Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at background briefing.

I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with an analysis of the strategy behind Musk's government wrecking crew,

where already cuts to the IRS will mean revenues will be down 10%,

while massive tax cuts are given to the super wealthy, leading to even greater deficits.

We'll discuss what former Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley describes

as the governing tactic underway of Wreck-then-Rob,

as Musk cripples the Social Security Administration

to the point the American people will be fed up with its dysfunction so that

Trump can claim it needs to be privatized.

Joining us to explain the Silicon Valley Brologarck's model of government capture is Fred Turner,

the Harry and Norman Chandler Professor of Communication at Stanford University.

He's the author or co-author of five books

including Seeing Silicon Valley, Life After Afraying America, The Democratic Surround, Multimedia and

American Liberalism from World War II to the psychedelic 60s, from counterculture to cyberculture,

Stuart Brand, the whole Earth network and the rise of

digital utopianism, and echoes of combat, the Vietnam War in American memory.

Then, with the New York Times revealing that Secretary of Defense, Hegzeth was about to share

America's top secrets about China with Elon Musk before Trump supposedly put a

stop to it. We'll look into perennial efforts by US presidents since Clinton to pivot to China

as the rising global power and competitor or even enemy, depending upon how the relationship is

handled.

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