Thoughts for the Day, March 12, 2025: White House Tesla Sale

The White House Tesla Promotion

From Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American. Today Trump used the office of the presidency to bolster Musk’s business. Teslas were lined up at the White House, where Trump read from a Tesla sales pitch—photographer Andrew Harnik caught an image of his notes.

When you donate $200 to the presidential campaign it comes with special favors. Selling your cars on the White House lawn is a new form of access.

You cannot make this stuff up.

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A Big Thank You to Senator Mark Kelly

A Quote of the Day and an Orchid of the Day to Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona for explaining what it means to be a true patriot and an American.

Elon Musk lashed out at Arizona senator Mark Kelly on social media yesterday, after Kelly posted pictures of his recent trip to Ukraine and discussed the history of Russia’s invasion, concluding “it’s important we stand with Ukraine.”

Musk responded: “You are a traitor.”

Kelly, who was in the Navy for 25 years and flew 39 combat missions in the Gulf War before becoming an astronaut, responded: “Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.”

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And Then There was No One Else to Help

First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me

Pastor Martin Niemöller’s lament over what happened in Nazi Germany:

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Per Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse, hundreds of demonstrators made their way through Lower Manhattan on Tuesday to protest the detention of a prominent pro-Palestinian activist at Columbia University, the White House defended the arrest and rebuked the school for what it called lack of cooperation.

The activist, Mahmoud Khalil, was a leader of student protests on Columbia’s campus and often served as a negotiator and spokesman. Mr. Khalil, 30, who is Palestinian and was born and raised in Syria, is a legal permanent resident of the United States and is married to an American citizen.

He was arrested on Saturday and transferred to detention in Louisiana.

It is rare for the government to move to deport a permanent resident, especially when the resident has not been convicted or accused of a crime. On Monday, a federal judge in Manhattan ordered the government not to deport Mr. Khalil while his case is pending.

THE ABOVE ACTION AND COMMENT BY PRESIDENT TRUMP SHOULD SCARE THE SHIT OUT OF ANYONE IN THIS COUNTRY WHO CARES ABOUT OUR DEMOCRACY. THE FACT THAT HE SAYS THERE WILL BE MORE ARRESTS IS THE ACTION OF A DICTATOR AND KING.

See above on Pastor Martin Niemöller’s lament. Speak up and speak out.

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Pending Government Shut Down

Per the NY Time, the House passed legislation on Tuesday to fund the government through Sept. 30 and avert a shutdown at the end of the week, in a party-line vote that reflected how Republican fiscal hawks have swallowed their concerns about spending in deference to President Trump.

The move sent the measure to the Senate, where Democrats are facing a political dilemma over whether to support it and hand Mr. Trump wide leeway to continue his assault on federal programs and workers, or oppose it and risk being blamed for a government shutdown.

The bill would keep last year’s spending levels largely flat, but would increase spending for the military by $6 billion. It would slightly decrease spending overall, because it would not include funds for any projects in lawmakers’ districts or states. And it would force a cut of more than $1 billion from the District of Columbia’s budget for the rest of the fiscal year.

Nothing summarizes the absurdity of continued resolutions better than this quote by Republican representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky who was the lone Republican voting against the measure on Tuesday.

“Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years, I’ll be a NO on the CR this week. It amazes me that my colleagues and many of the public fall for the lie that we will fight another day.” Republican congressman Thomas Massie This is my Bonus Quote of the Day.

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Empathy

Definition: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another

I asked ChatGPT two questions about empathy and leadership.

1. Is empathy and important characteristic of a leader. If so, how important is it compared to other characteristics?

2. Would you say empathy is something that comes naturally to most leaders, or is it a skill that needs to be developed?

Here is the response from ChatGPT

Yes, empathy is a crucial characteristic of a leader. It allows leaders to understand their team’s perspectives, build trust, and foster a positive work environment.

While empathy is essential, leadership requires a balance of various traits, including:

• · Vision

• · Decision-Making

• · Communication

• · Integrity

• · Adaptability.

Empathy stands out because it enhances many of these traits. For example, a leader with empathy communicates more effectively, makes decisions that consider people’s needs, and earns trust more easily.

However, empathy alone is not enough. A leader must balance it with decisiveness, resilience, and strategic thinking. Too much empathy without boundaries can lead to difficulty making tough decisions.

Empathy can come naturally to some leaders, but for most, it is a skill that needs to be developed and refined over time. Some people naturally have a strong sense of empathy, making it easier for them to connect with and understand others.

Many leaders, especially in high-pressure environments, may focus more on results than on people. Some may struggle with emotional intelligence or have never been trained to lead with empathy.

Conclusion: While some leaders may have a natural inclination toward empathy, most need to develop and nurture it. The best leaders actively work on strengthening their empathy alongside other leadership skills.

Here is what Elon Musk said about empathy during a interview with Joe Rogan

Musk: There's a guy who posts on X who's great, Gad Saad?

Rogan: Yeah, he's a friend of mine. He's been on the podcast a bunch of times.

Musk: Yeah, he's awesome, and he talks about, you know, basically suicidal empathy. Like, there's so much empathy that you actually suicide yourself. So, we've got civilizational suicidal empathy going on. And it's like, I believe in empathy, like, I think you should care about other people, but you need to have empathy for, for civilization as a whole, and not commit to a civilizational suicide.

Rogan: Also don't let someone use your empathy against you so they can completely control your state and then do an insanely bad job of managing it and never get removed.

Musk: The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy. The empathy exploit. They're exploiting a bug in Western civilization, which is the empathy response. So, I think, you know, empathy is good, but you need to think it through and not just be programmed like a robot.

Rogan: Right, understand when empathy has been actually used as a tool.

Musk: Yes, like, it's weaponized empathy is the issue.

Is it any surprise that the Trump/Musk presidency is taking a chain saw to cut the government when a scalpel or laser would be better.

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Quote of the Day: “Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.” Senator Mark Kelly

Bonus Quote of the Day: “Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years, I’ll be a NO on the CR this week. It amazes me that my colleagues and many of the public fall for the lie that we will fight another day.” Republican congressman Thomas Massie

Orchid of the Day: Senator Mark Kelly- See above story

Onion of the Day: President Trump for using the White House to sell Teslas

Lyrics of the Day: Voices of the angels Ring around the moonlight Asking me said she so free How can you catch the sparrow? Lacy lilting lyric Losing love lamenting Change my life, make it right. Be my lady

If you think you know the answer, send me your answer in the comments section of the blog.

Answer to Lyrics of the Day for March 11, 2025: Two Tickets to Paradise by Eddie Money

Question of the Day: Do you support Musk’s views on empathy.

Video of the Day: Let’s do this again.

(713) ​I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For | Song Around The World | ICRC + Playing For Change - YouTube

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