Tag Archives: Elon Musk

national news

Why explain who rules the roost?

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When a man waiting to become president of the United States feels the need to explain that, yes, he’s in charge and not some hireling, well … then the next POTUS might be in serious jeopardy.

Donald J. Trump has been dogged by chatter that Elon Musk, the zillionaire businessman brought on board to offer Trump budget-cutting ideas, has emerged as “co-president.” Trump told a group of supporters that Musk is not a co-president and that he — Trump, that is — is in charge of the incoming administration.

Trump also had to remind his cultists that Musk won’t become president because — get ready for it — he wasn’t born in the U.S.A. Musk is a native of South Africa, born to South African parents.

When does a president-elect feel the need to explain himself in that manner? It seems to me that the Musk talk is getting under Trump’s skin. Oh, and he has a vice president-elect, J.D. Vance, who has been pushed aside and barely mentioned out loud as being an active player in the transition from the Joe Biden administration.

This is a bizarre phenomenon we are witnessing in the chaos that is preceding Donald Trump returning to the White House.

God help us.

economic news, national news

Musk poses grave danger

Elon Musk is emerging as the most dangerous man in America, thanks to the weird kinship he has formed with the next president of the United States.

Musk, as we all know, is the world’s richest man. He has filled Donald Trump’s vacuous noggin with notions that he can fix what’s wrong the federal government. He — along with right-wing blowhard Vivek Ramaswamy — leads a government reform project, or some such thing, that seeks to cut trillions of dollars from the government coffers.

Americans have elected Musk to no political office. He has no political standing other than his strange relationship with Trump. Musk has emerged as a sort of de facto co-president, if you dare swallow that bit of information in one bite.

The guy frightens the hell out of me. He ought to scare the bejabbers out of anyone who has this sort of love affair with good government. That should be all Americans who prefer that the president and Congress go back to what the late Sen. John McCain would call “regular order.”

There is not a damn thing that is “regular” about the way the next POTUS and Congress are getting ready to take the reins of power.

Trump figures to rely on the machinations of Musk — and, of course, Ramaswamy — as he proposes spending cuts.

This dude Musk, though, is one scary son of a … well, you know.

Uncategorized

Musk and the Blowhard … what gives?

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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy make quite a duo as they take up their undefined — or ill-defined — posts in the new presidential administration that is taking shape.

Musk is the richest man in the world. Ramaswamy is a loudmouth who ran for the Republican presidential nomination against the guy who won it all in 2024. They now form what is called the Department of Governmental Efficiency.

They want to slash trillions of dollars from the federal budget. They want to eliminate entire Cabinet offices. They have Donald Trump’s ear.

Several huge problems stand in their way. One is the Constitution. The nation’s governing document states clearly that Congress is in charge of budgeting. It’s been said over many years that “the president proposes, but the Congress disposes” of all budget items. That won’t change, no matter who is president.

Another obstacle that Musk and the Blowhard need to confront are the huge egos of the 535 men and women who serve in the legislative branch of our government. They all represent states and congressional districts with specific needs and they depend on their senators and House members to deliver the goods to the folks back home. They aren’t going to shed their constitutional authority just because a couple of know-it-alls order them to do it.

I keep hearing all this grand talk about what Musk and Ramaswamy will do cut government waste. Neither of these clowns — not even the guy with the bottomless pockets — can cut a damn thing without congressional approval.

Oh, and then we have the president. This fellow is the most mercurial, unpredictable, maddening individual ever to occupy this office. He often acts on the last thing someone tells him before decision time arrives.

The rich guy and the loudmouth must prepare themselves for the possibility that every grand idea they propose could get shot down in flames by the numbskull who sees himself as monarch rather than servant.

crime news

Shut up … Elon!

Elon Musk needs to stick to making lots of money, manufacturing cars, shooting rockets into space and whatever else he’s “expert” at doing.

For the zillionaire to suggest that allegations that the Allen Premium Outlet Mall shooter was not motivated by white supremacist attitudes means he is getting way ahead of himself and the investigation.

Musk refers to a website that “no one follows” that is being offered as evidence of these views. He calls it “bullsh**.”

I must mention the Nazi tattoos they found on the moron’s body after the Allen police officer shot him to death. I agree that the probe is ongoing. To say it’s all BS, though, is to draw conclusions that no one is able yet to draw.

I would bet real American money that when all is done the authorities are going to find nefarious motives — such as white supremacy — as lurking behind the madman’s motives.

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science news

Strange boast of ‘success’

Elon Musk has a peculiar way of defining “success.” Let’s review the video, shall we?

The world’s largest-ever rocket blasted off from its launch pad in South Texas on Thursday. About four minutes into the flight and far from achieving Earth orbit, the rocket exploded. It burst into a zillion pieces.

What did the world’s richest individual call it? A success!

Which makes me wonder how Elon Musk defines the term. He said the ship cleared the launch pad, which was good enough for him to declare that the failed mission was, um, a successful one. And in the most euphemistic phrase possible, the Musk team described the explosion as an “unexpected disassembly.”

Go … figure.

The only thing that saved this even from being an unmitigated disaster was that there were no human beings aboard the rocket.

Musk’s rocket, the SpaceX, aims to ferry humans to the moon and he, and the rest of us hope, far beyond into the solar system.

The South Texas launch was not a success, no matter how much money SpaceX’s owner has at his disposal.

Scientists have plenty of work to do to make this ship suitable to carry priceless human cargo. Get to work … and fix the problem!

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national news

Absent a NASA-sponsored effort, this is pretty cool

I normally would look with bemusement at a stunt that occurred today. Instead, though, I am utterly amazed at what I saw.

Elon Musk — a South Africa-born U.S. business tycoon — has this notion of building a colony on Mars. He has developed a rocket that he hopes will ferry human beings to the Red Planet eventually.

Today, he launched the largest rocket built since the Saturn V rocket launched astronauts to the moon from 1969 until 1972. The monstrous SpaceX rocket took off, jettisoned its boosters, which then made a soft landing near the launch pad from which NASA used to launch missions to the moon.

But … here’s the amazing part of the story.

The rocket carried a Tesla hot rod atop it and that vehicle — with a spacesuit-clad mannequin in the driver’s seat — is in Earth orbit. It will take off eventually on a lengthy trip around the sun. Musk plans to keep the car in space for a million years. He said maybe some extraterrestrials will find it. Maybe.

My preference, of course, would be for NASA to launch these missions. I want the federal government to get back into manned space exploration. I’m old-fashioned that way, you know?

Absent a NASA-sponsored and financed operation, though, I welcome Elon Musk’s investment in this kind of exploration.

Hey, a guy with $20 billion in his portfolio can afford the expense — and it provides a heck of a show to boot.