Starshield, Free Speech, Eagle Pass, RFK Independent, McCarthy's Demise
The People's News for the People's Coin 9/27-10/3
Hey everyone,
This week’s digest covers SpaceX’s new contract with Space Force, the latest in the battle for free speech, Elon’s citizen journalism at the border, news that RFK will run as an independent, and Kevin McCarthy’s demise as Speaker of the House.
Don’t miss memes and news bites at the end!
Thank sou for reading The People’s News for the People’s Coin.
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Starshield
Last week, news broke that SpaceX had been awarded a government contract with Space Force.
The contract will pay SpaceX to provide satellite communications for the military under a new program called Starshield.
Starshield is custom-designed for military use. The network is separate from SpaceX’s Starlink, which offers satellite Internet across the globe for civilians.
The deal is a one year contract worth up to $70 million
For civilians, Starlink satellite Internet has officially become operational for all 48 states of last week. The service currently boasts two million active users, up 500k from four months ago.
Would you consider Starlink Internet instead of a land line?
Free Speech
This week saw several important developments in the battle for free speech.
The Speech Cartel—a mix of oppressive governments, shady oligarchs, and activist non-profits—has been trying to what people are allowed to say on the Internet. Freedom-loving citizens and journalists, led by Elon, have been pushing back.
Last Friday, Canada’s federal government struck a blow when it moved to regulate podcasts. The governement will require online streaming services to formally register with the the Orwellian-sounding Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
It is an odd fit for the Canadian government to be increasings its powers over the speech of regular citizens.
Just last week, its parliament gave a standing ovation to a Ukrainian man who turned out to be a Nazi. PM Trudeau even met with the man in private.
Afterward, Trudeau blamed “Russian disinformation” for the mistake.
It is reasonable to wonder how the government expects to do a better job of sifting truth from falsehood with its citizens than it does with itself.
Around the same time, the European Union issued a warning to 𝕏 after a study claimed the platform has the highest rate of disinformation posts among major social media platforms. The EU recently established rules that determine how social media sites must police information, and has deemed 𝕏 out of compliance.
On Sunday, a clip of President Biden circulated on 𝕏 in which he pinned blame on Elon and 𝕏 for allowing the spread of misinformation.
Biden said, “Where do people get their news? They go on the Internet, they go online, and they have no notion whether it’s true or not.”
It’s spooky that Western governments are suddenly arrogating the right to police the spread of information they deem false under the guise of protecting citizens.
Both historically and in the present day, governments have been some of the most egregious spreaders of falsehood.
If anyone doesn’t belong in the information-policing business, it’s governments Their job is to improve the lives of citizens, not decide what can and can’t be said.
Equally weird the transformation of legacy media.
In decades past, journalists took pride in holding the powerful to account.
Now, they’ve sided with government against social media companies, especially 𝕏.
Part of the legacy media’s animus comes from the fact that social media is beating it at its own game.
A new study by Axios this week found that traffic from social media sites to news sites has cratered in the last year.
It appears that, in a desperation move, legacy media is siding with Big Brother as a survival tactic, in the process selling out its ideals for turf protection from the Speech Cartel.
The very existence of 𝕏 as a platform that upholds free speech is an affront to the official fact checkers, newspapers, and political leaders.
As long as there is one platform that doesn’t police what people can say, the fight for free speech remains alive.
So what do you think: are the censors the good guys or the bad guys? And who will win in the end?
Eagle Pass
Last week’s newsletter looked at the social media narrative around the US’s open border.
Since then, videos of various border crises across the globe have continued to trend. Last week, several independent journalists from 𝕏 have traveled to Texas to document the situation.
Most notably, Elon went to Eagle Pass with Congressman Anthony Gonzalez to do some citizen journalism.
He recorded a four-minute introduction and a fifteen minute segment on this phone. Together, they were viewed 135M times.
During the two videos, he emphasized that he is in favor of legal immigration while calling on the government to deal with the humanitarian consequences of its open-border policy.
On Monday, Ashley St. Clair released a video with interviews from border residents. Elon said it was the “Craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”
What is your opinion on the border? Are open-borders a workable long-term policy for the US? Or should the government change its approach?
RFK To Run As Independent
Last week, Mediaite reported that RFK Jr would likely step out of the Democratic primary and continue to run his campaign as an independent.
Within hours of the report, Kennedy’s campaign said he make a historic announcement on October 9th in Philadelphia
Kennedy’s complaint is that the DNC is rigging the primary.
He has cited the party’s refusal to hold debates, rearranging of the primary order to benefit Biden, threat to penalize candidates who campaign in Iowa or New Hampshire ahead of schedule, and its system of super-delegates that will vote for Biden no matter what.
Based on new rules implemented by the DNC, Kennedy estimated he would have to win “80% of the states to beat President Biden.” In September, he published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal with the title, “The Democratic Party Rigs the Primaries.”
RFK’s move to independent will allow him to campaign all the way through the general election, adding an interesting dimension to the race.
He is virtually alone among Presidential contenders in his critique of the Ukraine war, the pharmaceutical industry, and regulatory capture by giant corporations. The campaign will benefit from his heterodox views.
After the news broke, discussion focused on how his third party candidacy would impact the contest between Trump and Biden.
So far, RFK’s populist brand of politics has appealed more to independents, moderates, and libertarians than party-line Democrats. Kennedy himself told podcaster Theo Vonn, "I take more votes from President Trump than I do President Biden."
A poll released Monday found RFK siphoning roughly equal numbers of votes from both Trump and Biden.
What do you think RFK’s impact on the 2024 race will be? Do you think it’s good that he’ll be campaigning through the general election?
McCarthy’s Demise
With just over a year to go before the next US Presidential election, the GOP appears to be undergoing a major shakeup.
The instigating event was a battle over funding the government. Last week the GOP’s Freedom Caucus pushed for a government shutdown until the border is secured. Democrats and non-MAGA conservatives demanded the inclusion of money for Ukraine in the government funding bill.
In the end, the GOP and Democrats agreed to keep the government open for 45 more days without a deal on either Ukraine or border funding, to the dismay of the Freedom Caucus.
However, the bill came at great cost to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
After the vote, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz announced he would move to vacate McCarthy’s speakership. Gaetz accused McCarthy of making a secret deal with Biden to continue to fund Ukraine without addressing the US border.
Animosity between Gaetz and McCarthy dates back to January of this year, when Gaetz led a rebellion against McCarthy’s speakership that caused McCarthy to endure fifteen rounds of voting before he was granted the position. Twice during the voting, Gaetz nominated Donald Trump for speaker. I covered the episode in detail here.
In the process, Gaetz and other Freedom Caucus members secured promises and rules concessions from McCarthy that would allow him to be removed if he didn’t fulfill several promises to the Freedom Caucus.
Monday night, Gaetz followed through with his threat, triggering a vote to remove McCarthy. Shortly after, the two congressmen threw down on 𝕏.
On Tuesday, the vote took place: 216 mostly Democratic House members elected to remove McCarthy, and 210 voted for him to keep his speakership. McCarthy is the first speaker ever to be removed by a vote from the House.
The office of Speakership was officially declared vacant, making McCarthy’s speakership the shortest-lived in history. Pro-crypto Congressman Patrick McHenry assumed the interim role.
Gaetz gave triumphant interviews, invoking global de-dollarization as one of the House’s biggest concerns, while MAGA conservatives revived the idea of nominating Trump for the role (the Speaker does not have to be a member of Congress).
The idea of Trump as speaker is the kind of thing that is only taken seriously on social media. It is a potential outcome so ironic and entertaining it belongs almost exclusively to the realm of memes.
Of course, the GOP House recently initiated an impeachment investigation against Joe Biden. Few outcomes would be more absurd than Trump leading the impeachment proceedings.
Last night, Sean Hannity reported “that Trump might be open to helping the Republican Part at least in the short term if necessary.” Congressman Jim Jordan told Hannity, “we need him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, if he wants to be speaker, that’s fine too.” Gaetz said, “ ‘Speaker Trump’ has a great ring to it.”
Trump, for his own part, has been in the spotlight lately as a result of yet another lawsuit.
Last week, a New York judge declared that Trump and his organizations had committed fraud by overvaluing their properties, which were used as collateral for bank loans. The judge is threatening to dissolve Trump’s businesses as punishment.
The case is unique in that the banks which made the loans—which were repaid in full— did not bring the action, so there is no obvious victim.
Equally odd were the judge’s appraisals of Trumps properties.
Mar-a-Lago, one of the most valuable properties in the world, was deemed by the judge to be worth $18-27 million dollars, significantly less than other properties in the same neighborhood.
Whether because of his legal battles or his sizable lead in the GOP primary, Trump has not been participating in GOP debates. However, several video clips of Trump giving speeches have gone viral recently.
In one Michigan rally, he appeared to claim that the Biden administration represents the second term of Trump’s presidency: “in my second term, which we’re sort of having now, but I don’t want the results, right? I don’t want the results of this second term, this second term is a disaster for this country.”
In another speach, Trump spoke about “The Pause” in his administration, which he claimed would allow him to more effectively advance his policy agenda.
It’s true that many of the Biden Administration’s woes were prefigured by events of Trump’s presidency.
For example, Trump oversaw the Covid-era money printing that led to today’s inflation.
However, because both the Biden Administration and mainstream media have so insistently (first) denied that inflation was happening, (next) insisted that it was temporary, and (finally) assured the public that the experts have the situation under control, it has been difficult for them to pin blame on Trump.
That might be changing. On Thursday, Biden released a campaign ad calling on Trump to take responsibility for inflation.
If Trump becomes Speaker—a long-shot for sure—he will have ample opportunity to explain himself on inflation, and much else.
What do you think: Who will the next speaker be? What is Trump implying by saying he is in his “second term”? Has hes lost his mind? Or is this some sort of 5D chess?
Ukraine, Russia, and NATO
One of the biggest bones of contention between Russia and the West is the question of who provoked the war?
The West claims Russia’s invasion was an unprovoked land grab. Russia claims it was forced to invade to stop the Western military alliance from expanding onto its border.
So did Russia invade Ukraine because of NATO expansion? Or is Putin a power-hungry warlord channeling Hitler in his plan for world domination?
This video mash-up of media reporting lays the issue bare. Decide for yourself.
The Magic Pill
Alternative health is consistently a hot topic on 𝕏.
Last week, I had a chance to watch the documentary The Magic Pill, which covers several case studies of people attempting to reverse chronic conditions by eating low-carb, high fat diets. The documentary was fascinating, and I highly recommend it.
Here are a few other alt-health topics that’ve trended recently:
The amount of sugar in a single Dunkin Donuts drink
A success story about carnivore diet and lifestyle
What happens if you quit sugar for two weeks?
A compilation of scientific studies showing efficacy of anti-parasitic drug fenbendazole for cancer
A police detective claims 50% of SIDS deaths he investigated took place within 48 hours of vaccination
The Guardian publishes an article about the health benefits of sun exposure
Dogey Treats: News Bites
𝕏
90% of top 100 advertisers have returned to 𝕏 according to CEO Linda Yaccarino.
Elon fired half of 𝕏’s election integrity team.
Elon livestreamed himself playing Diablo IV on 𝕏 to test out the platform’s streaming capabilities.
Mark Zuckerberg would not commit to fighting Elon when pressed by an interviewer, even in a hypothetical situation in which the fight took place on Zuck’s terms
US Politics
The House oversight committee released documents revealing that the DOJ blocked investigations into Joe Biden relating to money his family received from other countries.
A signed letter emerged from Hunter Biden to a Ukrainian prosecutor demanded that investigations into Burisma energy company be shut down. The Daily Mail reported Biden was suspected of involvement in an Eastern European human trafficking ring.
Elon asked about Mitch McConnell, “How can someone who is clearly experiencing aneurysms – live on TV –have authority for critical decisions that affect the world? Real question.” The Senate’s dress code restored
The Head of OSHA claimed that vaccine mandates were never a threat to anyone’s employment status.
A women’s tech conference was flooded with men claiming to be non-binary.
After vetoing a bill that would factor whether parents affirmed their childrens’ identity into custody decisions, Gavin Newsom downplayed the importance of trans issues.
Elon pointed out how Democrats revised their position on borders over the last week.
The impeachment investigation into Joe Biden's foreign dealings began. Jim Jordan and James Comer gave opening statements. Joe Biden froze during a speech a la McConnell.
Former State Department authority Mike Benz explained the relationship between George Soros and the CIA.
Global Financial System
Crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried was the subject of a 60 Minutes segment last week. SBF was profiled by author Michael Lewis, who gave SBF and his business a strangely positive depiction. The segment was widely panned on social media, and Elon wrote, “60 mins of bs.”
Su Zhu, co-founder of the defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, was arrested in Singapore.
Documents from Vanguard’s DEI initiative showed the company celebrating every demographic except white males. Bloomberg data showed that, post George Floyd, 94% of new jobs created iy SP100 companies went to non-white applicants.
Elon highlighted an article about how the government repeatedly revises their economic data after it is reported in the media.
The website showing the US debt clock reportedly contained a biblical message on Monday.
Gold trended on 𝕏 after a Matt Gaetz Seinfeld meme went viral about gold bribes. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez was arrested after allegedly taking thousands of dollars of bribes from Egypt in the form of gold bars. Jim Cramer highlighted news that Costco has been offering gold bars at its locations, and selling out quickly.
Elon said the global economy was behaving like a “clown world.”
Global Politics
China and Saudi Arabia announced joint naval drills in October
Murder rate in El Salvador fell from the world’s highest to the lowest in the Western Hemisphere over the last eight years.
Burkina Faso put down a coup attempt.
Meme Stonks
Activist investor Ryan Cohen was named CEO of GameStop. He’d previously said he was leery of taking the role because he would work himself to death.
Ownership of Bed Bath & Beyond was transfered to a holding company known as DK-Butterfly-1 on Friday night.
BBBY and Cohen fans noted that Elon made four posts about ice cream (1, 2, 3, 4) on Tuesday, believing it to be a reference to Cohen’s fondness for ice cream.
Carl Icahn sold $545M worth of Xerox shares in an over the counter repurchase agreement with the company.
Health
Pathologists from Harvard found evidence of mRNA vaccines in the heart tissue of vaccinated patients. Joe Rogan talked about toxoplasmosis in a discussion with Alex Berenson.
Anthony Fauci appeared to modulate his language on the lab origins of Covid, telling Science, “I had no idea the grant to [EcoHealth and WIV] existed until all this exploded. It’s $121,000-a-year grant and I had a $6 billion portfolio. So when I said to my people, ‘Tell me what’s going on,’ they said, ‘This is the guidelines and by no definition whatsoever is that gain-of-function of concern.’ Now, people are saying maybe those guidelines are a little too loose. My feeling is, absolutely, you should reexamine that, and if you want to change it, change it.”
Evidence that cancer is linked to parasitosis continues to go viral on 𝕏.
Misc
Why are there no cats in the Bible?
Ye said Cardi B is a plant by the Illuminati to replace Nikki Minaj
Podcaster Dax Shepard was hit with backlash from the left after disagreeing with comedian Jonathan Van Ness about biologically male transgender athletes playing in women’s sports.
Memes of the Week
Elon’s Memes
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