Politico got 8 million dollars from USAID funds…

[55dawg]

Have they looked into this ?

View embedded media

Come on man. Nice try. Compare what he’s accomplished vs NASA.

 

[55dawg]

Zinger, you are wrong here and I can prove it.

Marco Rubio was confirmed 99-0 because he is a reasonable and qualified pick for the the role he was nominated for, despite the deep differences of opinion that exist between him and most of the Dem senators.

Musk is not qualified, has not been vetted and is literally the most conflicted person on the planet for his current, ill-defined role.

And you didn’t provide a single example of what a reasonable ask of the right was that Biden blocked. Please be specific.

Elon has top security clearance. What else do you want. He’s the absolute best man on the planet to upgrade our systems. You should be thanking him. And Biden refused hold quarterly oil lease sales as required. Every President including Obama had adhered to that law. Finally A judge stepped in to force him.

 

[zingerdawg]

Zinger, you are wrong here and I can prove it.

Marco Rubio was confirmed 99-0 because he is a reasonable and qualified pick for the the role he was nominated for, despite the deep differences of opinion that exist between him and most of the Dem senators.

Musk is not qualified, has not been vetted and is literally the most conflicted person on the planet for his current, ill-defined role.

And you didn’t provide a single example of what a reasonable ask of the right was that Biden blocked. Please be specific.

Elon musk has been vetted. That is not true at all. He has top secret clearance now. He doesn’t have the highest level of security clearance. He was just given this. But to say he wasn’t vetted for top secret clearance is untrue. They had issues with him mentioning prior drug use on rogan’s podcast and that he has contacts with leaders of other countries. It still did not keep him from getting this clearance before Trump was in office.

If Rubio were tasked with what Elon is being raised for, people would be all over him. There was no way to argue he isn’t qualified to be Secretary of State.

Let’s look at that even further then. Who is in charge of usaid right now?

USAID: Rubio says he’s acting director as humanitarian agency is taken over by the State Department | CNN Politics

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday that he is acting administrator the US Agency for International Development, confirming the de-facto takeover of the humanitarian agency by the State Department.

amp.cnn.com

99-0 yet they still have a problem with Elon checking into something Rubio is now in charge of. I will hang up and listen.

 

[-lowcountrydawg]

Nothing to benefit the right?

CHIPs Act.
Infrastructure Act (even the GOP who voted against it take credit for the projects it is funding).
Postal Service Reform Act.
Veterans Support.
Covid Relief.
Isreal support.
Ukraine support.

All passed with broad, bipartisan support.

Obviously, the border policy was a failure, although I'll note that it was Trump who killed the bipartisan Immigration and Border reform bill.

Beyond the border, what did you have in mind when you said the right got nothing during the last four years?

Regarding Musk, that's a strawman and illogical beyond that. I challenge you to find one other example of a single person who is as inherently conflicted regarding US spending reform as Elon Musk is. He is both the wealthiest person in the country and the single person who has most benefitted from billions ($15b, in fact) in US taxpayer dollars.

So, because this role would be under political scrutiny, Trump might as well place by far the most conflicted person on the planet and then decide that this conflicted person will self-identify any conflicts. That's insane.

There were billions in fraud that occurred under the Covid PPP program during the Trump and Biden administrations. Is Elon looking at that? If not, perhaps it has something to do with who the beneficiaries were?

How about the DOD?

Last year, the GAO found $233b in fraud.

So far, Elon has found no fraud. None, despite the efforts to spin the $8.2m spent across all government agencies and across multiple years on media services. He's just found funding that he personally disagrees with. Strangely enough, I'm guessing that what Elon personally determines to be money poorly spent and what even you and I could agree on as money poorly spent may be two very different things given Elon's wealth and his massive financial relationship with the federal government.


Sometimes I truly appreciate you naivete. Elon did not spend $44b dollars on Twitter out of the goodness of his heart, he bought it to accrue power and influence. Now, he is arguably the most powerful unelected person in the history of the country and X definitely helped him get there. Even Rockefeller never had the direct influence and control over government expenditures that we are seeing and will continue to see more of from Elon. Reminder, we are only a few weeks in at this point.

So, X and an easy $245m spent directly out of his pocket bought him truly unprecedented influence and control, to a level unachievable via an election given he isn't a natural born citizen and as such isn't eligible to be president. The founding fathers are spinning in their graves.

My point isn't whether or not Elon got something out of buying X. My point is that it was a transaction that did nothing for him financially. From a valuation perspective, and from the perspective of the market de-valuing Tesla due to his diverted attention and due to the fact that many customers won't buy Tesla's solely due to Musk's politics.

The bigger issue is Tesla. That's where his wealth is. And aligning with Trump is the worst thing he could do for Tesla.

This whole argument stems from this idea that Musk is conflicted financially. That was your argument. That somehow his access to government financial records gives him the ability to enrich himself. The fact that he has accumulated power is not in question. We may differ on whether or not that is appropriate, but I won't argue the fact. My opinion is that he is uniquely qualified for this position for the reasons stated.

As for fraud or no fraud, I suspect there probably is plenty of fraud in the form of kickbacks or biased "pay for play" media coverage. That said, it doesn't have to be fraud to be crazy wasteful. The role of DOGE is to reduce expenses without sacrificing legit functionality.

I won't disagree that his style is super insensitive to real people. There are likely a lot of good people who keep their heads down and do a good job that will lose their jobs....and they are scared. That said the nature of right-sizing a company or government function is going to lead to that dynamic. Musk is famously insensitive towards employees, especially when down-sizing. It isn't pretty, but again, this also is what makes this guy uniquely qualified to do a job no one else in government has been able to do. I could do without the broad tweeting villainizing whole organizations, but I welcome the continued tweets about specific wasteful spending.

 

[-lowcountrydawg]

Zinger, you are wrong here and I can prove it.

Marco Rubio was confirmed 99-0 because he is a reasonable and qualified pick for the the role he was nominated for, despite the deep differences of opinion that exist between him and most of the Dem senators.

Musk is not qualified, has not been vetted and is literally the most conflicted person on the planet for his current, ill-defined role.

And you didn’t provide a single example of what a reasonable ask of the right was that Biden blocked. Please be specific.

Rubio seems very on board with taking over USAID and eliminating dumbass spend.

Please make your case on how Musk is conflicted in a role of IDENTIFYING areas where government can save money.

Please make your case on how Musk has benefited FINANCIALLY from his alignment with Trump....when the vast majority of his wealth is in Tesla:

-Trump eliminated the EV mandate
-Trump is tariffing China (Tesla was down 5 percent the other day alone on that news)
-Republicans are the least likely to increase EV credits provided by the feds.

You could actually argue that there isn't another person in the world who stands to lose more money in a transition from Biden admin to Trump admin. But you argue he's the most conflicted on the planet? Because he has access to information needed to inform the true decision-makers on candidates to cut spending? Really?

SpaceX? A fraction of his wealth. And truth be told anyone in aerospace will tell you that his Company is light years ahead of anyone else in the space. That happened pre-Trump. But somehow this "un-elected billionaire's" access to payment data from the US puts him in a position to enrich himself?

I honestly don't get it.

 

[willdup]

Elon has top security clearance. What else do you want. He’s the absolute best man on the planet to upgrade our systems. You should be thanking him. And Biden refused hold quarterly oil lease sales as required. Every President including Obama had adhered to that law. Finally A judge stepped in to force him.

And yet no country on the planet has ever produced more energy than we are producing today.

Elon musk has been vetted. That is not true at all. He has top secret clearance now. He doesn’t have the highest level of security clearance. He was just given this. But to say he wasn’t vetted for top secret clearance is untrue. They had issues with him mentioning prior drug use on rogan’s podcast and that he has contacts with leaders of other countries. It still did not keep him from getting this clearance before Trump was in office.

If Rubio were tasked with what Elon is being raised for, people would be all over him. There was no way to argue he isn’t qualified to be Secretary of State.

Let’s look at that even further then. Who is in charge of usaid right now?

USAID: Rubio says he’s acting director as humanitarian agency is taken over by the State Department | CNN Politics

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday that he is acting administrator the US Agency for International Development, confirming the de-facto takeover of the humanitarian agency by the State Department.

amp.cnn.com

99-0 yet they still have a problem with Elon checking into something Rubio is now in charge of. I will hang up and listen.

Elon was not nominated for or vetted for a cabinet position, and he is clearly play a cabinet-level role within the administration. Given his purview is the entire government, and not any one agency or area, you can argue he is far more powerful than any single cabinet position.

There is no indication that his drug use has ended. In fact, there are many reports that he continues to use ketamine, and some of his recent public appearances support that suggestion.

None of which addresses his inherent conflicts in this role, which you won't address.

I don't understand your point about Rubio and USAID.

My point isn't whether or not Elon got something out of buying X. My point is that it was a transaction that did nothing for him financially. From a valuation perspective, and from the perspective of the market de-valuing Tesla due to his diverted attention and due to the fact that many customers won't buy Tesla's solely due to Musk's politics.

The bigger issue is Tesla. That's where his wealth is. And aligning with Trump is the worst thing he could do for Tesla.

This whole argument stems from this idea that Musk is conflicted financially. That was your argument. That somehow his access to government financial records gives him the ability to enrich himself. The fact that he has accumulated power is not in question. We may differ on whether or not that is appropriate, but I won't argue the fact. My opinion is that he is uniquely qualified for this position for the reasons stated.

As for fraud or no fraud, I suspect there probably is plenty of fraud in the form of kickbacks or biased "pay for play" media coverage. That said, it doesn't have to be fraud to be crazy wasteful. The role of DOGE is to reduce expenses without sacrificing legit functionality.

I won't disagree that his style is super insensitive to real people. There are likely a lot of good people who keep their heads down and do a good job that will lose their jobs....and they are scared. That said the nature of right-sizing a company or government function is going to lead to that dynamic. Musk is famously insensitive towards employees, especially when down-sizing. It isn't pretty, but again, this also is what makes this guy uniquely qualified to do a job no one else in government has been able to do. I could do without the broad tweeting villainizing whole organizations, but I welcome the continued tweets about specific wasteful spending.

Suggesting that buying X did nothing for him financially is like suggesting that the $240m spent to secure his current access to Trump and position in his administration won't pay off. It's too soon to say for sure, but Elon has openly stated that he wants to be the first trillionaire. Having direct influence on US spending and policy can certainly go a long way to helping him get there. In fact, it's almost certainly the fastest way to make it happen.

Successfully running a company (or three) and understanding how the US government functions are very different challenges. Musk is a known asshole and he is cruel when avoiding cruelty would probably be better for business (I know someone who worked directly for him). That's because he doesn't care about anyone but himself, which is not exactly the defining characteristic of someone I want deciding what's important and what isn't important for the 340m of us who aren't billionaires with grand plans to remake the world in our image.

I've beaten this topic to death and strangely enough, Donald and Elon don't care about my opinions, so I'll move on. Cheers.

 

[-lowcountrydawg]

And yet no country on the planet has ever produced more energy than we are producing today.

Elon was not nominated for or vetted for a cabinet position, and he is clearly play a cabinet-level role within the administration. Given his purview is the entire government, and not any one agency or area, you can argue he is far more powerful than any single cabinet position.

There is no indication that his drug use has ended. In fact, there are many reports that he continues to use ketamine, and some of his recent public appearances support that suggestion.

None of which addresses his inherent conflicts in this role, which you won't address.

I don't understand your point about Rubio and USAID.


Suggesting that buying X did nothing for him financially is like suggesting that the $240m spent to secure his current access to Trump and position in his administration won't pay off. It's too soon to say for sure, but Elon has openly stated that he wants to be the first trillionaire. Having direct influence on US spending and policy can certainly go a long way to helping him get there. In fact, it's almost certainly the fastest way to make it happen.

Successfully running a company (or three) and understanding how the US government functions are very different challenges. Musk is a known asshole and he is cruel when avoiding cruelty would probably be better for business (I know someone who worked directly for him). That's because he doesn't care about anyone but himself, which is not exactly the defining characteristic of someone I want deciding what's important and what isn't important for the 340m of us who aren't billionaires with grand plans to remake the world in our image.

I've beaten this topic to death and strangely enough, Donald and Elon don't care about my opinions, so I'll move on. Cheers.

What specifically in terms of net worth increase do you see due to his Twitter acquisition and alignment with Trump? I won't argue that he has a lot more power and fame. A lot more. But you are talking about financial wealth and conflicts here. How does Musk benefit? Financially?

Again - I would argue that doing things totally differently is exactly what this bloated government needs. A dose of private sector mentality.....and it is clearly scaring the shit out of the left who rely on taxpayer dough.

 

[55dawg]

What specifically in terms of net worth increase do you see due to his Twitter acquisition and alignment with Trump? I won't argue that he has a lot more power and fame. A lot more. But you are talking about financial wealth and conflicts here. How does Musk benefit? Financially?

Again - I would argue that doing things totally differently is exactly what this bloated government needs. A dose of private sector mentality.....and it is clearly scaring the shit out of the left who rely on taxpayer dough.

You win

 

[zingerdawg]

And yet no country on the planet has ever produced more energy than we are producing today.

Elon was not nominated for or vetted for a cabinet position, and he is clearly play a cabinet-level role within the administration. Given his purview is the entire government, and not any one agency or area, you can argue he is far more powerful than any single cabinet position.

There is no indication that his drug use has ended. In fact, there are many reports that he continues to use ketamine, and some of his recent public appearances support that suggestion.

None of which addresses his inherent conflicts in this role, which you won't address.

I don't understand your point about Rubio and USAID.


Suggesting that buying X did nothing for him financially is like suggesting that the $240m spent to secure his current access to Trump and position in his administration won't pay off. It's too soon to say for sure, but Elon has openly stated that he wants to be the first trillionaire. Having direct influence on US spending and policy can certainly go a long way to helping him get there. In fact, it's almost certainly the fastest way to make it happen.

Successfully running a company (or three) and understanding how the US government functions are very different challenges. Musk is a known asshole and he is cruel when avoiding cruelty would probably be better for business (I know someone who worked directly for him). That's because he doesn't care about anyone but himself, which is not exactly the defining characteristic of someone I want deciding what's important and what isn't important for the 340m of us who aren't billionaires with grand plans to remake the world in our image.

I've beaten this topic to death and strangely enough, Donald and Elon don't care about my opinions, so I'll move on. Cheers.

He has been drug tested 20 times thru his space x program and never failed a drug test. Whoops.

Also, you said he was never vetted. Moving the goalposts. He has been vetted for top secret clearance. Which is no joke. You can’t have it both ways. Now you clarify that hasn’t been vetted for a cabinet position. Rubio has and he is currently running usaid. 99-0 right?

 

[willdup]

What specifically in terms of net worth increase do you see due to his Twitter acquisition and alignment with Trump? I won't argue that he has a lot more power and fame. A lot more. But you are talking about financial wealth and conflicts here. How does Musk benefit? Financially?

Dude, we aren't even a month in. I have outlined what I think will happen and what the conflicts are, but it's obviously speculation at this point. Conflicts of interest aren't defined by what has happened but by what could reasonably be anticipated to happen. Elon doesn't expect this or any other investment to pay out in a matter of weeks, he's much smarter than that and this is a long-term play.

Regardless, Elon has a long history of very effectively and successfully acting in his own best interest. That's why he is currently estimated to be worth $409b. Good for him. But someone who can so ruthlessly pursue their own self-interest is not who can all of a sudden reasonably expect to selflessly act in the best interest of the country.

 

[-lowcountrydawg]

Dude, we aren't even a month in. I have outlined what I think will happen and what the conflicts are, but it's obviously speculation at this point. Conflicts of interest aren't defined by what has happened but by what could reasonably be anticipated to happen. Elon doesn't expect this or any other investment to pay out in a matter of weeks, he's much smarter than that and this is a long-term play.

Regardless, Elon has a long history of very effectively and successfully acting in his own best interest. That's why he is currently estimated to be worth $409b. Good for him. But someone who can so ruthlessly pursue their own self-interest is not who can reasonably be expected to selflessly act in the best interest of the country.

Short memory. He is arguably the most important person to ever live if you are a believer in human induced climate change, and that issue is important to you. His "ruthlessness" and wealth was perfectly fine for everyone when he supported Joe Biden in 2020. He became public enemy number 2 only when he began supporting public enemy number 1.

 

[willdup]

Short memory. He is arguably the most important person to ever live if you are a believer in human induced climate change, and that issue is important to you. His "ruthlessness" and wealth was perfectly fine for everyone when he supported Joe Biden in 2020. He became public enemy number 2 only when he began supporting public enemy number 1.

When he was supporting Biden, he wasn't the second most powerful person inside the Biden administration, personally making go/no go decisions on entire federal programs or agencies. Kind of an important difference.

Cheers.

 

[-lowcountrydawg]

When he was supporting Biden, he wasn't the second most powerful person inside the Biden administration, personally making go/no go decisions on entire federal programs or agencies. Kind of an important difference.

Cheers.

We dont know who the second most powerful person was in the Biden admin. I doubt Obama would have annointed Joe w that role. Pretty sure numbers 1-3 were un-elected with the possible exception of Nancy Pelosi. At least the democrats ran someone for Prez who was duly elec…..

Bottom line - when you have a decisive leader as a number one….:truly doesn’t matter who number two is. Buck stops w DJT.

 

[Booneville Dawg]

People on this board would do what makes chat boards popular, argue the chicken vs the egg forever. What I can't understand is the Democratic Party making it a hill to die on which , with today almost 70% of public opinion against them, will surely happen.