Odds and Ends — 29 March 2025
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:
https://twitter.com/Chris_Meloni/status/1905751587001442663
Bitcoin Reserve ‘Crucial’ for Brazil's Prosperity: Lula Administration
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1905698412638671002
Is Bitcoin’s future in circular economies or national reserves?
https://twitter.com/EdKrassen/status/1905373963494326492
Consumers’ Mood Sours in March
Consumers took a gloomier view of the economy in March, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly survey, a slide that economists fear might depress spending and investment.
https://twitter.com/Josikinz/status/1905440949054177604
Coronavirus and Public Health:
https://twitter.com/FPWellman/status/1905745206907154930
Top Vaccine Official Out at FDA
The Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official has been pushed out.
Dr. Peter Marks, who played a key role in the first Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed to develop Covid-19 vaccines, stepped down Friday. A Health and Human Services official gave him the choice Friday morning to resign or be fired.
Said Marks: “It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”
COVID gave rise to vaccine skepticism. That may affect preparedness for next pandemic
Politics:
The Gleeful Cruelty of the White House X Account
Welcome to the 4chan administration.
https://twitter.com/David_Leavitt/status/1905720153557631487
———— Kalaallit Nunaat ————
Putin Says Trump’s Desire for Greenland Isn’t About Russia
Translation: so it IS about Russia.
https://twitter.com/BulwarkOnline/status/1905689995052286330
https://twitter.com/TotalSeasons/status/1905733832307089678
https://twitter.com/MalcolmNance/status/1905719880005087291
Danish foreign minister scorns 'tone' of JD Vance in Greenland, Denmark comments
———— Autocracy R Us ————
https://twitter.com/JohnFugelsang/status/1905749478151462996
Trump’s Attacks on Press Freedom Are Paving the Way for Authoritarianism
For the first time in more than 20 years… the world now has more autocracies (91) than democracies (88), with liberal democracies (29) now the least common regime type. Twenty-seven countries have transitioned from democracies to autocracies since 2005.
https://twitter.com/HeathMayo/status/1905461107654811690
…Donald Trump pardoned Nikola Corp founder Trevor Milton for his October 2022 conviction of federal crimes related to defrauding investors with false claims about the success of the electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker.
The pardon came two weeks after federal prosecutors urged District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos to order Milton to pay restitution of $680 million to Nikola shareholders, and another $15.2 million to Peter Hicks, a victim of his wire fraud.
Because of the pardon, Ramos could not order restitution of any kind.
Milton made significant political donations to Republicans in late 2024, including $920,000 to the Trump 47 Committee.
In the old country, we called that quid pro quo.
Possibly wishful thinking: If Trump Defies the Courts, It Will Backfire Badly
There is extraordinarily little support for the idea that the president could simply disregard orders from the courts. That is true across the public… I also found similar responses from an informal survey of conservative legal thinkers.
https://twitter.com/MichaelSteele/status/1905681037729960081
https://twitter.com/MonicaLMarks/status/1905447459419291772
———— Melon Husk ————
https://twitter.com/krassenstein/status/1905599275905458473
If Democrats successfully paint the conservative candidate as a Musk puppet, this strategy will undoubtedly spread nationwide.
Elon Musk Appears to Be Breaking Wisconsin Law
He’s offering a chance to win a million dollars, which is a thing of value, and it’s only offered to people who have voted.
One might say he’s not inducing people, but instead rewarding them. I don’t think this helps, because the statute likely covers rewarding as well—think of people who decide to vote in order to attend the talk for the lottery chance to win a million dollars.
https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1905680785539301818
https://twitter.com/NewsWire_US/status/1905700151538377077
https://twitter.com/DanielBice/status/1905717199010209842
https://twitter.com/AesPolitics1/status/1905710727148839350
———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1905590745571950859
———— Signalgate ————
https://twitter.com/FPWellman/status/1905429044708909390
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1905319597907345540
It’s not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it’s the stupidity. We’re all shocked — shocked! — that President Trump and his team don’t actually care about protecting classified information or federal record retention laws. But we knew that already. What’s much worse is that top Trump administration officials put our troops in jeopardy by sharing military plans on a commercial messaging app and unwittingly invited a journalist into the chat. That’s dangerous. And it’s just dumb.
https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1905800137760489914
Pam Bondi Takes Point On Covering Up Trump’s Signal Fiasco
https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1905625429001503099
https://twitter.com/JustAJaneJ/status/1905440781965406584
———— Mors Imperii ————
Bannon: Trump ‘going to prison’ if Democrat wins White House in 2028
But… try as I might… I can’t seem to find a downside to that assertion.
https://twitter.com/Timodc/status/1905447133479678415
Trump moves to strip unionization rights from most federal workers
https://twitter.com/maddenifico/status/1905693297471049875
https://twitter.com/Strandjunker/status/1905645798194298895
https://twitter.com/allenanalysis/status/1905777148243464530
Republican Senator Says Trump Likely Regrets Picking Vance
“I’ve gotta wonder if Trump’s looking at this and going, ‘What have I done?’”
Another GOP Town Hall Event Goes Off the Rails
Boos, jeers and choruses of ‘do your job’ greeted Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) at a town hall on Friday in her Indiana congressional district as she defended sweeping cuts across the federal government, the latest such event by a Republican lawmakers to generate loud voter backlash.
https://twitter.com/buccocapital/status/1905679984259199002
https://twitter.com/theliamnissan/status/1905350628282359986
Serendipity:
https://twitter.com/SVG__Collection/status/1905710757926641747
they’re eating the checks photo source
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Usually, I have 1 or 2 things to worry about on the world stage for the safety and stability of the planet. Now, they are stacking up and each vying for the top spot! Stripping the smart and engaged people out of the department of health because they are refusing to cover up and propagate lies cannot end well!
Imagine the shit show of medical science deniers when the next wave of disease rolls!