Odds and Ends — 13 January 2024

“I think appellate courts don't like the institution of courts and justice and the rule of law impugned the way Trump does,” Columbia University Law Professor John Coffee noted in a phone interview. “If you keep saying everything in New York is a travesty, even though it's been done under the supervision of the appellate division, I don't think you make them happy.”

OpenAI Quietly Deletes Ban on Using ChatGPT for “Military and Warfare”

The Pentagon has its eye on the leading AI company, which this week softened its ban on military use.

https://twitter.com/NormEisen/status/1745832571915698292

Hunter Biden calls the GOP’s bluff

https://twitter.com/davidwferrell/status/1745572972822507728

Trump Is About to Lose Big

Trump knows he’s going to lose this case. His outbrust in the courtroom was just another attempt to distract from the devastating verdict ahead.

https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1745790998318370893

“A Pathetic Surrender”: Why Fox News Just Can’t Quit Donald Trump

https://twitter.com/MarkJacob16/status/1745797162221355099

IRS has already collected more than $500 million in back taxes from delinquent millionaires

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1745439983572234663

Russia's Wagner Group is helping Islamist terrorists

https://twitter.com/NotHoodlum/status/1745797607186739602

Republicans Stop Talking About Abortion

Abortion has largely been absent as an issue in the lead-up to this year’s Iowa Republican caucuses, a remarkable change in a state that has long backed religious conservatives vowing to restrict the procedure. Part of the change is because Republicans achieved a generational goal when the Supreme Court overturned a federally guaranteed right to abortion.
But it also underscores a pervasive fear among Republican candidates and voters alike that vocalizing their desire to further restrict abortion rights in 2024 has become politically dangerous.

So, in purple/swing/battleground states, Democrats would be crazy to not bring up the issue again, and again, and again on the way to November.

https://twitter.com/RBReich/status/1745890912142606654

Fox News Revokes Ad Deals with My Pillow

Taiwan Set to Elect President Despised by China’s Xi

Taiwan looks set to elect Lai Ching-te as its next leader after the main opposition candidate conceded, lining up a man Beijing has labeled an ‘instigator of war’ for the presidency.
The Kuomintang’s Hou Yu-ih congratulated Lai for his victory on Saturday evening in Taipei, and apologized for disappointing his voters, in an effective admission of defeat. The KMT is China’s preferred negotiating partner and Hou had vowed to restart talks with President Xi Jinping’s government if elected.

https://twitter.com/TheSGTJoker/status/1745804485799076317