I don’t think that makes things any better.
this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2024
352 points (99.4% liked)
politics
19125 readers
2886 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Well, it's no longer an illegal lottery. So that's good.
It's just a rigged lottery. Slightly different thing. Also illegal, but for slightly different reasons. More unethical and fraudulent than before.
So it makes things better, and then makes things way worse.
Yeah, I've got absolutely no clue why they thought this would be a better defense
Somehow it worked, I don't understand how though
Corrupt judges and a feckless DOJ, unfortunately
So….if they’re not random, does that violate the definition of lottery in PA state?
It's whatever it needs to be at the time to keep Musk out of trouble.
It's a shovel! And it keeps on digging!
It's some sort of quantum lottery ... or not
"Hey, you said I'd get a million dollars and this is only sixty-two bucks!"
”You changed the amount by counting it.”
Grifting the rubes….grifting the rubes
It's interesting how this is only being reported now - the day before election day. When the early-voters already cast their ballots, and when the campaign no longer has to worry about keeping up the charade.
How many people signed onto this thing only because they thought they could be the lucky winner? It's not like they can take it back now. Musk got exactly what he wanted - tons of signatures of support from registered voters in swing states, that can now be trotted out as some kind of "proof" for his preferred candidate when he loses.
On the one hand, some people do not know about, or even would believe, this news. Like die-hard MAGAts and/or people who don't pay attention to current events.
But for the people who signed the petition for the hell of it, hear about this now, and who are capable of accepting bad news? Oh, they will be pissed. I wouldn't put it past such a person to respond, "Well, fuck you, too" by not voting tomorrow, or by specifically voting for Harris.
I can't expect the number of such people to be very high, but I do think that spite is a powerful force. Those who were on the fence before now have a personal reason to distrust Trump. And right in time to express it at the voting booth!
Lolz. Sounds like somebody found a way to not get arrested.
Except that they stated multiple times, publicly, that the winners are picked randomly. So if they are not running a lottery then they have defrauded the participants.
They only did a few, and then found a way out. If you "reveal" some other reasoning behind the curtain, that is what is considered admissible, legally in the US.
Example:
DA: "You are accused of running a lottery to get people to vote for a specific candidate, which is illegal. Is that what happened?"
Musk: "Nope, we lied about it being random, and the winners were specifically chosen, which is not a violation of the law"
Except it is a violation of the law, just a different law. They defrauded the public by collecting something of material value (registrant information) under false pretenses. It's textbook fraud
I'm not his lawyer, but it certainly sounds like he didn't consult with them before doing the thing, and this obviously shifty change in stance is because it's his lawyers who found a way out of trouble for their client. I'm sure they have you beat on this.
Lawyers making up insane defenses doesn't mean they have the law on their side. They hail mary all the time.
You assume their goal is to get him off entirely and not to simply shift the crime to a lesser offense
It's a legal team whose job it is to lessen the damage.
A "donation" or "gift" to a specific person isn't a crime.
Running a fucking giveaway or lottery is though.
The gift isn't the crime.
Telling people you're holding a sweepstakes, collecting their information based on that statement, and then not holding the sweepstakes and instead giving the supposed prize to someone of your choice is the crime
It's called fraud
The outcome is not though. https://www.olshanlaw.com/sweepstakes-law-basics#:~:text=The%20official%20rules%20must%20typically,of%20entries%20by%20a%20single
Many lawsuits from many different states because of the Monopoly fiasco multiple times over proves this. As long as you don't game the outcome while still claiming it is such, it's neither a giveaway, nor a sweepstakes. That's the loophole. All Musk has to do is proclaim he is a liar, which he will totally do when Trump loses. Hell, he could just call it staged and probably win in court.
Edit for proof: https://apnews.com/article/musk-million-sweepstakes-lottery-pennsylvania-krasner-4f683c48eb7dcc57f183e54ef16e7320
So he was buying votes specifically for Conservatives. That's what I'm hearing.
Like I said elsewhere fhis is exactly what they were claiming MR. Beast was doing, yet this guy admits it and it's fine?
Shocker
So the end game is to award nobodies, he thinks are going to be good potential spokespeople, to get out the message?
Hi I'm some random loser that was gifted a million dollars, listen to me AstroTurf!
Stellar
Imagine submitting your name to be in a lottery, that isn't a lottery and actually results in a background check on you to see if you're who they're looking for.
Insane.
Why not just....hire spokespeople for a PAC at $500k/yr based on a public contest/audition about making right wing content? Same outcome, not at all illegal.
Elon Musk is known to lie.
My wife knows a winner. They're def random lol.
Someone gonna go to jail over this.