Elon presenting to the world as an insane person is only one reason Tesla sales are crashing and the stock is down. Tesla’s early success in the car market wasn’t because of Elon, either. Tesla benefited, early on, by being first. They offered an electric vehicle with a perception of quality and safety that had good range and speed.

As they’ve penetrated the market, though, certain realities about Tesla’s safety have been exposed. They keep being recalled. The ‘Autopilot’ feature of the car is, at best, erratic. (Hey, just like their CEO!) In crashes, they tend to burst into flames. Fortunately, they increasingly have “unbreakable” glass windows (actually just very difficult to break) so WHEN your Tesla crashes and burns, literally, with you inside? You might survive the crash, but not the fire.

Meanwhile, all of the other car makers have come up with decent alternatives that DON’T burst into flame every chance they get and many of them are far more affordable. That is to say, there are better options out there now, or, at least, competitive options. As those options became available, it was inevitable Tesla sales would drop. They aren’t the only game in town anymore.

But it really has not helped that the richest man in the world started scolding work-a-day Joes for taking too much. “Oh, you want your Social Security? I don’t need Social Security so you shouldn’t either!”

Muck and the trumpster held a publicity stunt at the White House in an effort to shore up Tesla sales. 47 pretended he bought one. He said he was going to write a check for the $80,000 dollar car. Neither of the grifters mentioned, in the moment, that Musk was planning to put $100 million dollars into The Felon’s pocke–, er, PAC. Yeah, the PAC, that’s the ticket.

Now, as Elon actively attacks the American people, the American people are pushing back by protesting outside Tesla dealerships. It really makes perfect sense. Elon is closely associated with the Tesla, even though he had nothing to do with their development or design. Tesla is quickly becoming a symbol of evil and it provides people with a very visual place to protest.

Donny says he wants to make protesting outside Tesla dealerships a crime. He wants to call it “domestic terrorism.” Look for that to happen in a once-great nation near you, soon. I remember when the United States enjoyed a thing commonly referred to as the First Amendment. Remember that? It allowed people to say things other people might not like. It allowed people to protest, so long as it was peaceful. That was pretty great.

The MAGA alternative to the First Amendment, along with the Tesla and Tesla’s CEO, sucks. I wonder how long Tesla’s board is going to stand behind Elon and his insanity. Do you think they’re going to wait until their brand is completely unrecoverable?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes, stupid just can’t hide. A competent AP reporter asked KKKaroline Leavitt if she had ever paid a tariff. She went directly to faux outrage, “I think it’s insulting that you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics,” before moving on – quickly – to another question. (She commonly reminds me of a line from ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail,’ “Run away!”)

It wasn’t really a “test” though, was it? It was more of a demonstration. If you really think foreign companies pay the tariffs, you have no idea what you’re talking about and anybody, everybody, who DOES understand will know in a heartbeat that you DON’T know – and it doesn’t matter HOW big of an asshole you act. You’re still wrong.

The most frustrating part about this particular gaslight is that cons will be the first to tell you that adding a tax to a product will only be passed along by the seller. We all know it. Even MAGA knows it. But suddenly, THIS tax doesn’t work that way, apparently, because it has a different name? Really, sometimes, stupid just can’t hide…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recently, a young child died of Measles in Texas. I’m sure the child’s parents are very proud of themselves. Sure, they killed their kid – but he didn’t have Autism!

I suppose we have to set aside the FACT – you know, like they didn’t – that he wouldn’t have contracted Autism from the vaccines, anyway, since that was just a made-up story. It stems from a morally defective, British former doctor. He isn’t a doctor anymore because his “study” was crap work. He fudged his data. He was applying for a vaccine patent of his own and thought that if he discredited the one in use at the time, he’d be better off. His lie has killed countless numbers – including that child in Texas.

The dude must be MAGA because he’s still out there telling his lie – and doubling down on a lie is the MAGA way. He has apparently impressed what’s left of RFK, Jr’s brain, which doesn’t seem all that hard to do. He impresses a LOT of weak minds. I suspect he feels good whenever an unvaccinated child dies of some easily preventable disease because he convinced yet another rube. But people die. I think he should be in prison.

Science isn’t perfect. There, I said it AND, I mean it. But it’s better than not-science. It’s sure as shootin’ better than “doing your own research.” What the hell do YOU know? Do you have a lab or even a lab coat? Testing equipment? Can you do a double-blind study on a large enough, representative sample? Can you even describe a double-blind study? Or did you just cruise the internet until you found the story that supported what your husband’s cousin mentioned she heard from her friend down at the mall?

If you don’t get your kids vaccinated because you’re afraid they might get Autism from the shot, leaving your child vulnerable to readily preventable diseases that can very easily kill or permanently disable them? You’re a moron…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t know. It was a tough call. Do Democrats sign on with Republicans and help them pass their Continuing Resolution (CR), or do they stand their ground and let the government shut down in an effort to get a less vicious budget? If the CR passes, the autocrats get a shot in the arm as the CR codifies some of the things “Team Evil” want to do. If the CR fails, the government shuts down and leaves a huge opening for Team Evil to do their thing with less opposition, but makes clear the damage comes from one group and one group only – the One Percent compliant Republicans.

It seems to me the outcome was the same either way. Team Evil gets to do what it wants via the budget or Team Evil gets to do what it wants via the closure. Since that’s the case, I think it would have made more sense to vote against the CR. The short version is, either way, Team Evil gets to do what it wants, so the Democrats should do the right thing and stand with the American people. Most did.

Chuck Schumer (NY), John Fetterman (PA), Dick Durbin (IL), Catherine Cortez-Masto (NV), Gary Peters (MI), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Brian Schatz (HI), Maggie Hassan (NH), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), and Angus King (MA), an independent who caucuses with Democrats, all joined Team Evil in giving Elon and The Felon a free hand. But, really, it was a tough call, either way. It’s difficult to know what the right choice might have been – except…

47 said of Schumer’s vote, “I think he did the right thing.” Okay, so now I know the answer. If Evil Donny is happy about the choice you made, you definitely made the wrong choice. The outcome totally reinforces my perception that the Democrats are the Washington Generals of this political charade. The Washington Generals are the team whose job it is to lose to the Harlem Globetrotters, but both teams are paid by the same people…