Do you remember the scene in the movie adaptation of Orwell’s 1984 in which the main character – Winston Smith – attends a party rally at which the party orator is railing against the official enemy of the moment (I think it was Eurasia) and then, without skipping a beat, changes the focus of his rant to the new official enemy (Eastasia) after another party apparatchik whispers in his ear?
That was, of course, fiction. But is it not similar to our reality?
Only two years ago, Elon Musk was the darling of the Left. His electric car grift was practically ennobled. The Right despised him – and his electric car grift. Now – as if on cue – it’s all reversed. Elon Musk is reviled by the Left. Leftists have stopped buying his devices and rail against him for buying Twitter, which they also used to love – especially when it suppressed the truth by styling it “misinformation.” And now the Right loves him – and pretends he’s not a grifter.
He’s an innovator!
And how about speaker?
Not kidding.
Rand Paul thinks it’s a fine idea.
“The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress, ” he said the other day. “Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk . . . think about it . . . nothing’s impossible . . .not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka uniparty, lose their ever-lovin’ minds.”
Well, how about Rand’s?
The son of Ron Paul is not a stupid man. He is a medical doctor – though of course, so is Dr. Fauci and that “mask” lover Trump selected to be the next surgeon general. But smart people are not always right people. And – sometimes – they do not have good memories.
The more worrisome thing is whether Rand Paul has lost his principles.
Musk is a grifter. He is a billionaire chiefly on account of the inflow of billions of dollars’ worth of “carbon credits” that other car companies were placed in the position of having to purchase from him in order to get credit for not manufacturing devices (electric cars) which the federal government effectively required them to manufacture, via regulations requiring the manufacture of (cough) “zero emissions” devices. Only electric vehicles qualify. The other car companies could manufacture their own devices – or buy credit from Elon (technically, Tesla) that was considered equivalent to having manufactured them.
In this way, Elon built Tesla at the expense – literally – of his rivals. It was and remains an epic grift. It is why, by the way, Dodge stopped manufacturing the Charger and Challenger and also stopped offering V8s in almost all of its models. The cars people on the Right love that those on the Left loathe.
Stellantis – the corporation that owns the Dodge and Chrysler and Jeep and Ram truck brands – was hemorrhaging billions annually in “carbon credit” payments to Elon Musk (Tesla) to atone for the green sin of manufacturing cars like the Charger and Challenger as well as the V8 engines that made so many other Ram, Jeep ad Chrysler models desirable to people who are not on the Left.
The cost of paying for all these “credits” – to appease the feds – was making the cars unaffordable, resulting in them not selling. At the same time, Stellantis was being bled white just to be able to offer them. That’s why the now-ex CEO of Stellantis cut bait – and pulled the Charger and Challenger out of production – along with the V8 engine – and “committed” the Dodge brand to manufacturing “zero emissions” devices instead. Stellantis won’t have to buy credits from Elon Musk anymore. But it probably won’t be able to sell devices, either – because people who buy Dodges and Rams and Jeeps don’t want to drive devices.
This is what Musk’s EV grift has bought. It is arguably why the cost of the average new car is up $15,000 over the past four years to a record high of nearly $50,000. It is arguably why the cost of car insurance has increased ballistically, too. Even if you didn’t buy a device, the costs incurred by devices are being offloaded on everyone.
Elon’s latest grift is to hide the crashing of his devices. He reportedly wants incoming president Trump to suppress reporting of cases of self-driving cars crashing into things – because it doesn’t make his self-driving devices look so good. You can read more about that here.
This is the man the Right now loves. Never mind the grift. Perhaps because of how much he paid (reportedly, a quarter-of-a-billion dollars toward the election of Donald Trump).
Hair Plugged Man Good!
Just like that.
It is – as Mr. Spock used to say – fascinating.
. . .
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It all goes back to the Watergate adage of “follow the money”. Elon is an ace at following – and getting – whatever money he can scam from anywhere. If the WEF proposes a ‘carbon’ tax to help the cliiiiimate Eloon will be right there to help implement it and see that most of the money ends up in his pocket. He reminds me of Matt Taibi’s description of Goldman Sachs, the vampire sqid sticks its blood funnel anywhere it smells money.
Lots of those who claim to love liberty can’t help themselves from riding the Musk Meat, huh?
Defending him taking advantage of the carbon credit scam is the same excuse CopSuckers hide behind with the “the police don’t make the laws, so if you don’t like it, vote out the lawmakers. We can’t blame them for being exempt of gun control laws and getting Cadillac pensions for life after retiring at age 43.”
Let’s not forget that he sued the founders of Tesla so that he could pretend to have founded the company.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/tesla-ceo-settles-for-founder-title/2088887/
This Flim Flam Man needs to go the planet of Mars that he claims to love so much – and stay there.
[The more worrisome thing is whether Rand Paul has lost his principles.]
Can’t believe the word “principle” appears in any article speaking of corpgov or the criminals that run it. That goes for Ronboy Paul as well. He talks the talk but rarely walks the walk. He provides the fakery that there was a two party system. Rand, though not as forceful, provides the same pretext.
Obviously with the millions ‘donated’ out to the con-gress critters, it’s a fair assumption the selected will be working for the Donators and not the People. That is just how it is!
Elons millions will likely get the agency he is supposed to oversee reduce the number of Tesla fire reports and Mirium will likely get her war on Iran.
That’s fair, Ken –
Still, Rand seemed to me at least not evil. I suppose that’s a measure of how far we’ve fallen.
Musk and Trump ennui has arrived. Fuck them!
What a stupid bromance going on there!
War ennui has been here for about two years now. Fuck fucking war! Fuck the warmongers and the dead horse they rode in on. Fuck ’em!
That means you too, Victoria. Fuck you too, Bibi. Freaking girly man that you are.
Talk about grifting, the nascent origins are in full view.
Poor girl wants to marry, rich girl wants to flirt
Rich man goes to college, poor man goes to work
Me, I don’t want much of nuthin’ at all
But I will take another toke…
I ain’t askin’ nobody for nothin’
If I can’t get it on my own
You don’t like the way I’m livin’
Just leave this long haired country boy alone – Charlie Daniels, Long haired Country Boy
Raider Girl is on fire this morning and not backing down – love it!
Thanks, BID. RG is also going through an audit right now. So I may be a bit hyped up.
It’s astounding to me how many conservatives love Elon Musk after he purchased Twitter in 2022, pledging to make it a free speech platform, & then decided to support Trump in 2024. IIRC, Musk hired some WEF goon to be Twitter’s (now X) CEO.
Musk may say the right things at times, but he’s still pushing some of the things that technocrats want to foist on the masses, such as carbon taxes and implanting chips into human’s brains. Will conservatives fall for other things being pushed by technocracy, such as digital ID or CBDCs? That remains to be seen.
Hi John,
Yup!
Musk “pledged” to make Twitter a free speech platform. It isn’t. It is pay to post (or at least, be seen) and only if you “stand” with Israel.
Hi Eric,
I’ve never had a Twitter account, and even after Elon Musk purchased Twitter & renamed it “X”, I wasn’t one of those people who rushed out to open a Twitter/ X account, and I likely never will open an account with them. Patrick Wood, who has been writing on technocracy & warning people about that ideology for years, posts articles about their sinister agenda on his technocracy.news page. He’s even posted articles on Elon Musk, and based on that, I find Musk to be an enigma who shouldn’t blindly be trusted, as that could be as foolish as people who blindly trusted Tony Fauci because “Orange Man Baaaaaaaaaaaad!”.
Not reporting “self driving” accidents is like not reporting “vaxx” related deaths and side effects. It encourages people to act in ways counter to their best interests.
We’ve been lied to for so long that even if the truth came up and slapped us in the face we wouldn’t recognize it anymore.
“You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” ― Donald Rumsfeld
Musk and Trump have identified the problem. If the first Trump administration was any indication he’ll just continue to talk, the media will twist the hell out of everything he says, and it will just be another reality TV show. COVFEFE!
It’s all talk anyway. Nothing substantive will change. The government has spent the last 100 years trying to please all the people all the time, so odds are there’s something in the budget you’d not want to see ended. One man’s overreach is another man’s supper. Even the supposed low hanging fruit won’t go away without a fight.
I very clearly remember when the Berlin Wall fell. I thought that we’d stand down our standing army, dissolve the CIA and generally go back to our traditional (19th century) stance of staying out of Europe’s problems. What can I say, I was a wet behind the ears college kid. Fool me once, mee-ma-moo won’t be fooled again…
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi got millions in COVID bailouts for her never-profitable luxury resort. Everyone in DC is a grifter.
Musk is a grifter, no doubt, but I can’t fault him for playing the game under the rules established by those who make the laws. Or just as much, those who allow regulations to take the place of their duty to pass laws.
I disagree with his use/abuse of those laws, but as RG wrote here, did the automakers suffering now go along, or support, these rules? If so, that goes into the reap what you sow category.
Markets work. When big daddy tries to foist a false choice upon the customer, the customer answers by not playing along.
If this throws a wrench into the plans of the auto makers of constant leasing of cars or their add on services, I won’t be crying them a river.
The American economy is an Italian fascist system. From Cool Hand Luke, this is the way he wants it, well he gets it. US auto makers have travelled hand in hand with the regulators and rule makers. This is the system they created. They just lacked the foresight that the guy from Paypal would show up and get dealt in.
As for Musk being a darling of the “right”. This has to do with their shared messaging about censorship and massive debt. You can find common ground with your enemies.
Rand Paul – I suppose he was trolling to explode the head of the libs.
Right on Dan!
I’ll add: “The more worrisome thing is whether Rand Paul has lost his principles”
I’m not sure he ever had principles. Rand isn’t Ron. . . Not even close.
“The culture has degraded such that seeking and/or holding office, especially national-level office, is, in and of itself, proof that a given person is psychologically and morally unfit to hold public office.” – author unknown
“Rand Paul – I suppose he was trolling to explode the head of the libs.”
I certainly hope so. You’d think Rand Paul wouldn’t have to look very far to find a suitable Speaker.
“The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress.” — Dr Rand Paul
This is merely a House rule, not a federal statute, much less the Constitution. By contrast, here’s an excerpt from our ‘precious’ Bill of Rights (Amendment V):
“No person shall be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.”
Now process this:
‘Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Thursday leveled four charges against the suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, including a count of murder that could bring the death penalty.
“The federal government’s reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns,” Luigi Mangione’s attorney said. — NYT
This is usurper ‘attorney general’ Merrick Beria Garland [not his real name], taking his last lick at demolishing the rule of law. His mentor and namesake, Lavrentiy Beria, would be proud. ‘Show me the man, I’ll show you the crime.’
Rule of law in America’s little west Asian apartheid colony:
‘Mainstream seem to have largely stopped to report about Gaza. But the Zionist genocide of the people in Gaza continues. Haaretz continues to document how the Zionist forces on the ground do it:
‘No Civilians. Everyone’s a Terrorist’: IDF Soldiers Expose Arbitrary Killings and Rampant Lawlessness in Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor – (archived) – Haaretz
‘Of 200 bodies, only 10 were confirmed as Hamas members’: IDF soldiers who served in Gaza tell Haaretz that anyone who crosses an imaginary line in the contested Neztarim corridor is shot to death, with every Palestinian casualty counting as a terrorist – even if they were just a child.’
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/12/new-reports-on-gaza.html#more
‘Speaker’ Mike ‘Judas’ Johnson thought it appropriate to desecrate the people’s House last July 24 by inviting the odious mass murderer Netanyahu to perform before his clapping trained seals. Now Mikey’s job is on the line. Traitor begone.
Oh, dear. Let me know sure I understand this. Dodge is going to go bankrupt because of Elon? It is Elon’s fault that Stellantis took the V8 out of the Charger and Challenger? Poor, Dodge. I guess it is like how every one of us here decided to don mask and roll up our sleeves because our employers and government told us do. Oops, well that comparison is no good, because we didn’t.
Why didn’t we do that? Because we have principles. See the difference? A large global conglomerate can’t stand up to Uncle Sam, or apparently Elon, but a couple hundred individuals on an auto forum can.
We keep saying Musk is a grifter. Who did he deceive? I am not a fan of Tesla. I will never buy one, but it doesn’t seem Elon is the con man as much as the government saw an idea that would gain them the control they wanted and backed it. Elon saw a way to make money. The government saw a way to push their narrative. Does anyone really think one guy completely changed the direction of automobiles? If yes, then the rest of us need to stop bitching and start working. If one guy can make a difference then what is our excuse?
Let’s be honest we don’t like Elon because his views are different than our own. I bet if his views were to change and he started manufacturing V8 and V12 engines our opinion would probably change.
As I have stated 100x before. The incoming Administration are moderate Democrats. They are not Libertarians, Conservatives, or even, Republicans (whatever that means in this day and age). The only thing any of us can hope for is for Trump and Company remove the final layer of skin so we can really see how the sausage is made. They will do that. If we can get lucky the system will collapse onto itself.
Hi RG,
Elon has profited hugely from the Green Grift. Specifically, from the “zero emissions” mandates that effectively forced other businesses to buy “carbon credits” from him or malinvest in battery powered devices they cannot sell at a profit. Tesla does not sell cars. It sells carbon credits. The stock value of Tesla is founded upon the assumption that the government will continue to push devices – and push cars off the road. In other words, that a “market” will be created for devices.
That is an example of a grift.
You write: “Does anyone really think one guy completely changed the direction of automobiles?”
Yes, he did. He made devices seem “cool” – because look how ludicrously fast they are! Look how “tech” they are! This helped the pushing of devices generally. So now – thanks to Elon – devices are focused on quickness and tech – which has made them very expensive. Which has made them unaffordable.
“If one guy can make a difference then what is our excuse?”
My excuse is I don’t have billions of dollars to buy political favors – not that I would if I did.
A buddy of mine and I have the skills to build a basic, low-cost car. But if we were to build more than a handful of them, we’d be shut down because what we build would not be “safe” and “clean.”
Much less “green.”
And we’d do it without government subsidies – or government mandates.
PS: The Hair Plugged Man is regarded now as some kind of Free Speech maven. Nothing could be further from the truth. Twitter continues to censor and “timeout room” posts that are Wrongthinkful (even if true). And he has the audacity to demand that people pay to provide him with content, to boot!
Pushed by whom? Elon didn’t do this on his own. Where were the rebels? The fighters? Dodge, Ford, and GM played along. They had the power to stop this in its tracks from the beginning. They didn’t. I have zero sympathy for those who played along to get along. Stupid rules, laws, and regulations are made throughout this country on a daily basis. Principled people and companies choose to fight them…not line up for them. If the auto companies fail because they refused to speak up on this “grift” just shows the rest of us then they really weren’t against it.
Hi RG,
I do not defend the poltroonery of Stellantis – or the industry in general. But that does not mean Musk isn’t a grifter who used the regulatory apparat to make money. He’s a rent-seeking grifter.
By the way: Do you know he favors taxing “carbon”? And whom do you suppose would profit from that?
The government.
I agree, RG –
And: Principled people do not exploit government regs to fleece others, either.
They shouldn’t, but there are a handful on here who would say I aid Uncle Sam by collecting taxes on the IRS’s behalf. Of course, do I think that? No, I view it as helping people to pay less in taxes to the US Treasury, but not everyone sees it that way.
Life is not simply black and white, but a whole lot of gray. What one considers principled is someone else’s idea of unethical.
I agree, RG –
But Musk irritates me because he does more than just deal with the regs – as in finding ways for legitimate businesses to limit the damage done by them and to go about their legitimate business. Tesla is a 100 percent illegitimate business. There is no “market” for what he sells. He makes money by selling credits – and via the artificially inflated stock value of his company, which is based on expectations of government mandates. Take away the carbon credits scam, the mandates/regs and the subsidies and there would be no Tesla. EVs would be what they were before of all of these things – nonexistent. Because they are an inferior way to get from A to B vs. a car. And they cost more!
Add to this the effronterous bullshit about “free speech.” Now, if he were honest and said something like: X is a service we offer for people who wish to pay. Those who do not wish to should know their material will be hidden from view by our algorithm. Also, we exercise editorial judgment over what we permit to be seen on our platform.
Then, ok.
But he doesn’t – so it isn’t.
In this country, personal income tax accounting, in particular, is not simply a matter of defending from or minimizing clients’ tax obligations. Around 51% of people (per Mittens hot mic comment in 2012) don’t pay taxes at all and, in fact, receive monies in excess of any tax obligations via refundable tax credits. Many accountants, including the big corporate outfits, make their rips on the extreme volume of such situations. Any licensed accountant is an agent of this system and it is likely that publicly speaking out against taxation generally, or refundable tax credits specifically, is grounds for “discipline” up to and including loss of license.
The same “defensive” myth, promoted by countless TeeVee shows over the decades, portrays lawyers as defenders of the citizens against the gov’t. In most but perhaps not all cases, nothing could be further from the truth. Lawyers are specifically referred to as “officers” of the court. They are the “system.” I know for a fact that a licensed attorney publicly espousing views contrary to the gov’t’s interests can be grounds for discipline up to and including disbarment.
You’re not allowed to be the “system” and not be the “system.”
“Any licensed accountant is an agent of this system and it is likely that publicly speaking out against taxation generally, or refundable tax credits specifically, is grounds for “discipline” up to and including loss of license.”
You mean like being audited by the state? Like I was this morning.
Can I understand your thinking, Funk? Absolutely. I can even agree with a it…a little. But, if those that work within the system refuse to address the issues of the system then nothing gets resolved.
My clientele are small businesses, very rarely individuals, because my hands are pretty tied in trying to save tax liability on a W2 and some itemized deductions. Businesses have a little bit more leeway when it comes to creative accounting and the options available. I realize that isn’t going to change your mind, but I do try to assist where I can, because I am a small business owner, too. Uncle Sam is my competitor not my teammate.
Didja see this one from today?
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/tax-preparer-magician-pleads-guilty-defrauding-irs-145-million
Wild story. Shows you the magnitude of the refund game, especially when a priest of the system goes “rogue”, at least according to it. The system is now probably disturbed and going crazy looking for “insider threats.”
How dare he try to reduce the amount of theft the government perpetrates on his clients! To me, he’s a hero.
>I know for a fact that a licensed attorney publicly espousing views contrary to the gov’t’s interests can be grounds for discipline
Don’t know anything about attorneys, but I do know of my own personal experience that expressing views contrary to government “orthodoxy” will get you kicked off a jury. Happened to me.
“Stupid rules, laws, and regulations are made throughout this country on a daily basis. Principled people and companies choose to fight them”
Speaking as an individual, I much prefer the principled libertarian approach of disregarding bad laws. Go about your business. Do as you will and let them find you (they probably won’t because incompetence) and force them to take the next step (threats of violence, because that’s all they have).
Fighting them will certainly expose you and allow them to single you out and destroy you. When they do this, nobody will come to fight with you because they also do not wish to be singled out and share your fate.
There is always the miniscule chance that you can fight and win, like the fishermen who dismantled “Chevron deference”. Miniscule.
Hi Philo,
If we can avoid them or outrun them I am all for it, but there are times that a fight must take place. An example, the BOI requirements that the US Treasury is trying to enforce on every small business owner in this country. There is no outrunning this or disregarding it. The “crime” is punishable with a penalty of $10K and jail time. This is a red line. There are too many links in the system to evade this starting from the banks to the state secretary’s that hold the renewal of the business licensing and name renewal of the organization. This information will be reported back to big Gov.
If we try to ignore it, it won’t stop at small business, but sole propertiorships and then individuals. Sometimes a torch and pitchfork are needed to get our point across, otherwise, we will find ourselves with zero liberty and zero privacy.
You are right they will come after us, but I much rather be shot standing than groveling on my knees.
“You are right they will come after us, but I much rather be shot standing than groveling on my knees.”
We are in agreement on the final step.
“The incoming Administration are moderate Democrats. They are not Libertarians, Conservatives, or even, Republicans”
Totally agree. I’ve had conversations about this topic. Republicans are 80s/90s democrats.
Democrats are circus freaks and socialists.
Conservatives no longer exist in government, outside a few Massie types.