DOGE Gives Elon A Black Eye
Although President Trump has suggested that Elon Musk is not leaving the White House and his Department of Government Efficiency role, the contract has ended. Certainly, with Musk standing next to the President in a baseball cap and sporting a black eye (his kid’s fault), it did appear that the Tesla supremo was on his way out. While the body language and general vibe gave the impression of a retreat, it should be remembered that merely shining a light on government excess, fiscal impropriety, and especially foreign aid, will have political repercussions not only in the US, but across the world. The gravy train of government / the public sector is horrific, and one of the reasons that we have progressively higher tax policies in recent decades. Indeed, taxes are high because spending is high, and spending is high because there are the increasing tax dollars to spend. In the Western world this doom loop has to be ended, and if Musk and his black eye have done anything they have and will almost certainly cause a reset. Of course, there are many vested interests that will fight against dropping such classics such as money for an Iraqi Sesame Street, or sending cash to a country no one has heard of: Lesotho.
As far Musk himself, the media have been keen to portray him as having been significantly bruised by his foray into politics. Depending on who you read the attempt at cost saving has been an eye opener or fallen short. But the Tesla share price is now well above the $1tln market cap level, and it is perhaps a truism that many of those who are boycotting his EVs were probably not going to be forking out $100,000 plus for them in the first place. It is also the case that even though Tesla is a car company, it is primarily a technology / data company, and it and Musk have many more strings to their bow.
The Autopen Is Mightier Than The Sword
While the press conference associated with Musk’s departure was primarily focused on the departure of the DOGE instigator, perhaps surprisingly it turned into a post mortem on the final phase of the Biden administration, his health, and how government functioned at the time. Indeed, the question was that with Sleepy Joe asleep at the wheel, or perhaps not even aware there was a wheel, who was signing off on all the legislation. While Trump has infamously signed multiple Executive Orders, fully conscious in front of the camera, Biden took a rather more back seat driver approach, delegating much of the wrist action required to autopen. The accusation from Trump is that not only was the former President not signing off on actions, he was not even aware that they were being signed off. From this obviously follows the idea that others in government were effectively in charge, and that Biden was not fit for government, months or even years before his presidency came to an end. What will be interesting now is whether unlike the 2020 election result Trump lets bygones be bygones, or calls for a probe into what went on? Given that he is wallowing in the mire of tariffs, the Middle East, and Russia / Ukraine, there may some from the previous administration who hope this matter will be allowed to drop.
Lord Hermer And The Nazi Jibe
It is a modern trope that anyone in an argument who mentions Hitler or the Nazis is going to lose, while at the same time most of the roughest arguments end up with a mention of the Third Reich, somewhere along the line. This is even when we may be talking subjects as wide ranging as landing on Mars, Sydney Sweeney’s bathwater, the next iPhone or the price of avocadoes. It just seems to happen. Indeed, the politically correct way to say Hitler / Nazis is “far-right.” This apparently now means anyone whose politics is to the right of Karl Marx can be far right, although such people tend to insist that they are simply right (as in correct) rather than extreme. It is also the case that far right tends to only refer to racist / cultural matters, rather than economics. Enter the Attorney General Lord Hermer. He has already queered his pitch with the leaving ECHR / Nazi mention. However, he has been dug deeper with the revelation that he “personally” signed off the imprisonment of “political” prisoner Lucy Connolly. One mis-step could be argued to be unfortunate, but taken together it is understandable that some have called for Lord Hermer’s removal. This may be excessive in that it is not as if we do not know the inherent bias of the judiciary, whether by individual background, the psychology of having other peoples lives at your discretion, or simply the way that they are appointed. Indeed, we know what they are like to such an extent, the apology with reference to the Nazi comment was superfluous to requirements in a land where Rule of Law is fast becoming Tyranny of Law.
Baby Boom Vs Migrants
One of the skills of Nigel Farage and Reform, has been the opportunism, and judging by the polls, this has been a success. Whether it is the dog whistle of immigration, the magic money tree of saving millions in public spending, or best of all, criticising the main two parties from the safe vantage point of opposition, so far Farage and friends have not put a foot wrong. However, the baby boom idea may not hit the mark in the way that the above ideas have. This is partly because the problem is a long term one, and partly because short term the barriers to birth are greater than ever. Of course, losing a fair chunk of the respective generations in WWI and WWII, did not help, the killer blow was the arrival of The Pill and reproductive choice. Since then, changes in the workplace mean that it takes far longer for those wishing to start a family to get to the financial level they need to raise one. Put simply, for many it is literally too much like hard work, and with no obvious upside apart the opportunity to be Bank of Mum and Dad for one’s offspring. Hence, successive governments since WWII have been choosing to supplement the fertility rate with ready made people, a process which is ongoing. Indeed, the normal daily birth rate in the UK is 1,600, which compares to yesterday’s 1,200 new arrivals across the Channel. This means 1,200 fewer people needing to go through the pain of childbirth, the school run, school fees, child minders, and all those sleepless nights. Give Birth For Britain, may sound like a good slogan, but unless someone writes very large cheques it is not going to happen, especially among the middle classes.
Ricky Gervais
Although it may be said quite genuinely that a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is not the accolade that it used to be, it is difficult not to raise an eyebrow or two watching the under dressed Ricky Gervais grinning on the sidewalk where his name now lies. Given that for many years he was the host of the Golden Globes and delighted in offering jibes to all the great and the good of Hollywood, there is a sense of irony (apparently still a concept that the Americans do not understand), is our Ricky now rubbing shoulders with some of the greatest celluloid heroes in history. After all the British comedian has in his time as host of the Golden Globes pointed the finger in terms of the awards ceremony itself being open to manipulation, big tech exploiting children, actors being alleged paedophiles, homosexuals, Scientologists, or worst of all, making bad movies.
While he clearly boosted the audience of the Golden Globes, and promoted himself and his career to perfection, there still seems to be that missing ingredient of a great film that he acted in, unless it was the performances as host. Of course, The Office was a mighty hit in The US, something that does not normally happen when UK productions translate across the pond. Some might even argue that After Life itself deserved an Oscar or two. But there is just the feeling that Gervais’s award is Hollywood bringing him into its tent, rather in the way that in this country a Knighthood or a Peerage, can calm potentially problematic individuals. Indeed, looking at some of the grimaces in the audience of the Golden Globes over the years, giving Gervais a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is rather like giving Dracula an award for promoting blood donation. Proof of this was his speech in which he aligned himself with the most famous names associated with alleged sexual conduct such as Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson. It would appear that the taboo busting is set to continue, for a man who is immune to being cancelled.
