Odds and Ends — 22 September 2024

@preparedwombat 77

7 months ago

oddsandends

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

https://twitter.com/HackingButLegal/status/1837541343389728804

Canada Central Bank Shelves Its Digital Loonie CBDC Plans

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

COVID pandemic started in Wuhan market animals after all, suggests latest study

— OR —

Don’t fall for the Chinese wet market theory for Covid

Politics:

https://twitter.com/JohnF1CDO/status/1837540092690243949

Comey concedes he may have been responsible for Trump’s election

Gosh, ya think?

https://twitter.com/OldManLefty1/status/1837409807474872431

Trump’s Nemesis Returns to Protect the Vote in Georgia

Brad Raffensperger is all too familiar with attempts to subvert U.S. democracy.
The Secretary of State for Georgia was on the receiving end of the infamous Donald Trump phone call after the 2020 election, when the then-president urged his fellow Republican to ‘find’ the 11,780 votes he needed to win the state. Raffensperger refused and death threats ensued.
Almost four years on from the unrest that followed the last presidential election, Raffensperger is again in the crosshairs of the Trump faithful, as he battles a MAGA-friendly majority on the swing state’s election board who passed last-minute laws that critics claim will pave the way for post-election legal chaos, if not violent unrest.
Said Raffensperger: “There are a lot of bad actors out there.”

https://twitter.com/joncoopertweets/status/1837476382122623477
https://twitter.com/jeremynewberger/status/1837435697323483526
https://twitter.com/PaulRudnickNY/status/1837477854440784185

Nearly 100,000 to Get Full Ballot Access in Arizona

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday that roughly 98,000 Arizonans whose voter registration status was in limbo will be able to participate in the full ballot in November.
The uncertainty regarding the voters’ fate came after the Maricopa County Recorder’s office discovered a clerical error from 2004 that granted the nearly 100,000 Arizonans voting registration status despite not providing documented proof of citizenship.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1837488030627565852

Kamala Harris to Skip Al Smith Dinner

Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend next month’s Al Smith charity dinner in New York City, her campaign has told organizers, opting instead to stump in a battleground state on October 17, less than three weeks before the election.
The historic Catholic fundraiser traditionally features light roasts by the two major-party nominees – aimed at one another and others – in presidential election years…
Donald Trump stunned attendees in 2016 when he abandoned the collegial banter and launched a series of personal attacks on Hillary Clinton, who in her own remarks had offered the expected round of self-deprecating humor.

https://twitter.com/ArtCandee/status/1837511278786462152

Trump and his campaign enter turbulent phase in final weeks

Donald Trump’s top advisers have insisted for months that his 2024 bid for the presidency is the most disciplined campaign he has ever run. They pointed to fewer leaks, less infighting and a more deliberate strategy honed by seasoned professionals and driven by data.
But with just 45 days left until the election, the past three weeks reveal whatever control and self-restraint helped launch Trump’s third presidential campaign has largely disappeared in the crucial final stretch.

An odd premise. When exactly did Trump have control and self-restraint prior to now?

https://twitter.com/AoDespair/status/1837799817063329842

Georgia Voters Split Over How to Strengthen Democracy

Americans in this closely divided state have heard perhaps more than others about allegations of rigged elections and threats to democracy. Georgia’s 2020 election results were deeply contested, and state voting laws have been fiercely debated ever since.
But the notion that democracy might be on the line this fall means different things to Republican and Democratic voters.
Democrats here say Donald Trump is a threat to norms in American politics, pointing to his conduct after the 2020 election, particularly in Georgia. Republicans point to the same election and say Democrats are changing the fabric of the country, including by abetting widespread fraud in elections, though there is no evidence of that.

https://twitter.com/Trillburne/status/1837635523298709803

Harris Campaign Lays Out Its Mark Robinson Strategy

Kamala Harris’ campaign advisers say the ongoing Mark Robinson scandal in North Carolina has given them a fresh opening with the state’s Black and suburban voters, as they continue to try to tie Donald Trump to the embattled candidate for governor.
The plan, Harris advisers outlined in a memo… involves seizing on the current barrage of negative attention on Robinson and putting resources behind targeting suburban voters in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas, moderate Republicans and Black voters in the critical battleground state.
Their messaging will focus not on a CNN report about comments Robinson made on a pornographic website — including that he enjoys ‘watching tranny on girl porn,’ and instead will emphasize the controversial candidate’s ties to Trump and his ‘extreme’ policy positions.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1837258861759090806

What Does Viktor Orbán Want in Africa?

Hungary’s leader argues that sending troops to Chad will slow migration, but he seems to be seeking security partnerships in exchange for lucrative minerals.

https://twitter.com/Ojeda4America/status/1837457475634655612

Trump Says It’s Too Late for Another Debate