«Mr. Levitsky, the Harvard professor, said he had some hope. The United States, he said, has a “wealthy and diverse opposition,” and rather than outright authoritarianism, there could be “a slow and gradual slide into a gray area.”»
Lovely.
«In response to that post, some of Musk’s followers on X said the judge should be arrested for treason or deported. One suggested “US patriots fire upon him.” Some assailed his Muslim heritage and questioned his patriotism, including one who falsely asserted Ali had ties to Muslim militant groups.
After an earlier February ruling by Ali in the same case, an X user called for him to be beheaded. Another questioned “why so few judges are hanged.” One posted a picture of a noose.»
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/judges-face-rise-threats-musk-blasts-them-over-rulings-2025-03-05/
This. This is when law enforcement needs to get IP addresses and pay people visits, even if it’s in the middle of the night.
Regardless of whether Musk reposts stuff like this and manages to get away with it, these folks need to be squashed like bugs (by which I mean the full force of the law should be brought to bear on them, to be clear).
«Conservatives have been targeting the Education Department since it was established in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and Congress.»
And there you go. Anything that helps the marginalized (i.e., anybody but mainstream white folks, the wealthier, the better, basically) has got to go.
To be “conservative” in America is basically to be something else, uglier than “conservative.” To always want to go backwards is to want to return to an older era of… what? What is it when non-white people know their place and white people have the freedom to do pretty much do whatever they want so long as they respect the rights of other white people? There must be a word, or a short phrase for that, but it’s not coming to me right now.
One other point: I don’t believe President Carter established the Dept. of Education. *Congress* did that, during the Carter administration. Maybe by enacting a law *proposed* by President Carter, and *administered* by President Carter. Maybe enhanced by other laws under other administrations. No President gets to tear down what Congress has enacted unless Congress enacts other laws to that effect. Republicans control Congress now, so it shouldn’t be too hard.
Misleading headline on the story, but…
«Suzanne Summerlin, a labor attorney, summed things up: “These firings they’re conducting without following the law will result in hundreds of thousands of former federal employees being owed back pay, plus interest, plus benefits, plus attorney fees,” she said. “When the bill comes it will be monumental.”»
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/03/techscape-elon-musk-skype
Good job, Elmo.
«“Shannon Liss-Riordan, a lawyer representing former [Twitter] employees in arbitrations, wrote in the memo that the 20 cases she’s won so far have cost the company at least twice the amount of contested severance pay because the awards have also included interest, arbitration expenses and legal fees. She’s representing more than 2,000 former employees in legal fights against Musk.”»
Brilliant! “Cost-cutting,” right.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/03/04/house-democrats-shutdown-doge-00205584
«Democrats want Republicans to put some policy handcuffs on Musk, something Republicans are firmly rejecting. House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole called it “a non-starter and battle they lost to the American people” on Monday.»
You’re right, Mr. Cole. You do have two more votes than the Dems. So you should be able to pass a budget *without a single Democratic vote* then. Go ahead.
«Some senior House Democrats believe the impacts of the DOGE cuts have already created a shutdown of sorts»
Right, so an actual shutdown shouldn’t be that much of a change, right? Plus, people can experience what not having a government would feel like.
Count me as in support of a govt shutdown if the Republicans refuse to reign in Musk/DOGE.
Honestly, at what point do we have billionaires picking up the phone and giving their pet Senators enough shit that something happens? How inside-out does the economy have to be?
Or do they not even care so long as there’s something they can loot? Are they all multi-national (even the ones we haven’t heard of), so they can just up stakes and move to… Singapore?
Update:
Not yet, I guess. ☹️
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/opinion/trump-wall-street-biden-big-business.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1E4.YFzj.WU_zWmDl1uKc&smid=url-share
«But many, maybe even most, of the people I’m talking to in private are still quietly cheering his move-fast-and-break-things approach — even if they are starting to feel doubts about specific issues, particularly Ukraine and tariffs.»
Pretty sure this is going to be where we discover that the wisdom of the markets and free enterprise ain’t all that.
«“That last part is true, technically,” Pin-Lee said. “You fit the legal definition of a refugee.”
“It’s very dramatic,” Ratthi added. “The crew think you’re a special security agent who betrayed the company to save us.”
It was very dramatic, like something out of a historical adventure serial. Also correct in every aspect except for all the facts, like something out of a historical adventure serial.»
«Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.
…
I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.»
https://www.awakin.org/v2/read/view.php?tid=2195&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Title says it. I “subscribed”.
Here, Read This 