Growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, I was aware of an odd neighborhood near a large municipal park. An entire square city block consisted of homes bordered by whitewashed cement walls – monotonous but tidy. I came to learn that the inhabitants were polygamous families, not exactly secret but apparently tolerated in the Mormon-dominated community that had long ago dispatched the practice.

This quirky enclave came to mind when I read about the purchase of a $35 million compound in Austin, Texas by Supersperm Elon Musk. (12 children, 3 mothers) (https://nyti.ms/405pcKF) He apparently wants to house all of his children and two mothers in a couple of mansions there, a convenient walk from where Musk himself often resides in another mansion. To address his deep concern that worldwide de-population threatens humanity, he does his best to fight the danger.

Musk just might succeed in giving the planet a boost. Our co-President-elect last week flexed his muscle with a torrent of posts on X (his special baby) and cowed the United States Congress into defeating a bill that would keep the federal government running for three months. His effort turned out to be a misfire when a group of representatives and the public at large declared a preference to maintain the government and send the politicians home for the holidays.

Still, the world’s richest man showed he’s got a lot of power and a willingness to use it, whether or not voters in November chose to give it to him. Given his obsession about diminished populations, can we expect him to lobby on X for strict regulation of contraceptives, abortion bans, and – a bold move – relaxation of laws against polygamy? No need to shoot rockets to colonize Mars when we can do it right here.

Tom Denton

New Paltz