Returning to our originally scheduled programming, here’s as fine a mess as one can find. Over the past 40 years, many people have come to believe that a person who is Good at Business - who becomes rich - has done so because of their massive intellect, managerial savvy, and good judgement.
BTW, Twitter managed to suspend the account of the League of Women Voters/California Executive Director yesterday evening. She says she hasn't been able to determine the reason for the suspension. From the email to League members in California:
"As the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of California, you can imagine my surprise to receive a notice that my Twitter account was suspended with no explanation or reason. That’s right. The day before a Midterm Election, I am unable to access a once critical platform to monitor and share election information..... Because I was not provided any explanation, I am left to review what I know. The facts.
I did not violate any Twitter policies.
I did not post or share anything to justify or necessitate a suspension.
I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community. A community that has been experiencing relentless and targeted attacks for no other reason than our existence.
I am the Executive Director of an organization with the mission of:
Empowering Voters.
Defending Democracy.
An organization that envisions a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge, and the confidence to participate.
Over the weekend, 119,000 Californians accessed Voter’s Edge,* just one of the League’s unbiased election tools. In 2020, over two million voters used Voter's Edge. These resources need full visibility. Unfettered access. At this very moment - over 4,000 people are actively using this site. Twitter’s suspension keeps me, the Executive Director, from amplifying these tools, stifling voter education.
We should all be concerned. Not for me, but for how this impedes access to democracy and silences a source of trustworthy election information. Let this be our rallying call in our resolve to stand up taller with the knowledge that we are, unquestionably, on the right side of history.
We need your support for the League’s relentless pursuit of progress. Progress Needs Protecting. Donate today and support the League’s critical role in empowering voters.
Suspended and Determined, [Stephanie Douty, CAE/ Executive Director/League of Women Voters of California]
May the Phoenix crash and burn, never to be seen again. And no bail outs for the greedy bastards. So hard to believe that Nazis are popular again. Unreal, the responses to Muck’s tweet. The cult is eating brains..
I tried to give Elon a little slack. He has Asperger's and in many ways doesn't think the way "normal" people do. I'm somewhere on that poisson curve too so I kind of get it, but I voted with my feet this morning. He is as far from Mr. Spock as Elmer Fudd. That entire app seems to be spiraling toward a dirt nap. It's no longer about users. It's about one oversized ego, and I quit.
probably the worst offender along these lines--and it's been driving me crazy--is Bill Maher. it looks like whenever anyone on his show (which I no longer watch regularly and when I watch, there's a LOT of fast forwarding happening), he goes in to this tired bullshit litany about "this is the guy who figured out how to make electric cars" and "this is the guy who figured out how to go to space." a few weeks back, when a guest trashed Twitter, Bill's reply was something like "I don't know if it's a good idea to trash geniuses." when this goes on, I find myself yelling at the television, which refuses to answer back.
now, it seems to me that Bill Maher is paid plenty of money to KNOW this kind of shit. nobody at this point in my life pays me to know ANYTHING, but I sure as shit knew that EM never invented anything and is a genius at nothing in particular, unless you count throwing money around to stay in the headlines. this, let's remember a guy who liked the Democrats for being "the kindness party" but doesn't like them anymore because they like unions. and I don't quite remember if he mentioned anything about taxes.
I don't blame you, Tom, for also running around announcing that he's a Aspie. this is defining the condition (and I'm perfectly willing to grant that it's one I share with you) in its most grotesquely front-page, coloring book-subtle way. he means that he has no social skills, but that might just make him a boor and a prick.
so I'm glad you posted this. extremely glad. thanks, as usual.
This is petty, but I am petty, so here goes: Musk does not even grow his own hair. He has to have it surgically implanted after stealing it from others. #eattherich
It’s easy to not buy a Tesla. Let’s face it: just looking at Musk - you know there’s something wrong with him. I’m glad you clarified for me how his family made money and that he isn’t the genius creator guy he wants us to think he is. Too bad for all the good people who depended on Twitter. Wonder what will happen next? What a jerk. ❤️🤍💙
"The Silly Con Valley Bros need to be reined in. What they are creating is not “progress.” Hero-worshiping the mega-rich is the road to ruin, as we can see around us every day."
You have touched on two of my great concerns. 1) The brutal capitalism that is uniquely American and 2) The spread of technology over a remarkably short period of time when we weren't paying attention. I remember every detail of this. We first were as excited as children with a new toy, then we discovered the pleasures of convenience, then convenience became necessity (before the pandemic) and when the pandemic hit necessity became an urgent need. We were completely dependent, and the richest men in the world tripled and quadrupled their wealth feeding off the closest thing we've seen to the Black Plague. Zuckerberg, Musk, Bezos. I remember my shock when someone told me that not only were there the Amazon trucks I was seeing around town, but entire airlines delivering all over the world.
I think technology is driving the bus (or flying the plane). I think they have a lot of money to do it with. I think it's possible that we're fucked.
p.s. Has anyone noticed that it's mostly the senior citizens who curse on these newsletters?
Reading this to my delight, TC. I love love love "Silly Con Valley" Another one that nails it. Life is looking better to say the least. Thanks for your careful analysis where things are in the crucial races still undecided (i.e. the posts after this one).
Twitter is just a big boy toy for Musk to play with. And like most spoiled brats, he’ll soon tire of it and go on to the next shiny object that catches his attention.
BTW, Twitter managed to suspend the account of the League of Women Voters/California Executive Director yesterday evening. She says she hasn't been able to determine the reason for the suspension. From the email to League members in California:
"As the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of California, you can imagine my surprise to receive a notice that my Twitter account was suspended with no explanation or reason. That’s right. The day before a Midterm Election, I am unable to access a once critical platform to monitor and share election information..... Because I was not provided any explanation, I am left to review what I know. The facts.
I did not violate any Twitter policies.
I did not post or share anything to justify or necessitate a suspension.
I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community. A community that has been experiencing relentless and targeted attacks for no other reason than our existence.
I am the Executive Director of an organization with the mission of:
Empowering Voters.
Defending Democracy.
An organization that envisions a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge, and the confidence to participate.
Over the weekend, 119,000 Californians accessed Voter’s Edge,* just one of the League’s unbiased election tools. In 2020, over two million voters used Voter's Edge. These resources need full visibility. Unfettered access. At this very moment - over 4,000 people are actively using this site. Twitter’s suspension keeps me, the Executive Director, from amplifying these tools, stifling voter education.
We should all be concerned. Not for me, but for how this impedes access to democracy and silences a source of trustworthy election information. Let this be our rallying call in our resolve to stand up taller with the knowledge that we are, unquestionably, on the right side of history.
We need your support for the League’s relentless pursuit of progress. Progress Needs Protecting. Donate today and support the League’s critical role in empowering voters.
Suspended and Determined, [Stephanie Douty, CAE/ Executive Director/League of Women Voters of California]
May the Phoenix crash and burn, never to be seen again. And no bail outs for the greedy bastards. So hard to believe that Nazis are popular again. Unreal, the responses to Muck’s tweet. The cult is eating brains..
I tried to give Elon a little slack. He has Asperger's and in many ways doesn't think the way "normal" people do. I'm somewhere on that poisson curve too so I kind of get it, but I voted with my feet this morning. He is as far from Mr. Spock as Elmer Fudd. That entire app seems to be spiraling toward a dirt nap. It's no longer about users. It's about one oversized ego, and I quit.
probably the worst offender along these lines--and it's been driving me crazy--is Bill Maher. it looks like whenever anyone on his show (which I no longer watch regularly and when I watch, there's a LOT of fast forwarding happening), he goes in to this tired bullshit litany about "this is the guy who figured out how to make electric cars" and "this is the guy who figured out how to go to space." a few weeks back, when a guest trashed Twitter, Bill's reply was something like "I don't know if it's a good idea to trash geniuses." when this goes on, I find myself yelling at the television, which refuses to answer back.
now, it seems to me that Bill Maher is paid plenty of money to KNOW this kind of shit. nobody at this point in my life pays me to know ANYTHING, but I sure as shit knew that EM never invented anything and is a genius at nothing in particular, unless you count throwing money around to stay in the headlines. this, let's remember a guy who liked the Democrats for being "the kindness party" but doesn't like them anymore because they like unions. and I don't quite remember if he mentioned anything about taxes.
I don't blame you, Tom, for also running around announcing that he's a Aspie. this is defining the condition (and I'm perfectly willing to grant that it's one I share with you) in its most grotesquely front-page, coloring book-subtle way. he means that he has no social skills, but that might just make him a boor and a prick.
so I'm glad you posted this. extremely glad. thanks, as usual.
This is petty, but I am petty, so here goes: Musk does not even grow his own hair. He has to have it surgically implanted after stealing it from others. #eattherich
Silly Con Valley…says so much, so succinctly.
Twitter burning down wouldn’t bother me one bit. Schadenfreude plus eliminating a toxic cesspool of civic decline? What’s not to like?
It’s easy to not buy a Tesla. Let’s face it: just looking at Musk - you know there’s something wrong with him. I’m glad you clarified for me how his family made money and that he isn’t the genius creator guy he wants us to think he is. Too bad for all the good people who depended on Twitter. Wonder what will happen next? What a jerk. ❤️🤍💙
"The Silly Con Valley Bros need to be reined in. What they are creating is not “progress.” Hero-worshiping the mega-rich is the road to ruin, as we can see around us every day."
You have touched on two of my great concerns. 1) The brutal capitalism that is uniquely American and 2) The spread of technology over a remarkably short period of time when we weren't paying attention. I remember every detail of this. We first were as excited as children with a new toy, then we discovered the pleasures of convenience, then convenience became necessity (before the pandemic) and when the pandemic hit necessity became an urgent need. We were completely dependent, and the richest men in the world tripled and quadrupled their wealth feeding off the closest thing we've seen to the Black Plague. Zuckerberg, Musk, Bezos. I remember my shock when someone told me that not only were there the Amazon trucks I was seeing around town, but entire airlines delivering all over the world.
I think technology is driving the bus (or flying the plane). I think they have a lot of money to do it with. I think it's possible that we're fucked.
p.s. Has anyone noticed that it's mostly the senior citizens who curse on these newsletters?
Has anyone checked on the elections? Not I.
I wouldn’t by a car shMuck has anything to do with!
Reading this to my delight, TC. I love love love "Silly Con Valley" Another one that nails it. Life is looking better to say the least. Thanks for your careful analysis where things are in the crucial races still undecided (i.e. the posts after this one).
Twitter is just a big boy toy for Musk to play with. And like most spoiled brats, he’ll soon tire of it and go on to the next shiny object that catches his attention.