What has elon contributed? Has he invented anything? Or did he buy companies with smart people who were changing the world and take credit for their accomplishments?Caribbean Hen wrote: ↑Sat Feb 22, 2025 12:17 pmStacy contributes nothing
Elon is changing the world
No comparison
If you really just think about it, he’s doing what no political figures dared to doUNI88 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 22, 2025 12:24 pmWhat has elon contributed? Has he invented anything? Or did he buy companies with smart people who were changing the world and take credit for their accomplishments?Caribbean Hen wrote: ↑Sat Feb 22, 2025 12:17 pm
Stacy contributes nothing
Elon is changing the world
No comparison
How much do his companies get from the government?
I don't think what he'and doge are doing qualifies as an audit.Caribbean Hen wrote: ↑Sat Feb 22, 2025 2:21 pmIf you really just think about it, he’s doing what no political figures dared to do
Auditing the Federal government
Why? Because we’re already broke and he’s working to avoid an economic catastrophe. If he can do it, than we won’t have to ever tell anybody we were bankrupt
If he fails, you can kiss your social security goodbye
You choose to be an optimist when it comes to musk, trump, etc. but a pessimist when it comes to biden, harris, etc. I choose to be a pessimist for both.UNI88 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 21, 2025 5:04 pmMaybe what trump and musk are doing turns out to cause short-term pain but is good for the country in the long-term like Reagan's policies were. That doesn't mean there won't be a price to pay at the ballot box in 2025, 2026 and 2028. Republicans also won't have trump running again in 2028 the way Republicans had Reagan in 1984.
I'm shocked. Klan started this thread.kalm wrote: ↑Fri Oct 28, 2022 8:39 am Interesting rant. Makes sense on the surface. Time will tell.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/234 ... moderationI say this with utter confidence because the problems with Twitter are not engineering problems. They are political problems. Twitter, the company, makes very little interesting technology; the tech stack is not the valuable asset. The asset is the user base: hopelessly addicted politicians, reporters, celebrities, and other people who should know better but keep posting anyway. You! You, Elon Musk, are addicted to Twitter. You’re the asset. You just bought yourself for $44 billion dollars.
The problem when the asset is people is that people are intensely complicated, and trying to regulate how people behave is historically a miserable experience, especially when that authority is vested in a single powerful individual.
What I mean is that you are now the King of Twitter, and people think that you, personally, are responsible for everything that happens on Twitter now. It also turns out that absolute monarchs usually get murdered when shit goes sideways.
Here are some examples: you can write as many polite letters to advertisers as you want, but you cannot reasonably expect to collect any meaningful advertising revenue if you do not promise those advertisers “brand safety.” That means you have to ban racism, sexism, transphobia, and all kinds of other speech that is totally legal in the United States but reveals people to be total assholes. So you can make all the promises about “free speech” you want, but the dull reality is that you still have to ban a bunch of legal speech if you want to make money. And when you start doing that, your creepy new right-wing fanboys are going to viciously turn on you, just like they turn on every other social network that realizes the same essential truth.
Actually, there’s a step before trying to get the ad money: it turns out that most people do not want to participate in horrible unmoderated internet spaces full of shitty racists and not-all-men fedora bullies. (This is why Twitter is so small compared to its peers!) What most people want from social media is to have nice experiences and to feel validated all the time. They want to live at Disney World. So if you want more people to join Twitter and actually post tweets, you have to make the experience much, much more pleasant. Which means: moderating more aggressively! Again, every “alternative” social network has learned this lesson the hard way. Like, over and over and over again.
Also, everyone crying about “free speech” conveniently ignores that the biggest threat to free speech in America is the fucking government, which seems completely bored of the First Amendment. They’re out here banning books, Elon! President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have identical policy positions on Section 230: they both want to repeal it. Do you know why? Because the First Amendment prohibits them from making explicit speech regulations, so they keep threatening to repeal the law that allows social networks to even exist in order to exert indirect pressure on content policy. It’s not subtle!
State governments are even less subtle: both Texas and Florida have passed speech regulations that overtly tell social media companies how to moderate, in open hostility to the First Amendment. Figuring out how to comply with these laws is not an engineering problem (not least because compliance might be impossible). It is a legal problem because these laws are blatantly unconstitutional, and the only appropriate response to them is to tell the government to shut up and go away. (A big problem here is that the courts are pretty stupid about the internet!) A challenge to these laws, partially funded by Twitter, is headed to the Supreme Court, which is the polar opposite of a predictable system: it is a group of uncool weirdos with lifetime appointments that can radically reshape American life however it wants.
You follow a noticeable pattern when you get frustrated by facts and reality. And it doesn’t matter what the topic is.SeattleGriz wrote: ↑Sat Feb 22, 2025 4:49 pmI'm shocked. Klan started this thread.kalm wrote: ↑Fri Oct 28, 2022 8:39 am Interesting rant. Makes sense on the surface. Time will tell.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/234 ... moderation
So much no in this post.
In the end, you and only you has to ultimately decide whether you’re worth saving.
Kalm post a FAKE NEWS tweet by some leftist who has no clue about German politics.
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/german ... m-6add2f58The most recent polling shows AfD is well positioned to make big gains and are expected to secure approximately 20% to 21% of the vote, placing them second to the center-right Christian
they’re not even far right. Of course the MSM calls them that.
Sounds like normal conk policies.Strong opposition to illegal immigration and asylum policies.
Emphasis on preserving German cultural identity.
Reforming or leaving the EU altogether ("Dexit" has been debated within the party).
Opposition to green energy policies, favoring traditional energy sources like coal and nuclear power.
Touche. I grabbed a quick one.BDKJMU wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2025 9:01 pmKalm post a FAKE NEWS tweet by some leftist who has no clue about German politics.
AFD finished with 20.8% (not 19.5%), about as the polls predicted, double their last election of about 10%https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/german ... m-6add2f58The most recent polling shows AfD is well positioned to make big gains and are expected to secure approximately 20% to 21% of the vote, placing them second to the center-right Christian
Even the lib BBC acknowledges as much.
Germany's conservatives celebrate, but far right enjoy record result
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgenlw94n3o.amp
Ultra far right’Sounds like normal conk policies.Strong opposition to illegal immigration and asylum policies.
Emphasis on preserving German cultural identity.
Reforming or leaving the EU altogether ("Dexit" has been debated within the party).
Opposition to green energy policies, favoring traditional energy sources like coal and nuclear power.
https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2025 ... y-n2185916
You mean this guy?kalm wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2025 9:15 pmTouche. I grabbed a quick one.BDKJMU wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2025 9:01 pm
Kalm post a FAKE NEWS tweet by some leftist who has no clue about German politics.
AFD finished with 20.8% (not 19.5%), about as the polls predicted, double their last election of about 10%
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/german ... m-6add2f58
Even the lib BBC acknowledges as much.
Germany's conservatives celebrate, but far right enjoy record result
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgenlw94n3o.amp
Ultra far right’
Sounds like normal conk policies.
https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2025 ... y-n2185916
Still the new Chancellor is anti Putin and anti MuskTrump. And that’s a good thing.
Heck, they might even be a majority... 
Meh. We’ll see.BDKJMU wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2025 9:26 pmYou mean this guy?
The red is the center left.
The black is the center right.
The blue is AFD.
And when the Center Right CDU/CSU doesn’t get anything done towards stopping mass migration and ramping up deportations because they refuse to work with the AFD because of some antiquated nonsense taboo, and migrant crime keeps running rampant, the AFD will continue to increase and have a bigger share in 2029.
Elon Musk attacked democracy defender and superstar court lawyer Marc Elias as “undermining civilization,” taunting him by asking if he suffered “generational trauma.”
Elias’s response was brilliant and worth amplifying:
Mr. Musk,
You recently criticized me and another prominent lawyer fighting for the rule of law and democracy in the United States. I am used to being attacked for my work, particularly on the platform you own and dominate.
I used to be a regular on Twitter, where I amassed over 900,000 followers — all organic except for the right-wing bots who seemed to grow in number. Like many others, I stopped regularly posting on the site because, under your stewardship, it became a hellscape of hate and misinformation.
I also used to buy your cars — first a Model X and then a Model S — back when you spoke optimistically about solving the climate crisis. My family no longer owns any of your cars and never will.
But this is not the reason I am writing. You don’t know me. You have no idea whether I have suffered trauma and if I have, how it has manifested. And it’s none of your business.
However, I will address your last point about generational trauma. I am Jewish, though many on your site simply call me “a jew.” Honestly, it’s often worse than that, but I’m sure you get the point. There was a time when Twitter would remove antisemitic posts, but under your leadership, tolerating the world’s oldest hatred now seems to be a permissible part of your “free speech” agenda.
Like many Jewish families, mine came to America because of trauma. They were fleeing persecution in the Pale of Settlement — the only area in the Russian Empire where Jews were legally allowed to reside. Even there, life was difficult — often traumatic. My family, like others, lived in a shtetl and was poor. Worse, pogroms were common — violent riots in which Jews were beaten, killed and expelled from their villages.
By the time my family fled, life in the Pale had become all but impossible for Jews. Tsar Nicholas II’s government spread anti-Jewish propaganda that encouraged Russians to attack and steal from Jews in their communities. My great-grandfather was fortunate to leave when he did. Those who stayed faced even worse circumstances when Hitler’s army later invaded.
That is the generational trauma I carry. The trauma of being treated as “other” by countrymen you once thought were your friends. The trauma of being scapegoated by authoritarian leaders. The trauma of fleeing while millions of others were systematically murdered. The trauma of watching powerful men treat it all as a joke — or worse.
As an immigrant yourself, you can no doubt sympathize with what it means to leave behind your country, extended family, friends and neighbors to come to the United States. Of course, you probably had more than 86 rubles in your pocket. You probably didn’t ride for nine days in the bottom of a ship or have your surname changed by immigration officials. Here is the ship manifest showing that my family did. Aron, age three, was my grandfather.
As new immigrants, life wasn’t easy. My family lived in cramped housing without hot water. They worked menial jobs — the kind immigrants still perform today.
Some may look down on those immigrants — the ones without fancy degrees — but my family was proud to work and grateful that the United States took them in. They found support within their Jewish community and a political home in the Democratic Party.
I became a lawyer to give back to the country that gave my family a chance. I specialize in representing Democratic campaigns because I believe in the party. I litigate voting rights cases because the right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy. I speak out about free and fair elections because they are under threat.
Now let me address the real crux of your post.
You are very rich and very powerful. You have thrown in with Donald Trump. Whether it is because you think you can control him or because you share his authoritarian vision, I do not know. I do not care.
Together, you and he are dismantling our government, undermining the rule of law and harming the most vulnerable in our society. I am just a lawyer. I do not have your wealth or your platform. I do not control the vast power of the federal government, nor do I have millions of adherents at my disposal to harass and intimidate my opponents. I may even carry generational trauma.
But you need to know this about me. I am the great-grandson of a man who led his family out of the shtetl to a strange land in search of a better life. I am the grandson of the three-year-old boy on that journey. As you know, my English name is Marc, but my Hebrew name is Elhanan (אֶלְחָנָן) — after the great warrior in David’s army who slew a powerful giant.
I will use every tool at my disposal to protect this country from Trump. I will litigate to defend voting rights until there are no cases left to bring. I will speak out against authoritarianism until my last breath.
I will not back down. I will not bow or scrape. I will never obey.
Defiantly,
Marc Elias
This guy?kalm wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2025 6:23 amMeh. We’ll see.BDKJMU wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2025 9:26 pm
You mean this guy?
And when the Center Right CDU/CSU doesn’t get anything done towards stopping mass migration and ramping up deportations because they refuse to work with the AFD because of some antiquated nonsense taboo, and migrant crime keeps running rampant, the AFD will continue to increase and have a bigger share in 2029.
Former Republicans in the U.S. think there is no true Conservative Party remaining.
This guy seems more like a John Bolton type. Conservative but also recognizes the threat from the Putin - Trump - Musk - Orban axis and neo-fascism.
We allied with Russia in WWII
Non-fascist European conservatives tend to be politically closer to our Dems. Not great but less of a threat to democracy.
Seems like an old school conservative. Someone that trump and MAQA yahoos would call a RINO.In a televised roundtable later Sunday evening, Merz also criticized US “intervention” in the German election campaign in recent days. “The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we have seen from Moscow,” he said. “We are under such massive pressure from two sides that my top priority is to create unity in Europe.”
He continued, “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.”
“I would never have believed that I would have to say something like that on television. But at the very least, after Donald Trump’s statements last week, it is clear that the Americans - at least this part of the Americans in this administration - are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe,” he said.
You mean the CDU/CSU? True.kalm wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2025 6:23 amMeh. We’ll see.BDKJMU wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2025 9:26 pm
You mean this guy?
The red is the center left.
The black is the center right.
The blue is AFD.
And when the Center Right CDU/CSU doesn’t get anything done towards stopping mass migration and ramping up deportations because they refuse to work with the AFD because of some antiquated nonsense taboo, and migrant crime keeps running rampant, the AFD will continue to increase and have a bigger share in 2029.
Former Republicans in the U.S. think there is no true Conservative Party remaining.
This guy seems more like a John Bolton type. Conservative but also recognizes the threat from the Putin - Trump - Musk - Orban axis and neo-fascism.
We allied with Russia in WWII
Non-fascist European conservatives tend to be politically closer to our Dems. Not great but less of a threat to democracy.
None of that will matter if he doesn‘t stop the mass migration/balkanization of Germany which he has given lip service to so far. And the getting away from the economy killing Green energy, which has left them reliant on Russia. And the Orwellian clamp down on freedom speech.UNI88 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2025 11:09 amThis guy?kalm wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2025 6:23 am
Meh. We’ll see.
Former Republicans in the U.S. think there is no true Conservative Party remaining.
This guy seems more like a John Bolton type. Conservative but also recognizes the threat from the Putin - Trump - Musk - Orban axis and neo-fascism.
We allied with Russia in WWII
Non-fascist European conservatives tend to be politically closer to our Dems. Not great but less of a threat to democracy.
Merz warns Europe should seek ‘independence’ from US
Seems like an old school conservative. Someone that trump and MAQA yahoos would call a RINO.In a televised roundtable later Sunday evening, Merz also criticized US “intervention” in the German election campaign in recent days. “The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we have seen from Moscow,” he said. “We are under such massive pressure from two sides that my top priority is to create unity in Europe.”
He continued, “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.”
“I would never have believed that I would have to say something like that on television. But at the very least, after Donald Trump’s statements last week, it is clear that the Americans - at least this part of the Americans in this administration - are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe,” he said.
If he follows through, we could see a Europe that spends more on it's own defense, is less reliant on the US, steps up to replace any support for Ukraine that the US pulls and stands up to threats of aggression from russia (Ukraine) or the US (Greenland). That would be bad news for putin and trump.
There was, of course, a time when government officials at least tried to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest, but don't you worry. Musk has also been put in charge of self-monitoring any conflicts of interest, and you know he wouldn't abuse people's trust in any way. Hypocrisy? He would never. This is a man who you can trust when he says Verizon's system doesn't work. It's not like he took loyalists from SpaceX and installed them in the FAA or anything like that. Thankfully, it's nothing like that at all because that would be bad. Could you imagine the scandal if it was true, though?
