Odds and Ends — 4 July 2025
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:
https://twitter.com/tripgabriel/status/1940879420119789908
Detroit Sues Crypto Real Estate Platform Over Safety, Health Violations
The city alleges the asset tokenization platform left hundreds of properties in disrepair, even as it promised significant returns.
https://twitter.com/stealthygeek/status/1940779411181306354
Coronavirus and Public Health:
Long COVID Rates Higher in Women: Evidence Grows
Politics:
https://twitter.com/RobertPicardo/status/1940435691646877965
Israeli strike kills renowned Palestinian cardiologist and his family in Gaza
https://twitter.com/carolannleif/status/1940689385441448277
https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1940851586483605838
No President Has Had Something Like Trump’s Megabill
Thanks to this bill, Trump could resign tomorrow and still point to an enduring legacy. Quite a few of his executive orders may ultimately be reversed or curtailed by the courts; his key appointees may fall by the wayside out of incompetence and corruption; and some of his policies, like his protectionist tariff regime, may collapse from sheer incoherence. But the 940-page bill he will sign on July 4th will change the country in ways that will be difficult to reverse, even if his party loses Congress and the White House.
It is, in fact, the single most sweeping piece of legislation in American history. Other presidents have used the mega-packaging device, known as budget reconciliation, to get around Senate filibusters obstructing their initiatives. But none before Trump have packed a year’s worth of legislation, much of it designed to make major changes in federal policies and personnel, into a single bill, a One-and-Done agenda with no Plan B if it failed.
In other words, we’re fucked.
https://twitter.com/wcbuecker/status/1940779812320354585
———— Theresienstadt in the Everglades ————
https://twitter.com/OurShallowState/status/1940493667879555429
https://twitter.com/tomaskenn/status/1940875201467896072
https://twitter.com/queenie4rmnola/status/1940883237238452556
https://twitter.com/RollingStone/status/1940798183657079236
https://twitter.com/irishrygirl/status/1940913477557813253
———— Autocracy R Us ————
https://twitter.com/jimstewartson/status/1940948487899845014
https://twitter.com/themaxburns/status/1940755574754558452
Trump Claims Sweeping Power to Nullify Laws
Attorney General Pam Bondi told tech companies that they could lawfully violate a statute barring American companies from supporting TikTok based on a sweeping claim that President Trump has the constitutional power to set aside laws, newly disclosed documents show.
https://twitter.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1940841629881192547
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1940953632398364957
https://twitter.com/RickPetree/status/1940990072645668953
———— Blatant In-Your-Face Corruption ————
Republican Votes for Budget After Dumping Medicaid-Related Stock
GOP Representative Robert Bresnahan voted for Trump’s budget on Thursday, conveniently after he dumped his shares of stock in a Medicaid provider.
The Pennsylvania representative sold his Centene stock in May, just one week before he voted “yes” on an early House version of the budget bill that crippled the health care system. By Thursday, when he voted for the final version of the bill, Centene stock had plummeted by 43 percent.
———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————
https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1940811532188983355
Russia launches record number of drones at Ukraine after latest Trump-Putin phone call
———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————
https://twitter.com/4HumanUnity/status/1940976968889258070
———— Mors Imperii ————
Did the Republicans Just Blow Up the Trump Coalition?
This is the least popular piece of major legislation passed since the advent of polling nearly a century ago. But how does this vote impact Republican chances in the midterms? It certainly doesn’t help! It’s impossible to imagine that passing a total piece of shit bill that no one wants (and even most Republicans are ambivalent about) won’t hurt them. Earlier this week, I speculated that it could cost them the Senate despite a very pro-Republican map.
However, this bill could be a much bigger deal than just one election. It has the potential to break Trump’s coalition and reshape the electorate to benefit Democrats for several elections to come.
The Big Ugly Bill could be a vote that Republicans come to regret for a generation.
https://twitter.com/AmyxForCongress/status/1940737588647571790
https://twitter.com/Chris4Perkins2/status/1940887647335092374
Serendipity:
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1940831655100665996
Droughts Worldwide Push Millions Towards Starvation
Drought is pushing tens of millions of people to the edge of starvation around the world, in a foretaste of a global crisis that is rapidly deepening with climate breakdown.
More than 90 million people in eastern and southern Africa are facing extreme hunger after record-breaking drought across many areas, ensuing widespread crop failures and the death of livestock. In Somalia, a quarter of the population is now edging towards starvation, and at least a million people have been displaced.
Australia vs US language differences source
Want a free Hive account? Join Hive using my referral link.
What unites all these topics is the deep interconnection between politics, economics, health, and even technology.
Tweeted out the information on women and long COVID--crediting your blog on Hive for the information.
Another interesting tidbit about COVID: it seems those who carry the trait for Thalassemia (beta-Thalassemia) experience better outcomes. It has to do with the shape of the hemoglobin. This genetic trait developed as a protection against malaria, which is also dependent on hemoglobin transport for success. Millions of people, especially of Mediterranean origin, carry this trait.
However, those who have outright Thalassemia are at greater risk of poor outcome. I know this because I carry the trait (beta-Thalasssemia) and was interested in finding out if this increased my risk of poor outcome.
Just a little COVID tidbit :)