The man just did a Nazi salute while standing behind a podium with the Presidential seal on it at the Inauguration. All bets are off if you are thinking of government as it existed before this moment.

He has enough money to do what he wants. And there are enough idiots around him that believe his bullshit and applaud.

I wish that would affect them. Even just to pause and reflect. They won’t. It hasn’t been about the teachings of Christ for a long time.

Great, let’s just leave it all up to Elon. What could possibly go wrong?

The only thing worse than 2 billionaires leading an unregulated government entity is a single billionaire leading it. Giving Elon completely unchecked power.

Responding because I am also curious about this.

Gotcha.

But, in the off chance that some dickhead defunds the FDA, what do we do?

I already try to grow what I can…but I’m not some trad wife who makes lots of money on instagram showing off how everything I ingest comes from my own land. Don’t have that kind of money or time on my hands. Aside from cooking things to recommended temps and washing/refrigerating things as needed, is there more that can be done on a household level?

Any suggestions on where to begin?

Elon bought Trump, so this isn’t surprising.

Also, it’s clear that Trump just regurgitates whatever slop Elon says because he thinks it will make him look smart.

So glad we are all unwilling participants in this great experiment. Pedestrians will be blamed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time when Tesla cans kill them.

If media conglomerates with millions of dollars don’t stand up to him, how can they expect any of us to do so effectively.

nobody is going to stop you from buying a used 2025 civic in 2035, that’s fine

This is what I meant, cars already in circulation having longer lives. I frankly don’t know anything about used EVs, but plenty of people I know can list reliable gas powered cars that will run for incredibly long times with a little love. We need EVs to be manageable cars of the people that can be maintained at home on a budget and not proprietary dealerships.

It wasn’t my aim to discredit the bill, only to complain that Musk is useless and will line his pockets before actually creating something that is useful for the public.

I have never in my life purchased a new car. They are too expensive. Most normal people that I know also have only ever bought a car from a used car lot. I have always considered leasing a car to be throwing away money. So, like a lot of people, I drive beaters that I can actually afford.

The $55k might be reasonable compared to the average new car, but look around you on the road. Lots of 7+ year old cars…most people can’t afford $55k with or without a rebate. I know that is just the price of doing business, and nothing is likely to suddenly cost $10k. But for the average person, this just means driving their fossil fuel burning car longer until they can figure something out.

Most people can’t afford EVs anyway. At this point, there will just be older and older gas-powered vehicles on the road.

Would love it if Musk could actually solve a fucking problem every once in a while, instead of running his mouth about the hundred other things he claims to have a solution to. Make a functional and cheap EV, no stupid bells and whistles, no gimmicks.

I know there are other car manufacturers, but they are too concerned about the bottom line. Musk effectively has more money than god. He can afford to take a loss for the greater good. He just never will.

Why do we spend so much money on defense and intelligence if they can’t perform when it comes to shit like this?

Plant millkweed in your gardens! Even better have a native garden! Wanna go beyond that? Have a native yard. Monoculture grass is not only boring to look at, it is killing all the beautiful things that used to thrive there.

Jerking off in front of a street camera at 7am on a Wednesday does sound like a Philly activity.

In my experience, a fair amount of “rich kids” in the millenial and gen z age range are pretty disillusioned with the system. They might not have come to their conclusions through struggle and inequality. But got there because of empathy.

I think that it has to do with how they were taught in school and when they were young. They grow up on values of kindness and generosity and then, in young adulthood, realize they have benefitted from other peoples labor. The internet and a trend towards more self-awareness probably contribute.

That certainly isn’t the case for all rich kids. Most of them are oblivious assholes. But I’ve met a few.

And some of these schools have incredibly large endowments. The tuition should account for the cost of the professors time (and they should be paid fucking well) and whatever minimal costs for using the facilities would be split amongst the thousands of students. But the tuition money goes to the administration and other money pits that do absolutely nothing to benefit the students.

My university calls and asks for money on a weekly basis and has the audacity to employ current students to do it. I feel terrible for the kids. They have a script asking these questions. What do I do now? What advice do I have for them?

I used to be normal and tell them to study and go to office hours. Now I tell them the University does not care about them or their success/failure. They only care about being paid for 4 years. I always end with telling them : if you or your loved ones are going into any debt at all for this…leave.

I know that I must sound like some disillusioned alumni that was screwed by the system and an outlier. I’m not. I am doing objectively better than most of the people I graduated with. But if I am one of the few success stories of my many peers, and my University knows absolutely nothing about my strategies after undergrad, then how can they hope to advise students to do the same?

I just see the scam for what it is, and hope I can be a catalyst for at least a few kids to get out before financial ruin. You can get an amazing education from community college/studying at home/khan academy/trade schools. It is all in how much you apply yourself and has nothing to do with how much you paid.

In an ideal world: Oh no! Some of those useless administrators might have to be let go if they aren’t getting the tuition or attendance they budgeted for!

In reality: They will cut the music program, funding for clubs or anything else beneficial to students before recognizing the glut of useless admins.

Not that the actions of the Taliban ever “make sense,” but doesn’t having less trained midwives lead to a decrease in population caused by pregnancy complications? This is just additional cruelty to women with absolutely no benefit.