You've fallen for one of the classic blunders!
ReallyActuallyFrankenstein
joined 2 years ago
Like most of Trump's actions, the chaos is the point and the damage is largely done.
Step 1 is systematic destruction of trust in the US's institutions and rule of law. Step 2 is the public's and other countries' exhaustion and withdrawal from engagement due to that loss of trust. Step 3 is in unfettered dictatorial edict replacing the rule of law.
The only mitigation right now is resistance at a level the US isn't ready for. Entire communities refusing ICE entry or allowing them to arrest the resistors. Or some idealized version of local police arresting ICE thugs for violating local and state ordinances by engaging in unlawful arrest without meeting local due process-analog requirements, for example. That would at least divert ICE's offensive resources to defensive.
But America is chronically ill, local and state police are helping ICE despite being paid and duty-bound to protect local communities and state constitutions, and we're collectively mesmerized by the intentional shock-and-awe strategy.
TPM was known to be a DRM Trojan horse in 2004. Then everyone forgot about that fact.
Sure, pushing Linux is just a new angle, but don't think for a second that TPM has any purpose other than making your own computer trust a cabal of corporations over you, the owner. And if there is a critical mass of TPM standardized hardware, such that a "trusted" environment is the standard, it will lock you out of major use cases on all "untrusted" systems, including Linux.
And that deserves a lot of outrage.
Tech execs when the shortage hits: I just had a brilliant idea! Let's just give untrained junior vibe-coding engineers the power of senior engineers, and even more AI tools. Problem solved forever, bonus please!
They have imagined a threat (there isn't one) so they can imagine they are in danger or persecuted (they aren't), so they can imagine they deserve a savior (they don't), who they imagine Donald Trump to be (he most definitely isn't one).
I'd say it's a cult, but I doubt most cults even require this level of mental gymnastics.
Oh, disagreeing with the post, huh? Looks like we found the AI troll, get 'em everyone!
For David Zaslov, about $200 million.
Well, just for others who might do the same:
I thought it would be an interesting read, so I searched and it looks like this was never a real article: https://knowyourmeme.com/news/no-christian-bale-did-not-roast-sigma-bale-idolizers
Bondi:
They also determined it does not constitute a bribe because the gift does not hinge on an official act.
Emoluments clause:
...no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Bondi, we're not talking about bribes, we're talking about explicit violations of the Constitution. So where's the Congressional consent?
Oh, because Qatar gives it to USAF, and USAF gives it to Trump, it's "legally permissible." Gosh, what a novel idea. Definitely not something a first year law student would see as a strawperson introduced in a transaction specifically to evade illegal conduct.
It's no downside to them. Either (a) officials do nothing in response, which tells them they can do this again the future, or (b) the officials challenge the illegal arrest, giving the DOJ an opportunity to expand powers by creating court precedent via immunity arguments.
If in the off-chance, (c) the court rules against them, it makes no difference since they'll ignore the order.
Sure, some representatives are wondering. And look, there's a tactical value in thinking about how to not push Musk back into Trump's arms. Sure, think about those things.
But Musk is about as close to unforgivable as one can be.
316,000 excess deaths, mostly children, from his likely-drug-fueled, completely unnecessary DOGE-ing of USAID. 100+ deaths a minute still counting. And he did it because he can't care enough about those lives to control his impulses enough to even think about what he is doing. Or putting Trump in the White House in the first place with his money, which by the way is the total yearly life-monetary value of roughly 5,000 people (using a 50k basic living salary for reference).
He can try to atone for his whole life (and should), but he won't get close.