10 ms·

DOGE staffer resigns over racist posts

145 points by contemporary343 2y ago

waltercool 2y ago
Paywall'd content. Not paying for this. Please use some archive website if you are sharing selome article.
- Jtsummers 2y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42967011 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42967011 - Someone linked to an archive site of the article 2 hours ago, at least an hour before your comment.
deleted 2y ago
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strangeloops85 2y ago
If you're having a team going into every bit of government data, you might want to vet them. Beyond eugenicists and racists, if they're getting anywhere close to SCIFs, make sure they fill out that SF-86 accurately. And maybe even if they're not, have them go through regular clearance procedures. Yes, it takes time. But right now, DOGE seems like a huge security risk for the USG what with it setting up backdoors everywhere, and with unvetted staff working for it.
- JohnTHaller 2y ago
  Also worth noting that he made these posts before Musk hired him. And that they didn't fire him.
- DonHopkins 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - nullc 2y ago
    Sources? Or are you just knowingly spreading false and defamatory claims?
    - DonHopkins 2y ago
      "Sources? Or are you just knowingly spreaing false and defamatory claims because you feel emotional or want to signal your political affiliation?" -You, nullc aka Greg Maxwell <gmaxwell@gmail.com>, before being flagged for hysterically and partisanly carrying Musk's water, and then ninja-editing your comment so as not to appear to be hypocritical for feeling emotional or signaling your political affiliation. Sources: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/doge-staffer-out-after-social-media-posts-unearthed-normalize-indian-hate/ https://www.mediaite.com/politics/doge-staffer-out-after-soc... >"Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.” -@nullllptr >“Normalize Indian hate." -@nullllptr >"You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity." -@nullllptr https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50695593 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50695593 >"Pedo guy." -Elon Musk https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-transgender-daughter-vivian-wilson-interview-rcna163665 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-transgender... >"not a girl", "dead, killed by the woke mind virus" -Elon Musk >[Musk's own estranged daughter] Wilson, 20, in an exclusive interview with NBC News, responded to comments Musk made Monday about her and her transgender identity. On social media and in an interview posted online, Musk said she was “not a girl” and was figuratively “dead,” and he alleged that he had been “tricked” into authorizing trans-related medical treatment for her when she was 16. >“I was in fourth grade. We went on this road trip that I didn’t know was actually just an advertisement for one of the cars — I don’t remember which one — and he was constantly yelling at me viciously because my voice was too high,” she said. “It was cruel.” >“I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form,” she said in the court filing. >“I lost my son, essentially,” Musk said. He used Wilson’s birth name, also known as a deadname for transgender people, and said she was “dead, killed by the woke mind virus.” >And in a post on X, Musk said Monday that Wilson was “born gay and slightly autistic” and that, at age 4, she fit certain gay stereotypes, such as loving musicals and using the exclamation “fabulous!” to describe certain clothing. Wilson told NBC News that the anecdotes aren’t true, though she said she did act stereotypically feminine in other ways as a child. >“He doesn’t know what I was like as a child because he quite simply wasn’t there,” she wrote. “And in the little time that he was I was relentlessly harassed for my femininity and queerness.” >“I’ve been reduced to a happy little stereotype,” she continued. “I think that says alot about how he views queer people and children in general.”
- exceptione 2y ago
  I see your point, but talking about risks after a de-facto heist could easily lead to misunderstandings. This intelligence operation is a done deal. If concerned people debate future risks instead, the other team has scored an A+. If you want to mitigate what had happened, you need to bring your own extremely resourced criminals. I really feel sorry for all affected.
- ilaksh 2y ago
  My take is that we actually need more efficiency in government, and from a technology standpoint, they might have some good ideas. I have a very pro-technology worldview. I'm independent leaning left but I thought that Democrats have been extreme, wasteful and untrustworthy in their own ways. It's very unfortunate that this stuff like efficiency and technology integration is now associated so closely with neo-Nazis. Maybe I just didn't want to believe it. But when Musk did those Hitler salutes, I had to accept a new reality. I don't think cutting programs or screwing up code is our main worry. The Secretary of Defense is literally an alcoholic neo-Nazi Crusader who talks about almost nothing besides getting rid of affirmative action and how evil Muslims are. I am scared that they will actually try to deport millions of people, there could be massive detainment camps that become concentration camps. You only need a lack of food and one or two really serious neo-Nazis for that to become a death camp. I am also afraid that they might trigger WWIII, fully fueled by racial hatred and dehumanization of Chinese people. I am almost scared to write posts like this because who knows if they will start hunting down people from the internet.
  - exceptione 2y ago
    > It's very unfortunate that this stuff like efficiency and technology integration is now associated so closely with neo-Nazis Do not mistake the Nazi's too. They were very efficient and highly organized. IBM played a great role in delivering the tech the Nazi's needed.
    - ilaksh 2y ago
      Maybe it's not that new then.. after all, I guess the Nazis did a lot of great work on rockets.. but very unfortunate. That association clouds people's views of technology in general. Technology itself is not biased or ignorant or evil. It's a lever. It should be able to help everyone.
    - rapnie 2y ago
      Undoubtedly the IBM's of today are primed and ready to get the train rolling again. It is hard to be pro-technology realizing that the ownership of all that tech is ultimately the brainworm billionaire class. Who we already know are fascists.. as per daily news.
- ethagnawl 2y ago
  That these concerns are being dismissed as partisan shows how far through the looking glass we truly are. Either _the party of law and order_ doesn't understand how risky this activity is, doesn't care or both -- any of which are _extremely_ troubling. We should also all be sure to keep this in mind next time they're crying crocodile tears about TikTok or DeepSeek. I just emailed my representative (Mike Lawler) and I suggest everyone who's concerned about this activity and capable of offering compelling insights into why this activity (active data breach) is so concerning do the same. Perhaps they're somehow blissfully unaware of the security implications of these folks accessing data (it's only read-only access, though, so don't worry! /s), copying it to ... wherever?, running it through ChatGPT or tinkering in production on critical Cobol systems is and we can enlighten them.
  - deleted 2y ago
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  - mullingitover 2y ago
    > Either _the party of law and order_ doesn't understand how risky this activity is, doesn't care or both If they hadn't already obviously ceded that title before 2025, they certainly did when over a thousand duly convicted violent partisan offenders were pardoned. These weren't just random people, they were accomplices of the person who pardoned them. We're in an autocratic United States now, where no crime, no matter how violent, committed by members of the regime will be prosecuted.
    - travismark 2y ago
      a president cannot pardon or commute state crimes. most states have crimes against violence
      - brewdad 2y ago
        The majority of governors are all in on this new Republicanism. They can pardon any crime that Trump can't. Blue state governors can be leaned on extremely hard and most will have to give in if their Federal dollars are on the line. This isn't 2006 anymore.
- kenjackson 2y ago
  What makes you think they weren't vetted and this isn't what they wanted?
- gorbachev 2y ago
  Why do you think they didn't?
- belter 2y ago
  "Vance tells Musk that DOGE staffer who resigned after posting racist tweets should be rehired" - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/elon-musk-doge-racist-treasury-x-staff.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/elon-musk-doge-racist-treasu...
talldayo 2y ago
The other day, I read a comment on the Wired post stating: "Really, all this article says is that if you are an auditor for the commission appointed by the president, we will make sure that this comes up in an aggressively negative way when somebody who you want to work for googles you. It's pure intimidation, masquerading as journalism." Well, it seems these young men were chosen for qualities that should make them feel intimidated. It's our moral imperative as Americans to hold these people accountable, criminally accountable if necessary. If these men are promoting racist and un-American sentiments with the intention of not being caught, they are trying to fool the entire nation at once. Clearly that cannot persist.
- ilaksh 2y ago
  I think that unfortunately what's been proven with recent developments is that in some way racism is very American.
  - Nevermark 2y ago
    When I immigrated to the US, large city in the Northwest, I was still a kid of 7. My understanding of troubles between people were that they were the historical norm. My country of birth, and all surrounding countries, have long interesting histories. Real ruins to match! Full of everyone and group vying for dominance with lots of periodic organized killing, at various scales, instigated by cultural waves and royal decree. Every kind of group conflict over time. No reason to fixate and stew on any one. Certainly not any that “defined” the country. Just lots of mistakes. No false pristine origin myth to wrap oneself up into! Dear Zeus no! What an odd idea!! And the trend over hundreds of years clearly was one of steady improvement. Minus short term catastrophes. So no need to continually revisit any particular mistake, or waste time downplaying one either. When I arrived in the US, we didn’t have TV at my house. And we never did. So my sheltered historical interests continued to be global. It’s quite remarkable how free my life was from any impact of US racism. I had heard of Martin Luther King. His memory was universally revered by my American family and wider circle. “Obviously” that little episode of slavery, contrasting with the thousands of years of interminable atrocities that were my context for judging such things, was well on its way out. We had diverse neighbors, and everyone interacted. Lots of interesting adults taught me new things. I don’t remember anyone as being this or that, they were all just very different people, different looks, backgrounds, ideas. To me that is zen. Fun. Somehow it took me quite a while to find out there were significant US people who were still quite racist. At age 10, I was confused by a conversation, and a friend told me there were still Americans with bad feelings about black people. I tried to imagine what someone like that could be like? What would they look like? Why, most of all, why?!? No coherent form came to mind. In the next few years I caught up on US history, or as we say everywhere else on the planet “current events”. It was appalling to me that there were still small groups of white supremacists, operating mostly in the dark, That there were still people with quiet prejudices. But “obviously” those things were dying. Today is absolutely unrecognizable. The level of self-reinforcing garbage just bewilders me. Everything is argued from the most unworkable extreme. No DEI! (So no consideration for real talent in less easy to find places, or who might need a practical accommodation?) To DEI must be enforced, please sign on to our committees un-nuanced statement of diversity? (So no differences on quotas or approaches are ok?) And the rest of us, including the diverse in question, left to muddle through all these moving barriers and the hate and depression they feed. Total madness. I feel like the US is in a tiny time pressure bottle, and a cultural pressure bottle too, isolated from healthy border contact with neighbors of comparable power. Cut off from most human history. And the result is utter myopia. Everyone (who talks loudly) thrashing around reacting to threats real, imagined and manufactured from paranoia or opportunism. In the process, making themselves credible threats to others. I just feel lucky between my childhood elsewhere, lack of media, and early exposure to wider historical & geographic perspectives, that for a long time I was protected from the poison of US racism. I can tell you, it was a happier place to be. I got to meet and know my adopted black cousin, along with other diverse people who were part of my amazing new large US family, without any thought of racism. For years. I remember in my 30’s when I realized Prince was black! It was so ridiculous to just notice that I had to laugh. And then a whole bunch of other artists. Of course some artists struck me immediately as black for whatever reason. But I just didn’t think to classify people that way, for the longest time.
hackermeows 2y ago
Wonder how Elon is getting the clearance for this , dude smoked weed on camera , isn’t that automatically disqualifying for gov clearance ?
- entropicdrifter 2y ago
  Presidential mandate
  - Tostino 2y ago
    To become a dictator? This isn't in the presidential powers. Congress needs to pass a bill if they want to do this.
    - snailmailstare 2y ago
      [flagged]
    - tosbalok3 2y ago
      > This isn't in the presidential powers. Yes it is! It is literally the first sentence of section 1 of Article II of the constitution! Saying, "I don't like this therefore it's not in his power" is logically identical to seeing Congress pass a law that you don't like and saying, "this isn't in Congress' power"
      - Tostino 2y ago
        The power of the purse was deliberately placed with Congress in Article I, Section 9, Clause 7: "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." This isn't about liking or disliking powers, it's about maintaining the constitutional balance that protects everyone's rights. Article II Section 1 establishes the presidency and electoral process, but the Take Care Clause in Section 3 actually requires the President to faithfully execute Congress's laws. This separation of powers exists specifically to prevent any branch from exercising unchecked authority over public funds. Changing funding requires congressional action because that's a core protection built into our system. It's not an obstacle to be worked around, it's a fundamental safeguard of our constitutional republic.
krapp 2y ago
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- deleted 2y ago
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throw16180339 2y ago
https://archive.ph/gZvrj https://archive.ph/gZvrj
evenman 2y ago
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QnfbagsHt 2y ago
The bigger picture problem is that Musk's grandfather Haldeman was part of the technocracy movement, which wanted to implement the "North American Technate", which includes Canada, Greenland and much of middle America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy_movement#The_Technate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy_movement#The_Techn... The agenda 2025 is eerily similar, including the proposed land grabs and a tech style governance by "elites".
- blurbleblurble 2y ago
  Insane, thanks for sharing
deleted 2y ago
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archagon 2y ago
I wonder why he resigned. Half the administration seems to have ties to white supremacy, if not ouright neo-nazism.
- rolandog 2y ago
  Before they got into power - "They're not that bad, they're just trolling people; they would never say racist things at me... They'll stop once they get into power." After getting into power: - "Oh... If only someone had warned me about this!"
- acdha 2y ago
  They have tried to walk the line just enough to keep the media unwilling to use precise terminology, and to give voters who aren’t committed Republicans plausible deniability. Remember how Project 2025 was open but Trump kept pretending that he didn’t agree with so many of his former staffers, associates, and donors? That was to allow the people who mostly want tax cuts, the Muslims who have religious opposition to LGBTQ rights, the Jews who are Israel hawks, etc. to tell themselves it was safe to vote for him. Direct statements approving of wiping Gaza and Israel off the earth or disparaging Indian engineers pierce the veil of self-deception and force lukewarm supporters to acknowledge who they’re backing. It’s the same reason why they’re arguing that Musk threw a “Roman salute” hoping that the median voter doesn’t know as much about the Italian fascist movement.
mindslight 2y ago
But wait, why? How was he pushed to resign? Isn't one of the core arguments for going after the woke that people should be able to say what they want in their free time, and still keep their jobs in their professional life? And his employer is a group that has a supposed mandate to be going after the woke, so they should be best able to push back against public pressure, right? Perhaps the phenomenon of politics is deeper than merely the woke and can never really be eliminated?
hindsightbias 2y ago
“Elez promised that Indian workers in the U.S. on H1Bs visas are “going back don’t worry guys.” Are these guys in some alt-universe where Musk and Theil are advocating against more H1Bs? Or maybe they’re were fine with eugenics and racism but weren’t aware of his H1B smacks?
- kenjackson 2y ago
  H1Bs are OK, just not from certain countries. I've definitely heard that before from this group.
marcusverus 2y ago
[flagged]
- happytoexplain 2y ago
  Wait, are you posting these as evidence that he's not racist...? I'm not following your first line.
- archagon 2y ago
  Saying things like that in real life would get you socked in the face. "Edge-lord" is just the Gen-Z equivalent of the more traditional "boys will be boys"-to-psychopath pipeline.
- talldayo 2y ago
  That's just racism. You can't use the "South Park humor" defense when you're standing on a soapbox yelling it in public.
anigbrowl 2y ago
Seems like there might be quite a few conflicts of interest in this team https://projects.propublica.org/elon-musk-doge-tracker/ https://projects.propublica.org/elon-musk-doge-tracker/
pyrale 2y ago
Surprised he resigned. After all, it seems transparent that they’re going for a coup.
archagon 2y ago
“DOGE chief Musk asks X users if staffer who quit over racist tweets should be rehired” (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/elon-musk-doge-racist-treasury-x-staff.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/elon-musk-doge-racist-treasu...) Musk wants to normalize this kind of racism.
croes 2y ago
Don’t worry Musk will rehire him https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93q625y04wo https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93q625y04wo > He will be brought back," Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns. "To err is human, to forgive divine." Just ignore that’s not on him to forgive. Will be interesting to see how people like to be Chile 2.0
Densonfer5A 2y ago
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- Densonfer5A 2y ago
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waltercool 2y ago

Paywall'd content. Not paying for this. Please use some archive website if you are sharing selome article.

Jtsummers 2y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42967011 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42967011 - Someone linked to an archive site of the article 2 hours ago, at least an hour before your comment.

deleted 2y ago

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strangeloops85 2y ago

If you're having a team going into every bit of government data, you might want to vet them. Beyond eugenicists and racists, if they're getting anywhere close to SCIFs, make sure they fill out that SF-86 accurately. And maybe even if they're not, have them go through regular clearance procedures. Yes, it takes time. But right now, DOGE seems like a huge security risk for the USG what with it setting up backdoors everywhere, and with unvetted staff working for it.

JohnTHaller 2y ago
Also worth noting that he made these posts before Musk hired him. And that they didn't fire him.
DonHopkins 2y ago
[flagged]
- nullc 2y ago
  Sources? Or are you just knowingly spreading false and defamatory claims?
  - DonHopkins 2y ago
    "Sources? Or are you just knowingly spreaing false and defamatory claims because you feel emotional or want to signal your political affiliation?" -You, nullc aka Greg Maxwell <gmaxwell@gmail.com>, before being flagged for hysterically and partisanly carrying Musk's water, and then ninja-editing your comment so as not to appear to be hypocritical for feeling emotional or signaling your political affiliation. Sources: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/doge-staffer-out-after-social-media-posts-unearthed-normalize-indian-hate/ https://www.mediaite.com/politics/doge-staffer-out-after-soc... >"Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.” -@nullllptr >“Normalize Indian hate." -@nullllptr >"You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity." -@nullllptr https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50695593 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50695593 >"Pedo guy." -Elon Musk https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-transgender-daughter-vivian-wilson-interview-rcna163665 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-transgender... >"not a girl", "dead, killed by the woke mind virus" -Elon Musk >[Musk's own estranged daughter] Wilson, 20, in an exclusive interview with NBC News, responded to comments Musk made Monday about her and her transgender identity. On social media and in an interview posted online, Musk said she was “not a girl” and was figuratively “dead,” and he alleged that he had been “tricked” into authorizing trans-related medical treatment for her when she was 16. >“I was in fourth grade. We went on this road trip that I didn’t know was actually just an advertisement for one of the cars — I don’t remember which one — and he was constantly yelling at me viciously because my voice was too high,” she said. “It was cruel.” >“I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form,” she said in the court filing. >“I lost my son, essentially,” Musk said. He used Wilson’s birth name, also known as a deadname for transgender people, and said she was “dead, killed by the woke mind virus.” >And in a post on X, Musk said Monday that Wilson was “born gay and slightly autistic” and that, at age 4, she fit certain gay stereotypes, such as loving musicals and using the exclamation “fabulous!” to describe certain clothing. Wilson told NBC News that the anecdotes aren’t true, though she said she did act stereotypically feminine in other ways as a child. >“He doesn’t know what I was like as a child because he quite simply wasn’t there,” she wrote. “And in the little time that he was I was relentlessly harassed for my femininity and queerness.” >“I’ve been reduced to a happy little stereotype,” she continued. “I think that says alot about how he views queer people and children in general.”
exceptione 2y ago
I see your point, but talking about risks after a de-facto heist could easily lead to misunderstandings. This intelligence operation is a done deal. If concerned people debate future risks instead, the other team has scored an A+. If you want to mitigate what had happened, you need to bring your own extremely resourced criminals. I really feel sorry for all affected.
ilaksh 2y ago
My take is that we actually need more efficiency in government, and from a technology standpoint, they might have some good ideas. I have a very pro-technology worldview. I'm independent leaning left but I thought that Democrats have been extreme, wasteful and untrustworthy in their own ways. It's very unfortunate that this stuff like efficiency and technology integration is now associated so closely with neo-Nazis. Maybe I just didn't want to believe it. But when Musk did those Hitler salutes, I had to accept a new reality. I don't think cutting programs or screwing up code is our main worry. The Secretary of Defense is literally an alcoholic neo-Nazi Crusader who talks about almost nothing besides getting rid of affirmative action and how evil Muslims are. I am scared that they will actually try to deport millions of people, there could be massive detainment camps that become concentration camps. You only need a lack of food and one or two really serious neo-Nazis for that to become a death camp. I am also afraid that they might trigger WWIII, fully fueled by racial hatred and dehumanization of Chinese people. I am almost scared to write posts like this because who knows if they will start hunting down people from the internet.
- exceptione 2y ago
  > It's very unfortunate that this stuff like efficiency and technology integration is now associated so closely with neo-Nazis Do not mistake the Nazi's too. They were very efficient and highly organized. IBM played a great role in delivering the tech the Nazi's needed.
  - ilaksh 2y ago
    Maybe it's not that new then.. after all, I guess the Nazis did a lot of great work on rockets.. but very unfortunate. That association clouds people's views of technology in general. Technology itself is not biased or ignorant or evil. It's a lever. It should be able to help everyone.
  - rapnie 2y ago
    Undoubtedly the IBM's of today are primed and ready to get the train rolling again. It is hard to be pro-technology realizing that the ownership of all that tech is ultimately the brainworm billionaire class. Who we already know are fascists.. as per daily news.
ethagnawl 2y ago
That these concerns are being dismissed as partisan shows how far through the looking glass we truly are. Either _the party of law and order_ doesn't understand how risky this activity is, doesn't care or both -- any of which are _extremely_ troubling. We should also all be sure to keep this in mind next time they're crying crocodile tears about TikTok or DeepSeek. I just emailed my representative (Mike Lawler) and I suggest everyone who's concerned about this activity and capable of offering compelling insights into why this activity (active data breach) is so concerning do the same. Perhaps they're somehow blissfully unaware of the security implications of these folks accessing data (it's only read-only access, though, so don't worry! /s), copying it to ... wherever?, running it through ChatGPT or tinkering in production on critical Cobol systems is and we can enlighten them.
- deleted 2y ago
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- mullingitover 2y ago
  > Either _the party of law and order_ doesn't understand how risky this activity is, doesn't care or both If they hadn't already obviously ceded that title before 2025, they certainly did when over a thousand duly convicted violent partisan offenders were pardoned. These weren't just random people, they were accomplices of the person who pardoned them. We're in an autocratic United States now, where no crime, no matter how violent, committed by members of the regime will be prosecuted.
  - travismark 2y ago
    a president cannot pardon or commute state crimes. most states have crimes against violence
    - brewdad 2y ago
      The majority of governors are all in on this new Republicanism. They can pardon any crime that Trump can't. Blue state governors can be leaned on extremely hard and most will have to give in if their Federal dollars are on the line. This isn't 2006 anymore.
kenjackson 2y ago
What makes you think they weren't vetted and this isn't what they wanted?
gorbachev 2y ago
Why do you think they didn't?
belter 2y ago
"Vance tells Musk that DOGE staffer who resigned after posting racist tweets should be rehired" - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/elon-musk-doge-racist-treasury-x-staff.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/elon-musk-doge-racist-treasu...

talldayo 2y ago

The other day, I read a comment on the Wired post stating: "Really, all this article says is that if you are an auditor for the commission appointed by the president, we will make sure that this comes up in an aggressively negative way when somebody who you want to work for googles you. It's pure intimidation, masquerading as journalism." Well, it seems these young men were chosen for qualities that should make them feel intimidated. It's our moral imperative as Americans to hold these people accountable, criminally accountable if necessary. If these men are promoting racist and un-American sentiments with the intention of not being caught, they are trying to fool the entire nation at once. Clearly that cannot persist.

ilaksh 2y ago
I think that unfortunately what's been proven with recent developments is that in some way racism is very American.
- Nevermark 2y ago
  When I immigrated to the US, large city in the Northwest, I was still a kid of 7. My understanding of troubles between people were that they were the historical norm. My country of birth, and all surrounding countries, have long interesting histories. Real ruins to match! Full of everyone and group vying for dominance with lots of periodic organized killing, at various scales, instigated by cultural waves and royal decree. Every kind of group conflict over time. No reason to fixate and stew on any one. Certainly not any that “defined” the country. Just lots of mistakes. No false pristine origin myth to wrap oneself up into! Dear Zeus no! What an odd idea!! And the trend over hundreds of years clearly was one of steady improvement. Minus short term catastrophes. So no need to continually revisit any particular mistake, or waste time downplaying one either. When I arrived in the US, we didn’t have TV at my house. And we never did. So my sheltered historical interests continued to be global. It’s quite remarkable how free my life was from any impact of US racism. I had heard of Martin Luther King. His memory was universally revered by my American family and wider circle. “Obviously” that little episode of slavery, contrasting with the thousands of years of interminable atrocities that were my context for judging such things, was well on its way out. We had diverse neighbors, and everyone interacted. Lots of interesting adults taught me new things. I don’t remember anyone as being this or that, they were all just very different people, different looks, backgrounds, ideas. To me that is zen. Fun. Somehow it took me quite a while to find out there were significant US people who were still quite racist. At age 10, I was confused by a conversation, and a friend told me there were still Americans with bad feelings about black people. I tried to imagine what someone like that could be like? What would they look like? Why, most of all, why?!? No coherent form came to mind. In the next few years I caught up on US history, or as we say everywhere else on the planet “current events”. It was appalling to me that there were still small groups of white supremacists, operating mostly in the dark, That there were still people with quiet prejudices. But “obviously” those things were dying. Today is absolutely unrecognizable. The level of self-reinforcing garbage just bewilders me. Everything is argued from the most unworkable extreme. No DEI! (So no consideration for real talent in less easy to find places, or who might need a practical accommodation?) To DEI must be enforced, please sign on to our committees un-nuanced statement of diversity? (So no differences on quotas or approaches are ok?) And the rest of us, including the diverse in question, left to muddle through all these moving barriers and the hate and depression they feed. Total madness. I feel like the US is in a tiny time pressure bottle, and a cultural pressure bottle too, isolated from healthy border contact with neighbors of comparable power. Cut off from most human history. And the result is utter myopia. Everyone (who talks loudly) thrashing around reacting to threats real, imagined and manufactured from paranoia or opportunism. In the process, making themselves credible threats to others. I just feel lucky between my childhood elsewhere, lack of media, and early exposure to wider historical & geographic perspectives, that for a long time I was protected from the poison of US racism. I can tell you, it was a happier place to be. I got to meet and know my adopted black cousin, along with other diverse people who were part of my amazing new large US family, without any thought of racism. For years. I remember in my 30’s when I realized Prince was black! It was so ridiculous to just notice that I had to laugh. And then a whole bunch of other artists. Of course some artists struck me immediately as black for whatever reason. But I just didn’t think to classify people that way, for the longest time.

hackermeows 2y ago

Wonder how Elon is getting the clearance for this , dude smoked weed on camera , isn’t that automatically disqualifying for gov clearance ?

entropicdrifter 2y ago
Presidential mandate
- Tostino 2y ago
  To become a dictator? This isn't in the presidential powers. Congress needs to pass a bill if they want to do this.
  - snailmailstare 2y ago
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  - tosbalok3 2y ago
    > This isn't in the presidential powers. Yes it is! It is literally the first sentence of section 1 of Article II of the constitution! Saying, "I don't like this therefore it's not in his power" is logically identical to seeing Congress pass a law that you don't like and saying, "this isn't in Congress' power"
    - Tostino 2y ago
      The power of the purse was deliberately placed with Congress in Article I, Section 9, Clause 7: "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." This isn't about liking or disliking powers, it's about maintaining the constitutional balance that protects everyone's rights. Article II Section 1 establishes the presidency and electoral process, but the Take Care Clause in Section 3 actually requires the President to faithfully execute Congress's laws. This separation of powers exists specifically to prevent any branch from exercising unchecked authority over public funds. Changing funding requires congressional action because that's a core protection built into our system. It's not an obstacle to be worked around, it's a fundamental safeguard of our constitutional republic.

krapp 2y ago

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throw16180339 2y ago

https://archive.ph/gZvrj https://archive.ph/gZvrj

evenman 2y ago

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QnfbagsHt 2y ago

The bigger picture problem is that Musk's grandfather Haldeman was part of the technocracy movement, which wanted to implement the "North American Technate", which includes Canada, Greenland and much of middle America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy_movement#The_Technate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy_movement#The_Techn... The agenda 2025 is eerily similar, including the proposed land grabs and a tech style governance by "elites".

blurbleblurble 2y ago
Insane, thanks for sharing

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archagon 2y ago

I wonder why he resigned. Half the administration seems to have ties to white supremacy, if not ouright neo-nazism.

rolandog 2y ago
Before they got into power - "They're not that bad, they're just trolling people; they would never say racist things at me... They'll stop once they get into power." After getting into power: - "Oh... If only someone had warned me about this!"
acdha 2y ago
They have tried to walk the line just enough to keep the media unwilling to use precise terminology, and to give voters who aren’t committed Republicans plausible deniability. Remember how Project 2025 was open but Trump kept pretending that he didn’t agree with so many of his former staffers, associates, and donors? That was to allow the people who mostly want tax cuts, the Muslims who have religious opposition to LGBTQ rights, the Jews who are Israel hawks, etc. to tell themselves it was safe to vote for him. Direct statements approving of wiping Gaza and Israel off the earth or disparaging Indian engineers pierce the veil of self-deception and force lukewarm supporters to acknowledge who they’re backing. It’s the same reason why they’re arguing that Musk threw a “Roman salute” hoping that the median voter doesn’t know as much about the Italian fascist movement.

mindslight 2y ago

But wait, why? How was he pushed to resign? Isn't one of the core arguments for going after the woke that people should be able to say what they want in their free time, and still keep their jobs in their professional life? And his employer is a group that has a supposed mandate to be going after the woke, so they should be best able to push back against public pressure, right? Perhaps the phenomenon of politics is deeper than merely the woke and can never really be eliminated?

hindsightbias 2y ago

“Elez promised that Indian workers in the U.S. on H1Bs visas are “going back don’t worry guys.” Are these guys in some alt-universe where Musk and Theil are advocating against more H1Bs? Or maybe they’re were fine with eugenics and racism but weren’t aware of his H1B smacks?

kenjackson 2y ago
H1Bs are OK, just not from certain countries. I've definitely heard that before from this group.

marcusverus 2y ago

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happytoexplain 2y ago
Wait, are you posting these as evidence that he's not racist...? I'm not following your first line.
archagon 2y ago
Saying things like that in real life would get you socked in the face. "Edge-lord" is just the Gen-Z equivalent of the more traditional "boys will be boys"-to-psychopath pipeline.
talldayo 2y ago
That's just racism. You can't use the "South Park humor" defense when you're standing on a soapbox yelling it in public.

anigbrowl 2y ago

Seems like there might be quite a few conflicts of interest in this team https://projects.propublica.org/elon-musk-doge-tracker/ https://projects.propublica.org/elon-musk-doge-tracker/

pyrale 2y ago

Surprised he resigned. After all, it seems transparent that they’re going for a coup.

archagon 2y ago

“DOGE chief Musk asks X users if staffer who quit over racist tweets should be rehired” (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/elon-musk-doge-racist-treasury-x-staff.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/elon-musk-doge-racist-treasu...) Musk wants to normalize this kind of racism.

croes 2y ago

Don’t worry Musk will rehire him https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93q625y04wo https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93q625y04wo > He will be brought back," Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns. "To err is human, to forgive divine." Just ignore that’s not on him to forgive. Will be interesting to see how people like to be Chile 2.0

Densonfer5A 2y ago

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Densonfer5A 2y ago
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