Odds and Ends — 1 April 2026

As of today, I’ve been on this blockchain for nine years. What a long strange trip it’s been.

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:

For Hive Power Up Day, I staked 95.119 HIVE.

You put a microphone in your house. Amazon sent employees to listen.

https://twitter.com/nic_carter/status/2038804571791761821

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Four Diseases That Could Make a Comeback

Two Stanford University researchers wondered how many people would suffer if vaccination rates dropped or shots became entirely unavailable for four of the most infamous diseases: polio, measles, rubella and diphtheria…
Their model shows that at current vaccination rates, the nation is already teetering on the brink of an explosion in measles cases — one that would be virtually wiped out with just a 5% increase in vaccination. But if current rates drop by half, all four diseases could return.

Iran:

https://twitter.com/Strandjunker/status/2038595147416400014

https://twitter.com/thecyrusjanssen/status/2038689593516765336

Trump Says U.S. Will Leave Iran ‘Within Two Weeks’

“We will be leaving very soon, and if France or some other country wants to get oil or gas, they will go up through the Hormuz Strait and will be able to fend for themselves. But we have nothing to do with that. What happens in the Strait—we aren’t going to have anything to do with it. There is no reason for us to do it.”

I find this very hard to believe. Watch what Trump does, not what he says. Tens of thousands of Marines and Special Forces have already been deployed. Just yesterday we learned that another aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, has been sent to the region. The Saudis would be livid. Netanyahu would go even more scorched earth than he already has.

https://twitter.com/DavidAstinWalsh/status/2038579187515003172

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/2038742082400014803

Europe Hardens Stance Against Trump’s Iran War in Threat to NATO

Donald Trump’s NATO allies are increasing resistance to getting involved in his Iran war, risking a deeper rupture in the already strained military bloc.
Spain closed its airspace to US jets Monday, and Italy denied US military aircraft bound for the Middle East permission to land at a base in Sicily, according to a person familiar with the matter. Poland said it has no plans to relocate its Patriot batteries, following a report that the US has suggested Warsaw consider sending one of its systems to shore up air defenses in the Middle East.

https://twitter.com/shanaka86/status/2038292003507908659

https://twitter.com/PhilipProudfoot/status/2038704240760160291

https://twitter.com/ambulantcamara/status/2039031436460900608

https://twitter.com/fan_fintwit/status/2038359107107967232

Politics:

https://twitter.com/PhillipsPOBrien/status/2038975692382077413

Federal Judge Halts Trump’s $400 Million Ballroom Project

“I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the president the authority he claims to have.”

https://twitter.com/MykhailoRohoza/status/2038721522949394750

Texas house speaker directs committee to study annexing parts of New Mexico

Yeah, good luck with that. About as (un)likely to happen as Idaho annexing parts of Oregon.

GOP Leaders to Keep Congress Out of Session

Lawmakers have departed Washington for spring recess locked in a stalemate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
But even as their movements outside the halls of Congress face increased public scrutiny, Republican leaders are showing no signs they’ll force their members to come back early to hash out a deal.

https://twitter.com/NiallStanage/status/2039173218091536549

Trump approval just hit the 30s. Can his numbers get any lower?

$4 gas is a big problem for Trump. But broken campaign promises and series of self-inflicted wounds are eroding support even among Trump’s base.

———— Pedro Sánchez ————

https://twitter.com/CensoredHumans/status/2039005517901889862

https://twitter.com/sanchezcastejon/status/2038940782233534494

———— Kristi Noem ————

https://twitter.com/JMRaasch/status/2038985546781929738

Noem Says She Was ‘Blindsided’ by Photos of Her Husband

https://twitter.com/michellexotter/status/2039074286749573312

https://twitter.com/cmclymer/status/2039003752636543341

———— Stark. Raving. Mad. ————

Trump Imagines Negotiation with Sharpie Maker

President Donald Trump spent five minutes of Thursday’s Cabinet meeting boasting of his thrift with a story about negotiating for $5 personalized Sharpies.
The company that makes the permanent markers said the exchange never happened.

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

Laura Dern to Star in Jeffrey Epstein Investigation Drama From Sony

The Oscar and Emmy winner will also exec produce the limited series, which is based on reporter Julie K. Brown’s book ‘Perversion of Justice.’

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/2038631415265231280

Justice Department Watchdog Has Gone Silent

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog has seemingly ignored 20 instances of possible wrongdoing by the Trump administration, lawyers for a whistle-blower said in a letter on Monday urging lawmakers to address the “apparent collapse” of an office meant to root out misconduct.

https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/2038996243754438821

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/2039117413086630362

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/2038986843119624659

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/2038519717535580241

Putin Faces New Kremlin Betrayal

When a regime starts tightening control in Moscow, it is admitting that the danger is no longer far away.

https://twitter.com/TallbarFIN/status/2038500521938432477

General George Payton’s grandson: Inside Ukraine's secret drone warfare juggernaut

———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————

https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/2038751745455607883

https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/2038798152384258270

Pete Hegseth Is Vice Signaling

The term virtue signaling refers to an annoying moral peacocking that has less to do with politics than with self-gratification. It’s the dinner guest who feels compelled to comment on the climate impact of every course. It’s the guy who annoys his colleagues during meetings with constant bits of civic guidance…
But Donald Trump and his administration have embraced the Mirror Universe version of virtue signaling. They’ve pioneered the practice of ‘vice signaling,’ or saying insulting or odious things both as attention-seeking behavior and as a way of showcasing their supposedly transgressive political views. They aim to demonstrate strength by being willing to appall other people, much as schoolyard bullies insult their classmates to gain the approval of other bullies. It’s the same peacocking, but with uglier feathers.
Few people besides the president himself have done more to advance the cause of vice signaling than Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a man who honed his communication skills at Fox News, where the hosts routinely say outrageous things as a way of showing their viewers how eager they are to own the libs.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/2039115133184606645

https://twitter.com/Mesnia1016/status/2038991112178696526

Serendipity:

https://twitter.com/dlondonwortel/status/2038611348368637962

One of the first people known to change their gender was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh

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