MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2025
We now have the obvious answer: Over the course of the past several weeks, we've been asking the world's most obvious question:
Is it possible that something is "wrong" with Elon Musk?
We now have the world's most obvious answer. For Alex Griffing's report, you can just click here. (Though you won't to move past the headline.)
We now have the world's most obvious answer. Only one question remains:
Do our high-end journalists have the language which will let them report and discuss this new fact?
Presumably, more on this tomorrow.
Musk is now pretending he has a problem with lying?
ReplyDeleteTruly, these fascists have no shame.
Do you think David in Cal will come to regret pretending to care about inflation, in order to vote for a fascist to be President of the United States?
ReplyDeleteLet's hope so.
DiC is, sadly, an example of the Trump cultist who will believe whatever Donald tells him to.
Delete@4:17 - I don’t regret cutting massive amounts of wasteful government spending and bringing peace to the Middle East and Ukraine. YMMV
DeleteThere’s peace in the Ukraine? Well stop the presses, DiC! Do Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people know yet?
DeleteAnd, hell, life is a fucking zero-sum game, is it DiC? Let millions of children starve, but hey, the Palestinians may be forced from Gaza and the Ukrainians forced to hand territory to Putin and never join NATO, all so you can call Trump a “peacemaker”.
DeleteDavid in Cal has been calling on Israel to stop sucking on the USA's teat, since Somerby opened this joint.
DeletePay close attention to how Dickhead in Cal completely deflected and diverted the question about inflation.
DeleteDavid was exaggerating, when he said he cared more about inflation than he did about keeping minorities down.
DeleteHave you never exaggerated (to support the fascist takeover of the United States of America), 6:08?
The strange thing about attacking Trump on the issue of inflation, as @4:17 did, is that we don't yet know how Trump's policies will affect inflation.
DeleteDiC,
Deletebig surprise: you completely missed 4:17's point. They took a swipe at you for pretending to care about inflation as a cover for voting for Trump.
It had nothing to do with Trump's inflation policies.
You understood it the way that was best for your psyche.
Has DiC talked about the greatest fraud of all: 150 year-olds collecting social security benefits?
DeleteI responded in another thread. I said, serious, but unlikely, accusations should be investigated when there's some evidence that there could be a problem.
DeleteExcept that they were not serious, in the sense that no one on Musk's team had wherewithal to understand what was going. Why? Because they are incompetent morons.
DeleteNo investigation is going to turn up a Republican voter who isn't a bigot, but if it will shut-up the fools who say there is, it's wth any amount of money and time it takes.
DeleteWe could believe there is a Republican voter who cares about inflation, without investigating it first. But what fun would that be?
DeleteWaterboard Musk!
ReplyDeleteI told you trying to crackdown on pedophilia would invite a tsunami of Republican backlash.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing about Musk is that in his spare time from being the greatest visionary and innovator of the century, he has Democrats defending censorship and arguing in favor of government waste.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Especially admire him for having the guts to let children starve. It takes a special visionary to do that. Gotta love the guy. ❤️
DeleteIMO it’s silly to make such a fuss over Musk’s exaggerated criticism of NBC. This kind of criticism is normal by both sides. People said Trump committed treason. Or Trump and Musk are stupid. Or crazy. Or, there’s blood on Musk’s hands. Bob should chill out.
ReplyDeleteAhem. Shh! Bob was one of the ones calling Trump crazy, DiC. For the last 8 years. Don’t tell anybody, least of all yourself.
DeleteLook to history.
DeleteNo one got hurt because Hitler exaggerated the Jewish problem.
Take a chill pill.
60 Minutes has been on CBS for the past 60 years or so. I guess basic facts don't count for much.
DeleteMusk has done nothing else besides exaggerated criticism and beyond the pail claims, which always turn out to be inaccurate. Musk has produced nothing as far as DOGE, just like he has produced nothing outside of DOGE.
Look to today, @6:08. Leftists and Palestinians on campuses are exaggerating the Jewish problem. Biden did nothing about it. Trump is fixing the problem. See Trump order cracks down on antisemitism and could deport foreign student protesters
Deletehttps://www.npr.org/2025/01/30/g-s1-45468/trump-antisemitism-executive-order-protests-deport-hamas
"People said...there’s blood on Musk’s hands."
DeletePe Kha Lau passed away four days after being discharged from a USAID-funded healthcare facility. She'd been dependent on oxygen support for the past three years.
Her family reported after the facility received a "stop-work" order in late January, she was sent home from the hospital.
Within days, her condition deteriorated, leading to her death.
https://www.newsweek.com/usaid-death-oxygen-supply-cut-off-2030054
If I said that Netanyahu is a war criminal, Dickhead, is that antisemitism? Free speech for thee but not for me. Protest is supposedly a Constitutional right, fascist Dickhead. I will fight for that right.
DeletePresident Biden supported Israel in their war against Hamas. You are fucking welcome, Dickhead.
Deletesupported unconditionally, Dickhead
DeleteYes, @6:37, you have free speech You can say Netanyahu is a war criminal.. You can say Jews secretly rule the world with their money. You can say Jews murdered Christian children to use their blood in ritual ceremonies.
DeleteYou won't be punished for saying these things (as long as you live in the US.) But, you will be tarred as an antisemite.
Your first sentence, DiC, that Netanyahu is a war criminal, is in no way connected to the other two clearly antisemitic statements. You are trying to “cancel” anyway who disagrees with Netanyahu by pretending they believe all that other stuff. You are such a disingenuous person.
Delete"But, you will be tarred as an antisemite."
DeleteOr the Head of DOGE.
@7:42 Good guess, but that wasn't my intention. I intended to imply that calling Netanyahu a war criminal is an antisemitic statement. The reason is that it's based on a double standard IMO.
DeleteIsrael was attacked on Oct 7, 2023 during a cease fire in a totally unjustified, unprovoked, incredibly brutal, sadistic attack on innocent civilians by Hamas, the government of the Gaza Palestinians. This group continues to behave in the most uncivilized way, such as putting military installations in schools and hospitals. Israel didn't respond with an all-out war against the Gaza Palestinians, as most nations would have. On the contrary, Israel attacked only Hamas, making extraordinary efforts to not harm other Gaza residents, even at the cost of Israeli lives. As a result, they produced the lowest ever ratio of civilian deaths to military deaths or any urban war.
Calling Netanyahu a war criminal means applying an extraordinarily higher standard to the Jewish state. That's antisemitism IMO.
People called Joe Biden “genocide Joe” because of his aid to Israel. Was that antisemitic? Well, he’s not Jewish. He is Catholic. Was that anti-Catholic? You’re just being stupid.
DeleteDIC has on multiple occasions called anyone criticizing Netanyahu anitisemitic. We are talking about the same Netanyahu who openly embraced the financial support of Hamas.
DeleteDIC would argue that any criticism of Israel is antisemitic, which would make Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Tutu antisemitic, having labeled Israel an apartheid state from first hand observations there.
DeleteIf you think David in Cal is only okay with Palestinians being ethnically cleansed, you know nothing about his support for Donald Trump.
Delete
DeleteYes, we're all obsessed with David in Cal just as much as you are, comrade.
Like you, all we can think about is David in Cal. David or David!
David is a Left-winger, who poses as a generic Republican voting stooge on TDH for kicks.
DeleteOccasionally, it's funny.
Posing as a Jew who supports a fascist takeover of the world is good schtick.
DeleteJust like every dishonest person opens up the conversation with: "to be perfectly frank..." -- Musk responds to every criticism by calling the critic the worst liar of all times and calling for their imprisonment. This is how we know that Musk is a liar and probably should be in prison.
ReplyDelete"Musk responds to every criticism by calling the critic the worst liar of all times and calling for their imprisonment."
DeleteWhere could he have learned that tactic?
Every every dishonest person opens up the conversation with "to be perfectly frank"? Are you stupid?
DeleteSimilarly, every ignorant nitwit likes to ask: "are you stupid?".
DeleteOK, but I don’t think you realize you say things that don’t make any sense. That claim doesn’t make any logical sense and is really dumb. What do you want people to say? I’m just wondering what would lead you to say something that doesn’t make any sense at all and has no basis in reality. Why? Are you taking some kind of license? Do you feel like making nonsensical statements like that helps your argument in someway? I just find it strange.
DeleteI am suggesting that honest people don't have to proclaim their honesty. Their honesty is known through their actions. I was riffing on Musk's hyperbolic and inane pronouncements, in case it isn't fucking painfully obvious.
DeleteLook at this table of numbers from the Social Security data base. https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891350795452654076
ReplyDeleteThe official SS records show one million living people over age 150 years old. Two thousand people over 200 years old. Maybe these are all just keypunch errors or errors somehow caused by old Fortran records. But, does anyone think they shouldn't be investigated?
COBOL. Old business applications were written in COBOL. There's an exhaustive discussion about that. The mental midgets at DOGE cannot be bothered.
DeleteMe. I don't. You have no idea what the explanation for those records is. None.
DeleteI put my trust in the people who do know.
No, they shouldn't be investigated. Do you know why?
DeleteLet's see: 200 year olds. SS started in 1935. Assume the 200 started receiving benefits at age 65. That means he/she has been collecting benefits for 135 years. But the program has only been in existence since 1935, less than 100 years.
DeleteInvestigation complete, Dickhead.
Investigating whether there is a Republican voter who isn't a bigot is a complete waste of time and money.
DeleteIlya - I don't want to rely on a theory or a guess. I want to know.
DeleteThe COBOL explanation is a theory. It may explain some of the anomalous records or all of them or none of them. @7:56 - Yes, I would put my trust in the people who know, but nobody knows. BTW 16 million records with ages over 110 are obviously (almost all) errors. But, then why should we trust the rest of the records? How many millions of other erroneous records are there in the SS database?
Standards are higher outside of government. If I had gone to my company management with obvious errors that I hadn't bothered to check, I'd have been harshly criticized or worse. (In fact, that happened when I was very young. The company President found an error in one of my exhibits. That was over 50 years ago, but I haven't forgotten.) If my wife submitted a medical research paper with obvious errors, even small ones, it would have been rejected.
BTW look at this unconvincing explanation of the COBOL theory. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/14/2303889/-Nope-There-are-no-150-year-olds-on-Social-Security-It-s-COBOL
DeleteKos starts badly by misquoting Musk. What Musk said is that there are millions of records in the SS database showing unrealistic ages. Of course, that's correct.
Then Kos comes up with an explanation of why large number of records have the same incorrect age. But the actual data at the link above shows incorrect ages spread out from age 100 to age 229. The incorrect records evidently have a bunch of different dates. So, Kos's explanation doesn't match the data.
I want to know who the Republican voter who isn't a bigot is. I don't want to take the words of exaggerators that there is one.
DeleteIt'll probably take an army of Musk geniuses to investigate all 77 million Trump to find the needle in that haystack.
Musk didn't say there were people with unusual ages. He said people were fraudulently collecting checks on behalf of dead people, because some of their ages were over 150 yo.
DeleteThe incorrect ages are derived from the birth dates entered into the system, which is the same date for all of those people. As Kos explained, when the birth date is unknown (even if the age is given), a "dummy" date is entered because COBOL programming requires a birth date. The age is entered into a different data field and it is most likely correct. David, you are confusing the birth date with the age. YOU do not know what you are talking about, whereas the Daily Kos explanation is correct. Unlike you, a retired actuary, I worked with COBOL back in the early 1970s so I have a better grasp on the explanation, which you clearly do not understand at all.
I doubt whether any of Musk's DOGE helpers know COBOL, since it isn't used in business much any more and you would have to make a special effort to learn it in any computer science degree program. They are most likely as confused as David is. But this is a good example of the kind of mess that occurs when ignorant people meddle and the staff who know what they are doing are all fired.
Delete@ 9:23 thanks for your input. I didn't work much with COBOL. I did use Fortran some. Do you recall the Y2K worry and ado, which turned out to be a fizzle, fortunately?
DeleteAlthough I don't know COBOL, I am skilled at comparing actual data with theories. If a bunch of old people were in the SS data base as having the same birth date, then they'd also show as having the same age. But, the actual data shows the incorrect ages are all over the place.
My best guess is that there's not a real problem, but for a different reason. If a SS recipient dies, his SS payments cease and he should be listed as "deceased". But, is that automatic? When a SS recipient's benefits end because he's dead, does his record automatically show him as "deceased"?
Or, does that fact have to be entered separately? If so, there could be a lot of cases where the SS clerk did stop the payments, but never got around to changing the person's status to "deceased."
My guess and the COBOL theory may be wrong or may be correct. I want an audit so we don't have to guess.
An audit isn’t about a misunderstanding about how CONOL works.
DeleteSS makes you pay back the payment for the month in which someone dies. They are very thorough.
DeleteDavid, the dates of birth are incorrect because they are unknown for people of different ages. To deal with this they enter a “dummy” date of birth as a placeholder. All people with missing dates of birth are assigned the same date, from the beginning of the program. No one is actually 150 years old. This is not an indicator of fraud but a work-around for an old system. It would be very costly to update this old COBOL software. SS staff understand what is going on even if Musk & DOGE are confused.
DeleteYou may be correct, @10:42. I just want someone from DOGE to meet with SS and check some data to make sure that we have the whole story.
DeleteKos starts badly by misquoting Musk. What Musk said is that there are millions of records in the SS database showing unrealistic ages. Of course, that's correct.
DeleteThat's not what Musk tweeted. You can look up his tweet. The explanation was done by the people in the know. As someone with years and years of Software Development experience, I can tell you that that explanation is absolutely sensible.
Again, Musk shoots off his mouth before he has any clue what's going on. Every single thing Trump has claimed so far about fraud is false. All of his claims. 100%. Not a single goddamn thing. You cannot demonstrate anything. The only fraud that has been discovered: Musk.
11:53 Write them a letter with your concerns and I am sure that they will get right on it.
Deletehttps://babylonbee.com/news/is-elon-musk-actually-the-father-of-your-child-10-signs-to-look-for
ReplyDelete"Are you a pre-teen girl?"
DeleteHahahaha!!
DeleteHere is the kind of fraud Musk should be investigating:
ReplyDelete"Millions of dollars meant to go toward feeding soldiers at U.S. Army bases are instead being redirected elsewhere, and it's unclear where those funds are going.
Military.com recently reported that more than $151 million out of $225 million in money contributed directly from service members' paychecks for food on bases — also known as a Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) payment — is not actually being spent for feeding troops. The outlet noted that it only examined BAS payments at the 11 largest bases, meaning that the actual dollar amount of redirected food budgets is likely far higher given that the Army operates 104 garrisons.
One of the most striking examples was at Fort Stewart in Georgia, where only $2.1 million out of $17 million in BAS payments went toward providing meals for soldiers, meaning 87% of troops' food money was redirected. And while Schofield Barracks in Hawaii took $14.5 million from troops' checks for food, only $5.3 million actually went toward feeding service members." [Rawstory]
Meh.
DeleteSome of those soldiers are black, so Musk sees nothing wrong with it.
And here is some more DOGE silliness:
ReplyDelete"A new report shows federal workplace safety regulators ordered the destruction of several guides that mention diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that President Donald Trump's administration has opposed.
Investigative reporter Judd Legum exposed the change Monday, highlighting that while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration guides use the words "diverse," they aren't within the context of DEI initiatives."
The words diverse related to other things that have nothing to do with DEI:
"The publication notes there is a 'diversity of state-specific certification, training, and regulatory requirements' for 'EMS agencies' and 'diverse conditions under which EMS responders could work,'" he explained, with a screen capture." [Rawstory]
This is what happens when humans let computers do things without supervision. Purging DEI from OSHA manuals isn't rocket science but it seems to be beyond Musk and his crew.
Only the best people.
DeleteLOL.
Trump and Musk gave the orders, but the actual change in the manuals was done by EPA staff. Was this malicious compliance or just incompetence?
DeleteThe term incompetence is entirely applicable to the phrase “Trump and Musk gave the orders…”.
DeleteElon Musk is claiming that the gold at Ft Knox is gone, even though they won't let him go there to see. That's called "no evidence".
ReplyDeleteSen Mike Lee and Elon Musk don't seem to understand security procedures. If Ft Knox lets everyone walk through to look at the gold (how would they be able to count it?) then security procedures would be compromised and the possibility of the gold really being stolen would be increased. Mike Lee has no "need to know" when it comes to visiting Ft. Knox. That is doubly true for Elon Musk, who has no official standing with our government, AND no need to know, and no clearance to visit any military base (which Ft. Knox is).
The refusal of admission to the base is to protect the gold.
Oh we’re going to find out now.
Delete"Trump Begins Firings of Air Traffic Control Staff
ReplyDeleteFebruary 17, 2025 at 3:55 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 581 Comments
“The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,” the AP reports."
Why is he doing this? Didn't he learn anything from the DOE firing fiasco?
"The Death of Government Expertise
ReplyDeleteFebruary 17, 2025 at 2:11 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 143 Comments
Tom Nichols: “One of the greatest tricks that Donald Trump and Elon Musk ever pulled is to convince millions of people that DOGE, the self-styled Department of Government Efficiency, is about government efficiency.”
“DOGE isn’t really a department; it’s not an agency; it has no statutory authority; and it has little to do with saving money, streamlining the bureaucracy, or eliminating waste. It is a name that Trump is allowing a favored donor and ally to use in a reckless campaign against various targets in the federal government. The whole enterprise is an attack against civil servants and the very notion of apolitical expertise.”
Somerby has been writing propaganda against expertise for years (since his hard-right turn in 2015). The people with expertise are the ones who are capable of telling the American people that the right wing fascists are full of shit. That's why one of Hitler's first moves was to destroy the University in Berlin:
"In 1933, the Nazi Party increased its involvement in German universities, including Berlin University, and organized book burnings and other actions to suppress "un-German" culture.
Book burnings
On May 10, 1933, students from Wilhelm Humboldt University burned thousands of books in Berlin's Opera Square. The books were considered "un-German" and included works by Jewish authors like Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud.
The book burnings were part of a nationwide effort to align German culture with Nazi ideas.
The burnings were accompanied by speeches, songs, and ceremonial incantations.
Radio stations broadcast the events to German listeners." [from Google AI]
Trump's attack on sources of American expertise is no different. This about propaganda and misinformation, not fraud or waste (which Musk is incapable of identifying). Given how much our government contributes to the success of business and industry, we should be protesting these firings with loud voices.
Even if Trump never meddled with Air Traffic Control, how do pilots fly without accurate weather information? NOAA and other coordinated sources of weather data are essential to pilots but also to farmers, city planners (who much de-ice and salt streets), transportation and schools (who open and close with the weather in cold cities). Trump is making a mess of the well-coordinated efforts in many fields and we will find out how big a mess as the results of this tampering become clearer. This is an exercise in "learn by failing".
This was preventable. You know who you are -- the ones who voted for Trump. We told you this was being planned and you didn't listen. Now this is all on you. Remember that when the mass protests and calls for impeachment of Trump start happening.
Taegan Goddard writes well, but he's wrong about the legality of DOGE's actions. DOGE is a re-named existing organization. It took over the U.S. Digital Service, a 300-person technology office President Barack Obama set up inside the Executive Office of the President in 2014 to fix his beleaguered HealthCare.gov. Bureaucrats had bungled the site, so USDS sought out Silicon Valley innovators, and was authorized to circumvent federal hiring procedures to get them. Hiring young people from the tech world and putting them together to work for Obama, unmoored from the stuffy rules of a typical government building.
Deletehttps://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/86663/a-doge-origin-story-how-barack-obama-laid-the-groundwork-for-elon-musk.html
The court will decide.
DeleteSo who or what agency is doing the legally created functions of the USDS now, Dickhead? Trump just changes the name and voila it's gone?
Delete
DeleteI am doing the legally created functions. I am circumsizing everyone I can put my hands on.
Especially in Mozambique. That is my Federal mission from God.
I am Corby.
An Elon Musk action that we can all approve of
ReplyDeleteElon Musk's SpaceX Teams Up with FAA to Push for Safer, Modernized Air Traffic System
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2025/02/17/spacex-visits-faa-command-center-following-recent-plane-crashes-n2652364
Yeah, yeah, DiC, it’s so unsafe now (lol), no major accidents in years, so why don’t we just break it, and then voila, a new, improved system will magically appear because “musk is genius”. Why don’t we start by firing a bunch of FAA workers and demoralizing the remaining ones, just like they did with their asinine move of firing a bunch of nuclear scientists.
DeleteI mean, we get it, DiC. You’re going to be a mindless cheerleader of these corrupt incompetent freaks until your head explodes, repeating false claims here every day.
I just with musk/Trump would guarantee that nothing will happen to social security and Medicare. Will they do that do you think? I mean, without lying. My mother can’t survive without that assistance.
“ I just with” = “I just wish”
DeleteThese folks are killing it. Can you imagine a President Kamala in comparison? Stuff of horror flicks.
Delete@11:34 Are plane crashes on the rise? What to know about the recent incidents
DeleteMonday's crash is at least the fourth major aviation mishap in North America in the past month
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/why-are-there-so-many-plane-crashes-lately-what-know-about-the-recent-incidents/3676528/
So it’s a great time to fire 300 FAA workers. The brilliance, it hurts, DiC.
Delete
DeleteI would fire all of them, all useless DEI motherfuckers. And then hire real workers, as many as necessary.
Is there any other way?
What about Fanny?
DeleteWASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes $633,009 in civil penalties against Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) for allegedly failing to follow its license requirements during two launches in 2023, in accordance with statutorily-set civil penalty guidelines.
Delete“Safety drives everything we do at the FAA, including a legal responsibility for the safety oversight of companies with commercial space transportation licenses,” said FAA Chief Counsel Marc Nichols. “Failure of a company to comply with the safety requirements will result in consequences.”
No conflict of interest there, right Dickhead in Cal?
Did you read the article you cited DiC? The frequency of deaths from airplane accidents is so low as to be uncalculatable. The article said nothing statistical about whether recent events were anomalous. It did say that the FAA estimates it is short 800 technicians. There is no evidence that the recent firings were done with any thought about its impact on the stress the system is experiencing.
ReplyDeleteOne reason the FAA is short of air traffic controllers is that they have been rejecting qualified white job applicants,
Delete“ Federal Aviation Administration is fighting a class-action lawsuit alleging it denied 1,000 would-be air traffic controllers jobs because of diversity hiring targets”
A class action lawsuit on behalf of the "class" of white males?
Delete
ReplyDeleteFor any government office where D.E.I or any other kind of Satanism was practiced, it must be closed immediately, and everyone fired.
Thorough Exorcisms must be performed before starting new hiring procedures, assuming this office is actually necessary (it probably ain't).
Making white people cry is too easy.
DeleteBut they always have plenty of mirrors, glass beads, and little bells for you, comrade.
DeleteYou'd be crying, too, if you were totally outclassed by immigrants in the job market day after day.
DeleteYes, comrade. With your beautiful nose ring you easily outclass everybody.
DeleteHey, Mao.
DeleteWhat's it like to have the richest man in the world think you're a gullible moron?
Trump says he's getting rid of the 2nd Amendment, because the last good thing it did was when Chris Kyle was shot to death at a gun range, and that was over a dozen years ago.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThis is so, so true:
“The nature of the NGO scams is to have a cause that sounds philanthropic, like ‘Save the Orphans of Sadville’ and then they pocket the money and zero actual orphans are helped.” — Elon Musk
Thank God for Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, and all the rest of the team.
Hallelujah!
Musk's boss stole money from a children's cancer charity, but it's okay, because his boss is a fascist.
DeleteYou know so many big words, Comrade. Like everyone with a beautiful nose ring.
DeleteSoros-bot at 8:58 thinks they are clever.
Delete