Elon Musk spent nearly half a billion dollars on the US midterm elections, but the record expenditure yielded little for the world's richest man and leader of SpaceX and Tesla.
Donald Trump's big, rapid American AI buildout now faces a major slowdown as voters in yesterday's elections overwhelmingly supported candidates and measures that favored increasing restrictions on AI and data centers nationwide. read more
The state thrice denied the Satanic Temple's application for a family friendly holiday event featuring satanic carols, arts and crafts and a Krampus costume contest, arguing it would be harmful to minors.
As with interior design for houses, interior design for vehicles is also subject to fashion trends. read more
Recently, reports emerged that LG TVs are sniffing around your local network, and even listening to your local environment, even when the TV is purportedly "off." Some of those voice commands were then stored in plain text and uploaded to the internet. LG's response? To deny everything. read more
A look at what might have caused to 2026 Blue Tsunami ...
Billy Bragg - Ideology (1986)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
When one voice rules the nation
Just because they're on top of the pile
Doesn't mean their vision is the clearest
The voices of the people
Are falling on deaf ears
Our politicians all become careerists
They must declare their interests
But not their company cars
Is there more to a seat in parliament
Then sitting on your arse
And the best of all this bad bunch
Are shouting to be heard
Above the sound of ideologies clashing
Outside the patient millions
Who put them into power
Expect a little more back for their taxes
Like school books, beds in hospitals
And peace in our bloody time
All they get is old men grinding axes
Who've built their private fortunes
On the things they can rely
The courts, the secret handshake
The Stock Exchange and the old school tie
For God and Queen and Country
All things they justify
Above the sound of ideologies clashing
God bless the civil service
The nations saving grace
While we expect democracy
They're laughing in our face
And although our cries get louder
Their laughter gets louder still
Above the sound of ideologies clashing
...
@#1 ... his companies have direct government involvement ...
Yeah, there's that aspect.
Inside Elon Musk's Government Contracts
builtin.com
... In many ways, Elon Musk's tech empire is built on government money.
An analysis by The Washington Post estimates Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in state and federal contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits since 2003 " not including classified deals. And The Post estimates another $11.8 billion is coming in the next few years thanks to 52 active contracts.
SpaceX alone holds $22 billion in government contracts as of 2024, according to CEO Gwynne Shotwell. Federal agencies like NASA, the Department of Defense and the National Reconnaissance Office rely on the aerospace giant to launch satellites, travel to the International Space Station and deliver broadband connectivity, among other critical services.
At the same time, Musk -- who donated $288 million to President Donald Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 election -- recently stepped down from a short-lived role leading the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, which was tasked with cutting government spending. After Musk's departure, his seemingly chummy relationship with the president devolved into an all-out beef after Musk criticized Trump's Big Beautiful Bill for increasing the national deficit. In the days that followed, Trump threatened to terminate Musk's subsidies and contracts.
The exchange highlighted just how reliant SpaceX, Tesla and other Musk companies are on government funding. ...
Then there is this reporting ...
AIPAC's dwindling allies in Congress
www.politico.com
... Pro-Israel lobby AIPAC is set to enter the 120th Congress with fewer allies in Washington after a bruising election night for Republicans.
More than 30 of the bipartisan group's preferred candidates fell this week -- marking defeat for AIPAC in over three-fourths of the competitive races that have been called so far where it backed an incumbent. That includes ousted GOP Reps. Mike Lawler in New York, Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania and Max Miller in Ohio.
The pro-Israel group also lost one of its most influential allies in the Senate when Maine Democrat Troy Jackson trounced incumbent Republican Susan Collins, the powerful appropriations chair. AIPAC bundled over $3.3 million in contributions for Collins this cycle, more than it gathered for any other candidate. And it suffered a major setback in Michigan when progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers after a contentious primary battle earlier this year.
"To the super PACs and special interests who tried to beat us, we are coming for your system of politics," El-Sayed told a jubilant crowd at his election night party in Detroit on Tuesday night. "To AIPAC who spent $42 million against us, thank you for giving me the opportunity to beat you twice." ...
@#12 ... Congress has sole control over tariffs, correct? ...
Not necessarily so, in my understanding.
There's that 301 provision that seems to grant the President the ability to impose temporary tariffs for a period of time due to [I don't remember the reasons].
Found this ...
Section 301 Tariffs Explained: Impact on Import Costs and U.S. Businesses
uslawexplained.com
... Summary
Imagine you're the coach of a basketball team, and your opponent keeps breaking the rules"subtly pushing your players, using illegal screens, and distracting the referees. You can complain to the league, but that takes months. Instead, you have a special rulebook that lets you, as the coach, impose an immediate penalty on the other team to make them play fair.
That's essentially what Section 301 tariffs are. They are a powerful tool the United States government, specifically the United States Trade Representative (USTR), uses to penalize foreign countries for "unfair" trade practices that harm American businesses. Instead of a 15-yard penalty, the U.S. imposes a tax"a tariff"on goods imported from that country.
For a small business owner, this means the components you import to build your product could suddenly become 25% more expensive overnight.
For a consumer, it means the price of electronics, furniture, or clothing on the store shelf might go up. It's the U.S. government's way of leveling the playing field of international trade, but its effects ripple all the way down to the price you pay at the checkout counter. ...
YMMV, and all that...
@#14 ... David Frum was the one who put Iran into the "axis of evil" speech ...
Looks that way ...
Axis of evil
en.wikipedia.org