Elon Musk Allows Free Speech: Therefore We Must Bankrupt Him
If you didn't know that Robert Reich was a ghastly little shit before then now...
Some parts of this, like the Curate’s Egg, are excellent.
1. Boycott Tesla.
2. Advertisers should boycott X.
Sure, consumer power. The very thing that obviates most of Robert Reich’s political stances of course. If we don’t like what someone is doing - for whatever reason, good, bad indifferent or just plain loopy - then we not just can but should spend our money diff’rent. That’s how we consumers gain our power over capitalists in a market based economic system. The money’s currently in our wallets and they want it in their. As I’ve noted before they’ve got to at least fluff us if not fully fellate in order to get it too. Consumers have power, use it.
Then we get to see the ghastly shit part:
3. Regulators around the world should threaten Musk with arrest if he doesn’t stop disseminating lies and hate on X.
4. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission should demand that Musk take down lies that are likely to endanger individuals – and if he does not, sue him under Section Five of the FTC Act.
Musk’s free-speech rights under the first amendment don’t take precedence over the public interest.
5. The US government – and we taxpayers – have additional power over Musk, if we’re willing to use it. The US should terminate its contracts with him, starting with Musk’s SpaceX.
6. Make sure Musk’s favorite candidate for president is not elected.
The cause of all of this is that very Musk’s exercise of his free speech rights. Which do, yes, take precedence over Reich’s estimation of the public interest. The complaint Reich has is that Musk supports the other party in this upcoming election. Therefore the entirety of state power should be used to bankrupt him, eliminate him from the body politic. Which does lead to two interesting little points.
One is that Reich is assuming that current government would or could actually do this. So, that idea of the Deep State that won’t allow any contradiction or loss of power seems to be pretty well established, no?
The second is that Reich is indeed a ghastly little* shit. But then the observant among us have known that for some decades.
*He is also short but that’s not a relevance here.
"Evidence is mounting that Russia and other foreign agents are using X to disrupt this year’s presidential race, presumably in favor of Trump."
But sadly, there's just not quite enough room in this paper to produce any of this 'evidence'. (Note for Bob: the voices inside your head aren't evidence.)
Who the f*** is Reich anyway? To paraphrase a phrase that apparently now lands you in chokey if used on Facebook.