Odds and Ends — 30 July 2025

Senate Democrats on Wednesday moved to compel the Trump administration to release material connected to the investigation into the accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, invoking a little-known law in a bid to force Republican leaders to confront the growing furor over the case.

Epstein Jail Video Shows Discrepancies

https://twitter.com/TheOnion/status/1950255077513408576

———— Gaza ————

The U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state if Israel doesn't agree to a Gaza ceasefire

Even Just Wars Can Turn Monstrous

…when even Donald Trump admits that the Gazans are getting starved, well then maybe partisans need to start acknowledging reality on the ground. And that Bibi is ignoring it, and insisting otherwise, for political advantage. These photos ain’t AI. It’s no-joke suffering, from people who can’t escape their lot. However corrupt their leaders, they have nowhere else to go. They’re just starving.

The Corrupt Bargain Behind Gaza’s Catastrophe

Israel’s far right wants to take over Gaza. Netanyahu wants to stay in power.

———— Autocracy R Us ————

Brendan Carr’s FCC Eyes Trump’s Media Foes

If nothing else, Carr seems set on raising the costs that media companies invite by broadcasting content that cuts against the president’s political interests.
That is an ugly thing to write of any American regulatory agency chair, much less a conservative Republican who is — or, at least, should be — properly wary of state power.

https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1950179521803497565

Trump shocks with threat he could take over sanctuary cities and arrest unruly mayors under martial law

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/Mylovanov/status/1950267777748496885

———— Smoot-Hawley 2.0 ————

Trump’s Trade ‘Deals’ Sow Confusion

Trump’s ‘announce first, details later’ approach to trade deals has caught some global leaders off guard and led to contradictions about the billions of dollars the administration says foreign nations have pledged.
These are not traditional, word-heavy trade deals with text agreed to by all negotiators.
Instead, news of deals comes via flashy announcements with big numbers and little specificity, leaving global investors wondering about the durability of such frameworks.

https://twitter.com/JustinWolfers/status/1950177248046199290

How Europe Took Trump for a Ride

The optics of the Trump-EU deal were humiliating, and optics matter. If you examine the substance, however, it starts to look as if Europe played Trump for a fool.

———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————

Pete Hegseth May Run for Office in Tennessee

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has privately discussed the idea of running for political office next year in Tennessee.
If Hegseth were to follow through on the discussions, it would amount to a major leadership shake-up at the department that oversees the American military and millions of federal employees. The Defense Department bars civilian employees from running for political office, meaning Hegseth would have to resign to do so.

———— Mors Imperii ————

https://twitter.com/FFRF/status/1949946425069944944

Renaming Kennedy Center Would Violate the Law

House Republican proposals to name the Kennedy Center after President Donald Trump and its opera house after first lady Melania Trump would violate the law by which the Kennedy Center was created.
Republicans last week passed an amendment through committee that would rename the opera house after Melania Trump, saying it was a way to recognize her support for and commitment to the arts.

Trump Slashes Funds to Prevent Gun Violence

The Trump administration has terminated more than half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention programs in the U.S., cutting $158 million in grants that had been directed to groups in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Baltimore.

https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1950149104840941760