Elon Musk and the Libertarians Are Lying to You www.commondreams.org/opinion/libe...

In a democracy, the ultra-wealthy maintain their wealth and control by using psychological warfare to convince the non-wealthy their true enemies are other groups of non- wealthy.

Why has Musk, a guy who used to be so progressive leaning, turned so decidedly the opposite? My guess is this is all part of his long-term plan to colonize Mars, which necessarily involves expenditure of vast resources. And for that, he has calculated the MAGA authoritarian path is his best bet.

So yes, Section 230 has to fall. Until then, the way to a more civilized discourse is to reject the extremes. Please, please, view with extreme skepticism anything you see on social media that causes you to see your neighbor as less than human or not worthy of civil rights. Be better.

Musk is the richest man on the planet and there is a reason he bought X -- its a newspaper with none of the traditional controls for libel. He gets to spread false information to his heart's content with zero consequences. This is how the wealthy rule, keeping us fighting amongst ourselves.

Section 230 was meant to protect internet companies when the internet was new. Social media companies today are giants with annual profits in the billions and don't need protection. They need a disincentive to make money off false narratives that are pushed by state actors who want to weaken us.

Unlike a newspaper or TV News channel, which must worry about libel lawsuits for false news, a social media platform, where most of us now get our news, can make vast amounts of money on clearly false news and avoid accountability entirely. It's a license to print money. That is just plain dumb.

The only way to combat this in the short term is for all of us to respect the civil rights of our neighbors, no matter how we view their political leanings. Long term, we need to end the protections under Section 230 of the CDA, which shields social media from liability for content posted users.

But murder is simply not acceptable in a civilized society. I fear we are losing our way as a nation, and I am convinced that state actors with ill-intent towards the United States like Russia are pouring vast resources into social media to tear apart the fabric of our society.

To be perfectly clear, I believe that for-profit healthcare in an advanced, civilized society is fundamentally immoral. The United States needs to join the rest of the civilized world and implement universal healthcare.

No question, the things United is alleged to have done under this CEO's watch like implementing an AI claim denial system and keeping it running with a known high error rate is beyond the pale, and deserving of righteous indignation and a multi-billion dollar verdict and even jail time if proven.

Something feels palpably different. Even just a year or two ago, I don't think we would have seen so many people reacting with glee at the murder of a CEO of a major health insurance company. Sadly, I cannot say I am shocked at this moment to see that. And that is depressingly surprising to me.