8 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of May 9

Automatically posted
Tags: usa, politics, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

8 comments

  1. [4]
    TheRtRevKaiser
    Link
    Elon Musk says he would reverse Twitter ban on Donald Trump. How shocking...

    Elon Musk says he would reverse Twitter ban on Donald Trump.

    How shocking...

    10 votes
    1. [3]
      vord
      Link Parent
      Looking at this, I finally bothered to do some approximation math. It's quite shocking to me that Musk is paying somewhere between $120 and $260 per user. Supposing the reality of the user count...

      Looking at this, I finally bothered to do some approximation math. It's quite shocking to me that Musk is paying somewhere between $120 and $260 per user.

      Supposing the reality of the user count is somewhere between the 330 million monthly unique and 166 daily montetizable, that means that each user has theoretically generated about $10 annually in profits since the company's inception 16 years ago.

      Another way to put that, is that for Musk to get an actual ROI on this purchase, as an investment and not a pump an dump, he would need to double those profits and maintain them for 8 years just to break even. I wager that's impossible, or Twitter would have done so already.

      So this is 100% about throwing money around for his own amusement. Which isn't really shocking to anyone who has followed Musk with even a slight awareness of the reality behind the PR.

      5 votes
      1. [2]
        TheRtRevKaiser
        Link Parent
        His own amusement, or control of what he considers to be a/the significant method of public communication. We've already seen him use or attempt to use Twitter to manipulate markets in his own...

        So this is 100% about throwing money around for his own amusement.

        His own amusement, or control of what he considers to be a/the significant method of public communication. We've already seen him use or attempt to use Twitter to manipulate markets in his own favor before, and I think it's fair to say that Twitter has been used to manipulate public opinion in other ways as well. I think it's pretty obvious that Musk wants to be in the driver's seat for how Twitter is used in those ways.

        Musk has said before that he considers Twitter to be the modern "Town Square". So if that analogy hold, then this is an example of a billionaire buying the whole town square so he can post whatever notices he wants on it, and control how it is used.

        Now it seems to me that if it really is the town square, it ought to be run by the town...

        7 votes
        1. vord
          Link Parent
          Can we install a stockade? :)

          Now it seems to me that if it really is the town square, it ought to be run by the town...

          Can we install a stockade? :)

          5 votes
  2. vord
    Link
    I just learned what's happening with the US Senate race in PA. Here is an attack ad against a relatively sane Republican candidate. And here is his opponent, none other than Dr.Oz, the quack that...

    I just learned what's happening with the US Senate race in PA. Here is an attack ad against a relatively sane Republican candidate.

    And here is his opponent, none other than Dr.Oz, the quack that Oprah brought to fame. Complete with Trump endorsement.

    I would have thought this funny if Trump 2016 didn't turn out so horrifically.

    5 votes
  3. kfwyre
    Link
    Gay pride videos prompt threats against Glendale teacher Sharing LGBTQ identity a fireable offense, Mississippi high school warned teacher Florida teacher fired over LGBTQ+ pride flag lesson

    Gay pride videos prompt threats against Glendale teacher

    A Glendale third-grade teacher who nearly a year ago showed videos celebrating gay pride to her students has been involuntarily transferred from her classroom for safety reasons after receiving threats — a local chapter in the nation’s furious debate over what should be taught in schools about gender identity.

    Sharing LGBTQ identity a fireable offense, Mississippi high school warned teacher

    The teacher mentioned several communities she considered herself part of, including the gardening community, cooking community, dance community and the LGBTQ community.

    “Oh yeah, you’re bi, aren’t you?” Daisy said.

    Answering this question, the administration would later say, was Bass’ third—and worst—mistake.

    Florida teacher fired over LGBTQ+ pride flag lesson

    Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill isn’t yet in effect, but the hostile environment that surrounds the law in the state’s K-12 schools has already potentially resulted in a teacher’s firing. Casey Scott, a Cape Coral middle school art teacher, told local news affiliate NBC2 that on April 18 she was fired from her probationary, nonunion teaching role after explaining different sexualities, including her own, to her students. “A discussion happened in class and because of that, now I’m fired,” Scott told NBC2. The school district claims she was fired for “not following the mandated curriculum.”

    4 votes
  4. kfwyre
    Link
    A bill to codify abortion protections fails in the Senate

    A bill to codify abortion protections fails in the Senate

    The Women's Health Protection Act, a Democrat-led bill that would effectively codify a right to an abortion, failed to pass, as expected, after it did not reach the Senate's 60-vote threshold. All Democrats voted for the legislation except Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and all Republicans opposed the bill.

    Because it was never likely to pass, the vote was effectively symbolic. "I think it's really important to have this vote to show where everyone stands," Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota told NPR on Tuesday.

    3 votes
  5. HotPants
    Link
    Powell says the Fed is going to hike rates until inflation is under control, potentially causing a recession. Most recessions have been caused by inverted yield curves in the USA, caused by the...

    Powell says the Fed is going to hike rates until inflation is under control, potentially causing a recession.

    Powell has said that it is possible for the Fed to cool inflation without causing a severe recession. This is called a "soft landing,"

    In the Marketplace interview, the Fed chairman said that the central bank's plans to achieve a soft landing isn't entirely in its own hands.

    "So the question whether we can execute a soft landing or not, it may actually depend on factors that we don't control," Powell said.

    What the Fed can control is demand in the economy, and it will be raising rates to try to "moderate demand in a way that lets the labor market get back in balance and help inflation get back to 2%," he said.

    Most recessions have been caused by inverted yield curves in the USA, caused by the fed hiking rates.

    1 vote