Scroll down to read this post.

 

Readers!

 

The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:

 

4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


The Biden war against Musk is a war against America

How the modern Democratic Party has evolved madly to the left, according to Elon Musk
How the modern Democratic Party has evolved
madly to the left, according to Elon Musk

In 2022 Elon Musk essentially completed the long process of going from what he described as a moderate who had previously voted overwhelming for Democrats to a Republican voter strongly hostile to the present Democratic Party.

He announced this shift in a tweet on May 18, 2022, in which he said the following:

In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party.

But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.

Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold. [emphasis mine]

In the almost twenty months since Musk made that statement, his prediction of a “dirty tricks campaign” by the Democrats has become quite evident and true. Numerous federal agencies under the control of President Joe Biden began taking strong actions to stymie Musk’s companies, sometimes abusing the law in what appear to be legitimate ways, and sometimes abusing power in ways that are absurd. Below is a short list, many of which have been repeatedly reported here at Behind the Black:

  • The Department of Justice sued SpaceX for not hiring illegal immigrants, even though by law SpaceX as a rocket company is forbidden to do so and would be sanctioned by the State Department if it did.
  • The Federal Trade Commission began an investigation into Twitter’s security practices, instigated by claims by some of the many former employees Musk fired when he took over the company and cleaned house.
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) instituted its own investigation into Musk’s purchase of Twitter.
  • The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) canceled a $886 million grant to Starlink to provide rural internet service, claiming absurdly that SpaceX’s service failed to provide the service, when Starlink is presently the most successful company doing so globally.
  • The Justice Department began an investigation into Tesla.
  • The FAA began slow-walking the issuance of launch licenses for SpaceX’s Starship/Superheavy rocket, delaying each license by months and thus preventing development to proceed as planned.
  • The Fish and Wildlife Service also inserted itself into SpaceX’s efforts to launch this rocket, acting also to delay the issuance of launch licenses by demanding environmental investigations even though it itself admitted the launches had done no harm.
  • The Transportation Department opened an investigation into Musk’s Neuralink company.

This list, which I am certain is not complete, involves seven different federal agencies under the control of President Biden doing investigations or regulatory hold-ups on all of Musk’s most well-known companies. While any one or two of these government actions might be considered justifiable based on law, their number and scattershot nature (sometimes involving laughable charges) instead tells us that they are really a campaign by the Biden Administration against Musk, instigated by his decision after buying Twitter to end its censorship campaign against conservatives and allow criticism of Biden policies on that platform.

In reviewing all these investigations, the question any American must ask bluntly is this: What exactly has Musk done that is wrong or criminal? It appears nothing. Even the one or two accusations that might be legitimate seem incredibly petty. The investigations instead all look like the White House is throwing darts wildly at a wall, hoping one will eventually hit a target it can’t yet see.

What makes this dirty tricks campaign by the Democrats even more odious is that it is attacking what might be the most successful American businessman in decades, a person who has created numerous new companies, industries, and products that have not only improved the lives of millions of Americans but have also created tens of thousands of new jobs while revitalizing the economies of whole cities.

In other words, the Democrats are aiming their guns directly at American success, in an effort to shut it down. All that matters now in the Democratic Party is to maintain and cement its power, even if by doing so it causes direct harm to the nation and its people.

Such actions seemd incredibly stupid and foolish. By attacking Musk and his companies, the Democrats are guaranteed to antagonize large numbers of voters. And those new enemies vote.

Yet the Democrats seem entirely unconcerned about this fact. It seems they no longer care whether they antagonize voters. It is almost as if they are fully confident that they can guarantee election victories, even if every voter votes against them.

If so, this is a truly scary thought. It suggests that the 2024 election is going to be badly rigged, even more so that the 2020 and 2022 elections. It suggests that the Democrats now have established reliable vote tampering tactics nationwide that they can institute in every election, guaranteeing that they always get enough votes to win no matter how few people actually vote for them.

The legal persecution of Donald Trump by the Democrats, similar in tone to the dirty campaign against Musk, reinforces this conclusion. The Democrats no longer believe in democracy in any way, and are now working to make opposition to them illegal. With such an attitude it is only a small step to falsifying election results aggressively.

The modern Democratic Party
The modern Democratic Party

But this conclusion is not the worst aspect of the Democratic Party under the leadership of Joe Biden. The Biden campaign against Musk proves the Democrats no longer care about America itself. To them, it is more important to maintain their power and squash their enemies politically, even if by doing so they shut down whole industries and put millions out of work.

We can therefore expect the country to experience more bankruptcies and financial disasters, as the Democrats continue their relentless push for power. As Lord Acton stated in the 1887, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The Democrats have allowed their lust for power to corrupt them wholly. If given a choice between helping America or helping themselves, they now choose the latter every single time.

Woe to America in the coming years if it doesn’t do something, anything, to throw these bums out of office. Not only does every American need to emulate Elon Musk and vote against the Democratic Party, there needs to be a tidal wave of citizens acting to protect those vote counts.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

18 comments

  • James Street

    “shut down whole industries and put millions out of work.”

    That’s not a bug, it’s a feature.

    It reminds me of the meme with a picture of Trump saying “In reality they’re not after me, they’re after you. I’m just in the way.”
    https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/trump-tweet-meme-1.jpg

  • James Street: In 2020, after three years of going after Trump, the left finally decided to bypass him and go after the people, directly. Trump went along, with his biggest failure during the 2020 BLM riots. At that moment he had the moral and legal right to call out the National Guard and stop those riots dead.

    Instead, he did nothing while ordinary people had their lives destroyed.

    I will vote for him in an instant should he be the candidate, for a lot of good things he did as President. We still must recognize his failures.

  • John Fisher

    Ayn Rand smiles.

  • wayne

    I’ll drop this in here…

    Michael Malice weighs in on the impending Civil War
    Timcast IRL (12/20/23)
    https://youtu.be/JEKwLZEhZv4

  • Mitch S.

    I share your concerns about the integrity of the 2024 election.
    I believe there is something ordinary citizens can do.
    Have you seen the 2020 video of the Georgia poll workers chasing poll watchers out of the room then pulling boxes of ballots out from under the table? Were those ballots legitimate as Georgia officials claim? – maybe. But the people who were there are the people who know.
    Those poll workers are generally local people who have the time to do those jobs. They are on the front lines of the battle.
    If you have some time check your local election board or county election department. They are usually short of poll workers.
    Be a nice, mild mannered non partisan (or left leaning) person who wants to help out so lines aren’t too long while having something to do.
    Get inside the machine and keep your eyes open and ears alert.

  • Chris

    Bob and/or Elon
    The center hasn’t moved left. Only the left moved left

    By the by, anything associated with the Constitution is neither right nor left – it just is

  • Chris: Y’know, you are correct. This cartoon was one that Elon Musk posted in a tweet, so it reflects his younger more naive perspective about the left and the Democratic Party. I think I’ll fix it so that it leaves the center where it should be.

  • Chris: Changed my mind. I will leave it alone. The shift of the center to the left is not so much to suggest the center is becoming more leftist. Instead, it shows Musk’s own shift to the right. He might think his opinions on these matters haven’t changed, but I am very confident they have.

  • Milt

    As Robert observes: “Such actions [by the Democrats seem] incredibly stupid and foolish. By attacking Musk and his companies, the Democrats are guaranteed to antagonize large numbers of voters. And those new enemies vote.

    Yet the Democrats seem entirely unconcerned about this fact. It seems they no longer care whether they antagonize voters. It is almost as if they are fully confident that they can guarantee election victories, even if every voter votes against them.

    If so, this is a truly scary thought. It suggests that the 2024 election is going to be badly rigged, even more so that the 2020 and 2022 elections. It suggests that the Democrats now have established reliable vote tampering tactics nationwide that they can institute in every election, guaranteeing that they always get enough votes to win no matter how few people actually vote for them.”

    Yes, grasshopper, that is exactly right. The Jacobin left no longer even pretends to adhere to the established norms of democratic process in this country, as evidenced by the recent state high court decision in Colorado and the continued lawfare directed at Donald Trump. Sadly, most Republicans have yet to figure this out, and the ones who have grasped the Democrats’ game plan seem content to do *as little as possible*. (More “failure theater,” as Robert calls it.)

    There is still the better part of a year in which motivated people could take action to insure fair and secure elections in their states –“a tidal wave of citizens acting to protect those vote counts” — but, again, if most Republican officials aren’t interested in doing this, what is the alternative? Similarly, the media presstitutes will continue to decry any and all such attempts to bolster election integrity as “attacks on our democracy.” You know the drill.

    PS — Mitch S.’ suggestions are valuable, and they ought to be taken up by as many of us as possible in situations where they are allowed. Remember, however, that we are in a WAR for the future of this country, and the other side does not play nicely. In Georgia, in particular, there are continuing, state-sanctioned lawfare assaults on such observers designed to silence / bankrupt anyone who dares to suggest that the vote count in 2020 might have had issues.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/judge-expedites-148m-payment-from-rudy-giuliani-to-georgia-election-workers-citing-good-cause-he-can-t-pay/ar-AA1lOIIj

    If you live in a blue, Third World place like this and want to participate, be prepared to be punished for “noticing something” or simply telling the truth. We desperately need people like Elliot Ness and the “voting untouchables” in such systemically corrupt places, but who will step forward? Would it be asking too much for the R Party — and supporters of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — to help?

  • GWB

    (sometimes involving laughable charges)
    How dare you laugh at us for suing him for not hiring people it’s illegal for him to hire!

  • GWB

    Chris
    December 20, 2023 at 9:26 pm

    Bob and/or Elon
    The center hasn’t moved left. Only the left moved left

    That depends on whether you’re talking some outside standard of ‘center’ or “where the mas of the people is.” The Overton Window – what people accept/expect as “the center” – has most certainly moved left over the last 50+ years.

    By the by, anything associated with the Constitution is neither right nor left – it just is
    This is why I keep talking about doing away with the left/right description. It’s horribly inadequate to any real discussion. But the Constitution is founded on principles, which are (for the most part) pretty conservative as far as virtues and values, and radically liberal as far as governing.

  • elmer

    “shut down whole industries and put millions out of work”

    Democrats want to end independent contracting. This one act alone will kill tens of millions of jobs. But don’t worry because union jobs with great benefits will emerge to fill the void.

  • John

    Mitch S, a noble idea but it won’t work. The reason it’s election season and not election day is to make it so citizens can’t poll watch.

    Nobody will be watching the early voting ballot boxes the entire time, nobody will be watching the drop off ballot boxes the entire time, nobody will be watching mail in ballots during transit, and nobody will be watching the handling of the mail in ballots. Some of the counting might be watched on election night, but nobody will be watching the week or weeks after election day while ‘every vote is counted’.

    Election day should be sacred and a holiday. Citizens should be involved with the validation and verification of simple mechanical counters, citizens should poll watch on election day. And this is very simple: One person, one vote – no ballot harvesting and some sort of identity verification, for God’s sake.

    Yes, America is under attack, and they’ve killed our elections to save their democracy.

  • Edward

    Mitch S. wrote: “Have you seen the 2020 video of the Georgia poll workers chasing poll watchers out of the room then pulling boxes of ballots out from under the table? Were those ballots legitimate as Georgia officials claim? – maybe. But the people who were there are the people who know.

    Yes, I have. There is only one reason to count ballots out of the scrutiny of the watchers. There is only one reason to hide ballots from the watchers. There can be no possible way to legitimately certify the Georgia election. Those poll workers were engaged in election fraud. This happened at at least three other counting centers. but without the security video. Yet despite the poll watchers reporting this election fraud, Georgia’s fraudulent election was certified at every level anyway.

    Milt recommends: “There is still the better part of a year in which motivated people could take action to insure fair and secure elections in their states –’a tidal wave of citizens acting to protect those vote counts’ — but, again, if most Republican officials aren’t interested in doing this, …

    Why should we waste our time volunteering to be poll watchers when it has no effect whatsoever, except to provide a means for the frauds to claim legitimacy?

    John is correct. Chain of custody was completely lost during the 2020 election and it has yet to come back. How can an election be certified without chain of custody? Ballot harvesting is yet another way to rig elections. It used to be recognized as fraud, but these days it is considered an important part of election rigging — er — the election process.

    America is not only a full blown tyranny, the tyranny relies upon certified bogus elections to make it seem legitimate.

  • John

    They tyranny has told Americans why we can’t have election integrity or election day anymore. They said certain groups of people are to unintelligent to obtain identification, which tells us what they think of those groups and by extension all of us. They’ve told us it’s too dangerous to assemble and vote on a single day, yet it is not too dangerous for their brown shirt mobs to vandalize and riot. They’ve told us that illegal aliens need to drive and that voter registration needs to be automatically be linked to the DMV, which tells us one reason why there is no border and millions of foreigners are here. And they’ve told us that it’s simple too inconvenient to vote on election day, isn’t it much easier with election season. That tells us a lot about us, and a people that lazy and willfully ignorant are getting the government they deserve.

  • Edward

    John,
    You wrote: “That tells us a lot about us, and a people that lazy and willfully ignorant are getting the government they deserve.

    The problem is that the rest of us are also getting the government that those guys deserve, not the government that we deserve.

  • Questioner

    “Propaganda” by Edward Bernays

    About the real hidden government.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=revWgCdPyQQ

    Edward Bernays was an American theorist, considered a pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda, and referred to in his obituary as “the father of public relations”.

    His best-known campaigns include a 1929 effort to promote female smoking by branding cigarettes as feminist “Torches of Freedom”, and his work for the United Fruit Company in the 1950s, connected with the CIA-orchestrated overthrow of the democratically elected Guatemalan government in 1954. He worked for dozens of major American corporations including Procter & Gamble and General Electric, and for government agencies, politicians, and nonprofit organizations.

    Of his many books, Crystallizing Public Opinion (1923) and Propaganda (1928) gained special attention as early efforts to define and theorize the field of public relations. Citing works of writers such as Gustave Le Bon, Wilfred Trotter, Walter Lippmann, and Sigmund Freud (his own double uncle), he described the masses as irrational and subject to herd instinct—and he outlined how skilled practitioners could use crowd psychology and psychoanalysis to control them in desired ways.

    Bernays later synthesized many of these ideas in his postwar book, Public Relations (1945), which outlines the science of managing information released to the public by an organization, in a manner most advantageous to the organization. He does this by first providing an overview of the history of public relations, and then provides insight into its application.

    Bernays was named one of the 100 most influential Americans of the twentieth century by Life.[6] He was the subject of a full-length biography by Larry Tye entitled The Father of Spin (1999) and later an award-winning 2002 documentary for the BBC by Adam Curtis entitled The Century of the Self.

  • Cloudy

    Robert,

    Of course Musk is going to say his opinions haven’t changed and the party left him. The current political environment dictates that you can’t admit you changed your mind about anything significant. That would mean thought. That would mean having listen to what other people have to say. It means you don’t consider your political beliefs a part of your identity, but something that can be changed if evidence dictates. Changing one’s mind is considered a weakness in political debate now. To do so is to admit defeat or even humiliation. If you do change your mind, you must hide the change. If you turn aways from the left on even one issue, you better be sure the right will welcome you before doing so. The same applies if you leave the right and turn left. Its analogous to movig from a Church to a Synagogue or Mosque., or vice versa. You might as well try to change spouseses. If you feel you have to do it, you have to complete the job and hide the transition period. Full Stop. He would have been lynched or laughed out of the public square.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *