In the News… Eric, Unions, & Elon Overload
Sunday 5 January 2025
Eric Trump is "so back"…
…and all in on buying Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal, like a Black Friday special on Amazon. We had hoped his childhood summers in the Czech Republic might have given him a broader worldview. But it seems those memories have faded, and Eric’s perspective has been reduced to a game of RISK—a colorful playboard with matching pieces provides all the worldview he needs.
Culture, language, and tradition have no place in the pursuit of greatness.
Perhaps Eric thinks everyone wants to be an American and get a whiff of the Trump experience, willingly or by force.
He has been busy and could have missed the DOGE memo about reducing the Federal Government’s footprint. Or maybe he forgot to consider the burden of his proposed acquisitions—dragging on for years, costing billions, and ultimately amounting to nothing. A bit like the border wall.
It will be interesting to see which plan wins out: one (DOGE) that helps the country to run more efficiently or one that’s a replay of Trump 45.
Union Stumbling Block
When Elon Musk said the road ahead will be hard for many, he likely hadn’t considered (and perhaps didn’t know) that 10% of Federal Government employees are union members. This fact is not limited to a handful of agencies but exists throughout the Federal Government. Military and intelligence personnel are not allowed to unionize, but thousands of civilians employed who support the Department of Defense and the intelligence community are unionized.
Elon and Vivek will face some nasty uphill battles with their current agenda. But there’s a solution… if only the boys would read the white paper I sent each in November. White paper for America 2.0 and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Section 3. Approach reads:
Government reform should aim to retain essential talent. Rather than mass termination, a program of mass transitions would be more effective. Civil servants would compete for roles where their skills are most needed—both in and outside the Federal Government. This approach is more publicly appealing and less likely to face resistance from federal unions.
It's not too late! With little work, DOGE could use a service like LinkedIn to help transitioning civil servants out of government to better places. With a booming economy there’s not a better time to pull this off with minimal collateral damage.
Some want to see the retribution Trump promised: mass terminations and a long line of people with packed belongings and blank stares. A bit like when Lehman Brothers closed its doors in 2008. This is the image unions organizers will want to portray. A transition plan, on the other hand, is a different matter and one the unions will find harder to interfere with.
Elon Overload
I’m sorry to admit it, but my admiration for Elon Musk is diminishing.
While I agree with many of his ideas on DOGE, and praise his engineering accomplishments above all, I feel his financial power and influence are unhealthy – for Musk and the country alike. It’s hard to believe he’s a genius when so much trash is spewed from his mouth and on X.
Smart people generally know not to run their mouth.
I have a Tesla Model Y. It’s the best car I’ve ever driven, however, last year I came to realize the car wasn’t entirely mine. During a snowy day the autopilot kept disengaging. Twice I stopped the car to reset it. After an hour it went out entirely. On the screen the steering wheel flashed red. But what I most remember was Tesla’s reprimand.
My Tesla Y (named “E-lon”) threatened to suspend autopilot for up to a week or more. I was being treated like a child by the little Elon within the electronics that control every aspect of the car.
When I called Tesla support the next day, I learned the autopilot issue was caused by something unrelated to my driving - a dirty rear camera. Despite being a very safe car, I now realize that I could be driven off a cliff someday by a guy who wants to save the world but is okay with taking away a safety feature when it’s most needed. For Elon I’m a statistic. My life, a puff of air.
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Footnote: Donald J. Trump won!
His recent post on X is a repeat of what we heard on the campaign trail. Somebody should tell Donald J. Trump that he won the election and the debate over America’s future. Now is the time to execute on that vision, not to waste energy ranting about it.
I attempted to communicate this message diplomatically to the President-elect but, upon checking, it seems my comment was deleted. I guess I wasn’t diplomatic enough.
