Odds and Ends — 23 March 2025

“So many books, so little time.” — Frank Zappa

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

Coinbase Is in Advanced Talks to Buy Derivatives Venue Deribit

‘The Big Short’ investor who predicted the 2008 crash warns the market is ‘underestimating’ the economic impact of DOGE’s mass spending cuts

Ripple, Mt. Gox Founder Bets $1 Billion That He Can Replace the International Space Station

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

‘Key lessons of Covid are being forgotten,’ UK scientists warn

Politics:

Autocrats roll back rights and rule of law — and cite Trump’s example

As Trump upends democratic norms at home, his statements, policies and actions are providing cover for a fresh chill on freedom of expression, democracy, the rule of law and LGBTQ+ rights for autocrats around the world — some of whom are giving him credit.
Democratic backsliding in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Turkey long predates Trump; the president has been said to have derived some of his messaging from Orban. But in several nations, including Hungary and Serbia, authorities say openly that Trump’s return has helped them serve up what critics say are fresh violations of basic rights.

https://twitter.com/RepJackKimble/status/1903491740176195884

Grifting never goes out of style: White House Seeks Sponsorships for Easter Egg Roll

The White House, through an outside event production company called Harbinger, is soliciting corporate sponsors for this year’s Easter Egg Roll, which is prompting major concerns from ethics experts and shock from former White House officials from both parties.
The sponsorship offers range from $75,000 to $200,000, with the promise of logo and branding opportunities.

https://twitter.com/MarkSZaidEsq/status/1903235762247643184

Tax Revenue Could Drop by 10% Amid IRS Turmoil

Staff cuts and disruptions related to the U.S. DOGE Service have officials bracing for a sharp loss of revenue.…
Senior tax officials are bracing for a sharp drop in revenue collected this spring, as an increasing number of individuals and businesses spurn filing their taxes or attempt to skip paying balances owed to the Internal Revenue Service.

https://twitter.com/rothschildmd/status/1903150465350840646

Yes, it’s a cult: Inside the GOP Effort to Venerate Trump

The multi-front effort to memorialize a president who is still alive, let alone still living in the White House, has no precedent in congressional history. While none of the bills are expected to become law, it underscores the lengths that some House Republicans are willing to go to curry favor with Trump.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1903437343177994615

Agents Diverted to Immigration Crackdown

Federal agents who usually hunt down child abusers are now cracking down on immigrants who live in the U.S. illegally.
Homeland Security investigators who specialize in money laundering are raiding restaurants and other small businesses looking for immigrants who aren’t authorized to work.
Agents who pursue drug traffickers and tax fraud are being reassigned to enforce immigration law.

https://twitter.com/FPWellman/status/1903473038462709968

———— Lawlessness R Us ————

Legal community shaken by a powerful law firm's decision to give in to Trump's demands

Trump Takes on Lawyers with New Decree

A presidential memorandum aimed at lawyers everywhere struck a menacing tone
President Trump broadened his campaign of retaliation against lawyers he dislikes with a new memorandum that threatens to use government power to punish any law firms that, in his view, unfairly challenge his administration.
The memorandum directs the heads of the Justice and Homeland Security Departments to ‘seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable and vexatious litigation against the United States’ or in matters that come before federal agencies.

https://twitter.com/rshereme/status/1903458774578352563
https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1903555368740888968
https://twitter.com/NormEisen/status/1903545137508077878
https://twitter.com/joodalooped/status/1903404510040498224

———— Krasnov/Putin/Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/postsocialismus/status/1903091499408969771

https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1903341145846895076

———— Social Security in the Crosshairs ————

https://twitter.com/samstein/status/1903168309723586724

SO out of touch: Seniors won't complain if they miss a Social Security check, Lutnick says

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1903467264474771871

———— Melon Husk ————

https://twitter.com/mmpadellan/status/1903461669269049666
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1903532381572575444

Kill Tesla, Save The Country

Elon has a weak spot. Attack.

———— Columbia University (my dad’s alma mater) ————

Why Trump Targeted Columbia

A quarter-century ago, the university was looking to expand. It considered, and rejected, property owned by Donald Trump. He did not forget it.

https://twitter.com/zzzzaaaacccchhh/status/1903194487909646447

Academia Confronts Watershed Moment at Columbia

Many professors saw it as surrender, a reward to the Trump administration’s heavy hand. Conservative critics of academia celebrated it as an overdue, righteous reset by an Ivy League university.
Columbia University’s concession on Friday to a roster of government demands as it sought to restore about $400 million in federal funding is being widely viewed as a watershed in Washington’s relationships with the nation’s colleges.
!By design, the consequences will be felt immediately on Columbia’s campus, where, for example, some security personnel will soon have arrest powers and an academic department that had drawn conservative scrutiny is expected to face stringent oversight. But they also stand to shape colleges far from Manhattan.

Serendipity:

https://twitter.com/fpaulwilson/status/1903444505589649554

Defending humanitarian aid in terms of national security obscures its real purpose

https://twitter.com/NonsenseIsland/status/1903261458286195112

^{Badge thanks to @arcange}

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

What is Hive?