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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Late Night Open Thread: X’ing Out

Late Night Open Thread: X’ing Out

by Anne Laurie|  July 31, 20232:02 am| 59 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Tech News & Issues, Assholes

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That thing is absolutely running off a single extension cord and a surge protector that's glowing hot as the sun. https://t.co/Mlu6om2FKZ

— Environmental Services Weedle (@PartyWurmple) July 30, 2023

It’s looking more and more like The Great Lord Musk is spiraling into terminal Stop me before I kill again territory, and I hope one or more of his creditors steels themselves to do the deed soon.

Every day this guy wakes up and tries to be at least a little bit worse than the day before. You have to respect the grindset. https://t.co/3Qnoy3Uhd2

— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) July 29, 2023

X / Twitter won't let city building inspectors check out the giant X logo on the roof of their HQ

inspectors have been denied access for the past two days upon visiting to inspect the structure https://t.co/bqc1JXuUbn pic.twitter.com/93R0bieIfs

— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) July 30, 2023

so, they're definitely getting evicted, right pic.twitter.com/3dJntnQxq3

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) July 30, 2023

not for the first time this week have i wondered how much liquidity he actually has left without cracking open the tesla piggybank

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) July 30, 2023

Can I suggest this little change? pic.twitter.com/CLn6qnc2QS

— Gal Shir (@galshirart) July 26, 2023

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Reader Interactions

59Comments

  1. 1.

    Burnspbesq

    July 31, 2023 at 2:08 am

    I’ve run out of things to say about Leon Skum and his antics. I’m waiting for the ground to open up and swallow him.

  2. 2.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 31, 2023 at 2:30 am

    Women’s World Cup features two of the nations with an eye on the title.

    Spain v Japan, it’s gonna be a good one.

  3. 3.

    YY_Sima Qian

    July 31, 2023 at 2:34 am

    Since this is an open thread, just saw this in my Twitter timeline:

    Inside the Party Switch that Blew Up North Carolina Politics

    Tricia Cotham, a Democrat who supported abortion rights, was encouraged to run for a state House seat by powerful Republicans. After she was elected, she joined them and delivered a G.O.P. supermajority.

    WTF?!!!

  4. 4.

    cain

    July 31, 2023 at 2:43 am

    @YY_Sima Qian: ​
     
    Oh yeah .. she fucked her political career cuz she is going to be out next term.
    A true bitch. She fucked the Dems and women.

  5. 5.

    YY_Sima Qian

    July 31, 2023 at 2:49 am

    @cain: Maybe she was always a R, just posing as a D to give GOP supermajority to ban abortion after 12 weeks?

  6. 6.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    July 31, 2023 at 3:10 am

    Space Karen is the poster child for confiscatory tax rates. His fuck you attitude combined with his fuck you money makes for one big fucking mess after another. I think a big part of his problem is that he doesn’t have any kind of life with people who enjoy being with him, so he spends all of his time figuring out ways to fuck with people who mean nothing to him other than his amusement.

    Emotionally, Elon Musk’s actions are more like those of a boy than of a man.

  7. 7.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 31, 2023 at 3:13 am

    GOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!

    What a fantastic counterattack from Japan!

    And Spain responds with a dangerous play off the corner, but no goal.

    Great match, wide open, plenty of chances.

  8. 8.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    July 31, 2023 at 3:19 am

    @HumboldtBlue: ​
      How ’bout those Cinderella Columbians

  9. 9.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 31, 2023 at 3:26 am

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:

    Absolutely brilliant victory over the Germans, and we may have a new star in Linda Caicedo.

    GOOOOOAAALLLL  JAPAN!!! 2-0 over Spain.

  10. 10.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 31, 2023 at 3:43 am

    Spain, as crafty and skilled their footwork, have been absolutely mugged by a deadly and clinical Japanese squad who have counter-attacked with boggling precision.

    3-0, and it hasn’t been difficult. That’s extraordinary football.

  11. 11.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    July 31, 2023 at 3:49 am

    @HumboldtBlue: ​
     Spain has never won a knockout match in both Euro Cup and World Cup.

    I’ve always felt their triangle possession strategy made them passive, instead of attack oriented.

  12. 12.

    Ishiyama

    July 31, 2023 at 3:51 am

    @HumboldtBlue: Glorious! I won’t relax until it is all over, though.

  13. 13.

    ColoradoGuy

    July 31, 2023 at 3:53 am

    Once upon a time, there was a beautiful garden up there. Now all the plants have died of neglect, and there’s a multi-kilowatt vanity billboard instead.

    Something tells me that sign is in violation of multiple San Francisco building and signage codes. Time for an old-fashioned police raid … wonder what else they would find. I suspect industrial drums of Ketamine and exotic designer drugs.

  14. 14.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 31, 2023 at 4:06 am

    Unless Spain score early, we are going to watch 45+ minutes of Spain trying to break down that Japan defense, and Spain have shown no inkling they can do that.

  15. 15.

    Citizen_X

    July 31, 2023 at 4:22 am

    Huh, the guy who said “Fuck you, astronomers!” as he put up his satellite constellation is all “Light pollution? Who gives a shit about light pollution?” Go figure.

  16. 16.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 31, 2023 at 4:46 am

    4-0, Spain have been well and truly exposed.

    That may have something to do with internal turmoil.

  17. 17.

    Anyway

    July 31, 2023 at 5:28 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    NZ  is out — now to see whether the other host nation makes it to the knockout stage.

  18. 18.

    RobArt

    July 31, 2023 at 5:40 am

    I don’t know if this will work but I’d like to “make a request.” I’d love to see smarter thinkers than me address the video many of my friends are sharing of a young climate activist confronting Karine Jean-Pierre on President Biden approving US oil production. Video clip & article here at the Independent. The people I see sharing it are approving. I probably agree with the press secretary in wanting to compliment & admire a young woman’s passion… and then trying to sidestep. The remainder of my thoughts are not complimentary:

    1. An ambush question of importance is never going to receive anything other than a brush-off.
    2. I feel like a complete answer would have to reference Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West’s embargo on Russian oil, and the effect that has on the cost of oil, and thus inflation. If gas prices soar between now and election day the American public’s shallow political understanding will blame Biden. If he loses, US democracy is over. Then we’ll see no action on climate change ever again.
    3. Friendly fire? Why not ambush elected and campaigning Republicans on this issue, especially during this long hot infernal summer? I know the reason might be that Republicans will never listen, will never do anything about climate, and will spout nonsense — to which I say: Exactly! And, if you’re only doing it to generate media, seems like there are many corporate and Republican settings that would be appropriate.

    Perhaps I sound too harsh, or too much a Biden administration apologist. Of course I have my disagreements with various policies. I think as I’ve aged I’ve become less inclined to blame leaders and more focused on the citizens. Even with an awful figurehead like Trump the blame goes to those who empower him, his party and the right-wing factphobic zombie hordes. I don’t think agreement is forged by confrontation. I understand the questioner’s frustration, a bleak feeling that, “even when we vote for the ‘good guy’ we don’t get what we want.” Again I blame the citizenry more than Biden. Educate the voters of WV. Campaign for Ruben Gallego. Work on anyone who still votes Republican. Fight to expand voting. Etc.

    I am an expert on absolutely nothing except (almost) myself. As I say, I’d love to see some front pagers’ take on it, vis-a-vis activism, motivation, circular firing squad, global politics, winning the electoral college, etc. Sigh. Am I gonna regret posting this? I’m not attacking the young woman. It’s really coming from a place of “concern” (I know 🙄) that attacking incumbent Democrats for not being left enough never ends with getting more liberal policies.

  19. 19.

    Baud

    July 31, 2023 at 5:45 am

    @RobArt:

    1. Activists are always trying to get noticed.
    2. All that matters is turnout. People who don’t turn out are frauds when it comes to the environment.
  20. 20.

    satby

    July 31, 2023 at 5:56 am

    @RobArt: Am I gonna regret posting this?

    You shouldn’t. Everything you said is correct. I blame voters and a corrupt media too. In the end we have unfit people put into positions of power because many voters are too lazy to do the minimal work of being informed citizens and the media gets away with lying to them.

  21. 21.

    RobArt

    July 31, 2023 at 6:11 am

    @Baud:

    Yes, and I think that the friends of mine who respond to content like this will vote for Biden — I just have to endure their complaining and “holding my nose” talk between now and the election.

    I suppose we need a combination of activists to engage and institutionalists to govern. My reaction is probably triggered by my own transition from responding more to activist speak into current me who values working within the institutions we have, because if we lose them we are screwed. Also I haven’t slept and feel like my sentences are running on.

    Good night/morning!

  22. 22.

    Betty Cracker

    July 31, 2023 at 6:12 am

    I’m sympathetic to the general sentiment in your post because sometimes activist groups go too far and end up hurting their own causes. But this young woman was brave and polite, and I’m glad Jean-Pierre heard her out because what she said was important.

    Activists play a critical role in moving public consensus, and confrontation is very often a tool they use to forge consensus. I also think you’re wrong about confronting incumbents for insufficient (from the point of view of the activist) action being ineffective — just about every civil rights struggle involved activists confronting incumbents who were more sympathetic for not going far enough, building public support for taking the next steps.

    As for why climate activists don’t complain to Repub politicians instead, well, it would be a waste of time since they don’t give a crap about the environment. There’s a chance the Biden admin will listen. I agree citizens have to do their part — much of this is on us — but activists bring it to our attention and create pressure that can drive change. 

  23. 23.

    Baud

    July 31, 2023 at 6:14 am

    @RobArt:

    You’re right to be concerned. Unchecked, even activism can get out of hand and cause damage.

  24. 24.

    RobArt

    July 31, 2023 at 6:15 am

    Thank you! Feels good to know I’m not alone. I wrote this seeking additional opinions because of how many of my friends are gushing over this viral video.

    @RobArt: Am I gonna regret posting this?

    @satby: You shouldn’t. Everything you said is correct.

  25. 25.

    RobArt

    July 31, 2023 at 6:21 am

    @Betty Cracker: As for why climate activists don’t complain to Repub politicians instead, well, it would be a waste of time since they don’t give a crap about the environment. There’s a chance the Biden admin will listen.

    Everything you said is great and it’s good for me to hear it. As for the part I quote above, I thought I addressed this though maybe not clearly. It’s my observation or feeling that complaints to be better are only aimed at Democrats, and I believe this plays into a narrative. Yes, Republicans won’t listen or do anything productive. (“Exactly!” I said earlier.) That’s no reason not to put them on the spot, ask embarrassing questions, attempt to get coverage that focuses on their lack of action. I feel like Democrats have to be perfect or else they are criticized. Republicans do not have to do anything coherent and they are taken seriously. My anger is not at the activists pushing Democrats; it’s really at the mainstream media framing. :/

  26. 26.

    The Thin Black Duke

    July 31, 2023 at 6:28 am

    Meh.

    Getting voters to turn out is hard work.

    It’s easier being a purity pony performance artist.

  27. 27.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 31, 2023 at 6:33 am

    Canada has given up an early goal to the Aussies and the Canucks could, surprisingly, go home at the group stage.

    Australia score again, and now it’s 2-0 and the Canucks are a shambles!

    And VAR has completely failed and overturned the goal.

    And the Matildas balance the universe with an indisputable goal

    2-0, Aussies lead Canada (who have been shockingly poor).

  28. 28.

    Betty Cracker

    July 31, 2023 at 6:36 am

    @RobArt: I agree the media framing sucks. Activists do confront Repubs, but it doesn’t get nearly as much attention. I’m thinking of an example from a few years back when climate activists confronted leaders on Capitol Hill, including Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi. The latter got all the media attention, maybe partly because the media is wired for Repubs and also the “man bites dog” effect. 

    It is infuriating that so little is expected of Repubs. It’s a real crisis because we have a two-party system and only one party is interested in and expected to focus on governing while the other is a full-time trolling operation. It’s untenable over the long haul, IMO.

  29. 29.

    lowtechcyclist

    July 31, 2023 at 6:37 am

    @ColoradoGuy: ​
     

    Time for an old-fashioned police raid …

    Yeah, that was my thought: the next visit, the inspectors need to be accompanied by cops who aren’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.

    What they find is less important than making the point that yes, the rules apply to him too, even if he’s a megabillionaire and they’re city inspectors making chicken feed by his standards.

  30. 30.

    Geminid

    July 31, 2023 at 6:42 am

    @Betty Cracker: Most measures that would accelerate the clean energy transition could pass the Senate through Reconciliation. So looking towards the next Congress, the path to a more robust response to the climate crises runs through 20 to 30 purple House districts now held by Republicans.

    It seems to me that activists would do well to demonstrate outside their district offices, maybe make common cause with abortion rights and gun safety activists. Those Republicans might not listen, but voters would.

  31. 31.

    Betty Cracker

    July 31, 2023 at 6:53 am

    @Geminid: I agree, and it’s possible that this extremely hot summer will start to galvanize public opinion. There was an analysis piece on CNN over the weekend that touched on this. It says more Repubs are acknowledging the need to take action but as long as climate change denier Trump is the party leader, they’re in a bind. Activists look for pressure points. That’s a good one right there.

  32. 32.

    eversor

    July 31, 2023 at 6:54 am

    I just can’t grok not letting building inspectors inspect.

    As part of my 9-5 I am in charge of the server room.  Which houses shit tons of monies worth of shit tons of stuff.  It’s got fancy cooling, fire systems full of toxic chemicals and do other things that will flat out kill you dead if you get caught in that.  I work closely with the building operations manager who handles things like electrical, plumbing, AC, the entire HVAC stack.  We get inspected constantly.  To make sure we, and our sub tenants, aren’t going to burn the place to the ground with everyone in it.  Or say, spray toxic chemicals into the office area.

    It’s painless.  It’s routine.  Nobody objects.  I think we got dinged once on some minor issue but there were no fines it was more just “guys, I found this, fix it and I’ll be back” sort of an issue.  No fines issued either.  We have never viewed inspections as a problem.  The inspector, they aren’t there to give us shit, they are there to see what we may have missed and also cover our asses from a legal aspect that incase shit did happen we have a record of having done it right.

    WTF is wrong with Musk?  That entire thing screams safety hazzard.  Though fucking literraly burning twitter to the ground with a flaming neon X sign who’s rigging screams of “I once mounted a TV on my wall, but I didn’t check for load bearing, so it fell down and crushed the cat and my nephew”.

    He needs serious help.  This is all going to end badly, and possibly get someone(s) killed.

  33. 33.

    Another Scott

    July 31, 2023 at 7:09 am

    @RobArt: I understand passion and frustration, but my recollection is that Biden had to approve the leases under the law. (Lots of the UK press, especially, don’t seem to understand that.)

    Too many activists act as if they want a king.  We don’t have a king, for good reasons.

    Politics is slow and frustrating.  There’s no One Weird Trick.  We have to do the work.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  34. 34.

    The Thin Black Duke

    July 31, 2023 at 7:10 am

    @eversor: Musk doesn’t care because he doesn’t see people. There’s no object permanence in his world, and relationships are transactional procedures that only go My Way Or The Highway, leading to a dead end.

  35. 35.

    Spanky

    July 31, 2023 at 7:21 am

    @eversor:

     This is all going to end badly, and possibly get someone(s) killed.

    Let me tell you about Teslas…

  36. 36.

    Geminid

    July 31, 2023 at 7:27 am

    @Betty Cracker: A normal party might respond to the obvious need for action on climate change, but this Republican party is still dedicated to inaction. So I’m not thinking of changing the minds of purple district Republicans so much as showing them to be stumbling blocks.

    Republicans are on the wrong side of majority opinion on three major issues: abortion rights, gun safety and climate change. Virginia Democrats have used the first two issues to good effect in state elections, and they will again this fall. Next year’s cycle may be the first where climate change is used as a potent issue nationally. I’m hoping historians will look back and describe the 2024 elections as a major extinction event- for Republicans

  37. 37.

    Betty Cracker

    July 31, 2023 at 7:29 am

    @Another Scott: My understanding is the Biden admin was compelled to approve the leases under law because the leases were part of the IRA deal and had to be effectuated under deadline. The admin was a party to that deal. I understand why they made it — most people who’ve paid attention concede it was the best they could do in a closely divided congress, but no one who’s a party to it is blameless for the shitty provisions in it.

    @Geminid: I share that hope. :)

  38. 38.

    eversor

    July 31, 2023 at 7:30 am

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Ok, fair enough.  But to take the human issue out of it…

    I know twitter, like everyone, has most of their shit in the cloud at managed data centers.  But there still has to be millions worth of gear there to do that.  And if it all goes up in smoke, you be screwed.  In my case, the building operations team cares about the people and lectures me, my job is making sure our stuff is safe, not people.

    We work hand in glove on this.  And then the inspector bassically checks our work.  We don’t view him as a hostile outsider, ditto with the fire marshal, they are just there to help.  Then again, we don’t violate regulations.

    It’s just that from a professional standpoint, not paying your fucking rent, not paying your fucking cloud provider, not allowing the fucking building inspectors in, and that half assed sign is sort of shocking to me in it’s totality.

    I do all that shit routinely.  Maybe if I stop doing it I too would be a billionaire!  The most likely outcome is I’d get fired in spectacular fashion and blacklisted for being an incompetent fucking idiot.

    This is the sort of stuff that really pisses me off.

  39. 39.

    Tony Jay

    July 31, 2023 at 7:33 am

    1) MusX’s tacky Barad-Dur homage is typical of the cretin. He probably has a special room in there where he puts on his black robes and sits on a throne of bones surrounded by drone feeds while ‘elven’ maids whimper and writhe against their chains and surgically altered Orc guards chant  “You Sexy Thing” in Black Speech. Plus I bet he calls Peter Thiel ‘Saruman’ behind his back.

    2) I actually thought that second Aussie goal should have been straight ruled out for a foul in the build up, but there’s no doubt about how badly the Canucks are playing. 3-0 down and looking hopeless.

  40. 40.

    AM in NC

    July 31, 2023 at 7:38 am

    @YY_Sima Qian:  From what I’m hearing, she really was a pro-choice Democrat but #1, she got sucked into the charter school scam and pulled toward the GOP through that grift and #2, after she lost her run for US Congress, Ms. Special Snowflake felt dissed by the Dems because they didn’t welcome her back to her state seat as if it were a birthright, she started whining publicly about that, and the GOP swooped in to tell her whatever she needed to hear to flip her vote.

    Longtime staffers and constituents are livid and are saying it’s just a pure sell-out for personal pique.  Dems didn’t suck up to her enough so she went to play with he GOP.  Her district won’t re-elect her, but she’ll be well into the Charter-grift money by then, so she doesn’t care.

    The damage she has caused is and will be substantial.

  41. 41.

    Geminid

    July 31, 2023 at 7:38 am

    @Another Scott: Aside from the legal status of the Willow Lake project, the Biden administration had a political reason to approve the project (with a reduced footprint): Alaska Representative Mary Peltola was for it.  Democrats want Peltola to keep that seat, and Biden and Interior Secretary Haaland also did not want to alienate Peltola’s political ally, Senator Murkowski.

  42. 42.

    Burnspbesq

    July 31, 2023 at 7:43 am

    @eversor:

    WTF is wrong with Musk?

    He has a cavalier attitude, to say the least, about compliance with applicable law. And his attitude sets the tone for the companies he controls. Tesla’s ongoing war with the NHTSA is just the most obvious example.

    And he’s enthralled with Spiro, who’s a decent trial lawyer, but whose inability to read any room that doesn’t have a jury in it leads Skum into a lot of unnecessary scraps with regulators who have the ability to fuck him up.

  43. 43.

    Geminid

    July 31, 2023 at 7:44 am

    @AM in NC: Republicans may also have promised Cotham that they would tailor a safe seat for her in a new round of redistricting. They could do that, but they can’t guarantee that some knuckle dragger won’t take her out in the Republican primary.

  44. 44.

    AM in NC

    July 31, 2023 at 7:48 am

    @Geminid: Yep, that too. They will carve us up however they need to to get what they want.  I don’t see how they protect her and get her through the primary, but with the NC Supreme Court now on their side, the GOP will do whatever they need to to stay in power and make sure NC is the White Christofascist state that Supply-Side Jesus intended.

    And we were such a leading light in the South!  Fuck Republicans.

  45. 45.

    Another Scott

    July 31, 2023 at 7:55 am

    @Betty Cracker: I was thinking of the Willow project in Alaska which I don’t think was affected by the IRA and so forth –
    Legal-Planet.org:

    The $8 Billion ConocoPhillips project was first approved by the Trump administration, then legally supported by the Biden administration. Then a federal court in Alaska blocked construction, faulting the original environmental analysis. After completing its own environmental review, the Biden administration gave the greenlight. That approval came a day after the administration said it would bar drilling in some other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean. This allows ConocoPhillips to move forward with three drill sites—not the proposed five sites—in the northeast area of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. (The Bureau of Land Management Record of Decision is here.)

    The Associated Press reports that “administration officials were concerned that ConocoPhillips’ decades-old leases limited the government’s legal ability to block the project and that courts might have ruled in the company’s favor.” The Interior Department for its part emphasized the reductions in the scope of drilling, saying the actions “significantly scale-back the Willow Project within the constraints of valid existing rights under decades-old leases issued by prior Administrations.” And Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski told the NYT that the legal argument was the turning point for Pres. Biden.

    Of course, lawyers and activists can argue about anything – it’s their job after all. Given the way the law is written, and the status of the courts, I can’t fault Biden for trying to split the baby.

    Since it will be years before that (and any other new oil) is burned, we still can change the future by eliminating the need for it…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  46. 46.

    Geminid

    July 31, 2023 at 7:57 am

    @AM in NC: I think the demographic changes that have helped turn Virginia blue are also at work in North Carolina. Plus, gerrymandering has brought out the worst in your state’s GOP, and there will be blowback. I read that the Biden campaign will put a lot of resources into North Carolina, and I think that is a smart move that should benefit candidates for state office.

  47. 47.

    Geminid

    July 31, 2023 at 8:05 am

    @eversor: Anchoring that sign with sandbags certainly could get someone killed if a strong enough wind came along. Good thing San Francisco hardly every gets hit by earthquakes!

  48. 48.

    eversor

    July 31, 2023 at 8:13 am

    @Burnspbesq:

    It’s still confusing.  Cause as an IT Site Manager and back up to the Operations Director one of my tasks is telling people when to shove it.  While the people I deal with aren’t Elmo rich, they are vastly more terrifying and impactful.  And yet, I’ve never had any pushback on a single then where I said no.

    That’s why they hired me.  They don’t bother with the day to day running of things that’s what I do.  This is why you hire directors, managers, and team leads.  They handle all this crap.

    Though I guess we are the dreaded “beaurocrats”* who keep telling the god kings no.  I’ve just never seen a functional organization that didn’t have a rack ton of technical professionals running things that were listened to by the top execs without pushback for petty reasons.

    *technically a systems administrator but site manager and other things got tacked onto my plate as I’m actually competent.

  49. 49.

    AM in NC

    July 31, 2023 at 8:24 am

    @Geminid: Our state Dem Party was also sorely lacking in leadership, and now we have new, young, dedicated blood working in all corners of the state.  Having national resources brought to bear will help too, as you point out.

    We are just SO egregiously gerrymandered that our 50/50 split manifests in a GOP super-majority in our Statehouse. Dems not voting in 2022 lost us a DEM Supreme Court which forced a temporary re-districting (now a dead-issue with the GOP court). It is just going to be a long, slow, slog where we are going to need a vast majority in order to change things, they have rigged the system so badly.

    But they will and do overreach. And women are pissed the fuck off. And we vote. And volunteer. And talk to friends.

    I hope these retrograde Republican assholes die out of power, friendless, and shunned by their grandkids.  And I want to see their faces when they knock on the pearly gates and receive their deserved, just reward.

  50. 50.

    Ken

    July 31, 2023 at 8:31 am

    I’m half expecting that after the sign ignites and burns down the building, the investigation into the deaths will reveal that Musk had the fire exits chained shut to prevent employees from taking unauthorized breaks and to reduce theft.

    (Too soon?)

  51. 51.

    Kirk

    July 31, 2023 at 9:03 am

    @Ken: you forgot the “temporary” sleeping areas blocking the aisle, and the miscellaneous coffee pots and got plates brought in when he cancelled the meal benefits.

    In not sure the sign will be the cause of the sudden but inevitable fire. In fact I don’t think arson should be immediately ruled out either.

  52. 52.

    different-church-lady

    July 31, 2023 at 9:03 am

    And yet until the day they finally unplug all the servers these people are going to go right on using his product.

  53. 53.

    different-church-lady

    July 31, 2023 at 9:07 am

    @ColoradoGuy:

    Something tells me that sign is in violation of multiple San Francisco building and signage codes. Time for an old-fashioned police raid

    That’s ridiculous. Police raids are for really serious crimes like innocent black people sleeping in their own beds.

  54. 54.

    YY_Sima Qian

    July 31, 2023 at 9:14 am

    @AM in NC: Thanks for the background! That is just such a bizarre & enraging story.

    Even if she defected to the GOP, did she have to deliver the vote that achieved supermajority to ban abortions post-12 weeks of pregnancy. Was her pro-Choice position in the past just a performative act?

    I do hope NC is one of the states that trend Blue for 2024, to replace some of the former “battleground” states that have become solid red in the last couple of elections.

  55. 55.

    Bill Arnold

    July 31, 2023 at 9:55 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    As for why climate activists don’t complain to Repub politicians instead, well, it would be a waste of time since they don’t give a crap about the environment.

    Counterpoint: climate action activists who do not confront Republicans are just lazy, if not crypto-Republicans.

  56. 56.

    PaulWartenberg

    July 31, 2023 at 10:12 am

    If one of those nearby residents is a retired Marine sniper, expect that X to get used for target practice in 5… 4… 3…

  57. 57.

    The Lodger

    July 31, 2023 at 11:47 am

    @PaulWartenberg: Hasn’t someone sent drones up to that roof for a look round yet?

  58. 58.

    kindness

    July 31, 2023 at 11:50 am

    Were I to be living across the street from Twitter’s SF building, I would be taking target practice on that lighted X with a pellet gun.  No way I’d put up with that shit.

  59. 59.

    RobArt

    July 31, 2023 at 3:47 pm

    I went to sleep after my last comment. I’m glad I came back now to catch up. There’s some great discussion.

    @Another Scott: What you say about no One Weird Trick is the battle of our age. Meaning is slow. Artificial financial pressures have birthed a world that can no longer do slow. Stopping to think is  essential yet rare. Instead we have ignorance at the speed of light.

    @Geminid: &

    @Betty Cracker: AGREE!

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