Musk's lawyers asked late yesterday that the case be moved to federal court, claiming that federal election matters belong in federal court, so now the Philly judge has to wait to see if the federal court will take the case.
The Philly DA asked for extra security for this morning's hearing, as he's been subjected to a bunch of anti-semitism online, and one post on X shared his home address and said the DA "loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home."
The Philadelphia Inquirer is running a subscription deal -- $1 for 6 months of online access -- so I (and a whole lot of other people ticked off at the Washington Post) signed up.
The Philly DA asked for extra security for this morning's hearing, as he's been subjected to a bunch of anti-semitism online, and one post on X shared his home address and said the DA "loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home."
It always strikes me as odd that these ostensibly pro-2A people never seem to pause to consider that the D.A. might defend himself on his own property with an AR-15.
Standing next to her hastily packed suitcase in Michigan’s Macomb County Wednesday night, Tyra Muldrow had a bad feeling in her gut.
“I have this eerie feeling that I need to get the hell up out of there,” says Muldrow, a 20-year-old Black woman from Florida. She was in Michigan as a door knocker, hired by a subcontractor for Elon Musk’s America PAC operation to turn out the vote for Donald Trump in the heavily contested working-class suburbs of Detroit.
Muldrow and the rest of her canvassing group of roughly a dozen people had just been fired en masse, after WIRED reported that they had been tricked and threatened as part of Musk’s get-out-the-vote effort. Speaking publicly for the first time about her ordeal, Muldrow says that the canvassers in her group were fired with little explanation beyond a complaint that someone had spoken with the press. Many, including her, were still owed money. Muldrow had to find her own way home; others are still stranded in Michigan.
A representative for Musk and America PAC did not return a request for comment.
One interesting detail from later in the article is that no one in Ms. Muldrow's group of contractors had a driver's license. That's unusual enough for a group of American adults of that size that it seems statistically unlikely to have occurred randomly.
At any rate, this kind of mass firing because someone in the group talked to the press seems like it would violate several labor laws against retaliation, though it's hard to say with the kind of at-will employment most common in the U.S. The allegedly still-withheld wages are definitely illegal though.
After she returned home, Muldrow didn’t think she was going to get paid what was owed to her any time soon.
However, on Saturday night, right after WIRED reached out to Jones for comment, Muldrow heard from her cousin for the first time since she’d been fired. “You did not get 1000 doors but to make this right and move forward we will pay you the $2000,” she wrote, according to text messages reviewed by WIRED. “The quickest solution I can think of is to send someone to pay you in cash.”
Later that night, shortly after WIRED reached out to America PAC for comment, Muldrow was pleasantly surprised. She’d just been paid $2,000 on Cash App. The caption?
“For Michigan Gotv 742 doors paid in full.”
A few minutes later, Muldrow got a follow up text from Jones. “Please let wired know that you’ve been paid asap.”
There is no indication one way or the other that others in Muldrow's group who weren't featured in WIRED articles have also been paid.
Which means he was not running an illegal lottery, which is what was charged. The judge has refused to order an emergency injunction against what they were calling a sweepstakes and are now saying was a job application:
Instead, they maintained the 17 winners so far were selected from among the pool of registered voters who signed a petition launched by his America PAC and screened for specific characteristics including their backgrounds, personal stories, and “suitability” for serving as a “spokesperson” for Musk’s political organization. One PAC representative described the process as equivalent to a job application — with winners becoming paid employees afterward.
“There is no ‘prize’ to be won,” Musk attorney Chris Gober said at the start of a hearing before Foglietta, “Instead recipients must fulfill contractual obligations to serve as spokesperson for the PAC.”
-- Philadelphia Inquirer
Which means he was not running an illegal lottery, which is what was charged. The judge has refused to order an emergency injunction against what they were calling a sweepstakes and are now saying was a job application:
Instead, they maintained the 17 winners so far were selected from among the pool of registered voters who signed a petition launched by his America PAC and screened for specific characteristics including their backgrounds, personal stories, and “suitability” for serving as a “spokesperson” for Musk’s political organization. One PAC representative described the process as equivalent to a job application — with winners becoming paid employees afterward.
“There is no ‘prize’ to be won,” Musk attorney Chris Gober said at the start of a hearing before Foglietta, “Instead recipients must fulfill contractual obligations to serve as spokesperson for the PAC.”
-- Philadelphia Inquirer
"He's terrible! He's making it up as he goes along!"
Do you think Musk might fancy a shot at the 2028 Republican nomination?
He might fancy a shot at it, but he doesn’t meet constitutional eligibility requirements. Article 2, section 1:
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Musk was born in South Africa. He only became a US citizen through naturalization in 2002.
No doubt he could persuade Trump to do away with that requirement, but I suspect he prefers to pull strings behind the scenes, so to speak.
Trump can’t “do away” with that requirement. It would require a constitutional amendment, which means 2/3 approval in each house of Congress and ratification by at least 38 states. Or alternatively, 34 states could call for a constitutional convention.
No doubt he could persuade Trump to do away with that requirement, but I suspect he prefers to pull strings behind the scenes, so to speak.
Trump can’t “do away” with that requirement. It would require a constitutional amendment, which means 2/3 approval in each house of Congress and ratification by at least 38 states. Or alternatively, 34 states could call for a constitutional convention.
Or SCOTUS to provide some manipulative legal word salad to get around it. I'm not sure the full depths of the mendacity of the current bench have yet been plumbed, even after Dobbs, the immunity decision, and the effective vacation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I would expect them not to try it, because they're far more likely to empower the Governator to run for president than anything else, but I'm not sure anything can be ruled out simply on the basis of a plain reading of the text.
No doubt he could persuade Trump to do away with that requirement, but I suspect he prefers to pull strings behind the scenes, so to speak.
Trump can’t “do away” with that requirement. It would require a constitutional amendment, which means 2/3 approval in each house of Congress and ratification by at least 38 states. Or alternatively, 34 states could call for a constitutional convention.
Or SCOTUS to provide some manipulative legal word salad to get around it. I'm not sure the full depths of the mendacity of the current bench have yet been plumbed, even after Dobbs, the immunity decision, and the effective vacation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I would expect them not to try it, because they're far more likely to empower the Governator to run for president than anything else, but I'm not sure anything can be ruled out simply on the basis of a plain reading of the text.
While agree about the mendacity of many members of the Court, there’s a difference, I think, between filling in or declining to fill in something the Constitution doesn’t directly address—which is what was involved with Dobbs (and Roe) and the immunity decision—and saying the plain language doesn’t mean what it says it means or is meaningless. I doubt even this SCOTUS would be willing to do the latter.
Granted, there can be and has been debate about exactly what “natural born Citizen” means, but of the various interpretations that have been proposed over the years, Musk wouldn’t meet any of them.
No doubt he could persuade Trump to do away with that requirement, but I suspect he prefers to pull strings behind the scenes, so to speak.
Trump can’t “do away” with that requirement. It would require a constitutional amendment, which means 2/3 approval in each house of Congress and ratification by at least 38 states. Or alternatively, 34 states could call for a constitutional convention.
Or SCOTUS to provide some manipulative legal word salad to get around it. I'm not sure the full depths of the mendacity of the current bench have yet been plumbed, even after Dobbs, the immunity decision, and the effective vacation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I would expect them not to try it, because they're far more likely to empower the Governator to run for president than anything else, but I'm not sure anything can be ruled out simply on the basis of a plain reading of the text.
While agree about the mendacity of many members of the Court, there’s a difference, I think, between filling in or declining to fill in something the Constitution doesn’t directly address—which is what was involved with Dobbs (and Roe) and the immunity decision—and saying the plain language doesn’t mean what it says it means or is meaningless. I doubt even this SCOTUS would be willing to do the latter.
And yet "well-regulated militia" has been effectively erased from the 2nd Amendment.
No doubt he could persuade Trump to do away with that requirement, but I suspect he prefers to pull strings behind the scenes, so to speak.
Trump can’t “do away” with that requirement. It would require a constitutional amendment, which means 2/3 approval in each house of Congress and ratification by at least 38 states. Or alternatively, 34 states could call for a constitutional convention.
Or SCOTUS to provide some manipulative legal word salad to get around it. I'm not sure the full depths of the mendacity of the current bench have yet been plumbed, even after Dobbs, the immunity decision, and the effective vacation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I would expect them not to try it, because they're far more likely to empower the Governator to run for president than anything else, but I'm not sure anything can be ruled out simply on the basis of a plain reading of the text.
While agree about the mendacity of many members of the Court, there’s a difference, I think, between filling in or declining to fill in something the Constitution doesn’t directly address—which is what was involved with Dobbs (and Roe) and the immunity decision—and saying the plain language doesn’t mean what it says it means or is meaningless. I doubt even this SCOTUS would be willing to do the latter.
And yet "well-regulated militia" has been effectively erased from the 2nd Amendment.
Not that I disagree that the interpretation of the Second Amendment has been really distorted by a SCOTUS willing to follow the lead of the NRA, but when you factor in that in the late 1700s, all adult, male (white) citizens theoretically comprised the “militia,” it is arguably not a complete ignoring of the plain language. It’s not, I don’t think, in the same category as would be holding that someone whose citizenship is through naturalization is eligible to run for president.
I don't see the America First types making naturalized citizens eligible to be president when they've done so much immigrant bashing. Granted, they're supremely hypocritical, but it's hard to see them selling this idea to their base.
I don't see the America First types making naturalized citizens eligible to be president when they've done so much immigrant bashing. Granted, they're supremely hypocritical, but it's hard to see them selling this idea to their base.
Not to be all doom-and-gloom but I can well imagine them confecting a situation where some immigrants (i.e. Real Americans aka Trump supporters like Musk) are allowed but others (mostly brown) are stripped of citizenship.
I don't see the America First types making naturalized citizens eligible to be president when they've done so much immigrant bashing. Granted, they're supremely hypocritical, but it's hard to see them selling this idea to their base.
Not to be all doom-and-gloom but I can well imagine them confecting a situation where some immigrants (i.e. Real Americans aka Trump supporters like Musk) are allowed but others (mostly brown) are stripped of citizenship.
He already said this re: Norwegians. I remember a lot of Norwegians not only laughing at this, but citing more data than Tr*mp could ever hope to digest about why Norway was a better place to live. IIRC, they proved pretty conclusively that compared to Norway, the US was(is) a "shithole country."
So earlier this week Elon Musk spent a lot of time on the Xitter Xeeting against the continuing resolution that would keep the U.S. federal government open after Friday (20 December 2024). Yesterday, after Donald Trump came out in opposition House Republicans pulled the bill they had negotiated with Democrats that would have kept the government open into the new year. It also contained a bunch of disaster relief money.
So it looks like a lot of federal workers will be going into the holiday season without a paycheck. This includes the military. Typically back pay is issued when the shutdown is resolved, but that's of scant comfort for people who are trying to buy Christmas dinner now and trying to figure out how long they'll need to stretch their last paycheck.
An interesting idea to illustrate the consequences of a government shutdown to Elon Musk was to have the FAA (who will also not be getting paychecks during the shutdown) only clear commercial and medevac flights for travel. Taking away the ability to use a private jet can focus the mind.
Just insert a very loud rant about Musk and Trump interfering with the workings of the federal government when Trump isn’t even in office yet. I mean maybe it’s been like this forever and I’ve never known until now. Or maybe this is just yet another “let’s violate every expectation and norm we’ve ever had in this office” thing out of Trump world.
As i recall Trump held the country to ransom using the same process in his last term. Why are people allowed to hold the US to ransom? It seems to be more political than financial. I thought the good of the country was the point of government.
Could Musk be on his way out? He and the MAGA movement are in a full-blown argument about allowing international tech workers to come in country under the H1-B program. He argues there are not enough skilled tech workers in America to fill all the jobs. MAGA is saying they want all immigration to cease or at least be severely restricted. Reports now say Musk considers the MAGA people "contemptable fools."
Could Musk be on his way out? He and the MAGA movement are in a full-blown argument about allowing international tech workers to come in country under the H1-B program. He argues there are not enough skilled tech workers in America to fill all the jobs. MAGA is saying they want all immigration to cease or at least be severely restricted. Reports now say Musk considers the MAGA people "contemptable fools."
It was inevitable. Musk's ego is way too big to be part of someone else's political movement.
The more damage the two sides do to each other the merrier. Especially if it keeps Musk from hanging round Reform's sweaty sphincter.
Sorry, what does "Reform" refer to here?
The current political vehicle of Nigel Farage, England's pound shop Trump, which Musk has been threatening to bankroll because apparently buying one western democracy for fascism isn't enough.
The more damage the two sides do to each other the merrier. Especially if it keeps Musk from hanging round Reform's sweaty sphincter.
Sorry, what does "Reform" refer to here?
The current political vehicle of Nigel Farage, England's pound shop Trump, which Musk has been threatening to bankroll because apparently buying one western democracy for fascism isn't enough.
Could Musk be on his way out? He and the MAGA movement are in a full-blown argument about allowing international tech workers to come in country under the H1-B program. He argues there are not enough skilled tech workers in America to fill all the jobs. MAGA is saying they want all immigration to cease or at least be severely restricted. Reports now say Musk considers the MAGA people "contemptable fools."
"Contemptible fools"? Is Musk sounding more like a B-movie mad scientist these days, or is it just that we're paying more attention now so we notice? Next he'll be blaming "those fools at the institute".
Could Musk be on his way out? He and the MAGA movement are in a full-blown argument about allowing international tech workers to come in country under the H1-B program. He argues there are not enough skilled tech workers in America to fill all the jobs. MAGA is saying they want all immigration to cease or at least be severely restricted. Reports now say Musk considers the MAGA people "contemptable fools."
"Contemptible fools"? Is Musk sounding more like a B-movie mad scientist these days, or is it just that we're paying more attention now so we notice? Next he'll be blaming "those fools at the institute".
Could Musk be on his way out? He and the MAGA movement are in a full-blown argument about allowing international tech workers to come in country under the H1-B program. He argues there are not enough skilled tech workers in America to fill all the jobs. MAGA is saying they want all immigration to cease or at least be severely restricted. Reports now say Musk considers the MAGA people "contemptable fools."
He wouldn’t be the first MAGAite to be shocked and appalled to find that “ban immigrants” applies to the ones he likes as well as the ones he doesn’t.
Comments
The Philly DA asked for extra security for this morning's hearing, as he's been subjected to a bunch of anti-semitism online, and one post on X shared his home address and said the DA "loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home."
The Philadelphia Inquirer is running a subscription deal -- $1 for 6 months of online access -- so I (and a whole lot of other people ticked off at the Washington Post) signed up.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/02/elon-musk-donald-trump-us-presidential-elections
Time to read Revelations (not my favourite book of the Bible!).
Don't panic!
One interesting detail from later in the article is that no one in Ms. Muldrow's group of contractors had a driver's license. That's unusual enough for a group of American adults of that size that it seems statistically unlikely to have occurred randomly.
At any rate, this kind of mass firing because someone in the group talked to the press seems like it would violate several labor laws against retaliation, though it's hard to say with the kind of at-will employment most common in the U.S. The allegedly still-withheld wages are definitely illegal though.
There is no indication one way or the other that others in Muldrow's group who weren't featured in WIRED articles have also been paid.
"He's terrible! He's making it up as he goes along!"
Or SCOTUS to provide some manipulative legal word salad to get around it. I'm not sure the full depths of the mendacity of the current bench have yet been plumbed, even after Dobbs, the immunity decision, and the effective vacation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I would expect them not to try it, because they're far more likely to empower the Governator to run for president than anything else, but I'm not sure anything can be ruled out simply on the basis of a plain reading of the text.
Granted, there can be and has been debate about exactly what “natural born Citizen” means, but of the various interpretations that have been proposed over the years, Musk wouldn’t meet any of them.
And yet "well-regulated militia" has been effectively erased from the 2nd Amendment.
Not to be all doom-and-gloom but I can well imagine them confecting a situation where some immigrants (i.e. Real Americans aka Trump supporters like Musk) are allowed but others (mostly brown) are stripped of citizenship.
He already said this re: Norwegians. I remember a lot of Norwegians not only laughing at this, but citing more data than Tr*mp could ever hope to digest about why Norway was a better place to live. IIRC, they proved pretty conclusively that compared to Norway, the US was(is) a "shithole country."
So it looks like a lot of federal workers will be going into the holiday season without a paycheck. This includes the military. Typically back pay is issued when the shutdown is resolved, but that's of scant comfort for people who are trying to buy Christmas dinner now and trying to figure out how long they'll need to stretch their last paycheck.
An interesting idea to illustrate the consequences of a government shutdown to Elon Musk was to have the FAA (who will also not be getting paychecks during the shutdown) only clear commercial and medevac flights for travel. Taking away the ability to use a private jet can focus the mind.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/18/starmer-protect-elections-foreign-interference-elon-musk
Still - pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16v18). One can but hope.
Doesn't it also say somewhere in the Old Testament that, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick"?
Of course, I might have that wrong.
Sorry, which book of the TaNaKh is that in?
Bell End and the Dragon, I think.
Thats the one. Well done.
Sanders, you win the interweb for today!
It was inevitable. Musk's ego is way too big to be part of someone else's political movement.
Sorry, what does "Reform" refer to here?
Thank you (not) for that Gruesome Image. Please send Brain Bleach as soon as possible.
I agree with your observation, however.
The current political vehicle of Nigel Farage, England's pound shop Trump, which Musk has been threatening to bankroll because apparently buying one western democracy for fascism isn't enough.
Thanks.
"Contemptible fools"? Is Musk sounding more like a B-movie mad scientist these days, or is it just that we're paying more attention now so we notice? Next he'll be blaming "those fools at the institute".
If he starts referring to himself in the third person ("Musk shall not be denied!") or starts shouting about someone named "Richards" (see here: https://www.cbr.com/fantastic-four-doctor-doom-first-shout-richards/ ) then we will know he has evolved into his final form (https://movieweb.com/anime-strongest-final-forms-history/ ).
He wouldn’t be the first MAGAite to be shocked and appalled to find that “ban immigrants” applies to the ones he likes as well as the ones he doesn’t.
Split the diff with "...immigrants he approves of".