Odds and Ends — 14 December 2025

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

Bitcoin’s four-year cycle is intact, but driven by politics and liquidity: Analyst

FWIW, Robert Kiyosaki warns of ‘massive unemployment’ around the corner.

Circle, Ripple, Paxos, Fidelity and BitGo Get Banking Charters Approved by OCC

Coronavirus and Public Health:

COVID Vaccines Slashed Kids’ ER Visits by 76 Percent, Study Finds

Hundreds are quarantined in South Carolina as measles spreads in 2 US outbreaks

Politics:

Trump’s Attacks on Opponents Spur Surge of Threats

President Donald Trump’s heated rhetoric against his perceived political enemies has resulted in a blizzard of threats against at least 22 officials on both sides of the aisle in recent weeks.
Among those who’ve been targeted with threats after being mentioned in social media posts by the president are numerous Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan — but even more Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and over a dozen Indiana state lawmakers.

Team Trump Plots Revenge

A few hours after a band of Indiana Republicans sunk a Trump-backed push to gerrymander as many as two additional House seats, I called up Chris LaCivita to get his thoughts.
Trump’s 2024 campaign manager had been advising an outside group supporting the effort and running ads in the Hoosier state. And let’s just say, it’s not often that he loses…
LaCivita was pissed, to say the least — but more telling, he was already plotting revenge. Would the nearly two dozen GOPers who bucked the president see primaries or other punishment? Affirmative, LaCivita said.
Said LaCivita: “We’re not known for making idle political threats. Actions have consequences — ask Thomas Fucking Massie.”

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1999572047639269542

Trump’s New Imperialism

Just like the neocons he criticizes, Trump embraces the wielding of American power to impose his own worldview on countries that do not share it.

https://twitter.com/FPWellman/status/1999865107627810855

———— The Venezuela War————

How Not to Plan for War

The goal of Trump’s Venezuela squeeze is clear, but how to get there isn’t.

https://twitter.com/TheMaineWonk/status/1999865980689027343

https://twitter.com/caitoz/status/1999944823726588367

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

https://twitter.com/AmberWoods100/status/1999856475737559365

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://twitter.com/MikeLevin/status/1999526248486142079

https://twitter.com/SeanCasten/status/1999869033936810093

https://twitter.com/Isikoff/status/1999602847105646773

https://twitter.com/MotherJones/status/1999928685898457270

———— Blatant In-Your-Face Corruption ————

https://twitter.com/allenanalysis/status/1999830429537280403

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1999825844387164200

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1999882568410530001

The Challenges to Europe’s Security Go Beyond Trump’s Lack of Support

Europeans find themselves stranded between hostile powers, Russia and the United States, with key decisions looming over the future of Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/shanaka86/status/1999980564343034231

———— Mors Imperii ————

https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod/status/1999656981796208714

How to Leave the USA

In the wake of President Trump’s re-election, the number of aggrieved Americans seeking a new life abroad appears to be rising. The Netherlands offers one way out.

https://twitter.com/newrepublic/status/1999613885641306585

https://twitter.com/AmoneyResists/status/1999610112051171553

Serendipity:

https://twitter.com/Birdyword/status/1999642601767731471
https://twitter.com/VeryBadLlama/status/1999747358935121972

Doxers Posing as Cops Are Tricking Big Tech Firms Into Sharing People’s Private Data

https://twitter.com/rfhirschfeld/status/1999839221784138110

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