timappelo retweeted
Trump eases sanctions on Russia and begins buying Russian diesel. Days later, Musk restricts Starlink service in Ukraine, disrupting its military operations and its ability to defend itself.
And now we’re learning directly from Putin that Russia has been in contact with Musk.
How on earth did we get to this point? How is it possible that Musk can disrupt an American ally’s military operations whenever he chooses, maintain a clear line to the Kremlin, and face zero accountability to the American people or the U.S. government?
I want to know what Musk has been discussing with Russian officials, whether those conversations had anything to do with the Starlink disruptions, and what the Trump Administration knew.
Yesterday, Putin revealed that Russian authorities are "in close touch" with Elon Musk about the technology Ukraine needs to defend itself.
Our new report @TheAtlantic investigates how @elonmusk went from supporting Ukraine to coordinating with Moscow.
theatlantic.com/national-sec…
timappelo retweeted
Ross Douthat is not only not a top-level television journalist, he was absolutely the wrong person to cover the Michigan Senate race for 60 Minutes because he is unquestionably politically biased.
timappelo retweeted
Replying to @paranoiacs
Here’s the Linda Ronstadt live in Atlanta version where she indicates Lowell George didn’t tell her he was married & (some time thereafter), his wife came knocking on her door! Her story telling and performance 💯! No notes!
youtu.be/jk7VkZu37lU?si=SGIh…
timappelo retweeted
imagine: an arch in honor of the worst, most loathed US president in our history, who'd managed always to avoid military service, casting a shadow on "fallen heroes." could anything be more bitterly ironic? in a novel or a movie this would qualify as heavy-handed, cartoonish.
Absolutely disgusting.
For more than 280 days a year, Trump’s illegal Arch is supposed to cast a shadow on more than 75,000 graves of fallen heroes. Even the eternal flame would be cloaked in darkness.
No one, and I mean no one, should be building a monument for themselves at Arlington, because there is no place in America less suited to a show of one man’s ego.
Those buried at Arlington didn’t give their lives so one small man could build a gaudy monument to himself at their gates. They gave their lives in the name of something so much bigger: a democracy, a nation, worth protecting even at the absolute greatest of personal costs.
It’s an abhorrent desecration of our most hallowed ground, and it must be stopped. That’s the end of it.
washingtonpost.com/investiga…
timappelo retweeted
France is showing the world what real accountability looks like. Paris prosecutors have launched a major criminal investigation into Elon Musk’s X, raided its Paris offices and summoned Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino for questioning.
The allegations are staggering, political manipulation through algorithms, child sexual abuse material, sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok without consent, Holocaust denial, unlawful data extraction and election interference.
While Musk parades around pretending to be a defender of free speech, his platform faces allegations involving the exploitation of children, the sexual abuse of women through AI-generated imagery, the manipulation of political discourse and threats to democratic elections.
Bravo, France! This is what standing up to billionaire arrogance looks like. Democracy is not a billionaire's personal playground, social media platforms are not above the law, and Elon Musk does not get to buy himself immunity from accountability. France is making it clear that the rule of law still matters, and the rest of the democratic world should be paying attention.
timappelo retweeted
Patrick Stewart's stories from DUNE are pretty great. There's a whole thing about how David Lynch was disappointed when he showed up because ... well, I won't spoil it. And then this, on his first conversation with Sting, is quite funny:
Patrick Stewart was amazing, a bygone sort of actor with working-class ethics and classical aesthetics. One of the most generally beloved men in Hollywood. Could play a nasty villain! Great actor, he will be missed. thebulwark.com/p/patrick-ste…
NYT: Trump erupted after he learned his former lawyer Alina Habba Mildon secured a $50 million-plus contract to work for a billionaire Venezuelan family. Trump told aides she should donate a portion of that money to his presidential library or another Trump-related entity.
timappelo retweeted
Economist (and Nobel laureate) Paul Krugman: “Control of Starlink must, one way or another, be taken away from Elon Musk. It’s a matter of national security: we cannot let private individuals make foreign and defense policy, and it would be totally irresponsible to leave a crucial military asset in the hands of a racist, authoritarian conspiracy theorist.”
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/i…
timappelo retweeted
As I’ve been saying since 2014, if you think defending Ukraine is expensive, Russia winning would be exponentially more so.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns a Russian victory in Ukraine could shatter global alliances, reshape the world economy, and force nations to question whether they can still rely on America. 🇺🇸
Asked what a Russian victory in Ukraine would mean for the global economy, Dimon responded:
“It could be a potential disaster.
This is the first war in Europe where a free, democratic nation was invaded by 200,000 or 300,000 Russian soldiers under the threat of nuclear blackmail.
We’ve never had nuclear blackmail before.
You’re also teaching the whole world that maybe having nuclear weapons is a pretty good thing, because people will be afraid of you, and you can abuse a neighbor if you feel like it.
Russia would be on the border of NATO. Obviously, NATO is rearming right now.
But the other thing is, it’s affecting all alliances, military alliances and global economic alliances.
And the nexus of Iran, North Korea, and China makes it very hard, in my view, for the Chinese-American relationship.
China says they’re neutral, but they’re helping. We are clearly not neutral.
If Russia wins, you might see a lot of people deciding: Will America stand up for Europe? Can you rely on them? And if you can’t rely on them, what are you going to do?
That includes economically.
Every nation is going to say, what makes me secure? Energy, food, all the things I need.
I’m worried that if Russia wins, you could see the world enter a little bit of chaos as people realign alliances and economic relationships.”
timappelo retweeted
How the hell did this Administration allow a 28-year-old DOGE operative with zero government experience to take over USAID, fire thousands of federal employees, and shut down lifesaving aid programs around the world?
Not to mention that HR had zero record of him working there, he never completed his background paperwork to legally start working for the agency, and he didn’t even have an ID badge, because, officially, he didn’t exist as an employee.
And yet, all on his own, this man was given the go ahead to lock staff out of their own systems and use your taxpayer dollars to gut lifesaving programs with zero transparency.
The Trump Administration owes the American people and Congress answers. Who signed off on this? Why on earth was he given this kind of power?
This wasn’t an accident. Someone handed this man unchecked power, someone knew he wasn’t legally authorized to use it, and someone decided that there was nothing wrong with that.
Well, everything is wrong with that. Congress needs answers about this, and that is NOT optional.
wired.com/story/a-28-year-ol…
timappelo retweeted
It’s interesting that Trump is especially interested in rigging the election in Alaska. At exactly the moment when he is trying to give Alaska’s natural resources to Russia.
nytimes.com/2026/10/27/us/al…
timappelo retweeted
The stink of Russia and corruption permeate this administration.
washingtonsun.com/whitehouse…




























