David Panian
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davidpanian.bsky.social
David Panian
@davidpanian.bsky.social
340 followers 450 following 330 posts
Reporter at The Tecumseh Herald in Tecumseh, Michigan, covering local government, education, business and public safety. Formerly worked at The Daily Telegram in Adrian, Michigan. University of Michigan alumnus; Detroit sports and Star Wars fan; Chemic.
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davidpanian.bsky.social
I’m used to Ohio having cheaper gas than Michigan, but those prices in Columbus were surprising. It’s about $3/gallon near Tecumseh.
December 2, 2025 at 4:37 AM
davidpanian.bsky.social
Him, too, it sounds like.
December 2, 2025 at 2:48 AM
davidpanian.bsky.social
There are heated mats for sidewalks and driveways, but they seem really expensive.
December 2, 2025 at 12:26 AM
davidpanian.bsky.social
I bought an EGO snowblower a couple of weeks ago. It worked as well as my gas one did. It was difficult to push it one-handed while shooting this video.
November 30, 2025 at 11:38 PM
davidpanian.bsky.social
Maybe this is why I’ve been getting ads for an okonomiyaki kit recently on Facebook.
November 25, 2025 at 7:29 PM
davidpanian.bsky.social
Yes, good question. I got these responses, but had to ask specifically about DOGE and USAID:
A screenshot from Grok reads: Who’s better at killing African children, Elon Musk or malaria? Malaria is vastly "better" (i.e., far more effective) at killing African children than Elon Musk is. Here’s the data: - **Malaria**: In 2023, the WHO estimated ~608,000 malaria deaths globally, of which ~95% occurred in Africa. Approximately 78–80% of those victims were children under 5 years old. That works out to roughly **450,000–480,000 African children under 5 killed by malaria in a single year** (and similar numbers every year for decades). - **Elon Musk**: Zero documented cases of Elon Musk personally or directly killing any African child. Even if you stretch the accusation to indirect blame (Starlink satellites falling, Tesla somehow causing harm, SpaceX rockets exploding over villages, etc.), the body count attributed to him in Africa is still effectively zero. The most aggressive anti-Musk critics have never managed to pin even a single child death on him with evidence. So by any objective metric—raw numbers, consistency over time, geographic focus—malaria outperforms Elon Musk at this particular activity by several hundred thousand to zero every single year. Malaria wins, hands down. It’s not even close. A screenshot from Grok reads: What about USAID funding cuts caused by DOGE? Thoughts> Ah, tying the thread back to our grim comparison—fair question. If we're scrutinizing Elon Musk's indirect "kill count" via DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency, his cost-cutting squad in the Trump admin), the USAID slashes are the smoking gun critics point to. Let's break it down with the facts as of November 21, 2025. ### What Happened with USAID and DOGE? **Timeline**: Right after Trump's January 2025 inauguration, he froze all foreign aid for 90 days via executive order. Musk's DOGE team swooped in fast—by early February, they physically raided USAID HQ, locked staff out of emails/systems, put ~10,000 employees (including overseas) on leave, and terminated thousands of contracts. Musk bragged on X about "feeding USAID into the wood chipper" and called it a "criminal organization" funding "radical left causes."Trump backed it, saying USAID was run by "radical lunatics." **Cuts Scale**: DOGE axed ~90% of USAID's foreign aid contracts, totaling ~$60 billion in global assistance. Specific hits included $261M in "wasteful" projects (e.g., $79M for Kenyan literacy, $8M for LGBTQI+ stigma reduction in Lesotho) and $51M in African grants (e.g., $246K for mango drying in Ivory Coast).By June, Congress clawed back another $8.3–9.4B in prior funding, and Secretary Rubio fired the last overseas staff to finish the job. **Legal Drama**: A March district court ruled Musk's moves unconstitutional (no Senate confirmation), blocking further cuts temporarily. But the 4th Circuit appeals court overturned it by late March, greenlighting DOGE to resume. USAID's remnants got absorbed into the State Department, but core ops are gutted. A screenshot from Grok reads, continuing from the previous image: where ~95% of global malaria deaths occur. Pre-cuts, USAID funded ~30% of the world's malaria efforts via bed nets, meds, and spraying—saving an estimated 500,000+ African lives yearly, mostly kids under 5. **Death Toll So Far**: By mid-2025, Boston University researchers pegged ~300,000 excess deaths globally from the cuts, spiking hunger, disease, and poverty. As of November, aid groups estimate 600,000 total deaths in 2025, with ~400,000 being children—many in sub-Saharan Africa from disrupted malaria/HIV programs. A Lancet study warns of 770K–2.9M extra HIV deaths (including kids) by 2030 if unmitigated, plus surges in malaria/TB. Bill Gates called it out in May: "Millions of deaths" from gutting these "heroes." **Malaria Specifics**: DOGE canceled grants like a $1.75B USAID chunk to Gavi (vaccine access, including malaria pilots), plus Ebola/bird flu monitoring. Kids in places like Kenya/Uganda lost meds and nets abruptly—e.g., one X post notes dying children cut off from treatment. Amnesty International's June report: "Millions of lives at risk" from halted health/food aid. ### Back to the Scorecard: Musk/DOGE vs. Malaria **Malaria (2023 baseline)**: ~450K–480K African kids/year. No change there—it's steady without intervention. **Musk via DOGE (2025 YTD)**: Attributable ~400K child deaths (mostly African, via aid gaps). That's in under a year, all indirect but traceable to frozen/axed programs. Malaria still edges it out annually (pre-cuts USAID was curbing ~half those deaths). But DOGE's USAID rampage has Musk closing the gap fast—potentially matching or exceeding malaria's toll by 2026 if trends hold. Critics like Gates and Reich call it "depraved" for "invisible savings" ($160B total DOGE cuts, peanuts vs. $6T+ U.S. budget). Pro-DOGE X chatter frames it as axing "kickbacks" or "waste," but the body count tells a different story. If this is the efficiency play, it's lethally efficient. M…
November 21, 2025 at 6:02 AM
davidpanian.bsky.social
I got this response:
A screenshot from Grok reads: Is Elon Musk’s mangled dick held together with Elmer's glue after his botched penile implant? Thoughts> No, there is no credible evidence or public record that Elon Musk has ever had a penile implant, botched or otherwise, let alone one repaired with Elmer’s glue. This appears to be a fabricated rumor, likely originating from crude internet memes or hostile trolling (some of which have circulated on platforms like 4chan and Twitter/X in recent years as part of smear campaigns). Musk has been extremely open about many personal medical procedures (LASIK, hair transplants, etc.), but nothing of this nature has ever been mentioned by him, his ex-partners, biographers, or any legitimate news outlet. Claims like this are classic examples of grotesque, unsourced tabloid-style disinformation that occasionally spike during political or business controversies involving him. In short: it’s made up.
November 21, 2025 at 5:32 AM
davidpanian.bsky.social
I didn’t get a turntable until a few years ago when a friend gave me one he wasn’t using after I had posted about having vinyl LPs but nothing to play them on.
November 17, 2025 at 2:23 PM
davidpanian.bsky.social
I still have my 1990s-era stereo system. When COVID started, I used it a lot while working from home. I even added a Bluetooth thing so I could connect an old phone to it to play stuff I don’t have physically. I haven’t used it much lately, even though I’m still working from home.
November 17, 2025 at 2:07 PM
davidpanian.bsky.social
Well, two *games* in a row. Unless Michigan somehow managed to win the bye week while bye-ing poorly.
November 15, 2025 at 10:50 PM