37 votes

Elon Musk's junta establishes him as head of US government

9 comments

  1. [2]
    JCPhoenix
    Link
    Funny, my dad and I were talking about this very thing today. That Musk is acting like a Prime Minister, while Trump is President. Similar to some countries where the PM is more important than the...

    Funny, my dad and I were talking about this very thing today. That Musk is acting like a Prime Minister, while Trump is President. Similar to some countries where the PM is more important than the Head of State.

    Though I think it'd more effective to continuing calling Musk, "President Musk." We know that that get's under Trump's skin. Maybe if he gets annoyed enough, he'll pull an Apprentice, "You're Fired!" on Musk.

    26 votes
    1. macleod
      Link Parent
      Should be noted, House Republicans and others have been calling him 'Prime Minister Musk' as a positive since December.

      Should be noted, House Republicans and others have been calling him 'Prime Minister Musk' as a positive since December.

      “It’s kind of interesting,” Gonzales said during an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” “We have a president, we have a vice president, we have a speaker. It feels like as if Elon Musk is our prime minister.”

      6 votes
  2. [7]
    vord
    Link
    Thanks for this, it is exceptionally well-written.

    Thanks for this, it is exceptionally well-written.

    Over the last two weeks, loyalist presidential factions and Musk-backed teams have launched sweeping, illegal Stalin-esque purges of the national police forces and prosecutors, as well as offices known as inspectors-general, who are typically responsible for investigating government corruption. While official numbers of the unprecedented ousters were kept secret, rumors swirled in the capital that the scores of career officials affected by the initial purges could rise into the thousands as political commissars continued to assess the backgrounds of members of the police forces.

    21 votes
    1. [6]
      skybrian
      Link Parent
      Stalin’s approach wasn’t sending people an email asking them to resign, so that adjective is a bit over the top.

      Stalin’s approach wasn’t sending people an email asking them to resign, so that adjective is a bit over the top.

      5 votes
      1. [3]
        PelagiusSeptim
        Link Parent
        The prosecutors and inspectors general were not sent an offer to resign, they were fired. This is not about the entire federal workforce, it is about trump removing those who dared investigate his...

        The prosecutors and inspectors general were not sent an offer to resign, they were fired. This is not about the entire federal workforce, it is about trump removing those who dared investigate his crimes. That is a purge.

        25 votes
        1. [2]
          skybrian
          Link Parent
          Yes, they were fired, fair enough. But Stalin executed people. That’s a whole different level of evil. Some history: … …

          Yes, they were fired, fair enough. But Stalin executed people. That’s a whole different level of evil.

          Some history:

          The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (Russian: Большой террор, romanized: Bol'shoy terror), also known as the Year of '37 (37-й год, Tridtsat' sed'moy god) and the Yezhovshchina (Ежовщина [(j)ɪˈʐofɕːɪnə], lit. 'period of Yezhov'), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. It sought to consolidate Joseph Stalin's power over the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and aimed at removing the remaining influence of Leon Trotsky within the Soviet Union.

          Soviet politicians who opposed or criticized Stalin were removed from office and imprisoned or executed by the NKVD. Eventually, the purges were expanded to the Red Army and military high command, […]

          Scholars estimate the death toll for the Great Purge (1936–1938) to be roughly 700,000–1.2 million.[16][17][18][19] Despite the end of the Great Purge, the widespread surveillance and atmosphere of mistrust continued for decades. Similar purges took place in Mongolia and Xinjiang.

          11 votes
          1. macleod
            (edited )
            Link Parent
            Yes, but to be fair here (if you can be to Stalin?), he did fire people first, then began arresting those who fought against his mandates or slowed down progress, and then the executions began...

            Yes, but to be fair here (if you can be to Stalin?), he did fire people first, then began arresting those who fought against his mandates or slowed down progress, and then the executions began with those who were united and would not remove themselves by 'conventional' methods.

            The notable 'purge' only began around twelve years after he initially took power.

            10 votes
      2. [2]
        papasquat
        Link Parent
        The entire article is over the top. I understand the sentiment, but writing long cathartic hyperbolic essays isn't helping anyone. Things are bad enough without us having to exaggerate what's...

        The entire article is over the top. I understand the sentiment, but writing long cathartic hyperbolic essays isn't helping anyone. Things are bad enough without us having to exaggerate what's going on.

        15 votes
        1. Omnicrola
          Link Parent
          I understand where you're coming from. Though unexpectedly, I found this moderately cathartic to read in a way that reading other articles that describe the same events (sometimes in even more...

          I understand where you're coming from. Though unexpectedly, I found this moderately cathartic to read in a way that reading other articles that describe the same events (sometimes in even more sensational language) hasn't been.

          It's not going to change anyone mind, but that's not really the point of it.

          14 votes