Odds and Ends — 26 July 2025
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:
Satoshi-era Bitcoin investor cashes out 80,000 BTC for $9B via Galaxy Digital
How Trump’s mass deportations could backfire on the American economy by shrinking paychecks
Tron Inc. Office in Florida Lacks Any Sign of Justin Sun's Crypto Network
Coronavirus and Public Health:
COVID Can Cause Alzheimer's-Like Plaques in Eyes And Brain
Politics:
Republicans Split on Extending Obamacare Tax Breaks
Republican leaders are facing growing calls from their members to extend a bucket of funding for the Affordable Care Act that is slated to expire at the end of this year as some look to avert insurance premium hikes and millions of Americans losing health coverage.
But the cause faces opposition from conservatives who detest ‘Obamacare,’ as the law is nicknamed, and don’t want to lift a finger to protect it. Some argue it’d be too expensive to continue the premium tax credits, which cost over $30 billion per year and were initially adopted as part of a Covid-19 response.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that about 5 million Americans will lose their insurance by 2034 if the money expires.
https://twitter.com/factpostnews/status/1948840738684301495
John Roberts in Court Filing: I Manage the Judiciary, Not the President
The chief justice told a nonprofit founded by Stephen Miller that he would not cede control of the courts to Trump.
———— The Epstein Coverup ————
https://twitter.com/arenella1/status/1948726271057272995
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1948833243211661777
The Epstein Files Timeline Raises Real Questions for Trump
The administration’s rhetoric has shifted in notable ways.
https://twitter.com/keithedwards/status/1948760557596606537
https://twitter.com/keithedwards/status/1948766596018663603
https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1948767698432721079
https://twitter.com/SykesCharlie/status/1948755431863562317
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1948851495438602689
Maxwell’s lawyer says she’s undecided on appearing for congressional testimony
The House Oversight Committee has been preparing to send attorneys to the prison where the Epstein associate is incarcerated in order to take testimony.
https://twitter.com/JonBowzerBauman/status/1948630564199956676
https://twitter.com/TristanSnell/status/1948889600451338556
https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1948930477231878184
———— Gaza ————
USAID Found No Massive Theft of Aid by Hamas
An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.S. give for backing a new armed private aid operation.
'They're losing hope': What doctors, aid workers are seeing in Gaza amid hunger crisis
Trump Urges Israel to ‘Finish the Job’
Only a few weeks ago, President Donald Trump seemed confident a deal was days away that would end the fighting in Gaza, secure the release of hostages and allow aid to flow into an enclave where people are starving to death.
Now, Trump’s optimism seems to have vanished. The president pulled back his negotiators from ceasefire talks this week after the US deemed Hamas neither ‘coordinated’ nor ‘acting in good faith.’ And Trump, rather than urging an immediate return to the negotiating table, signaled Friday it was time for Israel to escalate its military campaign, even as images of starving children in Gaza lead to mounting global outrage.
Said Trump: “I think they want to die, and it’s very, very bad. It got to be to a point where you’re gonna have to finish the job.”
———— Autocracy R Us ————
Under Siege From Trump and Musk, a Top Liberal Group Falls Into Crisis
Media Matters, a nonprofit group that has played a key role in liberal politics, is struggling to withstand months of legal assaults by President Trump’s allies, offering a glimpse of what might be in store for even well-funded targets of his retribution campaigns.
The organization, which is funded by some of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors, has racked up about $15 million in legal fees over the past 20 months to defend itself against lawsuits by Elon Musk, in addition to investigations by Mr. Trump’s Federal Trade Commission and Republican state attorneys general.
https://twitter.com/bjoewolf/status/1948874160685326677
Trump Birthright Order Blocked Again
A federal judge in Boston issued the second nationwide block of President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship limits this month as the lawsuits continue, in another sign that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision restricting ‘universal injunctions’ is having limited impact on the dispute.
———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————
The Real Meaning of Putin’s Middle East Failure
Russia’s Allies in the Region Couldn’t Count on Moscow—and Neither Should China
In Russia, Corruption Cases Follow Battlefield Failures
———— Smoot-Hawley 2.0 ————
https://twitter.com/JustinWolfers/status/1948470287458337088
https://twitter.com/JamesSurowiecki/status/1948798970005733737
———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————
Hegseth at Odds With His Generals
Suspicions about leaks and a mistrust of senior military officers have defined much of the defense secretary’s first six months on the job.
———— Mors Imperii ————
https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1948858265208848479
Affluent Americans Increasingly Vote for Democrats
During the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, affluent Americans who benefited from tax cuts were more likely to be Republicans. The political party they supported delivered material benefits that boosted their pocketbooks. Democratic voters, by comparison, were more likely to be working or middle class.
Now, more than half of upper-income families — defined as those earning more than $215,400 per year — vote Democratic.
https://twitter.com/javimorillo/status/1948448447373160875
The Trump Admin Gets Ready to Seize Congress’ Power of the Purse
Serendipity:
https://twitter.com/adrianmckinty/status/1948790911942484431
https://twitter.com/tucker_peck/status/1948482418459230520
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Man that was a lot to go through but I feel caught up. Now it is time for a stiff drink to try and forget it all. ;)
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!