US Politics-2022

[Jamie in Chile]

Musk tweeted about " becoming Republican" on the 18th. The story about paying off the flight attendant became public on the 19th. Business Insider had reached out to Musk, and he had responded to them, before the story broke. So yeah, he was definitely trying to get in front of the story when he tweeted about "becoming Republican" and to expect "political attacks."

I have now found some further detail/source behind your comment.

On May 19th, John Cook, one of the journalists behind the story (although not the person named as the lead author) put on the record that "we reached out to the principals for comment regarding this story at ~9 a.m. eastern yesterday (Wednesday May 18)." Musk´s tweet came hours after that. This one: "In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold".

More detail here: It Sure Sounds Like Elon Musk Decided to Become a Republican After Finding Out a Story About Him Allegedly Exposing Himself to a Flight Attendant Was Going Public
However if you´ve already read the original Business Insider story, then there is little new info in it.

Musk has not, after some days, denied that he knew that the story was coming when he tweeted the above. As far as I know, he hasn´t, in other words, disagreed with the statement that he was reached out to at 9am Eastern on 18th May.

I still think Musk voting Republican was on the cards anyway and is likely genuine.

But "now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold" is, while not explicitly a lie, effectively very misleading since he probably was deliberately trying to create the false impression that the tweet led to the story, rather than the truth that the story led to the tweet.

By the way, another problem with Musk´s spin is that it requires you to believe that people responded to his tweet by publishing a story the next day. Unlikely that a story like this, which requires due diligence, would be put together in that timescale.

You could argue Musk is an idiot if he thought this would work....

On the other hand, this is an almost Trumpian like play book where the obvious deception can be seen through by journalists, twitterati, and any smart person with time on their hands to look into and think about it. However it´s quite possible that most people will actually be left with the false impression that Musk´s declaration of an intent to vote Republican really did lead to politically motivated attacks against him.

 

[beancounter]

Then why do you want to steal his hard earned money?

So much straw, so little time....

 

[anarchist100]

So much straw, so little time....

So you don't want to tax billionaires?

 

[beancounter]

So you don't want to tax billionaires?

I don't think you're familiar with the phrase "grasping at straws"...

 

[anarchist100]

I don't think you're familiar with the phrase "grasping at straws"...

Do you want to tax billionaires, yes or no?

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Looks like some Trump backed candidates have been losing in Republican primaries
This has got to be good news I think

Trump-backed candidates lose but Trumpism wins in US primaries

Georgia losses add to losing record for Trump’s candidates, but his hard-right politics is winning among Republicans.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[beancounter]

The biggest problem with Democrats is that they still assume that Republicans' have some baseline standards or morality.

They don't. They are nothing but scorched earth nihilist, and we should respond to them as such.

 

[Lou]

Looks like some Trump backed candidates have been losing in Republican primaries
This has got to be good news I think

Trump-backed candidates lose but Trumpism wins in US primaries

Georgia losses add to losing record for Trump’s candidates, but his hard-right politics is winning among Republicans.

www.aljazeera.com

Yeah, but not in Pennsylvania.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Rebecca Solnit, of Men Explain Things to Me fame, is worth reading

Latest:

US mass shootings will continue until the majority can overrule the minority | Rebecca Solnit

Guns symbolize the power of a minority over the majority, and they’ve become the icons of a party that has become a cult seeking minority power

www.theguardian.com

It seems that on a lot of issues, from abortion to guns to climate change on others, Republicans are the block to the wishes of the majority

 

[anarchist100]

Rebecca Solnit, of Men Explain Things to Me fame, is worth reading

Latest:

US mass shootings will continue until the majority can overrule the minority | Rebecca Solnit

Guns symbolize the power of a minority over the majority, and they’ve become the icons of a party that has become a cult seeking minority power

www.theguardian.com

It seems that on a lot of issues, from abortion to guns to climate change on others, Republicans are the block to the wishes of the majority

The wishes of the majority should be undermined if the majority is wrong.

 

[anarchist100]

Rebecca Solnit, of Men Explain Things to Me fame, is worth reading

Latest:

US mass shootings will continue until the majority can overrule the minority | Rebecca Solnit

Guns symbolize the power of a minority over the majority, and they’ve become the icons of a party that has become a cult seeking minority power

www.theguardian.com

It seems that on a lot of issues, from abortion to guns to climate change on others, Republicans are the block to the wishes of the majority

If those parents had guns, they wouldn't have had to rely on the cops, and their children wouldn't have been killed, you want to make us all dependent of the cops for protection, that is a bad idea. It's a moot point anyway, people can just 3D print guns and bullets now, so it won't really matter.

 

[anarchist100]

If only that Rittenhouse fellow had been there with his AR-15, it would have gone much better.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

The wishes of the majority should be undermined if the majority is wrong.

Yeah, but the problem is who judges that.

One option I thought of is to have public referendums with three options - it would say

Do you vote in favour of proposition X

and you choose

Yes
No
Expert council

If you choose "expert council" then your vote will go to whatever some council of experts decide.

The "expert council" decision could be announced after the polls close but before much progress has been made counting.

The "expert council" would be a panel of experts negotiated and agreed upon by both the Prime Minister/President and the leader of the second largest political party. If they cannot agree the specifics and make a written deal by a certain date, you go back to a yes/no vote.

It's unclear how well this would play out, since there would inevitably be all sorts of arguments about who should be on the expert panel and various details about it to be decided, but it might be worth a try.

 

[David3]

The biggest problem with Democrats is that they still assume that Republicans' have some baseline standards or morality.

They don't. They are nothing but scorched earth nihilist, and we should respond to them as such.

.
You are de-humanizing other people, based on their political affilitation.
.

 

[Lou]

.
You are de-humanizing other people, based on their political affilitation.
.

In defense of BeanCounter, I think he was referring to the Senators and Congressman, not necessarily their constituents.
And although its a very broad criticism, its not totally unfair. Especially since the Republicans in the senate seem to vote all alike.

 

[beancounter]

.
You are de-humanizing other people, based on their political affiliation.
.

How? Scorched earth nihilists are still human.

 

[David3]

How? Scorched earth nihilists are still human.

.
Ay caramba

 

[beancounter]

.
Ay caramba

Bart Simpson isn't human....

 

[Lou]

A while back I learned a new word: Tragicomic. it means being sad and funny at the same time. I've been looking forward to using it IRL

sometimes I say, "this would be funny if it wasn't true". But I never say this would be sad if it wasn't true - but that is also implied. . Now I can just say this is tragicomic.

Anyway, when I read this story this morning I immediately realized it was tragicomic.

BTW, do regular people in Georgia call a Petri dish a Peach Tree dish. Or just the really stupid ones?

“They want to know if you’re eating a cheeseburger, which is very bad because Bill Gates wants you to eat his fake meat, which grows in a peach tree dish,” Greene said. “So you’ll probably get a little zap inside your body that’s saying, ‘No no don’t eat a real cheeseburger; you need to eat the fake burger.’ The fake meat from Bill Gates. They probably also want to know when you go to the bathroom and if your bowel movements are on time or consistent.”​

Marjorie Taylor Greene Says Bill Gates Will Force You to Eat Burgers Made in a ‘Peach Tree Dish’

The Georgia rep just won her primary and has launched a new show on Facebook Live where she communicates her theories directly to the public.

www.vice.com

 

[anarchist100]

Pitter Patter, let tyrants splatter, their bones will shatter, no kings no masters.