101 Comments

Musk has no roots in our history, an immigrant who violated his original visa, and a child raised in the white privileged racism of apartheid South Africa. I look at my family’s historical rootedness in contrast, especially those who gave their lives in the Civil War and the Second World War. I look back and see my connection to this history. It’s personal. He lives in a science fiction world out of historical time. He needs to be stopped.

Expand full comment

Total science fiction going on in his mind!! (Moving millions of people to Mars??? The logistics of that alone - let alone what it would take to install any sort of infrastructure - defy basic logic..... but not so sure logic plays a role in any of his "thinking") He and too many of his tech bros have waaaay too much $$$$$$$$$$ and time on their hands. I think of the GOOD they could be doing all over the world (without making the tiniest dent in their comfy, elaborate life styles) instead. Why can't THEY be thinking about that?

Expand full comment

Because none of them are positive thinkers! Only self centered and seeking more and more money and power!

These White guys are not interested in helping people or doing charitable work!

Also, the competition within could be brutal! Maybe will cross out them all? Pecking order galore!

Expand full comment

It IS a power game! This kind of stuff has been going on a long time....IMO it started on Wall St! I say that these "competitors" ought to solve who is "king" by going into a dark alley with rulers.

Expand full comment

Empathy deficit. No referential world outside of himself like his homeboy 47. Perhaps the frontal lobe is full of ketamine.

Expand full comment

MUSK and felon TRUMP must both be stopped! But, HOW?

Expand full comment

Apparently, according to the veterinarian technician “Brittany” at our veterinary clinic (O’ahu, State of Hawai’i) in addition to what you mentioned, Musk is an only child who was homeschooled - and apparently at least one of his grandfathers actually shook hands with Hitler himself (I believe Musk has family roots in the Nazi Party under Der Fürher)

Expand full comment

So well put, thank you!

Expand full comment

If this is not a PhD dissertation, it is at the very least a Master's work! Always brilliant. Always clear. Always erudite. Thank you, Steve! I certainly need the clarity, conviction, and piercing truth of your message! Strength! ["Stay hydrated, and take lots of naps"]

Expand full comment

Thank you for using Norman Rockwell’s extraordinary paintings to convey your messages. Art tells a story, often in subtle ways — in others right in your face.

Nuances, tones of color, every day life — Rockwell brought us the America we were, or longed for- “the America Dream.”

Expand full comment

Musk and the doge boys and Trump and the Republicans are looking in the WRONG places! And they know it! They are doing it on purpose! THEY are the problem! THEY are the cheats! And THEY do NOT want the American people to know it or see it! And all their actions are HURTING Americans and NOT them! Check out this article "We Found the $2 TRILLION: Elon Musk wants to cut government spending. But the waste in the system goes to elites like him. Here's a better way to bring down deficits." by David Dayen, The American Prospect. "The Internal Revenue Service regularly estimates the tax gap, the distance between the tax liability in a given year and actual taxes paid. In 2022, the last year studied, the IRS put this number at an astonishing $606 billion per year. This gap is concentrated among the top 1 percent, who evade $163 billion per year, according to a 2021 Treasury Department report." "A secret trove of tax files published by Pro-Publica in 2021 showed that Elon Musk paid no income taxes in 2018 and had an effective tax rate of 3.27 percent during a five year stretch." "In a political battle, having an actual plan is typically helpful. And Democrats have a pretty killer one available. Right-wing Republicans and outside oligarchs are making room for billionaire tax cuts by taking aim at meager benefits for the poor. But the real sources of waste, fraud, and abuse in the budget come not from welfare queens or greedy seniors, but from bloated contractors, health care middlemen, and wealthy tax cheats.

lookinghttps://prospect.org/economy/2025-01-27-we-found-the-2-trillion-elon-musk-doge/

Expand full comment

I think one reason Musk & the junior geek squad are using the sledgehammer that trump handed them to go after the government, it keeps the spotlight off of him, Musk. Additionally, USAID was low-hanging fruit. The assistance it provides is for children, the impoverished & nations of color in many instances. I pray that the courts will keep the stop signs up!

Expand full comment

bingo Bingo BINGO!!!! and they'd NEVER MISS the money they would pay if responsible tax payers... NEVER.... PLUS, musk could easily find tons of $$$$ in the DOD alone, just regarding all the contracts that audit after audit show prices paid for goods are soooooooo beyond the pale it is unimaginable. But of course, that'd probably put his own business deals with the govt at risk and certainly anger the other billionaires whose companies are also running off with glee to their own banks.

Expand full comment

Critical thinking has never been more important. Checking and double-checking the facts on every edict from the Oval Office and every piece of legislation from the Republican “Congress”. And speaking out.,by calling Senators and Representatives, Governors and attorneys general, local government and the media, are absolutely necessary right now if we want to put the brakes on this avalanche of fetid garbage pouring from Washington. Also contact the Democratic National committee, with new leadership they will be choreographing the midterms, refining a message, evaluating the campaign needs, and hopefully moving us toward a win. If we don’t communicate, we cannot simply sit back and expect the actions that we want.

[I told them to drop the term DEI from any communication from anyone in the Party. It has been weaponized by Republicans and will be a losing message. Simply say “Democrats promote equality”. In the midterms, the economy will be on insecure footing, take the conversation positive via “this is how Democrats will help your personal economic situation”. And there must be no capitulation to Republicans in power, none. Make them fight for every scrap they can vote for, and because it will be bad for the constituents , explain why and how.]

Expand full comment

"Also contact the Democratic National committee, with new leadership they will be choreographing the midterms, refining a message, evaluating the campaign needs, and hopefully moving us toward a win. Do you really think the current "leadership" in the DNC, writ large, is up to the task? I'm as disheartened about that as I am about Musk/Trump.

Expand full comment

he must be stopped .....at all costs....must take action now ! ! !

Expand full comment

They BOTH need to be stopped. And then vance and then johnson, etc etc. My fear is that at first trump/musk will ignore federal court findings and continue their destruction. If necessary (cuz they are on a roll and don't feel like bothering with pesky court findings) they will simply FIRE all federal judges. Then where will THAT find us? We'll take to the streets even more than initially .... and martial law will be announced and we know where that will end..

Expand full comment

It is apparent to me that Trumps wings are clipped by the agreement he has with Musk, for which Trump has been paid handsomely. And Trump has stepped back … to let the Musk be Musk- which at its core is a thief. Problem is, it all wasn’t Trumps to give access to- Trumps narcissism makes him believe he owns the US. MAGA believes the same. It’s a strange and demented take on the Presidency- which he’s shared with the Republican Party, who truthfully, would be nowhere without him, so they’ve signed in, lock stock and barrel. They are 100% willing to give it all up to Trump, and because he says so: Musk.

Who would let any person come into their home, their business, and in our case, our institutions and wreak havoc, setting it all up to burn to the ground? These people are anarchist, because their way doesn’t allow for institutions to democratically exist- because frankly, our institutions moved past their limited, antique, non-evolved existence.

We have to put out these fires, and insist our institutions must stay- happy to improve, but not remove our advancements.

Expand full comment

Who would let thus happen? Ignorant lazy people who need to be spoon fed.

Expand full comment

I totally agree, but check out the possibly even bigger picture that could be in play, gratis the OTHER tech "bros" (ugh). The ending does make P2025 make sense and should not be discounted. (So many twisted brains with too much $$$$$$$$...) . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RpPTRcz1no

Expand full comment

As frustrating as it is to say- you’re not wrong!!

Expand full comment

We have allowed a Nazi to walk into our hallowed institutions, and absolutely set fire to the American flag!

Expand full comment

and yet it would have only take 4 brave gop to stop it.... (NOT overlooking the fact that mcconnell alone could have stopped it right after Jan.6, but noooooo. Hope he's happy.)

Expand full comment

McConnell is finished! Cold stale toast! Toss him and it out to the birds!

Expand full comment

I tried to help facilitate that, back a mid-term election or two and still have the "DITCH MITCH" sticker on my bumper. And I'm way over on the west coast, nowhere near KY!

Expand full comment

Very nicely done, Steve. Only one important point to add: Trump and Musk have created a problem AND an enemy. Their playbook is worthless without an evil, malicious foe. The enemy, of course, is us, the American people. They've made us out to be sinister, dishonest, vicious and dangerous. Just like them, ironically.

Expand full comment

It's called 'projection'. What they say is actually about them, not us! Scary, right?!

Expand full comment

Very. Because their fans buy it, embrace it and cherish it. It gives them the rationale to vilify and hurt innocent, often weak, people.

Expand full comment

Elon and his tech kids have subverted the power of the Legislative Branch. There may not be a giant water faucet but there is a giant money faucet at the Treasury. And Elon controls the money faucet. He decides who gets Treasury money. Not Donald and not Congress.

Elon alone eliminates the need for Senate and House committees. He replaces the political parties. They are now irrelevant. His next logical move is to cut Treasury payments to 535 members of Congress and their staff and office expenses. By failing to stop him, Congress has made itself worthless. To save embarrassment, they should all resign.

Expand full comment

Congress has outsourced everything including their dignity.

Expand full comment

I’m convinced most never possessed an ounce of dignity; a group of charlatans and cowards, Julia.

Expand full comment

They're (far too many; not all) so scared of losing their jobs but give no thought or care about the decisions they make that cause millions of Americans to lose theirs.

Expand full comment

It is a Bad Faith Fait Accompli. Now there are at least two humans in America who are immune for prosecution for violating the Constitution and committing whatever crimes they wish.

Expand full comment

but not really, if the gop would wake up, grow spines, and do the right thing.

Expand full comment

I've always said that the scotus should take care, because eventually there will be no need for THEIR existence either. The bad actors there are really not all THAT smart, are they? (Of course, maybe their "pay-offs" have been generous enough that they can just retire without a worry in the world. My mind is blown by the vast number of people in this country alone who have absolutely NO INTEGRITY AT ALL.)

Expand full comment

Probably a contrarian view, but the more I think about the news every day as it relates to Musk, let he and his minions do what they want. It might be the only way for more Americans to wake up to the danger. Mike Flynn said that Lutheran Charities were a money laundering operation and Musk agreed. So let them run amok.

Expand full comment

Part of me does think that the catastrophic events that are bound to follow will be soon and dire. Like the recent cluster of plane crashes, the events without the watchful eye of the obliterated FBI and CIA are bound to be horrific and might get some attention.

Expand full comment

This entire country is now at so much risk by our enemies - from outside AND inside. There's now nobody watching for potential terrorists, hackers, cyber attacks, etc. NOBODY. I cannot believe why all the people who jumped on board with the musk crowning and are enabling it don't see this? Or understand that some of it IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN PLAIN DAYLIGHT a la the crazy "bro" who has taken over the entire govt. Geez, people are so DUMB.

Expand full comment

As someone who grew up in North Jersey, I have had a front row seat to Trump for 45 years now. Everything he touches gets ruined.

Expand full comment

I used to agree with that approach until we all found that the musk "team" idiots have access to all our personal info and could be fiddling around with it. Those little UNAUTHORIZED punks have been turned loose with so much power, w/ nothing to constrain them. What would stop them from doing things that, aside from any directives UNAUTHORIZED musk has given them, would satisfy their own sick little egos? Not even sure any temporary hold, etc from the judges will stop them. It could already be too late. Do those gop enablers even think about that? The fact that these little goons could be stealing THEIR identities, etc??

Expand full comment

I think it was Eisenhower who said our destruction will be an inside job — I am paraphrasing. Cannot say he was wrong on that prediction.

Expand full comment

You might be right, and if it was him or someone of that generation, I bet they'd not just be surprised that the prophesy came true, but blown away by the way this has gone down. ("Tech bros" --- we didn't even have battery operated calculators yet.)

Expand full comment

Fair points as always John. The larger concern to me is that the damage musk and his dogebags can do with access to source code, databases, and national security and sensitive data can be further reaching and cause so much damage, much of it irreparable - or that could take months to years to fix. We don't need them to go that far for people to wake up. Corrupting databases and screwing up the functioning code and potentially adding back doors into everything is far beyond anything most of us can conceptualize.

Maybe I just have a different view of what, "let them run amok" means?

Expand full comment

I think in terms of run amok is that they will make mistakes in their public statements. We already had Flynn and Vance criticizing church organizations. And Musk agreed that Lutheran Charities is a money laundering operation. We may not have to give them any rope for their doings.

Expand full comment

Thanks John. We definitely were thinking in different terms. The whole thing is a complete mess and seems worse than we expected.

Expand full comment

But so much damage, death and destruction will occur if they are allowed to continue to destroy everything within their reach.

Expand full comment

I love this so much. Thank you, Steve!

Just signed up for a yearly subscription and sharing widely.

Expand full comment

The very President who added over 10 Trillion to the deficit, owing to tax cuts for the 1%, is now screaming that the sky is falling and draconian measures are needed to rectify the problem (so he can cut their taxes further, by the way). It is we who should be screaming.

Expand full comment

Yes, please let us hear it loud and clear.

Expand full comment

Steve, this is a wonderful contribution!

As a complementary piece, here is an amazing interview between Ezra Klein and Kara Swisher, mostly about the radicalization of Musk, but then expanding to the MAGAfication of the entire Silicon Valley culture. Very smart and detailed analysis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xXLycFv5Gc

Expand full comment

Ask a computer a question...4 questions, actually...get 4 technocentric answers.

Re Musks power- we will soon find out if he can be reigned in. If Trump/MAGA refuse to obey the judges cease and desist order related to the cases filed by the state AG's we are, officially, in a constitutional crisis.

Expand full comment

We are already in one. Act accordingly.

Expand full comment

I am old enough to remember the wonderful Norman Rockwell paintings on the cover of the Post and how inspirational and educational they were and still are.

“ There is no reason — and has never been any reason — in our history to obliterate the US Constitution and the law to solve problems.”

the Gossip, was framed and hung in my .grandmothers kitchen for as long as I can remember. She always expected the truth and was very aware of how repeating without verifying a story can cause great harm, These were the images of American that I grew up with. https://prints.nrm.org/search/artist/norman+rockwell/subject/americana

Make no mistake, data is the new gold. Trump didn’t keep all those government documents to not use the information as leverage for profit, Trump/Musk and “Big Balls” are downloading massive amounts of all of our private information as well as information on other countries. Once they have it, of course they will use it for profit and leverage, I don’t have any idea what our future is going to look like, but I know what we have valued in the past is gone, Toothpaste doesn’t go back into the tube,

Expand full comment