I'm Eligible to Win $1 Million a Day

I agree to support the First (and Second) Amendments of the U.S. Constitution

Photo by Andrew Dawes on Unsplash

The sky is overcast, the wind rattles the windows, and the garbage truck just clanged by, taking last week’s waste with it. I’m sitting here, waiting for a call, the kind that could change everything—or nothing at all.

On October 19, Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX, and owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), pledged to give away one million dollars a day to registered voters for signing his political action committee’s petition backing the Constitution.

To be eligible, you must live in a swing state, and for context, I live in one of those swing states.

The petition reads: “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”

As of this writing, Musk has already handed out five checks.

Legally, what Musk says he's doing is just paying you to sign the petition, to sign up for this — to get e-mails from this PAC. That probably as far as it goes is legal. But if it becomes a way to pay you for voting for Donald Trump or pay you to incentivize you to vote for Donald Trump, that becomes illegal.—David Fahrenthold of The New York Times

I needed to be a registered voter in a swing state to sign the petition. It indicated nothing else.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensures that everyone in America can speak their mind, share ideas, and say what they think—whether others agree or not. It also protects the right to write freely online without government interference just because someone doesn't like what’s being said.

I support this. Free speech is foundational.

When the First Amendment was created, it applied to newspapers and public gatherings.

Now, it also covers social media and the internet—places that didn’t exist back then, and where messages travel at lightning speed.

The media

This week the LA Times and WaPo took a step back in endorsing either candidate. Why?

Is their choice a feeble attempt at neutrality?

Too late.

Legacy media is no longer a reliable source for unbiased information and factual reporting; it has become a platform for opinion-driven news. Many now write op-ed pieces under the guise of reporting facts. A journalist's role should be to present facts without weaving in their personal opinions.

Remember Walter Cronkite? He told hard truths and refused to toe the expected line.

Comments from readers oftentimes articulate better than I can do:

“…Patti, As much as the thought of Harris winning terrifies me, I am more concerned with the current state of the media, or lack thereof, of a fair and unbiased one. I don't know how our Republic can survive without a truthful media, especially long term. I can't comprehend the media's current situation/intent. Have they no pride or honor? Studies show the majority of Americans do not trust the legacy media. If Trump wins, the media's situation will be this: people do not trust nor believe them and they would be a failure at their mission to defeat Trump (twice). Why not clean house of senior management and editors and bring in people who want to be journalists and not political operatives? What is their end game?”

“…it's not the newspaper, it's the editorial board, an independent body tasked with this very process, based in evidence to support of the public good. In both major cases, those who publish/own the papers have undermined this work to appeal to their own political whims.”

“A small group of corporations owns 90% of U.S. media, giving a very limited number of people control over much of the information we consume. In 2019, the wealth of just 26 individuals surpassed that of the poorest 3.5 billion people. By 2021, around 10 individuals held more wealth than 3.1 billion people combined. Mass media often acts as a public relations tool for this elite minority, promoting division and sensationalism to boost engagement and distract the public.”—Mike Apgar, Founder/CEO: Speakeasy

Conclusion: This consolidation of media ownership and wealth raises questions about who shapes our narratives and whose interests are truly served.

Do you trust the media to deliver fair and non-biased reporting?

I do not.