US Presidential Election 2024 - Trump vs Harris - Vote Hard with a Vengence

[Humphrey Bogart]

You are being generous about how well Twitter is working.

New Data Suggests X Is Still Far From Profitability

Financial performance numbers highlight the dire state of the app, with no clear pathway to profitability in sight.

www.socialmediatoday.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/01/musk-twitter-investors-underwater/

Maybe he has a grand plan.

Him backing down with the dust up with Brasil is also a good indicator…

Any news about how 'well' or 'not well' X is supposedly doing should be taken with a grain of salt.

It's a Private Company and anything related to its finances is pure speculation. Musk taking the Company private was his biggest masterstroke and as a result of this move, it is no longer held at gunpoint by the quarterly report.

I think this article sums it up best:

Navneet Alang: Elon Musk’s X isn’t going away anytime soon. There’s a good reason for that

Despite attracting conspiracy theorists and bigots, the site formerly known as Twitter is still the news glue between the chattering classes and power, writes Navneet Alang. Maybe it should be

www.thestar.com

X is the only place where you can get real-time information, unfiltered and unpoliced. It's a gold mine in that respect and even though we hate it, we will keep coming back for more.

 

[brihard]

Any news about how 'well' or 'not well' X is supposedly doing should be taken with a grain of salt.

It's a Private Company and anything related to its finances is pure speculation. Musk taking the Company private was his biggest masterstroke and as a result of this move, it is no longer held at gunpoint by the quarterly report.

I think this article sums it up best:

Navneet Alang: Elon Musk’s X isn’t going away anytime soon. There’s a good reason for that

Despite attracting conspiracy theorists and bigots, the site formerly known as Twitter is still the news glue between the chattering classes and power, writes Navneet Alang. Maybe it should be

www.thestar.com

X is the only place where you can get real-time information, unfiltered and unpoliced. It's a gold mine in that respect and even though we hate it, we will keep coming back for more.

At a certain point, yet more wealth becomes meaningless.

If Musk bought Twitter as a financial investment, it was likely a pretty terrible one based on what he’s done to the place. But I don’t think he did.

Wealth begets power, in various ways. He essentially conquered one of the most preeminent platforms for discourse and influence, and the dissemination of narratives, and we see that that means. With significant influence over these things he can achieve things that can never be bought outright.

 

[mariomike]

So far it’s a pretty good debate between the veepee cohorts!!

Didn't catch it, but this quote caught my eye, this morning,

Tim: "Did Trump lose the 2020 election?"

JD: "I'm focused on the future."

Tim: "That's why Mike Pence isn't on this stage."

 

[dimsum]

I gather it was a civil debate, if not quite a gentlemen's debate. Next up, people looking for a way to swap the P and VP candidate slots on both tickets.

There were points when they agreed with each other and said so, so yeah.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

At a certain point, yet more wealth becomes meaningless.

If Musk bought Twitter as a financial investment, it was likely a pretty terrible one based on what he’s done to the place. But I don’t think he did.

Wealth begets power, in various ways. He essentially conquered one of the most preeminent platforms for discourse and influence, and the dissemination of narratives, and we see that that means. With significant influence over these things he can achieve things that can never be bought outright.

Bingo....

I see X as Musk's marketing appendage of all his other assets.

In other words, any costs associated with it are probably considered by him to be an "operating expense" and not an investment.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Musk likely bought X for some of the same reasons Soros is buying control of a couple of hundred radio stations. People who believe ideologically-inclined billionaires shouldn't be buying messaging platforms can sort out the differences to justify one or the other in their own minds. One of the differences is that Musk gets a lot of flak from politicians who don't like his messages, and Soros's application at the FCC (an exception to foreign ownership rules) was expedited and granted.

 

[KevinB]

Interesting thoughts on JD Vance and his constant state of change.

JD Vance 4.0 Is Here

The latest upgrade to JDos aims for a chaotic-good character alignment. Not sure how well MAGA is going to take to that.

open.substack.com

 

[GR66]

Interesting thoughts on JD Vance and his constant state of change.

JD Vance 4.0 Is Here

The latest upgrade to JDos aims for a chaotic-good character alignment. Not sure how well MAGA is going to take to that.

open.substack.com

The MAGA folks are going to vote for Trump regardless. Vance 4.0 wasn't directed at them. His targets were the non-MAGA Republicans (or undecided voters - if there's still such a thing in the US) that may have been tempted to sit this election out because they don't feel comfortable voting for what they see as an extreme ticket.

A reasonable, more traditional political performance by Vance may convince some of them that a 2nd Trump White House might be less radical/unpredictable than they fear and get them out to vote. In a race as close as this one it could actually make a difference in some States.

For that reason I'd call the debate a "win" for Vance. More "crazy town" would have been a draw but unlike Vance I don't see anything in Walz's performance that would change anyone's voting intention or intention to vote.

$0.02