Odds and Ends — 20 July 2026

Trump has been remarkably successful in his push to gerrymander ahead of the midterms. Several Republican states have redrawn their districts to add GOP-leaning seats, the Supreme Court’s April decision in Louisiana v. Callais allowed other states to move forward with their own maps, and a state court in Virginia shot down retaliatory gerrymandering that would have assisted Democrats. In all, this has given Republicans several more likely seats.
But nearly everything else has faltered, including the president’s signature legislative initiative to overhaul elections…

Mamdani Says He May Still Order Netanyahu’s Arrest

Do it or don’t do it, but don’t talk about maybe doing it. Meh, but even if they do arrest Bibi, what are the chances that they could actually send him to The Hague?

What could possibly go wrong? Saudi Nuclear Deal Awaits Trump Signature

The Trump administration has tentatively agreed to allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium without enacting international safeguards intended to prevent nuclear weapons development.

GOP Strategy Is to Make It a ‘Hate Election’

Republicans admit the GOP’s midterm forecast is bleak. But they’re clinging to two hopes: voters’ fear and loathing of Democrats.
Said one Republican close to Trump: “It’s going to be a hate election. Voters have to hate the Dems more than they hate us.”

That’s all they’ve got? Really?

https://x.com/reggiebblue/status/2078527080816373845

Law firms that struck deals with Donald Trump are heading for a second high-stakes conflict with the U.S. president after the government demanded their leaders sit for depositions and hand over internal communications about the deals.
In a move that one administration insider said was designed to show a ‘middle finger’ to the legal industry, the Department of Justice has issued subpoenas and deposition demands to the law firms it targeted or threatened with executive orders at the start of Trump’s second term.

I’m having a hard time feeling sorry for any law firm that thought it was a good idea to cave to Trump’s threats and blackmail.

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

https://x.com/Kasparov63/status/2078842722518004183

Companies in Don Jr. Fund Win Federal Contracts

A short drive from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, in a small office a block from the beach, sits the headquarters of 1789 Capital, a firm founded just a few years ago with plans to invest in businesses aligned with conservative values.
Since Donald Trump Jr. joined as a partner shortly after his father’s reelection, 1789 Capital has rapidly grown to manage billions of dollars in assets with a strategy that closely reflects the president’s policies.
Companies backed by 1789 Capital have also significantly increased their federal funding under the Trump administration.

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://x.com/BohuslavskaKate/status/2078581645792206967

https://x.com/jalle51/status/2078384685839736971

https://x.com/Mylovanov/status/2078848029990277366

———— Smoot-Hawley 2.0 ————

America's own goal: Americans pay almost entirely for Trump’s tariffs

Contrary to US government rhetoric, the cost of US import tariffs are not borne by foreign exporters. Instead, they hit the American economy itself. Importers and consumers in the US bear 96 percent of the tariff burden, according to new research from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.