Max

I bet that mandala finds its way back to the street some time.

Elon Musk's only profitable company, Tesla, has created a cumulative grand total net income of $34 billion in its more than 20 years of existence.

That's less than the total amount of US federal subsidies his empire has collectively received.

The economics of Elon Musk are as bad as the politics.

New FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: “The only thing that matters is power. Power. That is all that matters. A system of checks and balances? Haha! That’s a good one.”

Copy post link
rc1usa.substack.com/p/presidenti...

Why Firing IGs is a Bad Idea (and a bad sign)

open.substack.com/pub/rc1usa/p...

Meanwhile also revoking clearances for elder statesmen such as Clapper, Panetta, Hayden. Not a wise move.

No, it’s the President’s program to run as he wishes. The cost comes as our allies pull back on sharing.

Likely just interim clearances— not quite routine, but not novel in the system. The system will not automatically serve them SCI. They will have to be read on to programs and placed on distro lists. The classification system is an executive function through and through. How secretive is up to 47.

President Biden, why not weigh in on this and threaten to veto a bill unless it includes aid? Also, threaten to delay Trump’s inauguration until he gets out of the way and lets Congress act. #budget #spending_bill

One upside of President Musk and his sidekick Donald blowing up the spending bill before Christmas is they’ll arrive in DC with seriously decreased congressional leverage.

This is like asking whether we need more politics in the judiciary. We don't. Lifetime terms protect against an overly political justice. If we limit terms then whoever wins future elections, along with partisan judicial interest groups (Federalist Society) rule. State judges term elected, not feds.

I imagine the demand for child labor will rise with vast deportation measures.

Lawyers regularly change their stripes depending on whom they’re advocating for. It seems like a desirable strategy to have a lawyer who knows the government’s inside baseball and if you want to suggest new crypto-currency policy to the government there is always K street.

The Pentagon’s budget is inflated because there is a near monopoly by defense prime contractors that spread production and jobs into key congressional districts. We get less 💥 for our 💸 because there is not enough competition and because Congress and the President now can milk budget for the wall.

The FBI engages in sensitive and classified work. Its agents are of the highest moral caliber. Someone with a credible background of physical abuse would not be hired as an agent and should not head the organization. Granted, oppo research and character assassination can occur, but investigate.

Seems like further evidence that legal arguments are now too regularly conflated with political ones. The argument to dismiss a case because it will quell political divisiveness is just the flip side of the argument that a good hanging will satisfy the passions of the masses. It’s not justice.

Imagine a world where the chief executive does not respect the law-making body and does not back down. I hope the decisions taken in Korea are world precedents.

The climate is so polarized on the right that Hunter couldn’t get a fair shake after making full restitution for tax charges & apologizing. The gun charges are unprecedented given no aggravating factors. President’s principled stand would not have been a meaningful precedent. Rather a suckers bet.

@c-span.bsky.social so glad to see C-span on Bluesky. I look forward to engaging with the rest of the C-span universe. Happy to participate and engage in a more de-centralized manner.

Betty White and Lorne Greene host Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC, 1965: