31 Comments
User's avatar
JDinTX's avatar

Malignant, mercurial moron describes him to a tee. NASA and any other government entity will be very sorry that they signed on with this juvenile delinquent. He is dangerous to us all. The fact that he interfered with national security should chill us to the bone. Consequences NOW

Expand full comment
Michael Green's avatar

A lot of people like to say that Ronald Reagan wouldn't recognize today's republican party, and certainly he would be amazed that republicans are teaming up with a former KGB commie against people wanting freedom. But someone from private enterprise having power over the federal government? That was his dream.

Expand full comment
JDinTX's avatar

This was all in Ronnie’s plan (well somebody, don’t think he had the smarts). It was all laid out in article in St. Louis Post Dispatch, by Lewis Lehrman, Mar 17, 1985. “Conservative Revolution Will Alter All Policies, Spokesman says.”

Expand full comment
GarySanDiego's avatar

“...over half the operating satellites in the sky are owned and controlled by him.” WHAT? 😧 Who the f¥€£ let that happen? I’m gobsmacked.

Oligarchy. It’s f’in everywhere.

Expand full comment
Judith Matlock's avatar

When Musk first turned off the communications spigot I waited for a dramatic response from some world leaders, at least from Biden. But the insidious drift toward the "strong man" (as in rich man) being in charge has dulled us to the dangers of so much power in the hands of one man, the monopoly of what is now a public utility. I truly doubt that the ninny Musk had any heightened concerns about nuclear war at the time, but saying so now is his attempt to ennoble himself. Like so many, Musk both fears and envies Putin, so I'm confident Musk thought this would enhance his own player status. (Of course, he may also have been advised to get some additional food tasters.) He'd do better to try to parent the nine kids he's said to have fathered and leave international affairs to the professionals.

Expand full comment
Diane Love (St Petersburg FL)'s avatar

This was inevitable. Elon is just the latest wealthy narcissist to ignore national interests and security for his own benefit. What’s different this time is the scope and terrifying implications for international security.

Born in S Africa, and now a Canadian citizen, he could never be President, but, he can control global communications, even in wartime? What could possibly go wrong? And why are we allowing this?

Expand full comment
Victoria Brown's avatar

Look what Musk has done to

Twitter/X. This is genius? He's

not the brains behind any of

his companies. He's the bucks and kick ass driving

24/7 or you're out the door,

bigoted force. Look at the job

turnover in his companies.

He's a performer. Put a tutu on him and he'd be just another clown in the circus.

And don't tell me there's not

not a way to rope this guy in,

especially where Ukraine and chit chats with Russia are

concerned.

Just wait till the election cycle really gets cranked up.

Burn your bridges to X. Really.

Expand full comment
Carla Childress's avatar

Arrest and confiscate.

Expand full comment
Danielle (NM)'s avatar

I’ve always taken Russian nuclear threats with a handful of salt. Political nuances and Putin’s mental state aside, it seems like it would be suicide for Russia. Prevailing winds blow west to east and Russia is east of Ukraine. Moscow and St. Petersburg are in western Russia. Why would they do that?

Expand full comment
Carol C's avatar

Such an easy to understand concept! How often did any media point this out? Fallout from Chernobyl mostly affected Belarus to the east. Putin’s soldiers would be moving from the east, into the areas of the fallout.

Expand full comment
Danielle (NM)'s avatar

I don’t recall any media ever mentioning that, not MSM (CBS or NBC), not MSNBC, not The NY Times, Washington Post, or my local paper, and not any of the 6 Substacks I follow.

Expand full comment
Carol C's avatar

I remembered about the drift from Chernobyl eastward. (I visited my daughter in Kyyiv in the Peace Corps 2005. Little old ladies were selling berries and mushrooms from the “forest,” which we were told not to buy because they likely came from the exclusion zone. Pensions were worthless. Other little old ladies swept the streets with twig brooms.)

I think Timothy Snyder may have discussed it at one time, that Putin’s troops would have trouble with it, even if it didn’t blow all the way to Russia. Snyder also said that the various things which supposedly would trigger Putin to launch nukes, had already happened.

Expand full comment
Judith Swink (CA)'s avatar

I don't recall when or where but I have read this evaluation - equal or greater hazard to Russia and Belarus in a nuclear event, be it weapons or the nuclear power plant.

Expand full comment
David Levine's avatar

nothing to really say about this except what everybody else is saying.

it certainly demonstrates why privatizing the more dangerous aspects of government is a terrible idea. this would obviously be exponentially more true during an era when "maximizing shareholders' profits" functions as a valid excuse to do all kinds of horrible shit.

it DOES feel like these "come to Jesus" moments are occurring under increasingly serious conditions.

trashing Musk might feel good, but without taking some kind of relevant (that is to say, EFFECTIVE) action, it's a waste of time.

I have absolutely no idea what such action might consist of, but it needs to figured out VERY QUICKLY.

Expand full comment
TCinLA's avatar

He needs removal. However they do it.

Expand full comment
Jan M. Flynn's avatar

Musk is a perfect, if perfectly insidious, example of the evils of too much wealth and power being granted to one person.

Expand full comment
cecilia fasano's avatar

This really scares me! I can't even bear to READ about this man, he's so wierd! I instinctly felt if i read/knew too much, i wouldn't be able to survive the knowledge!!

Expand full comment
Cheryl Towers's avatar

Treason.

Expand full comment
Linda MacDonald's avatar

Absolutely correct! That he spilled the beans to Isaacson is itself a sign that he figures he's so important no one can or will touch him. It seems to me the push to privatize government as a way to "save money" has always been long on wishful thinking and flawed where necessary intelligence and critical thinking is concerned. Muck (intentional spelling) and those like him (Peter Thiel, Leonard Leo, etc al) represent a clear and present danger to democracy and democratic norms. As he said he wanted people to use Starlink for streaming movies and relaxing. He jumped in to help at first then suddenly got scared and had the engineers turn off the signal which aborted the attempt on the Russian ships. The truth is, mercurial may be another name for rich fascist.

Expand full comment
Paul Donahue's avatar

I read this same article at TPM in the Editor's Blog. Nearly word for word.

Expand full comment
Julia Shibla's avatar

Primary source, derivative, but "nearly word for word" is a big stretch.

Expand full comment
Paul Stone's avatar

Some parts are word for word the same.

Expand full comment
Carol C's avatar

Attributions are missing on someone’s part.

Expand full comment
Victoria Brown's avatar

Did you miss Diane Francis on this? Lots are talking about

Musk/Ukraine.

Expand full comment
Victoria Brown's avatar

Check out Just Security, WaPo. Guess you need to widen your reading horizons

a bit. I don't mean that as an

insult, just as a idea for future

reference.

Expand full comment
Paul Donahue's avatar

I just thought the phrases tracked too similarly, too many of them. I know the same story is covered in many places, just go compare the two and see if you agree.

Expand full comment
Victoria Brown's avatar

Sure. TC needs to show attribution and quotes on

some of his "included" remarks. That should clear

clearup anyone's puzzling.👍

Expand full comment
Paul Stone's avatar

I agree

Expand full comment
Frankom's avatar

Terrible he was allowed to buy twitter

Expand full comment
Suessl's avatar

He was forced to buy twitter. After having buyers remorse at his billion dollar bid for the company.

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Sep 9, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
TCinLA's avatar

Yes!

Expand full comment