it's weird how bitterly some self-styled centrists have turned against Elizabeth Warren. they don't use the snake emoji, but there's this self-flagellation abt having supported her, and so (allegedly) alienated the tech boyz to whom they are now cozying. i guess it's her fault too they went Nazi. 1/

they don't so much blame Bernie, though of course they say his ideas are far too "left" and helped damn the Democrats electorally. but Bernie is popular, even among the supporters of the people to whom they are ingratiating themselves. and he didn't feminize anything. so it's much quieter. /fin

Media orgs think by being "neutral" on obvious matters like did Elon Musk give a Nazi salute they avoid alienating conservatives. They don't get Trump's basic appeal, that he just says it, he's not parsing. They alienate the modern right more by pandering to it than by just saying wtf happened. 1/

Of course there would be blowback if they did just say wtf occurred. But blowback is from movement elites and media. Grassroots might be seduced by their influencers' cynical outrage, but there's at least a shot they take seriously what occurred rather than recoil from the cringe dissimulation. /fin

but the US has already “broken down” in all the meaningful respects here. Musk’s concerns are no more independent of the Federal government that ByteDance. 1/

The President owes his victory to Musk’s financial and media support. 2/

Musk’s wealth is entirely dependent (by his own admission!) on Trump’s protecting the EV market from (other) Chinese competition (Tesla is largely a Chinese firm itself, its biggest factory is there, the firm is entirely dependent on Chinese parts.) 3/

The incoming President has assiduously, intentionally demolished the last paper-thin remnants of the postwar rules-based order. 4/

He has purposely retroactively normalized Putin’s invasion of Ukraine by threatening four — four! — sovereign states, three of which in violation of the core, inviolable principle of that order, no annexation of territory by force or threat of force. 5/

If I had to choose which firewall to build, one against speech supporting the politics of Elon Musk (and therefore Donald Trump), another against speech supporting the CCP, it’s not remotely clear that Musk would be a better influence. 6/

Pretty much all of the distinctions you are trying to draw strike me, quite simply, as outdated. 7/

Perhaps in a different America, Americanness alone would meaningfully distinguish communication companies at least somewhat aligned with our — your and my — values and interests from foreign concerns with very different values and interests. 8/

But at this moment, powerful domestic and foreign concerns alike are ambitiously promoting values and interests different from our own. Mere foreignness, even Chineseness, signifies nothing. 9/

I’m not saying we don’t want to regulate these firms. On the contrary! Again, I’m saying we craft to find regulation that ensnares X and ByteDance on equitable terms. Nationality is not what’s worth caring about in our actually existing world. /fin