Originally published at: Leon Musk complains there is not enough assasinating going on - Boing Boing
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The second most arrogant man on Earth has never heard of /s. That makes sense.
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This is not a joke. Freedom of speech does not include yelling “fire” in a crowded theater, and this is just that on a much, much larger scale, and in direct contravention of several statutes, including 18 US code section 871:
Arrest him. Prosecute him. Jail him. This is blatantly illegal and unless stopped may well result in a violation of section 1751
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This might be the case. But musk didn’t mean it as sarcasm. It wasn’t a joke. He’s only claiming that now because he might experience some consequences
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It turns out that unfunny “jokes” are even more unfunny when the Secret Service visit you for a nice chat.
I’m just surprised that he isn’t crying about censorship, so maybe he hasn’t had that chat yet.
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But ‘he’s just asking questions’ so that makes inciting violence ok!
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First lie: this was a joke.
Second lie: his jokes are at all funny in person.
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“Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text.”
And our technolord genius finally makes the discovery that most people make in their first three months on the Internet, which is that text lacks nuance and jokes get misunderstood.
Obviously, Musk thinks he knows the answer to his own question, because whenever someone like him is “just asking questions” (smiley-thoughtful-face), it’s because they’ve already made their minds up and are dog-whistling to people who think like them. I assume his answer is that people who hate Trump are violent and anti-democratic, whereas the people who hate Biden/Harris are disciplined and orderly and believe too deeply in democracy to take a shot at the opposition.
This is not, I think, really supported by the facts. Particularly because in the last two attempts on Trump’s life, it seems rather as if the calls were coming from inside the house.
So perhaps the actual answer to Elon’s question is that Trump projects violence and instability, and this makes him the subject of obsessive attention from violent and unstable people. Or maybe it’s just that he has, unfortunately, given himself iconic status. If you’re seeking notoriety, he’s the white whale you want to harpoon.
We’ve moved on from the days of “Sic semper tyrannis”; the catchphrase of today’s version of John Wilkes Booth is more likely to be “like and subscribe”.
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the nytimes recently ran an article on his paranoia
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/13/technology/elon-musk-security.html
His security team now operates like a mini-Secret Service, and he is guarded more like a head of state than a business executive, security experts said. Mr. Musk, who was once flanked by two bodyguards, travels with as many as 20 security professionals who show up to research escape routes or to clear a room before he enters. They often carry guns and have a medical professional in tow for Mr. Musk, who has been code-named “Voyager” by his security team.
The threats to his safety have led Mr. Musk to become more fearful and his lifestyle more isolated, three people close to him said. He is rarely without bodyguards — even when he went to the bathroom at X, his social media company — according to a 2023 lawsuit filed by former employees over severance pay. At times, he has overstated the severity of threats, including once inaccurately saying two people indicted in separate incidents had carried guns.
or maybe, just maybe, the Supreme Court has failed to file timely economic impact statements for each of it’s “gun rights” decisions.
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What I’m waiting for is J D Vance saying that assassination attempts are just a fact of life.
I’ll probably be waiting for some time.
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Musk knows he’s untouchable because he’s got his fingers in everything. FCC fine for running a Nazi website? Ok, no more rocket ships to the ISS.
SEC violation and subsequent punishment? Turns Starlink off over Ukraine.
These arseholes get into some feedback loop that makes them think they are elevated above ramifications - but everyone gets their day of comeuppance in one way or another.
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Yes. Because the Federal government can actually say “Due to vital national security reasons, we’re taking over SpaceX and Starlink. You may get them back once we’ve sorted everything out.”
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No one is truly ‘untouchable’; no one.
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I imagine that revoking his security clearance would make his position at SpaceX untenable.
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“I am so misunderstood.”
I’m just a guy whose intentions aren’t good
Oh Lord, why am I always misunderstood
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United States
- 1775: Postal roads in the former Thirteen Colonies placed under control of the U.S. Post Office led by Postmaster GeneralBenjamin Franklin by decree of the Second Continental Congress during the American Revolution. Succeeded by the U.S. Post Office Department enabled by the Postal Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and eventually the U.S. Postal Service after the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970.
- 1862 United States Military Railroad(USMRR), organized under the U.S. War Department by the Railways and Telegraph Act of 1862, took over and merged into this state-owned entity all captured Confederate trains and other railway assets.[108]
- 1917: Merck & Co. seized by the U.S. federal government during World War Iunder the Trading with the Enemy Act, later became a private company, separate from the original Merck Groupoperating in Germany.
- 1917: All U.S. railroads were operated (but not owned) by the Railroad Administration during World War I as a wartime measure. Railroads were returned to private control in 1920 under the Esch-Cummins Act.
- 1918: The U.S. telephone system was nationalized on July 31, 1918, and placed under control of the Post Office Department. It was returned to private ownership on July 31, 1919.[109]
- 1939: Organization of the Tennessee Valley Authority entailed the nationalization of the Tennessee Electric Power Company.
- 1943: On December 27, 1943, President Roosevelt nationalized the railroads for a few weeks to settle a strike.[110]
- 1971: The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) is a government-owned corporation created in 1971 for the express purpose of relieving American railroads of their legal obligation to provide inter-city passenger rail service. The (primarily) freight railroads had petitioned to abandon passenger service repeatedly in the decades leading up to Amtrak’s formation.
- 1976: The Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) was created by the Regional Rail Reorganization Act to take over the operations of six bankrupt rail lines operating primarily in the Northeast; Conrail was privatized in 1987 under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act when it was acquired by CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway, although it continues operations as an asset management and network services provider. Initial plans for Conrail would have made it a truly nationalized system like that during World War I, but an alternate proposal by the Association of American Railroadswon out.
- 1989: Resolution Trust Corporationseized control of hundreds of failed savings and loan associations under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act in response to the 1980s savings and loan crisis.
- 2001: In response to the September 11 attacks, the airport security industry was nationalized and put under the authority of the FAA-controlled Transportation Security Administration under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act.
- 2008: Some economists consider the government’s takeover of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and Federal National Mortgage Associationto have been nationalization (or renationalization).[111][112] The conservatorship model used with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is looser and more temporary than nationalization.[113]
- 2009: Some economists consider the government’s actions through the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Actwith regards to Citigroup to have been a partial nationalization.[114] A proposal was made that banks like Citigroup be brought under a conservatorship model similar to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that some of their “good assets” be dropped into newly created “good bank” subsidiaries (presumably under new management), and the remaining “bad assets” be left to be managed under the supervision of a conservatorshipstructure.[113] The government’s actions with regard to General Motors in replacing the CEO with a government-approved CEO is likewise being considered as nationalization.[115][116] On June 1, 2009, General Motors filed for bankruptcy during the automotive industry crisis, with the government investing up to $50 billion in debtor-in-possession financing and taking 60% ownership in the company. In addition to a U.S. Government ownership, the Governments of Canada and Ontarioalso took ownership of 7.9% and 3.8% of General Motors, respectively.[117]President Barack Obama stated that the nationalization was temporary, saying, “We are acting as reluctant shareholders because that is the only way to help GM succeed”[118]
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If the Navy or others end up using StarLink, they absolutely need to take over control of it.
I thought I read awhile ago the Pentagon was looking into developing their own version. I dunno where they are with that, but a critical piece of communications for the military shouldn’t be in the hands of a private business person.
It would be like relying on private GPS satellites.
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