I imagine. When you start to think of yourself as a trillionaire, then your net worth plummets to under $800 billion.*
Musk spent $500 million on the midterms to get not just get his ass handed to him, but his companies as well.
On Wednesday, his personal Tesla and Space X holdings declined $33.5 billon. Today, they declined another $71-80 billion.
Could, I suppose, make a guy try ketamine.
*As of today, it’s estimated to be between $789-793 biillion.
There are numerous correct answers to the question, “Why the Blue Tsunami?” A more pointed question is why did so damn many Hispanic and under 30 year-old voters flip? Especially Hispanics in the Southwest.
I’m not sure why so many young voters came to their senses, but I do have a theory on why so many Hispanics did. Steven Miller.
Miller’s anti-immigrant fever dream, or nightmare rather, was at least two-fold. The first, ICE’s shooting and killing of some people in the light of day got most of the media spotlight. However, I suspect the second, ICE’s targeting and removing of longstanding, hard working, law-abiding, community-minded undocumented workers, had an even more profound effect on all voters, but especially Hispanics in the Southwest.
Ninety-five percent of citizens support improved border security and eighty-five percent want their longstanding, hard working, law-abiding, community-minded undocumented worker neighbors to have a path to citizenship.
No one wants ICE agents killing anyone, but what went less reported is that no one, except Steven Miller, wants violent, extra-legal, hate-fueled deportations of longstanding, hard working, law-abiding, community-minded undocumented workers.
Watching a foaming at the mouth Miller continuously ramp up unAmerican anti-immigrant hatred while bemoaning ICE wasn’t doing enough to create a United States in his image, caused a large swath of the “tighten border security” citizenry to throw a switch on the way to the ballot box.
In a weird, round about way, maybe we should thank all of Miller’s Santa Monica High School classmates who found him so insufferable that they stuffed him in lockers. Because Miller’s ensuing rage helped fuel a truly historic political shift.
1A. I will get a lot of texts today from politicians asking for money. 1B. I will grow increasingly annoyed.
2. That is not a Blue Wave forming on the horizon, it’s a Blue Tsunami.
3A. The Minnesota Gophers will beat the UCLA Bruins Saturday. 3B. Afterwards, following a failed attempt to center himself at Saint Mike’s Adoration Friday morning, DDTTM will send me a snarky, no make that mean text, relishing my misfortune.
4. Luka will lead the league in scoring this year.
5. The President will graciously accept having lost the House and Senate. He’ll talk smartly about working with Democrats to do right by the American people.
Devastated by the one-two punch of Minnesota Gopher and Minnesota Viking losses, and inspired by Haley Stevens flip-flop in Michigan, loyal PressingPauser, DanDanTheTranspoMan, has flipped and is now endorsing Ken Paxton instead of James Talarico.
Political analysts agree that the unforeseen flipping could do what all of Elon’s millions couldn’t—get Paxton over the line and keep Texas red.
DanotheMano spoke at a presser attended by the country’s largest media outlets:
“Who among us hasn’t committed securities fraud as a result of not disclosing to investors commisons on their business in one of our tech companies? And then had to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution, perform 100 hours of community service, and take legal ethics classes?
And who among us hasn’t had some of our top deputies report to federal authorities our use of our political office to improperly assist a real estate donor—including intervening in foreclosures, providing legal opinions, and shielding records? And then have the real estate donor allegedly help finance our home renovations and provide employment for a woman linked to our extramarital affair?
And who among us hasn’t taken retaliation against whistleblowers, then been sued by the whistleblowers, and eventually had to pay a $6.6 million dollar judgement?
Who among us, following the whistleblower revelations and an extensive investigation, have not had the Republican-led Texas House vote overwhelmingly (121–33) to impeach us on 20 articles of misconduct, including bribery, obstruction of justice, and abuse of public trust?
Who among us hasn’t filed a high-profile, long-shot lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in four battleground states won by Joe Biden?And who among us, during our impeachment trial, haven’t had news break about an extramarital affair which involved the use of burner phones, secondary email accounts, and a fake ride-share profile to conduct the relationship? And then had their wife file for divorce on adultery and biblical grounds?
And who among us hasn’t omitted a little rental income and mortgages from state financial disclosures when reporting on our $9 million, 15 property real estate portfolio?
And who among us hasn’t accidentally swiped a $1,000 Montblanc pen belonging to another person at a courthouse security checkpoint?
Let whomever is blameless cast the first stone.”
From the New York Times:
Inside Democrats’ Secret Effort To Stack Alaska’s Ballot.
I am seriously out-of-step. Guess I’m just not ideological enough because this investigative report left me with a “pox on both their houses” cynicism about national politics. Complete Demo bullshit.
Sample a few of the top ten out of 3,200+ comments (and counting).
A Blue Team friend, and loyal PressingPauser, whose name I will protect, but goes by the initials DDTTM, will co-sign on these comments because he believes any criticism of Team Blue cedes ground to Team Red.
Maybe my parents were wrong and two wrongs do make a right?
For shit’s sake, where to start? How about some context. Here’s a little somethin’ somethin’ to give you a feel what the brewery looks like 23 years since it closed.
Mayor Leatta Dahlhoff, henceforth known as “MLD”, or Major League Disappointment, may very well be a lovely person, but she’s a feckless leader and shite communicator.
She writes, “We are keeping legal pressure on the owners to ensure compliance with our code” and then completely contradicts that with this mind numbing admission, “. . . we have given the owners 12 years to improve these properties”. (emphasis mine)
I couldn’t squeeze LMD’s concluding sentence into my screenshot, so here goes:
“Legal pressure will remain until more demotion and more substantial progress occurs.”
Hey LMD, guess what, you’ve been getting played for decades, are continuing to get played, and will continue to get played because somewhere, far far away, the owners are laughing at your “amplified approach”.
Unless there’s a perp walk and the owners are seriously threatened with imprisonment, nothing will change. Well, eventually, I suppose, nature will take over like in “The Last of Us”, but neither of us will be around to see that.
I can’t even muster the energy to do a rewrite. I promise a more amplified approach to editing LMD next time. Until then, let’s all keep pretending progress is being made.
For the New York Times, an unexpected thing happened on the way to market dominance. She continually improved.
You don’t have to have a degree in economics to know that competition is the lifeblood of our economy. And yet, as minor, mid, and major papers fade from view, the most dominant paper is peaking. Go figure.
Exhibit A is this type of multimedia story detailing why you increasingly feel like you’re up against it. “Life Feeling Too Expensive? It’s Not Just You. And It’s Not Just Inflation.“
Oh, want something lighter, okay. Exhibit B, this example from an excellent series titled “Modern Love”. “On Our Third Date, I Asked for a Joint Bank Account.” It’s a slowish burn, but if you stick with it, there is a wonderful insight about romantic love. Okay, spoiler alert, both people have to be their whole selves for it to have any chance of “working”.
Still not convinced? Exhibit C. “This Emily Dickinson Poem Will Hit You Where You Live.” Major props to A.O. Scott for getting Ronald Scot, a poetry neophyte, to not just read it closely, but appreciate its brilliance.
And I haven’t even mentioned the mouth dripping recipes, the numerous word games, and most significantly, it’s commitment to holding power to account.
She has cast her net so widely and so successfully, how the hell are upstarts supposed to identify niches to exploit?
Here’s hoping The Gray Lady doesn’t get complacent and that a thousand upstarts throw caution to the wind and somehow bloom.
Daniel Dale, Trump fact-checker extraordinaire:
“Asked about Trump’s false claims that schools in multiple states are allowed to send kids for gender surgery without parental consent, the president of the National Association of School Nurses notes schools typically need written consent ‘to give a kid Tylenol’.”
How ’bout we sub in the NASN President for the pathological liar.
Katie Zacharia Out as Press Secretary in Half a Scaramucci.
Saying Zacharia got off to a “bumpy start” is like saying Sam Darnold had a bumpy ending last night.
Gotta laugh to keep from crying.
According to Amnesty International, two countries have conducted public executions in the last year. Iran and Afghanistan. Allegedly, North Korea too, although there’s little documentation.
