"After Musk spent the day telling Republicans not to support the bill [to keep government going], Trump weighed in against it, too.
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"After Musk spent the day telling Republicans not to support the bill [to keep government going], Trump weighed in against it, too. That put the bill on life support.
If this isn’t oligarchy, I don’t know what is.
You may not get access to services you depend on just before the holidays because an unelected billionaire shadow president wanted it that way."
~ Robert Reich
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/1
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/can-the-muskrat-shut-the-united-states -
William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by wdlindsy@toad.social
"A dictionary definition of oligarchy is 'a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.' The super-rich know Trump can punish or reward them, and he’s trying to pressure them into anti-democratic alliances with him. Sadly, some billionaires are happy to do so."
~ Mark Jacob
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/2
Here Come the Oligarchs to Undermine Democracy
Self-serving, knee-bending billionaires are joining Trump's gravy train
(www.stopthepresses.news)
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by wdlindsy@toad.social
"Elites have repeatedly made alliances with autocrats. Elites retain power and privileges, and have the potential to expand their profits, in return for supporting the autocrat no matter what he says or does. ...
Those who enter into alliances with Trump forget the lessons of history."
~ Ruth Ben Ghiat
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Glitzersachenreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy
I fear they're not forgetting those lesson, they're re-enacting them, because what they have learned from history is, that this kind of pact with the autocrat on average rarely comes out bad for them. -
Lake Ontario Photographyreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy I hope there are enough real Repulicans to hold Felon 47 and Space Karen in check. They will destroy everything that makes the USA unique. Going down the Russia/China model is not the way.
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@wdlindsy We should stop calling them “elites.” To be elite is to be the most skilled but now means the richest. These corrosive, avaricious, rapacious dangers to democracy & society are #plutocrats & #oligarchs …
Plutocrat: person possessing power or influence solely or mainly due to their wealth.
Oligarch: member of a small group that exercises control over gov’t, esp. for corrupt & selfish purposes.
Elites: A class of people considered superior; the best or most skilled members of a group. -
William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
"It’s already clear that assuming the worst happens — and it’s hard to see how it won’t — this will be the dumbest shutdown ever. ...
Inauguration Day is still a month away, yet the chaos monkeys have already taken over."
~ Paul Krugman
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/4
The Chaos Monkeys Have Already Taken Over the Zoo
The peddlers of misinformation are high on their own supply
(paulkrugman.substack.com)
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
"The world’s richest man wants to burn it all down. …
Needless to say, their priority [of Congressional Republicans] isn’t to well and faithfully discharge their duties. Their priority is to listen closely so that when Trump and Musk say, 'Jump,' they promptly ask, 'How high?'”
~ William Kristol
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/5
The World’s Richest Man Wants to Burn It All Down
We knew Elon liked strategic acquisitions. We didn’t know the spines of House Republicans came quite so cheap.
(www.thebulwark.com)
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
"In one day we got 1) renewed attention to Trump’s depraved and dangerous nominees 2) Trump’s agenda already doing significant harm to the US economy 3) the Russian-backed Trump/Musk wrecking ball publicly savaging the Republican Speaker and killing his bi-partisan bill to keep the government open over the Holiday season two days before the government shuts down."
~ Simon Rosenberg
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/6
The Trump Wrecking Ball Is Already Here, More Notes On The Path Forward - My Latest Video On US Politics
The GOP's post-election honeymoon ended yesterday
(www.hopiumchronicles.com)
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
"Remember 'governing by tweet?' This time it was Elon Musk's tweets. He 'posted dozens of times, dozens,' against the bipartisan funding bill, and Republicans in Congress 'answered Elon's call.'"
~ Brian Stelter
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
"Uber and its CEO have donated $1m each to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a growing list of firms seeking to garner favor with the administration. Meta also gave $1m, with Amazon and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, reportedly planning similar donations."
~ Jem Bartholomew
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/8
First Thing: 51 men found guilty in Pelicot mass rape trial
French man jailed for 20 years over abuse of ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot. Plus, Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of genocide for restricting Gaza water supply
the Guardian (www.theguardian.com)
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by wdlindsy@toad.social
"Driving the right-wing backlash against House Republicans over the now-abandoned continuing resolution to fund the federal government through mid-March was the erratic and impetuous richest man in the world, posting furiously on the social media platform he owns."
~ David Kurtz
#Trump #ElonMusk #EconomicElites #oligarchy
/9
Republicans Turn Eating Their Own Into A Spectator Sport
INSIDE: Elon Musk ... Mike Johnson ... Matt Gaetz
(morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com)
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bouriquetreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy What power does he have over them?
Musk is beginning to seem like Trump’s Rasputin.
Or perhaps is he another communication channel between Putin and Trump? -
@wdlindsy He bought Twitter and made it his toy. Then he destroyed it. This is his plan for our government. He has no allegiance to the United States, and he can live anywhere. The question is, are we going to let him do it?
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M mastodonmigration@mastodon.online shared this topic
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
"Trump has brought Musk into the central circle of power. He’s not only de facto Vice President. When was the last time you saw JD Vance? He’s practically co-president. Musk is erratic, volatile, impulsive, mercurial. He introduces a huge source of unpredictability and chaos into the presidency that for once Trump doesn’t control."
~ Josh Marshall
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
"Musk did this. Trump thrives on chaos, but his chaos. Not someone else’s chaos.
Trump is following. He’s trying to pretend otherwise but he’s following. ...
Trump has sewn himself into a sack with Elon Musk, a few billion dollars, a cat and a snake, and had the sack tossed into the Tiber. That’s the story here. And it will go on for a while."
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In the same way that they should be called rapers, not rapist.
Its not the ART of Rape, you dont become a rapist.
You are a rape-er like MURDERER. -
James Wellsreplied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
@wdlindsy
Rumor has it that Vance has been talking about invoking article 25 and Chump was made aware of it. Because Musk is not qualified to become President, Chump feels Musk is a safer person to use for various VP duties. -
William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
"Trump is staffing his cabinet with billionaires, who will break the government out of incompetence, spite, or avarice. So why not just go for class politics, and forget about everything else? As the country reaches unprecedented levels of inequality, why not just tear off the oligarchs' masks? Why not present them as merchants of death?"
~ Timothy Snyder
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William Lindsey :toad:replied to William Lindsey :toad: last edited by
"We should all know who they [the oligarchs] are, how wealthy they are, from what sources, and how they profit from holding power. ...
The most powerful form of identity politics is Trump's, and it goes something like this: 'I am a rich white guy who breaks all the rules and who therefore gets to make them, and so you should enjoy the feel of my hand in your pocket as I pick it.'"
