Did the Biden administration put American lives in danger with its political attacks on Elon Musk? Communications are an important part of any campaign, elections or wars. Disrupting communications of one’s opposition is a strategy that has long been employed in attempts to weaken and distract that opposition. Suppression of free speech is one method of attacking those who do not agree with you.
We saw this during the COVID wars. Renowned scientists who stood in opposition to the government’s plans to take away American’s freedoms with lockdowns and mandates were smeared and denigrated. Anyone who came up with solutions to COVID (think ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine) that were outside the approved narrative were labeled as kooks and worse. They were banned from social media at the behest of the government. Many lost their jobs as well.
Elon Musk’s support of free speech with his purchase of Twitter now X, has put him at odds with the Biden administration and other powerful Democrats. Such opposition by this administration may be costing American lives at this point in time.
In 2020 during the Trump administration, the Federal Communications Commission awarded Musk’s Starlink an $885.5 million award to help get broadband access to 642,000 rural homes and businesses in 35 states. A subsidiary of SpaceX, Starlink is a satellite internet system for delivering high-speed internet to anyone on the planet.
Some 19,552 households and businesses in North Carolina would have had access to Starlink if they desired. The plan would work out to less than $1,000 per linkup, same-day delivery of the necessary hardware, and only a few hours to get up and running. Of the 21 worst-hit counties in North Carolina, the FCC-funded Starlink program would have served all or part of 17 of them, according to multiple officials.
In 2022 Joe Biden suggested that the federal government find ways to go after Musk.
Biden: “I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at. Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate, I’m not suggesting that. I’m suggesting that it wor- — worth being looked at. And — and — but that’s all I’ll say.”
Q How?
Biden: “There’s a lot of ways.”
A plethora of investigations and harassment from the administration came about. Let’s be reminded that Musk had been a darling of the Left with his forays into producing electric vehicles. The DOJ launched multiple investigations into Musk and his companies. The FTC joined in as did the National Labor Relations Board. And there were other investigations as well.
Suddenly the FCC cancelled the Starlink grant. The Democrat FCC Chairperson claimed that Starlink couldn’t provide the service it had promised. This was a claim that didn’t pass the smell test for many industry observers. Starlink and its military counterpart were in wide use by other government programs. Many observers saw this as retaliation for Musk’s support of free speech.
This left rural Americans with no options. And Harris has been no help to these people either.
Mollie Hemingway notes:
Joe Biden named Kamala Harris the Broadband Czar in April 2021 and placed her in charge of a $100 billion slush fund for broadband projects. At the Commerce Department, a $42.5 billion subset of that program was launched in 2021, with guidance written to limit the ability of Starlink to compete for contracts. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program was supposed to fund programs in all 50 states. It has been a complete failure.
More than three years later, not a single rural American family or business has been connected to broadband through the program. At best the groundwork will begin four years after the launch and won’t finish until 2030 at the earliest. For that much taxpayer money, Starlink could be provided to 140 million people, and without the wait, observers noted.
This slow rolling disaster in WNC and Tennessee is being exacerbated by the previous and current political actions of the current administration. Why? These are rural areas which tend to be conservative and, in particular, tend to be MAGA areas. The City of Asheville is a notable exception. Are these MAGA people being punished for their political beliefs?