Musk Killed Millions?

The Musk Killed Millions debate seems silly to me. The cuts probably didn't kill millions, yet. It may get there but we'll never really know. 

 

But... It probably did or will cause a lots a lot of deaths.

 

The big question to me is who was the stupid fucker than handed Musk the job?

 

Why isn't the argument "Did Trump's USAID cuts kill millions"?  

 

 

 

 

From Gemini: 

 

The argument that Elon Musk "killed millions" centers on the severe reduction of U.S. foreign aid. Critics, including public health experts and political figures like Representative Ro Khanna and Bill Gates, attribute these fatalities to the major cuts Musk helped enforce at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). [1, 2]

The Core Arguments

• The Aid Cuts: While leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk oversaw a major reduction in U.S. foreign aid, slashing humanitarian spending from roughly $14 billion down to $3.7 billion.
• The Death Toll Projections: Studies—including research published in the Lancet—project that these cuts to vital health and nutrition programs will cut off millions of children from treatment, potentially leading to over 4.5 million child fatalities and millions of other total deaths by 2030.
• On-the-Ground Impact: Humanitarian advocates and journalists who traveled to affected regions report that the stoppage of funds has halted deliveries of HIV/AIDS medications, malaria treatments, diesel for ambulances, and emergency food relief. [3, 4, 5]

The Counterarguments

• Combating Waste: Musk and his supporters strongly defend the reductions. They argue that much of the foreign aid budget was riddled with corruption, graft, and misuse, claiming large sums never reached the communities they were intended to help.
• Mortality Statistics: Musk has dismissed the projections, retweeting localized mortality data which he claims shows that death rates in Africa actually decreased after the foreign aid programs were interrupted.
• Denial of Causation: Musk has fiercely rejected the accusations, characterizing the claim that his actions killed children as a smear and threatening legal action against critics who publicly attribute the deaths to his oversight of DOGE. [1, 8, 9]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2026/06/29/a-testy-musk-attacks-claims-doges-cuts-killed-children-but-studies-paint-grim-picture/

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/05/08/bill-gates-will-close-gates-foundation-in-2045-after-donating-99-of-his-fortune/

[3] https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/new-york-times-columnist-fact-checks-elon-musk-on-no-deaths-due-to-usaid-cuts/cid/2167771

[4] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Qc2TDgPSlsg

[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/opinion/foreign-aid-cuts-south-sudan.html

[6] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pad.70011

[7] https://leadership.ng/elon-musk-claims-africas-death-rate-fell-after-us-aid-cuts-sparks-fresh-debate/

[8] https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/elon-musk-promises-sue-lawmaker-202611349.html

[9] https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/rats-in-a-sack-elon-musk-threatens-to-sue-congressman-over-how-many-his-usaid-cuts-killed/

 

Moving Toward Substack

Here: Tuesdaynightbuzz.substack.com

American Crapitalism

Cross posted at Substack. 

They used to say “build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” That’s how it used to be. A good idea, finding a market and building a business would make you rich. But an important point that’s often lost is that you were also making consumers better off - making their lives easier.

You invented something useful or that people really wanted, got a patent, started a business and got to market. When the patent expired, the free market did what it was supposed to do. Competitors stepped in, prices dropped, the consumer got a better deal. Companies had to compete for their piece of the pie. They still made their profits but they also made consumers lives better.

It still works that way to a point. A good idea can still make you rich and consumers better off but in today’s American-style capitalism, at some point, the making consumers better off part of the deal gets lost and the business just starts mining consumers for every last nickel they have.

The real money is made not from the invention but finding ways to increase profits without increasing value.

If an American business rolled out the new mousetrap today, you wouldn’t buy a piece of wood and wire that simply worked. You’d get an internet-connected, Bluetooth-enabled appliance that needs constant firmware updates, a steady Wi-Fi signal and actually works about 60% of the time.

You’ll also need a monthly subscription, or annual if you want to save a couple of dollars a year, to keep it working. $2 a month to set the trap, $2 a month to release the mouse. You want 4K video of the mouse being killed? That’ll be $5 a month, but... but... The app will use AI to tell you what kind of mouse it was. Also, you’ll need a smartphone and our app to make it all work.

The company’s MBAs and lawyers would get to work lobbying the regulators to lock out any DIY competitors under the guise of “public health and safety.” Only licensed mousetraps allowed.

And don’t think you can just pitch that dead mouse into your own trash can. You’ll need a certified disposal process that only costs one dollar per mouse. Or... you can buy our rodent disposal tray (patent-pending) that uses our special odor-free disposal litter (patent-pending). A $10 bag will last for months. Both charges can be included on your monthly statement.

They’d also launch a MouseTrap(^TM) game for the kids. They’ll need a phone or tablet and our game app of course. Oh... and little dead mouse stuffies!? Plastic dead mice in happy meals? A Netflix series? Think of the children!

Also... The company will eventually go public with a huge IPO so you can participate in the profits from this great product. But, there may not be any since they’ve borrowed heavily to pay the private equity investors back, along with a handsome profit, so the long-term outlook is probably not that great.

Wow... got carried away there. Still.

Capitalism American-style isn’t really about the product or making life better for people. It’s about turning the consumer into a resource to be drilled, fracked, mined and drained of every loose cent until the well runs dry.

The trap isn’t for the mice—it’s for you.

It’s American Crapitalism at its finest.

Selling Out

 " ... we do need to revive our desire for seriousness among our cultural elite. If we’re going to let these people into our lives, they ought to stand for something more than themselves. They should to be willing to put their art ahead of their pocketbook and their follower count. And, ideally, they should not also be the CEO of Goldman Sachs. I have seen the future that awaits us if we fail to bring punk back, and it looks like this: "

Stop eating Lady Gaga's Oreos

I remember a friend of mine being mad as hell that The Who, THE WHO!! the one band that would never sell out !!, sold out by letting a few songs be used in car commercials.  

from Gemini ...

 

 

 

 

 

Police State

Flock cameras scare me. 

One county I go through a lot has them at all the main entrance roads. You can't get in or out of the county on a main road without being tracked. 

Cops like to use stuff like this and like to throw their "cop" weight around. How long before they can just put your plate in a list an be notified when you are in the area so they can harass you?  Or just check out of state cars? Out of county cars? or high dollar cars they might want to plant some drugs in so the can confiscate the car? Or harass bloggers who post shit like this?

The abuse possibilities are endless

Cops Keep Getting Arrested for Using Flock to Stalk People

Related: 

Man sues Florida cops over arrest spurred by “93% match” in facial recognition 

 

AI

I mostly support AI and use it everyday but there are some issues. The video below touches on a few but the most pressing near term issues to me are deep fakes, fake news and general misinformation. 

Social media and the internet in general have already wrecked our shared facts and values. 

AI is going to take it off the rails.

The 2026-2028 US election cycle is going to be crazy with AI generated fake news and scandals hitting every candidate constantly. 

Know one will know who to believe.

I'm not sure democracy can survive it.

tnb   

A few related posts:

An entire industry is being propped up by math that is insane. 

How Fake News Became the Most Dangerous Force in Energy Markets 

 

Trump Corruption

An Indian Billionaire Was Targeted by Trump. Then He Poured Money Into a Startup Secretly Backed by Donald Trump Jr. 

Crapitalism

We forget where capitalism goes if we allow it to run unregulated.

When a Photographer Turned His Focus on Social Injustice, It Helped Usher in the First Child Labor Laws 

 

 

Israel

It's like they're hunting children in Gaza.

What the wounds are telling us 

Change in the Wind?

On the front page at CNN this morning.

A normal CNN / US media headline would be something like "One Killed as Ceasefire Holds"