I write the headline in the form of a question but in reality, all of the data points in one direction, yes.

If I am going to be brutally honest, this Elon Musk scenario is like the August 2022 review when it became obvious all of the DeSantis 2024 data only reconciled in one direction.  In many ways, Musk is to social media interests as DeSantis is to DC UniParty interests.

More than half the readers here have picked up on the clues and cues showing Musk has a very real motive to position himself in the best light possible given the situation that surrounds him.  Unfortunately, that position creates conflicts between ideals (what’s possible) and reality (what limits surround one’s ability).  Musk is riding a tiger, and the intelligence community ring masters control the beast.

The damage control motive is a few layers deep.  However, one of the recent events that would lead to Musk’s public need for brand image protection comes from the situation with Matt Taibbi:

…”When we got into the Files, we were caught off guard. The content-policing system was more elaborate and organized than any of us imagined. A communications highway had been built linking the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence with Twitter, Facebook, Google, and a slew of other platforms. Among other things this looked more like a cartel than a competitive media landscape, and I had an uneasy feeling early on that publicizing this arrangement might create a host of unanticipated problems for everyone involved. Still, there was no question this was in the public interest. So we kept going.”  (more)  ~ Matt Taibbi

On the issue of Twitter File access and personal motivation, Taibbi’s best financial and short-term professional interests would be served most by retaining a positive relationship with Musk/Twitter.  The fact that Taibbi would turn away from the lucrative interests, says something positive about his compass heading.

Accepting the COVID-19 files were never released, what some have called the Fauci files, and accepting the revelations within the filtered internal documents stopped abruptly, we can consider that ‘stakeholder’ interests became more consequential as the outside peering gained depth.  Likely the core of the platform, which we now know is based on a U.S Government intelligence relationship, needed a protective boundary.

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President Trump delivers a T47 policy video covering the topic of homelessness, drug addiction and dangerously deranged. [Direct Rumble Link]

“For a small fraction of what we spend upon Ukraine, we could take care of every homeless veteran in America. Our veterans are being treated horribly.” ~ President Donald Trump

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Not much change in the last week according to the Morning Consult polling [DATA HERE]:

[Source Link]

The next two weeks are critical for the non-Trump team consisting of Ron DeSantis handlers, multinational corporations, GOPe professional political class, most elements of the RNC and the 2024 spearhead institution of the Republican Governors Association (RGA).  DeSantis handlers have him scheduled in Washington DC today, in an effort to circle the DeceptiCon wagons and fend off the MAGA insurgency.

However, as the DeSantis team call everyone trying to stop MAGA advancements, Florida Rep. Greg Steube became the fifth member of the sunshine state’s 20-member Republican congressional delegation to endorse former President Donald Trump for 2024.  [Details Here]

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Watching Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman return to work in the Senate reminded me today of all those professional republican voices who shout about ‘candidate quality’ when explaining GOP election losses.

Here’s the video as an audio/visual exclamation point about the irrelevance of “candidate quality.” WATCH (30 secs)

It’s the Envelopes, Stupid!

Nothing, not one single thing….  about candidates, debates, endorsements, media support, branding, imaging, leadership, effectiveness, policy, polling, communications, digital outreach, social media platforms, rallies or love of country matters in the 2024 election.  None of it matters.  The outcome of the 2024 presidential contest will be determined by ONLY ONE THING…. ….ENVELOPES!

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Consider this an open thread on this interview which will broadcast tonight at 8:00pm ET, along with a good preview by Tucker Carlson below.

The topic of Musk is interesting from multiple perspectives, particularly in an era of universal deceit, pretending and openly exposed manipulation of information by government and govt stakeholders.   I have my own keen reasons to watch the Musk dynamic closely, one of them pertains to the Twitter situation and what it means in the bigger sphere of communication.

Readers here will long remember my outline of the Twitter/Govt dynamic.  However, lesser focused is my empirical belief that a collaborative financial relationship, a subsidy of sorts, had to exist given the nature of both public and private enterprises.  The lesser discussed aspect to social media is the scale and cost of operations in proportion to the revenue the platforms can create.

Musk has essentially confirmed the basic premise I always believed about this public-private partnership; however, what has never been discussed is the financial subsidy for the data processing -and hardware- at scale.  People shrug off this part of the equation, but if you look at the financial moves Mr. Musk is making through the prism of trying to break free of a background financial dependency/subsidy, while simultaneously maintaining viable platform operations, then suddenly some of his moves make sense.

If you are watching the interview tonight, use this thread to share opinion, and I will update with video after broadcast.

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Two quick juxtapositions to contemplate:

Just accepting things as they are presented to be, without laying opinion on the table.

♦ Mr. Elon Musk is saying he spent $44 billion to purchase a platform without any prior knowledge the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) was operating on the backbone of the communication platform he was purchasing.

Additionally, all due diligence that may have been conducted before the biggest expenditure in the history of social media networks, did not reveal this intelligence community operation, to him, until after the sale was complete.

Everything thereafter is based on this predicate.

♦ Mr. Ron DeSantis is saying he had no idea the apparatus of political constructs was creating a presidential campaign process over a period of two years that would require his ultimate approval and participation, during the period when he genuinely claimed to be running for reelection to be the 2022 Florida Governor.

Everything thereafter is based on this predicate.

Whether you believe these assertions to be true or not is entirely up to you.

However, with these two points in mind, what does that say about the current state of our national pretense?

Expand the discussion. I am very interested in how intellectually honest people view these assertions. (more…)

Tucker Carlson has interviewed Twitter CEO Elon Musk and will broadcast the interview on Monday at 8:00pm ET.

If Carlson had the accurate and full context of the background situation, he would be able to ask the right questions. It appears Mr. Carlson does have the key issues well understood.  This should be a good interview.

In this preview segment {Direct Rumble Link Here}, Musk admits his mind was blown when he discovered the extent of the full government access to everything that was happening on Twitter.  He essentially confirms two key elements.  First, our long-held framework of Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop, is accurate.  Second, Musk had no idea when he bought it.

There has been an ongoing debate about whether Elon Musk was aware of the U.S. government and intelligence community control over Twitter prior to the purchase; with many people saying there is no way that Musk could not know given the scale of the money involved, $42 billion and the due diligence that generally follows such transactions.

However, in this interview Musk states he had no idea how much operational control and influence the government and intelligence apparatus held over the platform prior to the purchase.

Readers here are so far ahead of the curve on this story, it’s kind of cool, funny, and yet frustrating at the same time.  Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop is all a wild conspiracy theory born from the oddly wired brain of some dude in the corner of the internet; until suddenly it’s not.

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Posted without commentary, because we have already kicked up a shitstorm in republican circles this weekend….

[Direct Rumble Link] More Soon, ENJOY:

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida escaped harm earlier today after a man holding what appeared to be two pipe bombs threw one near Kishida.  Remarkable video from the event showed citizens and police apprehending the suspect after one of the devices was thrown.  [Japan TV Story Here]

(Via Politico) – WAKAYAMA, Japan — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unharmed Saturday after someone threw an explosive device in his direction while he was campaigning at a fishing port in western Japan, officials said. Police wrestled a suspect to the ground as screaming bystanders scrambled to get away and smoke filled the air.

Although no one was hurt, and Kishida continued campaigning Saturday, the chaotic scene was reminiscent of the assassination nine months ago of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which also came on a campaign tour and continues to reverberate in Japanese politics. Kishida was visiting Saikazaki port in Wakayama prefecture to support his ruling party’s candidate in a local election, and the explosion occurred just before he was to begin his speech.

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Given the nature of the club plan, we can probably expect to see the field thin much faster as it gets closer to Ron DeSantis launch date.

The South Carolina folks (Haley and Scott) will remain, and Asa Hutchinson is likely to hang out as the club player for Iowa, but pulling the other noise away from DeSantis will be a priority.  Also, no one will enter the contest after DeSantis.

With Trump surging, Team RdS needs every part of their 20% to remain as the floor.  The Big Club handlers can’t afford the optics of Ron DeSantis polling dropping further because it will make his pre-planned entry look weak and more transparent.   As such, Youngkin taps out before he reaches the ring.

(Via New York Times) –  Virginia’s governor is putting the presidential hoopla on ice.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican whose surprising election in a blue-trending state set off instant talk of a presidential run, has tapped the brakes on 2024, telling advisers and donors that his sole focus is on Virginia’s legislative elections in the fall.

[…] “Listen, I didn’t write a book, and I’m not in Iowa or New Hampshire or South Carolina.” Instead, he said, he is putting his full focus on November’s statewide Virginia election, when all 140 seats in both chambers of the General Assembly are on the ballot. A decision to enter the 2024 campaign in November would be historically late, well past the first Republican debate in August.

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