Odds and Ends — 26 November 2025

@preparedwombat 78

3 days ago

oddsandends

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

Spain’s junior ruling party proposes 47% crypto tax in ‘attack against Bitcoin’

https://twitter.com/davidsirota/status/1993173626431193489

U.S. Investigated Bitcoin Miner Manufacturer Bitmain as National Security Risk

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Louisiana's top health official, a critic of the COVID vaccine, will be CDC deputy

Politics:

Trump Weighing Ouster of Kash Patel

President Trump is considering removing Kash Patel as FBI director in the coming months, as he and his top aides have grown increasingly frustrated by the unflattering headlines Patel has recently generated.
Patel has come under scrutiny for his stewardship of bureau resources, including his girlfriend’s security detail and use of a government jet, and for his squabbles with other Trump loyalists.

The Trump Train Jumps the Tracks

It wasn’t long before you could feel that overwhelming momentum start to slow. In retrospect, the Supreme Court’s slapdown of his lawless deportations to El Salvador was one inflection point; his shambolic rollout and subsequent panicked walkback of his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs was another.
But now, in the wake of the government shutdown, we seem to be hitting a third phase in Trump’s second term, in which his forward momentum is in danger of stopping altogether. And in that environment, the incompetence so endemic in term one is making itself known again, with a vengeance.
Suddenly, everywhere you look, you see a White House flailing.

https://twitter.com/YourAnonCentral/status/1993346500840333745

Too bad. So sad: Republicans Now Think Early Redistricting Will Backfire

If the new Texas map is ultimately struck down, and Democrats’ own revenge redistricting effort in California stands, Republicans could lose the House before a vote is even cast.
Indeed, immediately after the lower court ruling, I received an expletive-laced call from a Texas G.O.P. consultant. This person’s fury was not unique. Of the dozens of conversations I’ve had since Trump’s initial redistricting blitz this summer, I’ve only heard one Hill Republican praise the idea.
GOP distaste for the campaign has only grown since, especially after California passed its redistricting referendum. Now, as the generic ballot shifts further in Dems’ favor, the most likely outcome of new Republican maps would be that Democrats lose some seats in Republican-controlled states, while Republican incumbents lose some in Democratic states—in other words, a nine-figure wash.

Guinea-Bissau soldiers say they have taken power after reports of president's arrest

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been personally linked to the brutal ICE raids sweeping America.
Her 11-year-old nephew’s mother, Bruna Ferreira, is now in custody at an ICE facility at Louisiana, facing deportation to Brazil.

https://twitter.com/KyleClark/status/1993520717682610429

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

https://twitter.com/LePapillonBlu2/status/1993174497491566786

https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1993321355178017243

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/IneBackIversen/status/1993399400010555471

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1993438938950934774

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1993433198018412778

https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1993466585957515548

Trump Brushes Off Concerns About Steve Witkoff

The lady doth protest too much methinks: Russia says leak of Witkoff call recording is unacceptable, amounts to hybrid warfare

https://twitter.com/meiselasb/status/1993533868306317475

Zelensky Ready to Meet Trump Over Thanksgiving

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to meet President Trump ‘as soon as possible’ — possibly over Thanksgiving — to finalize a joint U.S.-Ukrainian agreement on the terms for ending the war.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials have agreed in principle on most aspects of the plan, which has been modified heavily from the initial 28-point U.S. proposal. But Zelensky wants to negotiate on the matter of territorial concessions with Trump himself.

I can’t imagine that territorial concessions would be acceptable to the Ukrainian public so does Zelensky have something up his sleeve?

Russia Says It Could Reject Trump’s Peace Plan

Russia has signaled it could reject a modified US peace plan to end the war in Ukraine if it fails to satisfy Moscow’s long-standing demands, even as Kyiv indicated it had agreed a framework with Washington.

———— Mors Imperii ————

https://twitter.com/DougJBalloon/status/1993060799632543959

Looming Affordability Crisis Set to Hit All Health Insurance

Rising Obamacare premiums are a political problem for Republicans. Rising premiums for workers who get health insurance from their employers could be an even bigger one.
Republicans in Congress are focused on finding a way to counteract an expected 26 percent rise in premiums for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act, without extending government subsidies that make insurance more affordable.
What the GOP isn’t talking about: Nearly seven times as many Americans get health insurance through an employer as those who buy it individually. Those 165 million people are expected to see their premiums spike by up to 7 percent.

https://twitter.com/KyleClark/status/1993497442445353426

Tina Peters to remain in state custody despite federal request

https://twitter.com/lawindsor/status/1993461986378891758