Ruminations – 15apr22 (updated 16apr22)

George Rebane

Twitter’s poison pill to dissuade Elon Musk from taking the company private and making it truly a universal platform for free speech.  Democrats and other socialists are mortified, with many of their media lackies quickly declaring that only with more “mediation” (aka censorship) of online speech can we sustain democracy.  Not long ago such a statement was palpably unbelievable; today not so.  Here is a link to find out more about the types of most commonly used poison pills.

RR’s characterization of the liberal mind is confirmed multiple times daily.  Here is one from this morning’s letters to the 15apr22 Union by a Ms/Mr/Xcritter Nory Fussell – The year 2021 ended with 745 billionaires, up from 614 in 2020. Many billionaires pay little or no taxes. We suffer the lie of backbreaking “inflation” while corporate profits skyrocket.  Progressives don’t cause this.  Wars continue to break out, the military budget continues to grow, and our chief export is weapons of war. This is not the work of Progressives but of soulless men, put mildly, suffering an acute anti-social personality disorder.  Infrastructure crumbles. You lose power, heat, and essential services. Look what you pay at the pump, while oil executives laugh and rake it in. The economic war against you is raging — it will only get worse.  Progressives, perhaps imperfectly, work toward health care, education, and basic human needs. The oligarch party (you know who they are!) rages flat-out lies about race, class, gender, even about a violent insurrection. They offer no solutions to your needs.  Apparently (unbelievably!), a fairly large percentage of you are moved more by fear, anger, victim-hood and divisiveness. In one generation, how did the USA lose so much?

[16apr22 update]  Our economists and other economic analysts are hyper-ventilating about 3.5M workers they claim will not re-enter the post-Covid job market.  They tell us this deficit – consisting mostly of lowly paid women with no college - will be permanent.  Rebane Doctrine advises them not to worry.  As we have repeatedly noted, systemic unemployment has been slowly growing for years, and will continue to do so as cheaper and more capable technology replaces more expensive and unreliable workers.  And even the short-term deficit will be easily handled by the influx of illegal aliens as they get settled into their new homes and look for work.  From my perch, our continuing problem will be to mollifying the growing horde of the chronically irrelevant and systemically unemployed from revolting to relevance. (cf rising crime rates and more here)

Giving until it hurts?  FN and The Blaze cite IRS records (here) showing that Bumblebrain and FLOTUS gave $17,400 or 2.8% of their 2021 income to charity.  Kamala and SHOTUS upped them a mite, and gave $22,100, but only 1.3% of their 2021 income to charity.  These laughable amounts are not all that laughable as records have shown for years that leftwingers don’t give much to private charities – their charity operates with OPM.  This has been much studied (here).  And as socialists they believe that government should be the sole provider of succor to its citizens.  Nevertheless, Americans continue to give through private charities amounts that are multiples of what the deficit-spending, vote-buying government dispenses.  For the record, as grateful entrepreneurs we, and many of our friends, are blessed to be able to give up to 40% of our earnings to worthy causes.  This tallies to several times the amounts that our progressive elites and leaders let escape from their tightly zipped wallets.

 

Comments

[Scott O]

"Apparently (unbelievably!), a fairly large percentage of you are moved more by fear, anger, victim-hood and divisiveness."
Why is this so unbelievable?
How has this changed since we lived in caves?
The left truly have no understanding of basic human nature.
"In one generation, how did the USA lose so much?"
Oh, lots of folks have been pointing out how and why, but some people don't want to hear the answer.
On the whole, a pretty straight forward lefty screed with all the proper talking points.
Ms Fussell must a bunch of fun at family gatherings.

[Michael Kesti]

Risking persecution for assuming his gender, I tell you that Nory Fussell is a "Mr" rather than a "Ms".

Scott O | 15 April 2022 at 10:28 AM
I find that many lefties do understand basic human nature but believe that they can change it legislatively. This is why they promote laws that feel good but fail to do good.

[George Rebane]

MichaelK 1107am - I stand corrected Mr Kesti, thank you. Nevertheless, whatever the chromosomal orientation of that critter, my assessment stands.

[Scott O]

MK 11:07 - "I find that many lefties do understand basic human nature but believe that they can change it legislatively."
If they really do understand human nature, why would they try to change it legislatively?
That would seem to be a contradiction of facts.
And I do apologize to Nory if I 'misgendered' the chap.

[Michael Kesti]

Scott O | 15 April 2022 at 01:32 PM
Understanding a thing does not indicate acceptance of it as it is.

[Scott O]

MK - I think you're missing my point. If anyone thinks they can change human nature by way of legislation, then by definition they do NOT understand human nature.
Hope we're not talking past each other. I do agree that the left does have a fervent desire to shape human behavior by way of govt diktat.
The govt can certainly push at societal norms to a certain extent but the person best suited to change your attitudes and behaviors is you.

[Bill Tozer]

re: Elon and Twitter

All the industrial investors in Twitter still have a fiduciary responsibly to their clients as well as each board member. Those who manage pension plans, BlackRock, and other large investors in Twitter are going to have to explain to their clients why shares bought 2-3 weeks ago for $34/ share….why they refuse $54/share now because of ideology? Or those run pension plans and bought shares at $27 now refuse to cash in at $54 to double their investors’ profit.

Those with fiduciary responsibility, per law, must put the financial needs of their investors and clients above their….to the point of their own personal and financial detriment. Those with fiduciary responsibility will have a bunch of explaining to do if choose to go woke over their legal responsibilities.

Most members on the BoD today are not paid in cash. They are paid in stock options which have trigger price. If Elon dumps all his shares Monday, the price of Twitter collapses, and the Board Members and top dogs get nothing. Crashes the company.

All the combinations and scenarios are fascinating. Elon does hot have 60 billion laying around in some bank account drawing 3 bucks a month. After about 16 billion, he is going to have to sell Tesla stock, causing him to take a loss as the value of Tesla shares fall. A personal loss on the Tesla side…so is it worth it? Or is Elon just being Elon?

And I haven’t even touched the poison bills yet. Even the DOJ and the SEC are going after him now. Elon hates the SEC and the SEC has always hated him.

[fish]

Posted by: Bill Tozer | 16 April 2022 at 07:41 AM

All the industrial investors in Twitter still have a fiduciary responsibly to their clients as well as each board member. Those who manage pension plans, BlackRock, and other large investors in Twitter are going to have to explain to their clients why shares bought 2-3 weeks ago for $34/ share….why they refuse $54/share now because of ideology? Or those run pension plans and bought shares at $27 now refuse to cash in at $54 to double their investors’ profit.

Because Twitter is far more valuable as a vehicle to disseminate what opinions the rubes are supposed to hold than what it’s stock price (even at Elon’s price) reflects.

None other than MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' Mika Brzezinski said the following words in her out-loud voice...

"The dangerous edges here are that he is trying to undermine the media, trying to make up his own facts, and it could be that while unemployment and the economy worsen, he could have undermined the messaging so much that he can actually control exactly what people think..."

And then the nail in the 'oops, I just told the truth coffin':

"...and that is our job."

To which the effervescent Joe Scarborough replies:

"Yeah".

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/msnbc-blast-past-its-our-job-control-how-people-think-not-elon-musks

[Bill Tozer]

@ 7:48 am

Oh, the irony and hypocrisy lazing out of every pore of the Lamestream. It’s like they are more than just freaked out and they, and only they, are the ones going through a total unhinged freak out.

To stand back at look at things, only 9% of social media users go on Twitter. Been that way for a few years now. Who are those who use Twitter? The Fakenews stars, the beautiful people, the Leftists, the elite, the artist who use the platform to announce a new record, the top voices in entertainment, media….the Hollywood 1%ers, our overseers. That’s who. Not a platform for the common truck driving man or the little people.

I could make the argument as I have done with solar and wind power that Twitter is actually using technology and it’s playroom that is becoming obsolete. But, I won’t on this comment.

What did make me smile was Elon’s response to the Marxist Elite. He, being raised in South Africa, drew the precise parallel between the Censor Culture and Apartheid in South Africa. Ain’t much difference between the two. Brilliant…. yet sad but true.

Twitter and Zuckerberg and Bezo and Soros are all billionaires controlling what is allowed over the information highway, yet only Elon Musk is a Threat To Our Democracy! Well, if you call our democracy ‘apartheid’, then you got a point.

[George Boardman]

Musk is hardly the free speech advocate he'd like you to believe he is. He has been highly critical in the past of media coverage of Testa and his run-ins with federal agencies. Do you think he's going to let criticism of him flow freely if he takes over Twitter?

Wall Street, which includes a lot of Republicans, apparently isn't taking him seriously anyway. Twitter's stock closed down 2 percent Thursday, more than $9 below Musk's "best and final offer." Even his good buddy Peter Thiel, who has invested in several of Musk's ventures and shares his opinion of Twitter, is apparently taking a pass on this one.

[George Rebane]

GeorgeB 1033am - Even if we posit all of that, Musk is still the only game in town to counter our demonstrable phalanx of oligarch and corporatist censors of the media. Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.

[fish]

Posted by: George Boardman | 16 April 2022 at 10:33 AM

…..even now the would be “Gate Keeper”.

[Bill Tozer]

re: Musk, the Dangerous Libertarian

‘Musk scores win exposing elitist orthodoxy — even if he loses Twitter bid’

"These tech companies, which control the rails of communication upon which many Americans (and billions around the world) rely, monitor viewpoints consistent with what conforms to Democrat politicians' version of reality," she added. "From the possibility of a coronavirus lab leak to the New York Post story on Hunter Biden's laptop to the rejection of biological differences between men and women, if it's a ruling class narrative, tech companies defend it."

Musk, the Libertarian Troll Master

“Opposition to Musk is also coming from a range of public figures. Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alawaleed bin Talal, for example, owns a 4.45% stake in Twitter and publicly rejected Musk's offer, to which Musk responded dryly, "What are the [Saudi] Kingdom's views on journalistic freedom of speech?"

https://justthenews.com/nation/culture/musk-has-already-won-even-if-he-loses-twitter-bid

[Bill Tozer]

Going from hero to zero at the speed of light.

When Elon Musk smoked pot on some investor podcast or company meeting, I criticized him. Not a professional image for shareholders and investors to see, especially when receiving government contracts.

When Elon Musk sent a rocket into outer space with technology our own government has not mastered…and strapping a car with a mannequin inside playing David Bowie music to the rocket to boot we all cheered him.

The thing that has puzzled me is why why why is Elon a threat to our democracy simply because he wants to buy up Twitter and take in private. Why does this proposed action strike fear so deep into the hearts of the Lib Media?

A: Because Twitter is the preferred vehicle of the media, that why. Friggin control freaks. They have all the social media platforms sewn up and in their back pockets…and in their power madness they say….”you will have to pry this Twitter out of our cold dead hands.

‘Axios Might Be the Winner for Biggest Media Meltdown Over Elon Musk's Attempt to Buy Twitter’

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/juliorosas/2022/04/14/axios-might-be-the-winner-for-biggest-media-meltdown-over-elon-musk-attempt-to-buy-twitter-n2605889

[Scott O]

Bill T 4:04 - Elon is the ultimate loose canon. But he usually acknowledges gravity, so I mostly admire him.
I'll take Elon over whomever the lefties flock to.

[George Rebane]

re ScottO 451pm - Given Elon's well publicized opinions and his penchant for some impulsive decisions (Twitter being one?), I nominate your "ultimate loose canon(sic)" remark for the All-Time Double Entendre Award.

[Scott O]

Good one, George - I had to look twice at my own post to see the point. And yes, it does work very well both ways. But I'll have to fess up it was nothing more than poor spelling.
At least I didn't type canyon. Wouldn't want one of those on the loose!

[Bill Tozer]

ScottO. Oh Elon might be a fat ugly wife, but he’s our fat ugly wife! “Some folks just don’t recognize genius.” Anonymous—-and many a mother

‘It’s Not Just Elon: The Left Whines ‘Threat To Democracy’ Whenever There’s A Threat To Their Regime’

https://thefederalist.com/2022/04/19/its-not-just-elon-the-left-whines-threat-to-democracy-whenever-theres-a-threat-to-their-regime/

“Next time you hear cries that something is a “threat to our very democracy itself, even graver than all the other, formerly-gravest threats to democracy,” it should be your first clue that that thing, good or bad, is making the censorship class quake in their silk slippers. Your second thought should be to expect them to exploit the “democracy” fearmongering for even more control — and your third thought should be to keep that the heck from happening.“

[Bill Tozer]

From its IPO, Twitter has never grown its market share. Just about where they are since after their launch. Kids think boring people use Twitter. Anyway, it’s not a good investment, has no cash flow. Has revenue, but doesn’t make money. So, what is Elon up to? It’s not a business decision, I saw pass on it.

Wonder if it’s personal with Musk? Me thinks Elon the David Bowie Guy has a plan C-F.

‘Get Woke, Go Broke: Elon Musk Says ‘Woke Mind Virus’ Makes Netflix ‘Unwatchable’ As Shares Plummet 20%’

https://www.dailywire.com/news/get-woke-go-broke-elon-musk-says-woke-mind-virus-makes-netflix-unwatchable-as-shares-plummet-20
—————————————
‘Toxic And Obsessive’: Young People Bailing On Social Media

https://www.dailywire.com/news/toxic-and-obsessive-young-people-bailing-on-social-media

[Bill Tozer]

Good old faithful Sen. Chris Coons floats the lead ballon about going in to Ukraine. Public not there yet. Overwhelming opposed. Hmmm. Coons sounds familiar. Oh yeah.

‘Coons addresses infamous photo of Biden, daughter during swearing-in ceremony’

https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2019/04/01/coons-addresses-photo-biden-daughter-during-2015-swearing/3333267002/

Now that’s loyalty!