Russian Asset: Musk has been in secret contact with Putin since 2022, says bombshell new report
Elon Musk’s Secret Conversations With Vladimir Putin WSJ. “Confirmed by several current and former U.S., European and Russian officials.”
What Does Elon Musk Want? SpaceX CEO May Pose a Risk to National Security RAND
Musk’s super PAC doesn’t name daily $1 million winner after DOJ warning Axios
Frustrated Democrats To Consider Letting Voters Pick The Presidential Candidate Next TimeBabylon
Harris, Trump Voters Differ Over Election Security, Vote Counts and Hacking Concerns
Pew: More than seven-in-ten registered voters in the U.S. (73%) think the election this November will be run and administered at least somewhat well. Nine-in-ten Harris supporters say this, compared with 57% of Trump supporters. Just 20% of voters are highly confident the Supreme Court would be politically neutral if it rules on legal issues in the 2024 election.
With voting underway in the 2024 presidential race, majorities of American voters are at least somewhat confident that the election will be run smoothly, that votes will be counted accurately and that ineligible voters will be prevented from casting ballots. But supporters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have sharply different expectations for how this year’s election may unfold. In many cases, these differences are as wide as they were in the lead-up to the 2020 election.
Harris supporters are more optimistic about the way the election will be run: 90% say they are at least somewhat confident that elections across the United States will be administered well. This compares with 57% of Trump supporters who are confident the election will be run smoothly. This pattern in views extends to other aspects of the presidential race:
- Harris supporters are more confident than Trump supporters that, after all the votes are counted, it will be clear who won (85% vs. 58%).
- Harris supporters are much more confident that mail-in ballots will be counted as voters intend (85% vs. 38%).
- Harris supporters also are more confident that election systems across the U.S. are secure from hacking and other technological threats (73% vs. 32%).
Musk and the federal government
Via Next Draft: What’s in it for Musk (and a handful of other billionaires funding the entire Trump operation)? Well, let’s narrow the answer down to this: Everything. Franklin Foer in The Atlantic( Gift Article): What Elon Musk Really Wants. “Many other titans of Silicon Valley have tethered themselves to Trump. But Musk is the one poised to live out the ultimate techno-authoritarian fantasy. With his influence, he stands to capture the state, not just to enrich himself. His entanglement with Trump will be an Ayn Rand novel sprung to life, because Trump has explicitly invited Musk into the government to play the role of the master engineer, who redesigns the American state—and therefore American life—in his own image.” (On the positive side, if the turnout is good for Dems, they can beat Trump and Musk in one election.)
+ NYT (Gift Article): U.S. Agencies Fund, and Fight With, Elon Musk. A Trump Presidency Could Give Him Power Over Them. “Given Mr. Musk’s immense business footprint, he will be a major player no matter who wins the election. But he has thrown his fortune and power behind former President Donald J. Trump and, in return, Mr. Trump has vowed to make Mr. Musk head of a new ‘government efficiency commission’ with the power to recommend wide-ranging cuts at federal agencies and changes to federal rules.
That would essentially give the world’s richest man and a major government contractor the power to regulate the regulators who hold sway over his companies.” And from WaPo(Gift Article): “In essence, Musk is running a real-time experiment on American democracy. “Can a billionaire change the results of a close election by buying a communications platform, stretching legal limits by throwing millions around in swing states, and funding organizations that run deceptive ads?”
Stress in America 2024 A nation in political turmoil
American Psychological Association (APA) latest Stress in America™ poll revealed a populace dealing with multiple stressors as the country braces for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. In the new survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of APA, the most commonly reported sources of stress centered on the election or were political in nature. More than 7 in 10 adults reported the future of our nation (77%) as a significant source of stress in their lives, making it the most common source of significant stress in this year’s survey. The economy was the second most common, with 73% of adults having reported it as a significant source of stress. The 2024 U.S. presidential election followed closely at 69%. The overall average reported level of stress this year was 5 out of 10, which is similar to previous years. In addition to the top political stressors, societal stressors cited by many adults as significant sources of stress included
- U.S. politics (62%)
- health care (55%)
- violence and crime (54%)
- the environment (51%)
- global tension/conflict (51%)
- gun laws and regulations (49%)
When asked to rate their stress about specific news, topics and events, many adults said housing costs (65%), mass shootings (63%), the spread of false news (62%), and social divisiveness in our nation (60%) were also significant sources of stress in their lives…