Odds and Ends — 23 November 2025

I made Chicken Marsala for the first time last night, loosely following this recipe. Probably too loosely. I bought too much chicken and had to get a second pan ready partway through the process, didn’t have enough mushrooms to go along with the extra chicken, didn’t brown the chicken sufficiently, and then overcooked it by several minutes and it ended up a bit on the dry side. Gotta admit that I’m not very comfortable cooking with chicken breasts; thighs are much more forgiving.

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

Grayscale calls Chainlink the ‘crictical connective tissue’ of tokenized finance

An unusual trend in the economy is worrying the Fed

Cathie Wood Buys the Dip as Ark Invest Loads Up on Coinbase, BitMine and Circle Stock

Coronavirus and Public Health:

The Strange Story of Nicotine Patches to Treat Long COVID

Politics:

https://twitter.com/Daractenus/status/1992142995739820183

Comey Prosecution on the Ropes

The federal prosecution of former FBI director James Comey is teetering after a series of missteps, a sign of broader challenges ahead for the Justice Department in its pursuit of cases favored by President Trump.
After a rough stretch in court, there are at least three different ways the department’s case against Comey could be upended, if not dismissed outright, in the coming weeks.

https://twitter.com/KBAndersen/status/1991991976426926294

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1991968170769596552

———— Autocracy R Us ————

Trump Admin Retreats From ‘Domestic Terrorist’ Cases Against Chicago Protestors

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

The case of a felon who paid lobbyists nearly $1 million to seek a Trump pardon

Nursing home magnate Joseph Schwartz was sentenced in April to three years for defrauding the government of $38 million. Seven months later, Trump pardoned him, but the White House denies a lobbying tie.

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1992374202004120016

https://twitter.com/golub/status/1992377601344852396

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1992386295268847970

https://twitter.com/meiselasb/status/1992372976684274050

Trump is behaving precisely as he would if he were a Russian asset

No, this is not cost-cutting or isolationism. This is picking a side – Putin’s side. Any pretence at even-handedness has gone. The tragic truth is that, kompromat or no kompromat, Trump is behaving precisely as he would if he were a Russian asset.

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1992266885917011980

https://twitter.com/olddog100ua/status/1992162273914400996

https://twitter.com/carlbildt/status/1992207243677233296

The Murky Plan That Ensures a Future War

The 28-point peace plan that the United States and Russia want to impose on Ukraine and Europe is misnamed. It is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.

https://twitter.com/TheMaineWonk/status/1992418398031290490

How Steve Witkoff pushed Ukraine sympathizers out of White House, and led the US into Russia's arms

https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1992400934107042143

https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1992415690402488788

———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————

https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1992249682068963495

https://twitter.com/krassenstein/status/1992257290683179407

———— Mors Imperii ————

https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1991881086922858734

Trump Fumes in Late Night All-Caps Spree Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Other Dems ‘SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW’ — and ‘MANY GREAT LEGAL SCHOLARS AGREE’

Serendipity:

https://twitter.com/johnbourscheid/status/1992246055887650841

Mind-reading devices can now predict preconscious thoughts: is it time to worry?

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