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/29/podcasts/the-daily/electi... https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/03/magazine/nafta-tarriffs-e... A majority of Americans have never supported either policy, but the credentialed elites in both parties have done so for decades. And both things have been accomplished largely…

> Except the real issues are immigration and globalization. The US is a country of immigrants, and has been so since it's inception. H1Bs are not about limiting immigration at all. They are about having a workforce without basic rights and bestow corporations with the power of uprooting an employee's life and banishing them from the land if he even dares stepping out of line. The axes hanging over the regular folk's…

> The US is a country of immigrants, and has been so since it's inception.

As JD aptly put it, that’s wrong,[1] but, regardless, so what? America is first and foremost, a democratic republic. Sentimental 20th century notions designed to assimilate the last wave of mass immigration have no binding power on the electorate. Americans are entitled to decide that they’re done with immigration, and it’s the civil service’s job to put that into effect.

[1] The US is a nation created British settlers. Once that society was created, immigrants moved into it. There’s a fundamental difference between immigrants and settlers. https://youtu.be/ZpbYtZ5La8U?si=5gdZ-MGamBwZ4djb. Italian Americans speak English and live within a system of laws and civic customs inherited from a thousand years of English tradition and history. But English Americans don’t speak Iroquois or adhere to an Iroquois legal system or traditions.

Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#227

Post by potsandpans »

tomrod wrote: post #204
potsandpans wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an optimistic take unfortunately. From what I can see, the attempt is going tremendously well. We'll have to see how brazen the trump admin really is prepared to be here. If they are all in, they'll ignore the courts and the doj will do nothing about it. Which has already been telegraphed. From what ive seen, The feds are saying "hold the line" mostly to cope with the situation. If this admin wants to retire t…

6% of Feds retire annually. 2.5% or so gave taken the offer. This is not wide success. I agree, the blitzkrieg on democracy really needs to stop. Per doge goals, doge is highly inefficient and lacking oversight.

We'll see

Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#228

Post by unsnap_biceps »

adamtaylor_13 wrote: post #7
chris_wot wrote: post #5

How did you Americans allow any of this?

Some of us don’t agree with the rampant waste in our government. Some of us also don’t have faith that the system can fix itself without drastic measures like this. I’ll admit I’m wrong if and when it turns out that I am. Until then, I’m cheering it on.

I would be much happier if this was being done with any form of thought behind the actions. Put together a report of the "wasteful" spending and target it. The whole department destruction at the whims of one man is the concerning part. Doubly so given he's appearing to target departments that has "wronged" him in the past.

Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#229

Post by unsnap_biceps »

adamtaylor_13 wrote: post #195
pwg wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For USAID, the fact that USAID was investigating him: https://gizmodo.com/elon-musks-enemy-usaid-was-investigating... His attack on USAID was not "rooting out waste", it was to settle a personal vendetta against the agency.

This is silly. USAID was investigating the usage of Starlink in Ukraine, which by the way Musk provided completely free of charge at a time when no one else was doing anything for Ukraine. DOGE found that USAID has actually spent taxpayer dollars to funding terrorists. I have no idea how we try to connect these dots to be “personal”. USAID was a sham and it’s been exposed.

How did DOGE determine that the funds went to terrorists? Do you know? I certainly don't. I want to know, so we can put the right guardrails in place for the future, and frankly, I don't trust musk at all. He lies whenever it's convenient.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant and we should be ensuring it's shining everywhere.

Re: Elon Musk's Demolition Crew

#230

Post by ty6853 »

afpx wrote: post #222
GiorgioG wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've learned the hard way that many people in this country do NOT actually care about democracy. Our democracy has been eroding for decades. Congress collects paychecks while gridlocking progress, even on bipartisan issues that could help ordinary citizens. Super PACs and "campaign contributions" (aka bribes) ensure the wealthy control both parties. Democrats and Republicans both spend recklessly and divide the nat…

How do you fix wealth inequality? That's what I want to know. I feel like we're so far past the point of no return. I'm sure they're all eagerly rubbing their hands together waiting to be a Duke in Peter Thiel's new global Monarchy.

The most reliable way that has been found is to make everyone poor. Once disposable resources appear someone always becomes a more shrewd trader, even if means if production is otherwise equal. Then they trade those things for a greater share of the means of production...
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