Odds and Ends — 28 July 2024

A toad in my back yard.

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

Senator Lummis Proposes the U.S. Buy 1M Bitcoin to Reduce National Debt

Bitcoin’s transformation from risk asset to digital gold hints at new all-time highs

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

COVID shaved 2.6 years from life expectancy—much more in some groups—in India

Politics:

https://twitter.com/ruthbenghiat/status/1817014492313661551
https://twitter.com/Logically_JC/status/1817203094268092451

Polls Open in Venezuelan Election

Polls have opened in Venezuela, where people are voting Sunday in a presidential election whose outcome will either lead to a seismic shift in politics or extend by six more years the policies that caused the world’s worst peacetime economic collapse.
Whether it is President Nicolás Maduro who is chosen, or his main opponent, retired diplomat Edmundo González, the election will have ripple effects throughout the Americas. Government opponents and supporters alike have signaled their interest in joining the exodus of 7.7 million Venezuelans who have already left their homes for opportunities abroad should Maduro win another term.

https://twitter.com/FPWellman/status/1817221898146558126

J.D. Vance’s Basket of Deplorables

Donald Trump’s choice of 39-year-old J.D. Vance as his running mate was supposed to present the GOP ticket as modern and looking to the future. Instead the campaign has found itself playing defense against Mr. Vance’s censorious views about women who don’t have children.
As it always does, the press has been digging up the VP choice’s comments over the years for political scrutiny, and the Ohio Senator turns out to be a target-rich environment.

Will Trump Try to Replace J.D. Vance?

While Trump insists he’s sticking with Vance, the senator’s poor polling combined with Vice President Kamala Harris’ momentum has led some to ask: Could Trump replace Vance? And if so, how would it work? For those wondering, the answers lie in recent history and the fine print of Republican Party rules.
It’s still technically possible that Trump could choose a new No. 2. But such a decision would have to happen very soon.

https://twitter.com/peaceandteachin/status/1817196758247596330

Elon Musk Shares Manipulated Harris Video

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has waded into one of the thorniest issues facing U.S. politics: deepfake videos.
On Friday night, Mr. Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media platform X, reposted an edited campaign video for Vice President Kamala Harris that appears to have been digitally manipulated to change the spot’s voice-over in a deceptive manner.
The video mimics Ms. Harris’s voice, but instead of using her words from the original ad, it has the vice president saying that President Biden is senile, that she does not ‘know the first thing about running the country’ and that, as a woman and a person of color, she is the ‘ultimate diversity hire.’

https://twitter.com/Brcremer/status/1817281560644825498

Biden to Back Term Limits for Justices

Biden is likely to endorse establishing term limits for justices and an enforceable code of ethics, in an announcement that represents a remarkable shift for a president who had long resisted calls to overhaul the high court.
He is also expected to push for a constitutional amendment limiting immunity for presidents and certain other officeholders, in a response to the court’s July 1 ruling.

https://twitter.com/jdlovitz/status/1816465866168455476

Serendipity:

About Every 500 Years, a Major Quake Body-Slams Middle America

Experts can’t explain why, and big cities aren’t ready for another.

https://twitter.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1817181191818088653

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