Dispatches of alarm and hope, on politics and society, democracy and justice. Because silence is not an option. We may read and write alone, but we drive change together.

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Snapshot: Poor Elon Can’t Understand the Anger

Tesla owner Elon Musk says he's "shocked" by the "hatred and violence" from the left and claims he's "never done anything harmful"

Steven Beschloss Mar 19

Elon Musk and a chainsaw: “I’ve only done productive things,” he said yesterday. (Photo by Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)

Elon Musk went on Fox News last night and cried a river. He’s apparently shocked that his illegal violations of our constitutional government, his stripping away funding that’s causing grave damage, his strutting around our Oval Office, his false attacks on Social Security, his Nazi salutes while standing behind the presidential seal, his platforming of Nazis on his abusive social media site, his endorsing neo-Nazis in Germany, his increasingly hostile rhetoric sent out to 220 million followers—that all this is causing a backlash from Americans who’ve had enough. As if they’d have no reason to be upset with the world’s richest man, Donald Trump’s top donor and an unelected co-conspirator in dismantling our democracy.

We’ve seen that play out in the declining stock price of his electric vehicle company, Tesla, which has dropped by half since mid-December and about a third in the last month. That anger has been increasingly visible in protests at Tesla dealerships, Tesla owners getting rid of their cars or stripping off the branding on Cybertrucks, as well as vandals spray-painting or otherwise damaging Tesla vehicles. Protestors have thrown Molotov cocktails at Tesla showrooms in Oregon, Colorado and Missouri. Yesterday at a Tesla showroom in Las Vegas, a cluster of cars were set on fire, bullets were fired and the word “resist” was spray-painted on the store’s window.

Until now, it’s seemed Musk has been having so much fun helping undermine America and set the world on fire. Fun, that is, until he’s finally grasping his empire is at risk. His response is so telling—as if he can’t understand why in the world people would be so angry. “It's really come as a shock to me that there's this level of hatred and violence coming from the left,” he told Sean Hannity on Fox while standing in front of our White House. “I always thought the left, the Democrats, were supposed to be the party of empathy, the party of caring.”

This from the person who, three weeks ago on Joe Rogan’s podcast, asserted, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.”

Then, demonstrating his utter lack of self-awareness, he not only took no responsibility, he presented himself as only doing good. “Tesla is a peaceful company. We've never done anything harmful,” Musk said. “I've never done anything harmful. I've only done productive things.”

Refusing to recognize what his reckless hostility has unleashed, he began lashing out and searching for sinister forces to blame. “I think we just have a deranged, some kind of mental illness thing going on here,” he said. “Because this doesn't make any sense. And I think there are larger forces at work as well. Who's funding it and who's coordinating it? Because this is crazy. I've never seen anything like this.”

Let’s not be uncertain. Musk is nervous, even running scared. The rising anger, the protests, the hits on his bottom line, the personal hatred toward him are all having an impact. It might eventually lead to his removal from his unelected role as co-president.

But Musk has the most powerful backing of the Trump regime. It’s not just appropriate investigations by the FBI into criminal, violent behavior, it’s the Attorney General Pam Bondi prioritizing Musk’s business. “If you’re going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out because we’re going to come after you,” Bondi asserted yesterday. Rather than investigating the attacks as arson, the FBI is considering them as possible terrorism. And then there’s Trump himself: “I’m going to put a stop to it. Because they’re harming a great American company.”

Who is the “they” who’s harming “a great American company?” Perhaps Musk and Trump should consider looking into the mirror. They can find the answer there.

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The NAZI targeted agencies that were investigating him. 

MICHAEL WHITAKER, FAA Adm. grounded SPACE X after the explosion that caused debris that caused property damage & forced flight diversions. He also FINED SPACE X. 

TRUMP & ELON MUSK FORCED OUT MICHAEL WHITAKER, FAA ADM. WHO FORCED ELON MUSK TO ABIDE BY STATUTE & FINED HIM FOR HIS SAFETY VIOLATONS, SPACE X EXPLODED MID AIR POLLUTING PROPERTY & CAUSING PROPERTY DAMAGE 

MICHAEL WHITAKER WAS REPLACED BY SEAN DUFFY, AN INCOMPETENT CLOWN! 

NOTE SUBSEQUENT PLANE CRASHES! THOSE ARE TRUMP PLANE CRASHES DUE TO INCOMPETENCE!

TRUMP'S HIRING FREEZE 

TRUMP FIRED THE HEAD OF TSA & COAST GUARD 

TRUMP ELIMINATED MEMBERS OF AVIATION SECURITY ADVISORY GROUP 

NOTE: There was a recent SPACE X EXPLOSION with similar results. Who pays for the CLEANUP? Not the NAZI MUSKRAT!

NHTSA no longer reports complaints about TESLA failures. 

OPEN SECRETS provide an article about SEAN DUFFY (FOR $1/a year you can subscribe) 

Trump administration profile: Sean Duffy

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/03/trump-administration-profile-sean-duffy/

THE JUGGERNAUT PROJECT SPONSORED A PETITION CAMPAIGN TO INVESTIGATE TESLA'S FAILURES & PROTECT ROAD SAFETY - IN OTHER WORDS: DO ITS JOB! 

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING - LINK BELOW!

The Tesla Cybertruck is a disaster waiting to happen—and federal regulators must act before someone gets seriously injured or killed. From malfunctioning accelerators to panels falling off during operation, the Cybertruck has been plagued with safety defects since the moment it hit the road.

Tesla just had to pause deliveries due to reports of serious mechanical failures, and one expert compared the Cybertruck’s safety performance to that of the infamous Ford Pinto—an alarming warning about the risks this vehicle poses.

Now, reports indicate that Cybertrucks fail to meet basic pedestrian safety standards in countries like the UK, where they have been banned from the roads. Yet here in the United States, these dangerous vehicles remain on our roads putting drivers, passengers and pedestrians at risk. That’s unacceptable.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has a duty to ensure that all vehicles on U.S. roads meet strict safety standards. Given the growing number of reports about Cybertruck defects and safety failures, NHTSA must immediately launch a full investigation and order a nationwide recall of all Tesla Cybertrucks until these issues are resolved.

Elon Musk’s rush to market cannot come at the expense of public safety. Join us in demanding that NHTSA acts now to protect drivers, passengers, and pedestrians alike.

THE JUGGERNAUT PROJECT

https://juggernautproject.com/?link_id=4&can_id=51ffb1079933d030fa44b0f35ff14763&source=email-sign-the-petition-recall-all-tesla-cybertrucks-to-fix-safety-issues-and-defects&email_referrer=email_2658374_

These clowns have destroyed so much & caused so much damage in their ignorance, we know of the stupidity of slashing USAID in VIETNAM to cleanup AGENT ORANGE, but this is a recent article - the failure to address TB in another nation, risks introducing it to the US - it's SELF-PROTECTION! 

Pakistan TB Deaths will Increase as USAID Funding Ends

https://countercurrents.org/2025/03/pakistan-tb-deaths-will-increase-as-usaid-funding-ends/

Robin Hood in reverse

 

Yesterday, I voted NO on a terrible Continuing Resolution bill - written by right-wing Republicans in the House with no input from anybody but themselves.

This bill moves our country toward authoritarianism by usurping Congress‘s constitutional responsibility to determine how federal funds are spent, and creates a slush fund for Elon Musk and Donald Trump to continue their war against the working families of our country. This bill puts more and more power into the hands of the White House.

In order to pass this bill the Republicans needed 60 votes - which meant they had to have seven votes from Democrats – and they got them. Actually they got ten. That is sad and a real failure on the part of Democratic leadership. NOBODY in the Senate should have voted for this dangerous bill.

But that’s only part of what’s going on right now.

As I’m sure you know Trump, Musk and the Republican Party are going after Social Security, cutting thousands of jobs at the Social Security administration.

They are going after Medicaid, trying to cut the program by over $800 billion dollars. That means millions of kids are going to lose their health care. It means if your mom and dad are in a nursing home, they're going to be in trouble because 2/3 of people in nursing homes are supported by Medicaid.

They are going after the Veterans Administration and want to cut over 80,000 workers at the VA, which means our veterans will get lower quality health care.

They're going after public education, nutrition assistance programs and regulations to protect us from polluters and corporate crooks - and on and on it goes.

And why do they want to cut all of these programs that are so important to the working families of our country?

The answer is very simple: they want to give massive tax cuts to the richest people in America. In their program, they are going to give over $1 trillion to the top 1%, paid for by programs working people rely on to survive.

It's the Robin Hood principle in reverse. They’re taking from the poor and working people and giving to the very rich.

And if you think my Republican colleagues lose a minute of sleep thinking about all of the harm they will cause for families across the country in the process, you would be mistaken.

So. Where do we go from here?

First, we have to understand that the economic and political crises facing our country will NOT be solved in Washington, DC. The system is just too corrupt. As a result of Citizens United billionaires in both parties are able spend unlimited sums of money buying and selling politicians - and that’s what they do. Further, on any given day, thousands of corporate lobbyists roam the halls of Congress doing the bidding of their corporate masters.

The ONLY way that real change ever takes place is from the bottom on up. It’s when millions of people, at the grassroots level, reject the status quo and stand up for justice and decency. And the good news is that we’re beginning to see that happen right now – all across the country. Seniors in large numbers are telling Congress: don’t cut the Social Security Administration. Veterans and their organizations are telling Congress: don’t cut the Veterans Administration. Students are telling Congress: don’t cut Pell grants and student loans.

And large numbers of people are coming out to town meetings - and taking on members of Congress who are prepared to vote against their interests.

Over the past several weeks I've held a series of town meetings in Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. And what I have found is that in these districts, and all across the country, Americans are saying loudly and clearly: NO to oligarchy, NO to authoritarianism, NO to kleptocracy, NO to massive cuts in programs that working people desperately need, NO to huge tax breaks for the richest people in our country.

Next week, as part of our Fighting Oligarchy tour I, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive members of Congress, will be holding events in Nevada, Colorado and Arizona. And that’s just the beginning.

There must be meetings and rallies in all 50 states, and they should take place over and over again. And when those rallies are over, we need to organize the people who attend to mobilize in their communities and be in touch with their members of Congress.

But that is not all.

We need progressives to run for office at all levels. I am talking about school boards, city councils, state legislature and the races that are not in the news but make a tremendous difference in local communities.

We need to build community and bring people together even when it isn't about politics first. The Republican Party is always trying to divide us up based on race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation and more... we need to come together as one.

We need to elect a U.S. House and a U.S. Senate that will prioritize the needs of the working people in this country. We now have open Senate seats in Minnesota, Michigan, and New Hampshire. Who are the progressives that are going to run, and how can we support them? There are also a number of House seats that can be won.

Further, we need to be looking for new and creative ways to educate each other in a world where nearly the entire media and communications infrastructure is owned and controlled by the wealthiest people in this country.

If there was ever a time in American history when we need to come together, this is that time.

Not me.

Us.

That is the only way forward.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

 

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Take Action: Don’t let Musk gut our government

 

House Republicans narrowly passed their far-right funding bill – which would undermine Medicaid and Social Security and do NOTHING to stop Trump and Musk's illegal cuts to our public services. [1] We must act NOW to demand the Senate reject any funding legislation that gives Musk and Trump a blank check to shut down any part of the government they don't like. Contact your senators >> TAKE ACTION It’s a simple demand: when Elon Musk is already taking money out of your pocket to make billionaires like him richer, Congress needs to do whatever it takes to stop him. But instead of putting up guardrails to protect disaster relief, cancer research, and Social Security – congressional Republicans want to write the worst parts of Musk’s slash-and-burn agenda into law.   The good news is, they can’t do that on their own.   They will need 7 Senate Democrats to sign on to pass this far-right bill into law. That makes this funding bill the most important leverage point there is to STOP Elon Musk’s coup. Contact your senators today and demand they vote to defend our schools, our hospitals, and our Social Security from Elon Musk. Join me to speak out now >> Our Constitution is clear: Congress controls the “power of the purse” and how our tax dollars are spent – not the president, and certainly not an unelected, unconfirmed billionaire like Elon Musk.   Musk is already trying to shut down our government, one mass firing or one shuttered agency at a time. We all pay the price when an unelected billionaire is allowed to fire federal workers and gut the healthcare, food assistance, and education programs that millions of Americans rely on. Join me to tell the Senate: Treat this like the constitutional crisis it is. Don’t pass any funding legislation that gives Musk free rein to continue gutting our government. Thanks for all you do, Aaron Scherb, Senior Director of Legislative Affairs and the team at Common Cause   [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-unveils-stopgap-measure-keep-government-funded-avert-shutdown

Common Cause is a leader in fights that matter at the local, state, and national level. Your support helps us fight special interests, hold elected officials accountable, and build a better democracy for all Americans. DONATE Interested in volunteering with our Action Team? Sign up here. 805 15th Street, NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 202.833.1200 https://commoncause.org Common Cause’s work to defend and strengthen our democracy is powered by members like you.

 

Watch now   Sen. Adam Schiff Takes On Trump Chaos in New Meidas Interview The senator calls out Trump’s reckless tariffs, attacks on veterans, and fealty to foreign dictators. Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Network Mar 8 I spoke with Senator Adam Schiff again this week, and he made one thing crystal clear: Donald Trump is running this country like one of his failed businesses—erratic, reckless, and headed straight for disaster. “One thing businesses will consistently tell you is what they need most from the government is certainty, stability—not chaos.” Schiff said. “And what Donald Trump is doing with these on-again, off-again tariffs is just creating turmoil.” Farmers in the Central Valley are still trying to recover from the economic damage Trump caused during his first term, and now he’s doing it all over again. He imposes tariffs, the markets tank, he panics and pulls back, then does it again. It’s the kind of instability that wrecks economies—and the only people profiting are foreign adversaries and Trump’s billionaire donors. And speaking of Trump’s billionaire cronies—his latest idea? Selling U.S. citizenship via a Trump Gold Card to Russian and Chinese oligarchs for $5 million a pop. Schiff didn’t mince words: “Nothing really matters to Donald Trump except bringing in cash for himself or his cronies.” And that’s why he’s selling out Ukraine, using a brutal war as leverage for personal profit, while telling the world America is up for sale. But Trump’s cruelty doesn’t stop at our allies. He’s also going after veterans—again. He’s slashing tens of thousands of jobs at the VA, gutting services for those who served this country, while his MAGA minions shrug and say, “Whatever happens to them, happens to them.” Schiff called it like it is: “It’s a big middle finger to veterans.” And why should we be surprised? This is the same man who dodged the draft, mocked John McCain for being a POW, and refused to visit a cemetery in France where U.S. Marines were buried because it was raining. “He didn’t want to mess up that orange bouffant he calls hair,” Schiff said. And now, Trump is making sure the VA is decimated, while attacking the U.S. Postal Service—one of the largest employers of veterans—just to hand over more power to private corporations. Then there’s NATO. Trump is openly undermining the alliance that has kept America safe for 75 years—repeating Kremlin propaganda verbatim. Schiff was blunt: “You can’t tell when Trump is speaking or when Putin is speaking because it’s the same words that come out.” This isn’t just stupidity—it’s dangerous. Our allies stood with us after 9/11. They fought and died alongside American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. And now, Trump is telling them they can’t count on us. And what are MAGA Republicans doing while Trump sabotages the economy, betrays veterans, and sides with dictators? Giving him standing ovations. Schiff compared it to something out of North Korea—Republicans looking around, terrified they’re not clapping hard enough for the Dear Leader. Trump’s message to Americans suffering under his failed leadership? “Have fun.” That’s what he told farmers whose livelihoods he’s destroying. Schiff’s message? Fight back. Call your representatives. Speak out. Don’t let fear keep you silent. We will always be here to fight for the truth, help expose Trump’s corruption, and hold this disaster of a presidency accountable. Consider joining as a paid subscriber now to keep us going. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

 

100 Straight Minutes of Lying

3.5.25

Ally Sammarco Mar 6

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to Today’s American News, your source for news and analysis on the circus that is American politics and entertainment.

Fact checkers call out Trump for no-truth SOTU… We’ll spare you a lot of details from Trump’s State of the Union speech last evening, but we wanted to offer some fact-checking ammo in case it’s helpful. It’s the same old Trump. Here’s CBS News, breaking down five False and three Misleading Trump claims. Factcheck.org took on Trump’s lies on autism and his fairy-tale invention of 37,000 American deaths in the building of the Panama Canal. Totally normal stuff, right? Politifact disappointed with a no-ratings recap. NPR did an annotated fact check, earning points for innovation. The Associated Press took on multiple false and misleading Trump claims, including made-up nonsense about Americans older than 140 years old collecting Social Security. Why did Trump miss this outrage in his first term? Because it didn’t exist, AP notes, and does not exist now. CNN did its usual takedowns on issues ranging from DOGE(sh*t) to climate change.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin earns positive reviews for SOTU rebuttal… Before yesterday evening, only a small percentage of Americans outside of Michigan and DC knew of Sen. Elissa Slotkin. The freshman senator delivered a poised and confident, but not over scripted, response to Donald Trump’s State of the Union. She presented herself as a fighter for the middle class, especially against Trump tax breaks for billionaires. Speaking from a Canadian border state, she was also strong against Trump’s consumer-crippling tariffs. We loved how she called on Americans to get involved no matter how tiring politics and advocacy may seem. RELATED: Women who seek positions of power are subject to a phenomenon known as the “double bind.” While men can be likable *or* qualified for their role, women likely must be both. Achieving balance between strong and warm to the liking of focus groups and overpaid consultants is no easy task. Slotkin was up to the task, no matter how misogynist the double standard, and she delivered. (Transcript) Watch her remarks below and let us know what you think.

****NOTE THAT THE U.S. SENT SOLDIERS INTO WAR ZONE, EXPOSED THEM TO TOXIC CHEMICALS, BURN PITS, DISABILITIES, LONG TERM DAMAGE FROM EXPLOSIVE DEVICES & MUCH ELSE, THE VA WAS ALREADY STRUGGLING & UNDERSTAFFED TO CARE FOR THOSE PATRIOTS WHO SERVED WITH HONOR. THE 2 COWARDS, BONE SPURS & MUSKRATS BETRAY OUR HEROES!****

70K Americans who help military veterans will be fired by world’s richest man… A March 4 memo circulated to key officials in the Department of Veterans Affairs and obtained by CNN paints a bleak outlook for the future of the VA, with more than 1 in 7 workers staring down one of their final paychecks. CNN reports “the department will aim to revert back to its 2019-era staffing levels of 399,957 employees, the memo said. That means more than 70,000 employees could be terminated as part of the restructuring, since the VA employed over 470,000 people as of October 2024, according to the department.” NOTE: Elon Musk never served in the military for any of the three countries in which he has citizenship. He pursued Canadian citizenship through his mom in order to avoid conscription in Apartheid-era South Africa. As such, he reaped the benefits of Apartheid without committing heinous acts that enabled his privilege. REMINDER: Elon Musk does not have a security clearance, was not held to a background check, and we do not know where the man’s loyalties lie (except with himself).

SCOTUS declines to refreeze Trump-freezed foreign aid unfrozen by lower court… It’s hard to follow the latest developments in high-profile litigation, but suffice it to say that on this occasion Donald Trump’s bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court did *not* do his bidding. CBS reports, “The (U.S.) Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to halt a lower court order that required the Trump administration to unfreeze nearly $2 billion in foreign-aid funding, clearing the way for the money to flow to groups that have done work for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development overseas. The decision from the high court ends a pause Chief Justice John Roberts issued last week to allow the high court time to more fully consider a request from the Trump administration to intervene in the ongoing court battle over a 90-day pause on foreign assistance funds. The chief justice issued a brief administrative (sic) last Wednesday — with a midnight deadline for foreign aid payments approaching — before the full court acted on President Trump's bid for emergency relief. The high court split 5-4 in denying the request from the Trump administration, with Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining with the three liberal justices. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented from the denial.”

Today’s Buzz

“Hamilton” won’t perform at Kennedy Center following Trump’s hostile takeover… “The producers of the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” are canceling an upcoming run at the Kennedy Center over President Donald Trump’s hostile takeover of Washington’s premier cultural institution,” Politico reports. “We cannot presently support an institution that has been forced by external forces to betray its mission as a national cultural center that fosters the free expression of art in The United States of America,” lead producer Jeffrey Seller wrote. The announcement drew rebuke from Trump loyalist and Kennedy Center interim executive director Richard Grenell, one of the only openly noteworthy LGTBQ+ names in Trump’s second administration.

Today’s Furry Friend

Meet Theo, a senior Chihuahua whose life and health changed dramatically with the love and help of supportive human friends.

Thanks for tuning in and be sure to join us again tomorrow evening for another edition of Today’s American News.