Thanks very much for this, Sam. I've had these thoughts in my head too ever since USAID was sacrificed for the racist grift machine, and have made some comments in my writing, but I'm glad you articulated the problem with depth and breadth. I'll send readers your way next week. I'd really like to see this story out in the media, partly bc it will undercut the weird pedestal Musk is on, but mainly bc it will remind everyone of those millions of people sacrificed by this administration.
Thanks for the reporting on this, Sam. It's important to document. I work in Belize in a front line community experiencing the impacts of global climate change. Belize is a net carbon sink, and yet sea level rise and drought are having devastating impacts here; USAID was at one time an important source of funding for building climate resilience here. No more. Keep up the good work. Lots of people who bought Teslas before Musk went to the Dark Side are now grappling with this issue.
Great piece. Only quibble is that in rightly blaming Musk, we should not overlook the guilt of Trump and numerous others (Republicans in Congress, the Supreme Court who could have easily stopped this atrocity. There is truly a lot of blame to go around. It also shows the true stakes of the last election we had and the folly of those on the Left who prioritized things other than winning.
Disturbing. This goes far beyond the food insecurity issues that we’re expecting on a local level in this country. Holodomor, Holocaust, horrors for so many. All because of what?
I was a TSLA buyer in the early 2010s. You are right that back then, he had an aura of Steve Jobs to him. I sold my TSLA years later, for a hefty gain, but man. I was so wrong about him.
I also have academic background in development, and know people who were impacted by USAID cuts. Thanks for writing this. 🙏
Your righteous indigation is well taken. However, the issue is more complex than foreign aid. Africa, for example, possesses and estimated $29.5 trillion in mineral value. Africa also holds 40% of the world's gold reserves. There is no reason for anyone in Africa to be impoverished or for the US to send foreign aid. Corruption is at the core of human suffering. Immense sums of money are accummulated by the top 1% while the people starve to death. What we are experiencing is end stage capitalism with no regard for the masses of humanity who suffer needlessly, because corruption is institutionalized across the globe.
This is what happens when people with power start to see the value of human beings as merely instrumental rather than intrinsic. I worry that this kind of unthinking holocaust will become more likely as power becomes more consolidated, and as societally there's no judging human worth beyond one's "productivity." This is of a piece with Canada's encouragement of disabled people to kill themselves, and with the widescale abortion of disabled babies, which has resulted in the extinction of people with Downs Syndrome in Iceland, for instance.
If humans are only valuable insofar as they "contribute" or "are productive," as in Elon Musk's worldview, cutting USAID and not caring how many "nonproductive" poor children die is just a logical conclusion. But if every human is valuable because they are human, a child's poverty or illness does nothing to diminish their value. I have strong opinions about what course I think society should take, but I am not sure it's trending that way.
*Read about nonviolent resistance groups, i.e. White Rose
*Write on every piece of currency Stop Trump- flood the market
*Get involved in fox Maga media surveys, distorts the numbers
*Order free items from Maga, i.e., The Heritage Society, Hillsdale - return to sender or dispose. Cross out you return address., bar code
*What if wage employees increased their W4 federal tax exemptions, for at least one quarter - reduces cash revenues received by the government. (Please remember your year-end tax liability)
A super and aptly timed post
Elon Musk is evil, period.
Even if he had stopped the aid - but provided a year-long roll down - there could have been time to get other support in place.
Elon and his minions do not consider poor people (especially those of colour) to be “real humans” and that where the rot starts and ends.
Thanks very much for this, Sam. I've had these thoughts in my head too ever since USAID was sacrificed for the racist grift machine, and have made some comments in my writing, but I'm glad you articulated the problem with depth and breadth. I'll send readers your way next week. I'd really like to see this story out in the media, partly bc it will undercut the weird pedestal Musk is on, but mainly bc it will remind everyone of those millions of people sacrificed by this administration.
Thanks for the reporting on this, Sam. It's important to document. I work in Belize in a front line community experiencing the impacts of global climate change. Belize is a net carbon sink, and yet sea level rise and drought are having devastating impacts here; USAID was at one time an important source of funding for building climate resilience here. No more. Keep up the good work. Lots of people who bought Teslas before Musk went to the Dark Side are now grappling with this issue.
Great piece. Only quibble is that in rightly blaming Musk, we should not overlook the guilt of Trump and numerous others (Republicans in Congress, the Supreme Court who could have easily stopped this atrocity. There is truly a lot of blame to go around. It also shows the true stakes of the last election we had and the folly of those on the Left who prioritized things other than winning.
This IS Holocaust scale murder. I am sharing what you wrote.
On balance, I also celebrate all of your reports. Most of which are so informative and positive.
But this act of "defunding" must be written about.
Thank you.
Thank you for telling it like it is.
Great piece of writing Sam and a reminder that, while we're unquestionably making positive progress, we still have a lot of work to do.
Disturbing. This goes far beyond the food insecurity issues that we’re expecting on a local level in this country. Holodomor, Holocaust, horrors for so many. All because of what?
He puts the 'inhuman' in inhumane.
I was a TSLA buyer in the early 2010s. You are right that back then, he had an aura of Steve Jobs to him. I sold my TSLA years later, for a hefty gain, but man. I was so wrong about him.
I also have academic background in development, and know people who were impacted by USAID cuts. Thanks for writing this. 🙏
Your righteous indigation is well taken. However, the issue is more complex than foreign aid. Africa, for example, possesses and estimated $29.5 trillion in mineral value. Africa also holds 40% of the world's gold reserves. There is no reason for anyone in Africa to be impoverished or for the US to send foreign aid. Corruption is at the core of human suffering. Immense sums of money are accummulated by the top 1% while the people starve to death. What we are experiencing is end stage capitalism with no regard for the masses of humanity who suffer needlessly, because corruption is institutionalized across the globe.
This is what happens when people with power start to see the value of human beings as merely instrumental rather than intrinsic. I worry that this kind of unthinking holocaust will become more likely as power becomes more consolidated, and as societally there's no judging human worth beyond one's "productivity." This is of a piece with Canada's encouragement of disabled people to kill themselves, and with the widescale abortion of disabled babies, which has resulted in the extinction of people with Downs Syndrome in Iceland, for instance.
If humans are only valuable insofar as they "contribute" or "are productive," as in Elon Musk's worldview, cutting USAID and not caring how many "nonproductive" poor children die is just a logical conclusion. But if every human is valuable because they are human, a child's poverty or illness does nothing to diminish their value. I have strong opinions about what course I think society should take, but I am not sure it's trending that way.
Karma reaches us all. No escape.
I believe Karma is justice.
All humans, including myself, can fall victim to the “common person to hate” phenomenon.
PEACEFUL
WAYS TO RESIST
*Call Maga advertisers
*Invert postage stamps
*Shopping is voting, shop morally
*Remove Maga media from newsstands
*Place "Stop Trump" stickers everywhere
*Call FCC and complain about Maga media
*Read about nonviolent resistance groups, i.e. White Rose
*Write on every piece of currency Stop Trump- flood the market
*Get involved in fox Maga media surveys, distorts the numbers
*Order free items from Maga, i.e., The Heritage Society, Hillsdale - return to sender or dispose. Cross out you return address., bar code
*What if wage employees increased their W4 federal tax exemptions, for at least one quarter - reduces cash revenues received by the government. (Please remember your year-end tax liability)
*Post John 13:34-35, "The Sermon on the Mount
PLEASE add to the list
White Rose