Odds and Ends — 1 August 2025

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

For Hive Power Up Day, I staked 142.098 HIVE.

Americans More Worried Than Ever About Cost of Living

…more than four in five Americans are concerned about the price of groceries, half are worried about affording their rent or mortgage, and two-thirds worry about their ability to pay an unexpected medical expense.
An alarmingly high number of families are being forced to make difficult, at times drastic, decisions to make ends meet. In the past year, 41 percent of adults dipped into their savings just to cover the basics.

https://twitter.com/BagdMilkSoWhat/status/1950912638377967668

FDIC Still Trying to ‘Stonewall’ Crypto Debanking Documents, Says Coinbase Legal Chief

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Analysis: 2024-25 COVID vaccines offered strong protection against worst outcomes in seniors

https://twitter.com/GeauxGabrielle/status/1951068699839848822

Politics:

Trump doubles down on claim he has 'absolute immunity' from Central Park 5 defamation lawsuit

Bessent tries to walk back comments suggesting Social Security could be privatized

Ex-CIA analyst challenges Trump’s attempt to discredit Russian election interference probe

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1950741070158929927

https://twitter.com/4HumanUnity/status/1950706972069879991

———— Thank you, Memory Hole! ————

Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American history museum

———— Gaza ————

Why Trump Broke With Bibi Over the Gaza Famine

Trump, two administration officials told us, has come to believe what many in Washington have thought for months: that Netanyahu is looking to prolong the conflict in Gaza, in open defiance of Trump’s wish for the war to end. The president and some of his aides think that Israel’s military objectives in Gaza were achieved long ago, and that Netanyahu has continued Israel’s assault, which has claimed tens of thousands of civilian lives, to maintain his own political power. The White House also believes that Netanyahu is taking steps that interfere with a potential cease-fire deal.
But the two officials said they did not anticipate that Trump would hold Netanyahu accountable in any meaningful sense.

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://twitter.com/JasonBassler1/status/1951002423788708150

Unnoticed Document Alarms Justice Department Veterans

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog lost a crucial account from a whistle-blower detailing wrongdoing by political appointees for more than two months, prompting criticism that the agency’s inspector general has been inactive and silent during a time of deep turmoil.
The complaint, submitted in early May, accused top Justice Department officials like Emil Bove III of overseeing an effort to mislead judges and skirt or ignore court orders.
That the office received, but did not act upon, a potentially explosive set of allegations two weeks before news of Mr. Bove’s nomination to become a federal appeals court judge has raised serious concerns from current and former department lawyers that the unit responsible for policing not just the department but agencies like the F.B.I. and D.E.A. may have gone largely dormant.

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

As Russia’s Military Losses Pass 1 Million, Putin Says All Were “For a Cause”

Trump Sharpens Sanctions Threat on Russia, While Admitting It May Not Work

Russia’s 41st Army in Collapse: Leaked Documents Says Half Dead or Missing, Thousands on the Run

———— Smoot-Hawley 2.0 ————

Trump’s Tariffs Get Frosty Reception at Appeals Court

Federal appeals court judges on Thursday sharply questioned President Donald Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners under an unprecedented use of emergency powers.
Several judges of the Washington, D.C.-based Federal Circuit Court of Appeals repeatedly wondered how Trump could justify the broad tariffs using a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, that presidents have used to set economic sanctions and other penalties on foreign countries — but never previously tariffs.

———— Melon Husk ————

'DOGE lied': Expert floored as blistering report finds Musk team blew billions

———— Mors Imperii ————

Lies Are Now Winning

In reviewing many of the some 3,000 fact checks I have written or edited, there is a clear dividing line: June 2015, the month Donald Trump rode down the Trump Tower escalator and announced he was running for president.

https://twitter.com/BigTucsonDad/status/1951003076040729011

Miami Can’t Delay Mayoral Election Until 2026

A Florida state appeals court upheld a previous ruling that the election to pick the next mayor of Miami must take place in November after a city commission tried to delay it by a year.

‘Not a Damned Penny.’ Texas Flood Survivors Look for Help

Serendipity:

Tehran could run dry ‘within weeks’ as it grapples with an acute water crisis

https://twitter.com/letterboxd/status/1950977336775671836
https://twitter.com/CrimeReads/status/1951042669540442242

^{Badge thanks to @arcange}

^{Want a free Hive account? Join Hive using my referral link.}

What is Hive?