DL Open Thread: Wednesday, April 23, 2024

Did my first door-to-door campaigning of the year yesterday evening.  Definitely feel healthier this morning…you should try it.

Tesla Tanks-Musk Rethinks Priorities?:

The Tesla chief executive, Elon Musk, said he will start pulling back from his role at the so-called “department of government efficiency” starting in May. Musk’s remarks came as the company reported a massive dip in both profits and revenues in the first quarter of 2025 amid backlash against his role in the White House.

On an investor call, Musk said the work necessary to get the government’s “financial house in order is mostly done”.

“Starting probably next month, May, my time allocation to Doge will drop significantly,” he said.

That said, he expects to spend one to two days a week continuing to do what he referred to as “critical work” at Doge “for as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it is useful”.

Let’s cogitate upon that, shall we?  Does Musk think that his historic unpopularity, which is what has sunk his brand, will improve if he’s ‘only’ destroying the government one or two days a week?  I, for one, don’t.  What do you think?

Meanwhile, the impact on Tesla has been nothing short of historic:

Tesla saw a 9% drop in revenue year over year in the first quarter of 2025. The company brought in $19.3bn in revenue, well below Wall Street expectations of $21.45bn. The company reported an earnings per share of 27 cents, also well under investor expectations of 43 cents in earnings per share.

Tesla profits also slid 71% to $409m compared with $1.39bn in net income the previous year.

The company suffered a 13% drop in vehicle deliveries, making it the company’s worst quarter since 2022. Tesla closed the quarter with 336,681 vehicles delivered.

Going out on a limb here–don’t think the next quarter will be any better.  Sad.

So, if Musk leaves, will DOGE be left in the hands of the Hitler Youth whose frontal lobes haven’t fully formed yet (if they ever will)?  These skinheads running around gleefully firing people?

Trump Goes After Student Loan Recipients.  With Linda McMahon leading the way (try to even think about that w/o laughing):

“American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “The Biden Administration misled borrowers: the executive branch does not have the constitutional authority to wipe debt away, nor do the loan balances simply disappear. Hundreds of billions have already been transferred to taxpayers. Going forward, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury, will shepherd the student loan program responsibly and according to the law, which means helping borrowers return to repayment—both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation’s economic outlook.”

I linked to the press release from the Department of Education.  See if you can spot all the lies in it.  Meanwhile, quoting from an AP story on the same issue:

“This is cruel, unnecessary and will further fan the flames of economic chaos for working families across this country,” said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center.

Borrowers who don’t make payments for nine months go into default, which is reported on their credit scores and can go to collections.

Along with the borrowers already in default, around another 4 million are 91 to 180 days late on their loan payments. Less than 40% of all borrowers are current on their student loans, department officials said.

Layoffs at the Federal Student Aid office at the Education Department have made it harder for students to get their questions answered, even if they wanted to pay their loans, said Kristin McGuire, executive director for Young Invincibles, a group that focuses on economic security for younger adults.

“Things are really difficult to understand right now. Things are changing every day,” McGuire said. “We can’t assume that people are in default because they don’t want to pay their loans. People are in default because they can’t pay their loans and because they don’t know how to pay their loans.”

Enjoyed This headline From The Downballot: “Candidates To Replace McConnell Fight Over Who Hates Him Most”.

How Politico Minimizes Rubio’s evisceration of the State Department.  ‘It’s not as bad as expected, besides we already knew he was going to do it.’  Which apparently makes it right. Or ‘better’.

Idle thought.  I hope the election of the new Pope doesn’t coincide with the NFL draft.  I much more prefer the green smoke wafting above the Linc to the alternative.

’60 Minutes’ Executive Producer Resigns.  Why?:

Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, is eager to secure the Trump administration’s approval for a multibillion-dollar sale of her company to Skydance, a company run by the son of the tech billionaire Larry Ellison. She has expressed a desire to settle Mr. Trump’s case, which stems from what the president has called a deceptively edited interview in October with Vice President Kamala Harris that aired on “60 Minutes.”

Mr. Trump has often singled out “60 Minutes” for scorn. In 2020, he cut short an interview with Lesley Stahl after he became displeased with her questions. He declined to be interviewed by the program during last year’s presidential campaign.

On April 13, apparently irked by that evening’s edition of the show, Mr. Trump accused “60 Minutes” of “fraudulent, beyond recognition, reporting” in a social media post and urged his government regulators to strip CBS of its broadcast license. “CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this,” Mr. Trump wrote.

Ms. Redstone complained to CBS executives in January about a “60 Minutes” segment on the war between Israel and Hamas, and a day later, the company appointed a veteran CBS producer, Susan Zirinsky, to a new role overseeing the news division’s journalistic standards.

In that capacity, Ms. Zirinsky reviewed “60 Minutes” segments that were deemed sensitive, including politically focused ones, before they aired, two of the people said. That kind of review is typical for many news programs, but “60 Minutes” prides itself on a long history of operating independently from the rest of CBS’s news division.

Hey, it’s just business.  Journalism is merely collateral damage.

Kevin Hensley Is Now Just A Realtor Without A Car.  Because, the Speaker has booted him from the Joint Finance Committee:

Less than a week after pleading guilty in a drunken driving case that injured another driver, Rep. Kevin Hensley has lost his seat on the influential state legislative committee that writes Delaware’s budget each year.

In her first use of legislative punishment since taking leadership of the House of Representatives in November, Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown stripped Hensley of the assignment on Tuesday.

“Our compassion for those confronting addiction does not negate the need for consequences related to poor decision making and taking accountability for one’s actions, but also reminds us of the importance of treatment, rehabilitation, and the possibility of change.

“I wish Rep. Hensley well on his recovery journey, and I hope he continues to seek the support and resources necessary for his health and well-being,” Minor-Brown said.

Rep. Charles Postles (R-Milford) will be appointed to fill the Republican seat on the Joint Finance Committee.

Those who serve on the Joint Finance Committee (also those who serve on the Bond Bill Committee and the Joint Sunset Committee) receive additional pay for their time.  JFC, in particular, due to the time commitment required, is not for everybody, as those working full-time jobs generally don’t have the availability to serve on the committee.  So, Hensley loses a significant amount of pay by losing this position.  But at least he won’t have to find someone to chauffeur him to Dover when JFC is in session.

The Speaker made the right decision.  Will she now turn her attention to Rae Moore?  Only time will tell.

What do you want to talk about?