Odds and Ends — 16 June 2025

@preparedwombat 78

9 days ago

oddsandends

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

Strategy Adds Over 10K BTC to Its Bitcoin Treasury, Funded by New STRD Offering

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1934211810791395337

Coinbase torched by crypto community for US army parade sponsorship

Coronavirus and Public Health:

https://twitter.com/JReinerMD/status/1934320891841720621

Politics:

Macron Offers Aid For Greenland Security Amid Trump Threats

Yes, They’re Going After Medicare Too

One reason is the bill’s projected fiscal effects. Thanks to all the tax cuts, the legislation would likely increase deficits enough to trigger automatic spending reductions that, under the terms of a 2010 law, would include cuts to Medicare.
But the claim is also not true for another reason: One of the more important health care cuts in the legislation would affect Medicare beneficiaries.
And not just any Medicare beneficiaries. I’m talking about some of the most vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities who are on Medicare—the ones who can least afford to deal with punishing medical bills.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1934306407039320264

Vance Boelter taken into custody in lawmaker shootings in Minnesota

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://twitter.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1934353836358971770

Trump’s parade flopped. No Kings Day was a hit.

America is no longer a full-fledged democracy. We are currently living under a version of competitive authoritarianism — a system that (like Orban’s Hungary or Erdogan’s Turkey) is still democratic on paper but in which a ruling party no longer takes democracy’s rules seriously…
Trumpists, however, haven’t yet fully consolidated their hold. America still has a chance of reclaiming itself from the grip of brazen corruption, mindless destruction, and contempt both for the rule of law and for our erstwhile allies. We don’t have to become a country bullied into submission.
But we’re teetering on the edge, and one of the most important ways we can step back from that edge is for ordinary Americans to engage in mass protests.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1934297989540942048

Inside Trump’s Backtrack on Immigration

For months, Trump administration officials have been adamant about targeting all the millions of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, regardless of their work or taxpaying status.
But now Trump is making a huge exception: those working at hotels, farms, meatpacking plants and restaurants.
He’s bowing to pressure from businesses that have been warning of economic devastation — and is opening the door for potentially millions of workers who are here illegally to stay after all.

Temu Goebbels must be seething.

https://twitter.com/theliamnissan/status/1934361299863187941

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

Trump Unveils ‘Trump Mobile’

President Trump and his family are getting into the wireless business, in partnership with the three major U.S. carriers.
The Trump Organization on Monday announced Trump Mobile, which will offer 5G service with an unlimited plan (the ‘47 Plan’) priced at $47.45 per month.

https://twitter.com/cturnbull1968/status/1934604101737746930

Even before Musk fell out with Donald Trump, the agency’s projected savings had plummeted. But he nevertheless managed to inflict lasting damage to the federal government.

———— Mors Imperii ————

Like School Shootings, Political Violence Is Becoming Almost Routine

Slowly but surely, political violence has moved from the fringes to an inescapable reality. Violent threats and even assassinations, attempted or successful, have become part of the political landscape — a steady undercurrent of American life.

Trump’s FAA Pick Falsely Claimed Commercial Pilot License