Cockburn

Is Elon Musk losing his appeal? Cockburn concedes that being the richest man in the world must be pretty sweet. But, what if you were phenomenally unpopular at the same time? That’s Elon Musk. The Dave Chappelle show last night in San Francisco proved that. The comedian invited Twitter boss Musk to join him on stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for the richest man in the world,” Chappelle said near the end of his set at the Chase Center. And the crowd did — most of them opting to loudly boo the billionaire. The booing only intensified as Musk wandered around onstage, pacing and waving, looking visibly embarrassed. The video, which was initially posted to Twitter, has since mysteriously been deleted. Ahem.  https://twitter.

In the lobby of the Holiday Inn Chantilly, there’s a leak in the ceiling. Next to the pail collecting the drips sits Stormy Daniels, her client and a haunted doll called Susan. This is a normal — and paranormal — afternoon for the world’s most notorious porn star. In the time since her hush-money imbroglio with President Trump, Daniels has dedicated her time to directing porn, making some for her OnlyFans, reality TV show appearances… and the supernatural. Her latest venture sees her reading tarot for clients who book with her online. This is what has brought Cockburn to the fringes of the Exxxotica DC convention. “I usually do these up in the room,” Stormy explains, festively dressed in a red-and-black checked shirt and a snowflake necklace.

Northern Virginia is a wasteland. Twenty or so miles due west of Washington, DC you'll find a series of nondescript neighborhoods, with no distinct identity, no true town centers, a barely broken chain of outlet stores and closed restaurants. The stretch of highway leading from Arlington to Dulles Airport is the urban equivalent of an ellipsis: a “loading” screen of locales. There could be no more suitable place to host the most conventional of conventions. And conventions can be frightfully dull. Cockburn would know: his lengthy tenure with The Spectator has seen him grace the stalls of CPAC, AIPAC, the RNC. He is far too familiar with the jangle of elevator musak, the freebie fridge magnets, the plastic press passes. When it comes to corporate America, he has seen everything.