208 Comments

Elongated is his nickname. He’s a Ketamine-induced drug addict and I so bet his techno-boys are too. Elongated and Peter Peter Trumpkin Eater Thiel must be an addict also. Addicted to turning America upside down which they’re doing successfully with the help of BonDEI, Vought No, and Marco Polo. Yep, we are in a world of hurt which really pisses me off! My parents who escaped Nazism came to the US to breathe, to thrive. America allowed them and many others to do that. These motherf**ers are trying to ruin our lives.WE WILL FIGHT HARDER! WE ARE FAMILY! DON’T GIVE UP AND DON’T GIVE IN!

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2dEdited

I'm there with you. Dayum, I wake up some mornings and wonder where I am.

I'm old enough to remember being at grade school and the priciple announcing that President Kennedy was assasinated.

My ancestors came to America in the late 1500s and I am proud... they were always fighting on the good side of history. Love of Country runs deep in me.

All this craziness and distruction hurts me to my soul.

Life truly is stranger than fiction.

We will keep fighting for truth, justice and the American way!!!

Be safe and be well.

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Do tell: where did your family come from and where do they settle?

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England on my mother's side. Norfolk, Massachusetts first recorded location.

I'm a family genealogist adventurer. LOL

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The first ships of colonists from England came in 1620 to Plymouth?

My english ancestor maternal line was the master of the first American built ship, settled in Concord Ma in its founding year of 1635.

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Late 1500’s? Hmm.

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Me too, Kat. England on Dad's side, including two ancestors who came over on the Mayflower. Been doing family genealogy for 30 years.

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I have compared them to the frat in Animal House so this resonates with me. That would be the entire MAGA party is one big bro loving, women hating frat. I personally think all women of childbearing age should leave the US, and let these incels run it without progenating.

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About 25 years ago, just as Tesla was becoming something of a force in the automobile business, a (conservative) guy I'd worked with/for at other auto manufacturers was recruited to join Tesla. He did his due diligence, which included learning that the nickname then was Ego Most. My pal said, thanks, but no thanks..

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What do we do?????!

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Donate what you can to legal organizations. Call your elected representatives even if they're Democrats so they stay on task. Look for a protest if that's your thing (not mine, but I would if I could go to DC, read information about all the lawsuits being filed and the injunctions being issued. Wait for the implosion -- it will come.

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Thank you. I will continue. The implosion- I agree- will come.

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While the numbers of calls to the US Congress switchboard are setting records and getting attention, it may be easier to call the individual representatives’ office numbers and/or their local office numbers. Those numbers are available online. Google: US House or US Senate and search the website. The house has “find your representative by zip code” which makes it easy.

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Better yet, download, install and use “5Calls”. Tell it who you are and your location, pick an issue from nicely curated list, 5Calls app presents a 1 screen backgrounder, it gives a list of your House Rep, your Senators,

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Governor and state AG, a script to read from, and will step you through the appropriate people.

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Check out www.indivisible.org. It is a hugely strategic nationwide organization of 1000+ grassroots groups. Founded by two savvy former Congressional staffers who understand power, politics, and people -- lots of smart actions for individuals and groups to take. If there's not an Indivisible group near you (check their online map), they'll help you start one.

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Revisionist history is being spun like a web of tangled misinformation. There a Times podcast featuring Steve Bannon which is priceless. He’s lost his “place at the table”, and is aiming for a comeback on Ross Douthat’s Interview.

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Ross Douchehat is probably hoping for a cabinet appointment. Minister of State Religion?

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I've finally quit reading him.

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The man has scruples of a, oh I don't know, a starving cockroach. He epitomizes what the NYTimes has become.

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Which may be an insult to starving cockroaches.

Cockroaches at least scatter when the lights come on.

This crew brazenly stand there and continue to lie, repeatedly.

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Seeing Bannon's face on the cover of the digital paper finally did it for me. Cancelled Times subscription. If I want to read Jamelle Bouie or Katherine Stewart, I can do it elsewhere. Krugman and Blow are gone, and Krugman complained that he was struggling with how he was being edited. Ross Douthat makes me sick.

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I posted this on the previous column. Apologies for the repeat but it applies here as well: As I was doing my treadmill routine this morning, I was listening to some old favorite rock songs. Suddenly, Barry McGuire's 1965 "Eve of Destruction" showed up on the playlist. Check out verse three: "Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin' I'm sittin' here just contemplatin' I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation Handful of senators don't pass legislation And marches alone can't bring integration When human respect is disintegratin' This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'" and then the chorus: "And you tell me over and over and over again, my friend Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction" Clearly, now, we are in full daylight of destruction!

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What I was hearing earlier was "For what it's worth" by Buffalo Springfield.

It, too is very apropos, indeed.

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Oh... both of those songs and "Subterranean Homesick Blues"(on repeat) for about a week in my head... and several John Lennon ("Just Gimme Some Truth"... ) along with Curtis Mayfield and others.

Very apropos.

Feel like I'm singing instead of screaming (?)

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The pump don't work' 'cause the vandals took the handle.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

Maybe Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner (written by another distant relative of mine)

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You sure don't. And if we're not careful we won't have any more weathermen.

Love Jimi's version!

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It is OUR national anthem.

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You're in better shape than I'm in.

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Old songs keep popping up.

Do share them, if only to steady your nerves.

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Thanks. What about Four Dead in Ohio. Of course, we may want to save that for when we have to bring out Street Fighting Man.

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That song (especially "tin soldiers and Nixon coming") was in my head on repeat during the hearings and later confirmation of the new DoD head.

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I should mention that during the People's Park riots in Berkeley in May 1969, people would put their record players in their open windows and play Street Fighting Man and I think Up Against the Wall, although I may be wrong on that one. You could hear those songs all over the student district.

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Ari Melber just had a show about protest songs and this one came to mind immediately and yet it wasn't in the top ten list from Rolling Stone. It's the best for my money!! So prescient!

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Barry McGuire's 1965 "Eve of Destruction" I'm pretty sure was never played on Armed Forces Radio Vietnam while I was there. But troops/sailors had portable tape decks so I did hear it everywhere. The biggest Vietnam hit was "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"---a song which is appropriate to how I feel about America today. But I'm not going anywhere now.

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Perfect

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2dEdited

Janet, someone recommended (in honor of Elno) the mid 80's Artists Against Apartheid (Little Stephen and others); newer versions also to be found, too.

Good treadmill music, too.

"Ain't Gonna Play Sun City"

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CatChex, I will definitely check that out. My family lived in South Africa in late 1950s during the bad days of Apartheid. I left in 1966 to come to the US.

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Janet, I wasn't able to find it anywhere except YouTube - which was played while I made lunch today. It had been a while since I'd seen the video so it was almost a game of "oh, there's (artist name) there, too'.

Glad you are here in the US.

Those were very bad days before you left and afterward.

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Perhaps "the treadmill to oblivion" [insert very, very rhetorical question mark here].

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What I have to ironically laugh at is that Republican Senator from Kansas complaining about the tariffs hurting his farmers, even though the state voted for Trump and he voted for Trump's cabinet appointees.

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Gotta be the Dems’ fault. What did they think was going to happen when they licked the boots of a wannabe dictator and his henchman?

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Yeah. I live in Kansas and wrote to both of my senators that night. Got back form letters two days later. WTH!!! Tell me what else I can do!!! I'm trying to make noise but it seems Trump/Musk are louder. 😢

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I would call them. See if their staff actually listens.

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I got generic letters from my two California US senators. No expression of urgency, just business as usual. They were in response to emails, so I sent real typed letters, with a stamp and everything, today.

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I was disappointed in my letter from Schiff’s office (let’s not pretend anyone but staffers read them). I wrote it regarding Cabinet nominees and that I wanted to see total obstruction. I got a “well, some nominees are bad but some are qualified.” No fire. Nothing from Padilla. My representative had more fire and fight in the letter. Has an office in town so I plan to visit. But this going to take a massive effort from us. The Regime’s goal is turn the administrative state over to AI and eliminating the other branches of government as viable institutions. 47 did tell voters that they won’t have to worry about another election.

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We are truly fucked when dems pretend this is all business as usual

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Because there's a fantasy that old rules still apply and a denial that Project2025 isn't being implemented.

I had one staffer tell me 'well, we don't know what they're going to do and _____ is trying to work in a bipartisan way'. (um, they wrote it down, bound it into a book and released it - did your office miss that? <<< which I didn't say - but - wow)

Yes, this will take a massive effort.

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My response is that Trump/Musk aren't louder but have louder $.

Cynical, yes.

Keep calling and writing - ask them who they represent, will they uphold their oaths?

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Money doesn't talk, it swears.

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You can't fix stupid.

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Don’t you love it?

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Yeah the level of stupidity is truly mind-boggling. But that’s not really a surprise.

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Even my senator Welch of Vermont voted FOR a cabinet appointee. THEY SHOULDN'T BE VOTING YES ON ANYTHING DRUMPF PROPOSES. I wrote to him also got a form letter!

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Same in Michigan! I blew a gasket and called DC senate offices, left red-hot message: NO COMPLIANCE!!! EVER. ON ANYTHING! They are starting to get the message, maybe? Filibuster was a bust, but it at least SHOWED SOME SPINE!!!

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Re our US Senators from Michigan, have you been able to get through on the phones in the past week? We haven't.

And I'm not sure that the 2 Senators are getting a spine.

Our Rep and that office has been much more responsive.

Meanwhile, state level GOP was doing this the other day (he's also part of the couple that helped send buses to J6).

Total lack of class. Sneering bully (not that that's news to Michiganders with regard to this guy) Aging frat boy (?)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/michigan-gop-lawmaker-matt-maddock-222418694.html

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Brain dead voters vote for brain dead candidate...but hey he hates black and brown people, LGBTQ folks and women just like I do.

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What Musk, his "kids", Trump and his appointees don't seem to understand is that there are loads of Trumpers who survive by doing business with the Federal Government: farmers and universities just to name two. And they have just screwed them out of their incomes. All these supporters are only interested in is how much their food costs and how much their gas costs. That will be a moot point when their incomes suddenly drops to zero, and they find that Trump has stopped welfare payments as well.

We are going back to 1932 with people selling apples in the street and people literally starving to death.

Will these MAGATs still vote for Republicans in November 1926 and act like the members of the Jim Jones cult? Or will they finally, finally wake up to see how they have been duped?

I'm sorry to say that I remain skeptical.

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They will starve to death before admitting their idol failed them. I don’t think many of t-Rump’s worshipers care about the prices of gas or food. They believe their god will magically restore white supremacy—THAT is what they really care about!

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eggfrickinzactly

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Gosh, I hope so.

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If the 2026 midterm elections are held. Remember, one of Trump's promises last July was "Get out and vote! Just this time. You won't have to do it anymore! Four more years, you know what? It'll be fixed, it'll be fine, you won't have to vote anymore."

Was he talking only about presidential elections, or might First Felon Emperor Trump of the U.S. bring that fix forward and include midterms?

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I'm still wondering what the 'secret' he had with Mike Johnson before the election! He said we'd find out after the election.

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I think we're figuring it out.

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They freakin' stole it!

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You have a point. That’s why I remain skeptical.

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Thanks for reminding us that almost nothing evil and undemocratic about Trump was hidden from the electorate. It was ALL out there, and still he won. Less than half the vote, but still won. This is a sinking ship, destroyed by the stupidity of its crew.

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Not in November 1926. Stewart, this is 2025 and times have changed since 1926. As a resident of the Bay Area since 1961, the members of the Jones cult never woke up and I too would be surprised is the magas would.

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Some of them did and desperately tried to escape. Some did. One became a California politician.

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Are you thinking of Jackie Spier, a congressional aide who traveled wiith her boss to Jonestown to investigate the rumors? She was not a member. Cultists assassinated him and severely wounded her. After she recovered she won his seat and served several terms till recently. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Speier

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Yes. I was under the impression that she initially was part of the group but tried to leave, but I stand corrected.

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She was with Leo Ryan, the congressman for whom she worked.

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I think that was was a mistype on Stewart’s part.

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I realize that.

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Remember, the media they follow smother them with lies, distortions, and glaring omissions anytime their computers or TVs are powered up

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That may be true, but the grocery store prices never lie, and the absence of welfare checks never lie. Already one Senator in Kansas, Republican of course, is complaining that what Trump et.al. has done is hurting his constituency but he voted for it nonetheless.

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Exactly. He was atypical in not blaming DEI or Dems. He and a cacophony of felllow liars are who those voters will continue to believe.

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They're also armed.

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And there are a LOT of them, Ellen.

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Yeah but the one who are actively destroying the constitution and the country don't plan on having any more elections so who cares...

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Sometimes I think I’m in a weird kind of hell where the incels set the temperature and the rest of wander around looking for some kind of sanity.

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Sharing from a friend’s Facebook post. I like it.

The 24-hour Economic Blackout

WHEN:

Friday February 28th from

12:00 AM to 11:59 PM

WHAT NOT TO DO:

Do not make any purchases

Do not shop online, or in-store

No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy

Nowhere!

Do not spend money on:

Fast Food

Gas

Major Retailers

Do not use Credit or Debit Cards for non essential spending

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Only buy essentials that are absolutely necessary

(Food, Medicine, Emergency Supplies)

If you must spend, ONLY support small, local businesses.

WHY THIS MATTERS!

~ Corporations and banks only care about their bottom line.

~ If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message.

~ If they don't listen (they won't) we make the next blackout longer.

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I like it!! Like a national strike, shared on FB!

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Isn't Zuck likely to object to customers ganging up on his new BFF?

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Hope so! God he's pathetic!

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I've been doing this since January 20. Local retailers only. I would add Costco too. We gave it up in October. Oh, I spent $15 at an estate sale yesterday.

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COSTCO is a liberal store proudly supporting DEI. Just FYI.

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Their quality sucks. Have you looked at their "meat"?

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Restacking!!!!

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In other words, (in my case) have a normal day.

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Me too.

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Ha! I save hundreds of "phantom dollars" every single day by not buying anything. They are stored in an imaginary savings account; my meme cryptocurrency.

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Sounds like a plan. Let's try it and see if it has any effect.

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Anything will help. Sometimes multiple paths of resistance are even more powerful than one big push. And at the very least, it will make a statement.

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Good thing you made your essay short today, because I was burning by the end. I'm sorry to disappoint the immigrant M and his buddy T, whose mother was an immigrant and I won't go into his disreputable father's side of the family. My family got to Plymouth from England between 1633-1637 (Puritans) and the rest of them came from England (1690s, Quaker) to Pennsylvania or Germany in between 1734 and 1754 (Pennsylvania Dutch). Both groups DID NOT care for kings and sent people, including my great-great-great grandfather Royal Cole who fought in the Revolution, as well as a whole bunch of Wetmores. They supported Washington's government. M is a total immigrant to the US and has no voice in changing our government by himself. I am a distant relation of Vance through my mother, but they were Quakers and did not fight in the Revolution. They moved out of Pennsylvania to North Carolina along with families like the Boones before the Revolution. And if "Marko Elez" doesn't want to marry out of his ethnicity, I advise him to go back to Bosnia. That's a part of Europe that is very ethnically mixed, and I would bet he might have some African heritage back a ways. As a pureblood WASP and DNA to prove it, I don't think he is white, Anglo-Saxon or protestant. Some kind of Greek Orthodox, I should imagine if not Muslim. If these people don't want to live somewhere where we value people of all ethnicities, they should leave and go back where they came from where they can be with their "own kind" because this country and our government is based on the Constitution. It's been a long time since I've been so angry, and I have a terrible temper.

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I can tell how angry you are, Ellen. I'm with you! I am trying to think of innovative ways to attack this. Your mention of genealogy is making me think. I'm not sure it will lead to anything but I'm a firm believer in the power of brainstorming.

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I was thinking about the genealogy angle so I went to Ancestry and entered "Elon Musk" in the search box. There are quite a few matches for other people with the same name, but get this: I found a picture of Elon Reeve Musk (the right person) with a birth date of June 15, 1971 and a *death* date of 2024!!! (Obviously a mistake unless ... our Musk is a vampire!)

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I use Wikitree myself, because it's free.

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Thanks, Ellen: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiTree seemed interesting. I admit to growing suspicious since the enterprise is a profit-seeking business that misleadingly chose a name that implies altruistic aims. Given that users are asked to donate valuable DNA data to the business, it would take chutzpah then to charge them.

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Hmm, I didn't know that. I don't recall be asked to donate my DNA.

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Just gleaned reading between the lines of the Wikipedia article, which is not critical.

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Ditto!

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Vance says, "I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life.” Does he believe that not being allowed to continue a criminal activity would ruin his life? Actually, in a practical sense, his activities are not criminal, because who would prosecute him -- the Trump Justice Department?

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Even normal behavior like walking down the street can ruin a black kids life. My distant cousin is wrong. His college education and law school did not teach him anything.

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My last year teaching, I had one class of 8th graders. Watching this lot, I recall the one unmanageable little snot, son of two divorced lawyers who may have only ever seen each other when they ganged up on the principal to object to some perceived mistreatment of their darling. I feel lucky to have had so few students with No Moral Compass, who Could Explain Anything (in fluent and substance-less verbiage), and I am truly gobsmacked to see them proliferating in the halls of power. I have NO MEMORY of having EVER given my consent (informed or otherwise) to have My Country run by the kind of clique-ish Middle-Schoolers who go on to become Frat Boys!! [Alas, I remember when it was a grave insult to call someone "boy."]

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So far the federal courts have been helping to stem or stop the incursions by Musk's incels. The last injuction was issued earlier today-in the wee hours. It stops a lot of the shit going on in the Treasury for a few days.

Hope the injuction will be extended or in place permanently.

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But who is going to make these creeps obey the courts' orders?

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Maybe they need something more shocking.

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Can't they be jailed for contempt if they don't? (Obviously I am not a lawyer.)

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Don't know. That would be up to the courts. Tish James has said that if Musk doesn't comply she'll file criminal charges.

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She's awesome. I hope she does!

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Who arrests them? A Federal law enforcement officer?

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US Marshalls.

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Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,

Is the immediate jewel of their souls:

Who steals my purse steals trash; tis something, nothing;

Twas mine, tis his, and has been slave to thousands;

But he that filches from me my good name

Robs me of that which not enriches him

And makes me poor indeed.

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I had to look this up but I'm not surprised it's Shakespeare. It's so beautiful. Here's what Google's AI answer says:

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls” is a line from Othello by William Shakespeare. It appears in Act 3, Scene 3.

Explanation

The line is part of a speech by Iago, who is trying to convince Roderigo to give him money. Iago is using the idea of a good name to cloak his true intentions, which are to ruin Othello's marriage.

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It's actually worse, because ourselves can no longer save ourselves. The roll out is only beginning but it has already bulldozed most of our institutions. The Federal Judges, bless them, are countering, but their orders will be swept aside with no repercussions for the malfeasants. Which will only encourage more roll backs.

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Yep, who needs Judges when you have Donald

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Kennedy Centet has new King.

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Just what ethnicity is a name like Marko Elez? Elon Musk? Let's see their DNA pie charts!

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Musk is white-y white. Elez is Bosnian.

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What kind of name is M? Doesn't sound WASP to me.

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Bosnia, former part of Yugoslavia and Austro-Hungarian Empire. We all know that Bosnia, along with Victor Orban's Hungary, is famous as the Garden of Democracy. I expect Marko will rise high in Trump World.

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The ethnicity of his name doesn’t prove his intent. But there are follow up questions that come to mind.

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Bosnia, Croatia, and Hungary were Nazi allies throughout WW2 and before WW2. Where did his grandparents and parents stand? Might explain his views.

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No, that's actually caving to their pov. It's allowing for ethnicity to be a determining factor.

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My point is, almost nobody in this country is pure anything. We are all mutts. And it’s a strength, not a weakness. “Hybrid vigor”. So the racists can just stuff it.

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I read that Elon’s father named him after a powerful sci-fi character, The Elon. Brother is named Kimbal Musk.

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Ignorant, stupid, and venal led by same enhanced with massive greed.

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The major problem with the Muskies is they grew up with science fiction comic books and they are acting out one of their own making. It will be interesting to see who emerges as the hero of the tale. Most of what they are doing will fly right over the head of people in Congress who didn’t read sci -fi comic books. Their vision of an AI operated government is sheer fucking Batman. We need to litigate and legislate. We also need to quietly explain Musk to enough republicans to get them to help stop him. There are probably 10 who will help.

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This is Bizarro world indeed.

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