Odds and Ends — 7 August 2024

@preparedwombat 77

about 1 month ago

oddsandends

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

How the Bank of Japan wrecked the yen carry trade — and crypto markets

Can India’s economy thrive without China’s help?

Semler Scientific Studied MicroStrategy’s Success Before Adopting Bitcoin Strategy

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

Long COVID Basics

Politics:

Arizona Grand Jury Wanted to Indict Trump

A state grand jury in Arizona that charged 18 people this spring in a scheme that sought to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss wanted to indict him, too.
But prosecutors recommended that Mr. Trump should not be charged, citing a Justice Department policy that discourages bringing state and federal cases against the same defendant that are largely based on similar facts.

https://twitter.com/MarkHertling/status/1820824005881794669

Jeff Landry’s Message to Parents

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has a suggestion for parents who don’t believe the Ten Commandments should be displayed in public school classrooms throughout the state.
Said Landry: “Tell your child not to look at them.”

https://twitter.com/alex_shephard/status/1820820175689535787

FBI agents execute search warrant on Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles

J.D. Vance’s Weird Event in Philadelphia

Despite using room dividers to shrink the space, the campaign could not hide that the crowd felt like a medium-sized wedding, albeit a pathetic one where no one cares for the couple…
Vance’s event was small, mean, and yes, weird, featuring the unjustified sarcasm of the candidate and a desperate feeling reminiscent of the mood at a strip mall shot bar at 2 a.m. on ‘ladies night.’
One upside to the Vance event: There was no line to use the ladies' room. Sure, there were women in attendance, but the gender ratio felt like the guest list on Joe Rogan's podcast. There was one kind of diversity in this small but weirdly intense crowd. Every type of white man that gets a hasty "swipe left" on his dating profile was in attendance: 'Roided out dudes with bad tribal tattoos. Older men radiating "bitter divorce" energy. Men with enormous beards that have never known the touch of a trimmer. Skinny fascists wearing expensive suits, despite the oppressive heat. Glowering loners staring at the two women under 40 like cats watching birds out a window.

https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/status/1820926331229442479

Why Tim Walz is the Right Choice

The arguments for Shapiro and Kelly were clear. They could help deliver critical states. Walz is from Minnesota. And Republicans were making noise about Minnesota a few weeks ago when President Biden was in the race. Polling since Harris became the nominee suggests that Minnesota is no longer up for grabs. If she has to fight to hold on to Minnesota, she is toast in similar states like Michigan and Wisconsin. Shapiro could have given her a slight boost in Pennsylvania. The home state boost from the VP pick is dramatically overstated, but it is real — most estimate about a point or two. Pennsylvania was decided by less than a point in the last two presidential elections.
I have been a huge fan of Josh Shapiro since 2008. Like Kamala Harris, he became an early endorser of Barack Obama when most of the party establishment backed Hillary Clinton. I would not be surprised if he were President one day.
In picking Walz, Kamala Harris looked at something broader than winning one state. She sought a running mate to help her in all seven battleground states. Winning Pennsylvania alone is not enough to get to the White House. Presidential politics is more chess than checkers, and choosing Walz is evidence that Kamala Harris is looking at the whole board.

https://twitter.com/SweetFnLucifer/status/1820953137122791566

Why Kamala Harris Didn’t Pick Josh Shapiro

Shapiro, another finalist, avoided the green-room circuit and instead touted Harris and his own record at a series of events throughout the state. A pro-Harris event in Philadelphia turned into a Shapiro-for-VP party.
His style was seen by at least some in Harris’ world as showboating. One senior Democrat in touch with Harris’ team called it ‘counterproductive.’
And there was a sense within Shapiro’s team that, unlike Walz, his interview with Harris did not go as well as it could have. There was ‘not a great feeling’ coming out of it.
After their meeting on Sunday, Shapiro called Harris’ team and made clear that he was ‘struggling with the decision to leave his current job as governor of Pennsylvania, in order to seek the vice presidency.’

https://twitter.com/Strandjunker/status/1820822696445292913
https://twitter.com/vexedinthecity/status/1820830306565337244

British MPs want to haul Elon Musk before parliament over riots

How exactly would that work? Elmo does have three citizenships, but U.K. isn’t one of them.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1820955593114275959
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1820953905561530480

The author of the viral joke post about JD Vance having sex with a couch breaks his silence

https://twitter.com/AWeissmann_/status/1820981737729536444

Georgia Election Board Passes Rule That Could Delay Election Certification

https://twitter.com/AmandiOnAir/status/1820933229001470210
https://twitter.com/nibberdoo/status/1820656275258294625