Odds and Ends — 24 May 2023


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Well, that’s one way to win.

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

Bitcoin HODLing Has Never Been More Popular

More BTC than ever has been held for at least a year, according to Glassnode, a potentially bullish sign.

What a “war tax” means for the global economy

Crypto City: Guide to Osaka, Japan’s second-biggest city

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

New Covid Wave Hits China

China is likely to see its Covid-19 wave peaking at about 65 million infections a week toward the end of June, according to a senior health adviser, while authorities rush to bolster their vaccine arsenal to target the latest omicron variants.

Florida Man:

The Bigs Turn on Meatball Ron

For the last two or three months we’ve had this on-going spectacle of major media continuing to portray Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the arch-rival and potential slayer of ex-President Trump even after it’s become increasingly clear he has really no chance at all of winning the nomination. In fairness to DeSantis it’s unlikely that anyone stands a chance, unless the judicial system or mortality remove Trump from the stage. But it’s only with DeSantis that you have the yawning gap between perception and reality. Everyone knows Pence and Scott aren’t happening.

Ronny on the Run

On television, DeSantis can come across as savvy, reasonably well media-trained, and sometimes aggressive. (His wife, Casey, is a former local news anchor.) But in person, I immediately sensed a very different potential candidate: a guarded politician who had no interest in actually engaging with other humans, and was perhaps even a little scared of the spotlight. He had trouble making eye contact with people in the crowd. After five minutes of unmemorable remarks, we were quickly ushered out of the room…

Politics:

Special Counsel Wrapping Up Mar-a-Lago Probe

Special counsel Jack Smith has all but finished obtaining testimony and other evidence in his criminal investigation into whether former President Donald Trump mishandled classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Some of Trump’s close associates are bracing for his indictment and anticipate being able to fundraise off a prosecution, people in the former president’s circle said, as clashes within the Trump legal team have led to the departure of a key lawyer.

Trump hush money trial in Manhattan DA criminal case set for March 2024

Biden Tries to Close Deal He Sought to Avoid

President Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress approached this year’s debt-ceiling drama with a consistent mantra: They would absolutely never, ever, under any circumstances, negotiate over raising the country’s borrowing level.
But now they are very much negotiating on the debt limit, just about a week before the June 1 date when the Treasury Department estimates the U.S. could run out of measures to avoid default.

I’m surprised that Biden blinked. He knew better than to negotiate with blackmailers, but he did it anyway. That blunder will make it even harder to not blink next time.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO): “I left a prescription at a pharmacy once. I went to get birth control … The price was very, very high ... And I said, 'It’s cheaper to have a kid.' And I left it there, and now I have my third son.” pic.twitter.com/5aUut9DBg8

— The Recount (@therecount) May 23, 2023

Is she lying or just stupid?

Fearing indictment is imminent in classified docs probe, Trump team requests meeting with DOJ

Fake, but nonetheless rather spot on:

Trump’s Authoritarian Plans For A Second Term Should Scare The Crap Out Of You

Saying the quiet part out loud: Matt Gaetz Embraces Role of Hostage Taker

Republicans have often bristled at accusations that they are resorting to hostage tactics by refusing to raise the federal debt ceiling without securing spending cuts.
But on Tuesday, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz leaned into the charge as he explained to reporters that he and his fellow hardline conservatives would likely reject any sort of compromise deal that watered down the party-line bill Republicans passed through the house.
Said Gaetz: “I think my conservative colleagues… don’t feel like we should negotiate with our hostage.”

Texas GOP Moves To Commandeer Elections In Houston

Harlan Crow: Investigating My Gifts to Clarence Thomas Is Unconstitutional

Bopp is essentially arguing here that Crow’s interests are so closely aligned with those of Thomas that the billionaire cannot be required to disclose what he knows. Again, the logic is self-refuting. Either Crow has the kind of special relationship that means their interests are bound up together—in which case Crow must answer congressional questions—or they do not, in which case he is no different from Thomas’ other buddies. But it is no answer to say that the deeply enmeshed and inappropriately chummy nature of the Crow­–Thomas friendship means that Crow is somehow immune from congressional scrutiny. If Crow is implicated enough to get Thomas in ethical hot water, he is implicated enough to say what he knows.

More than two dozen cities and states are suing Big Oil over climate change – they just got a boost from the US Supreme Court

The former Chair of the Republican National Committee is not amused:

You’re not the first criminal defendant to be told to shut up. Besides, you were only “warned”. The trial calendar is the trial calendar. It waits for no one. And nothing like this has happened before because we’ve never had a president do the shit you’ve done before. pic.twitter.com/DOXdzOMVcg

— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) May 23, 2023

Serendipity:

Why car parks are the hottest space in solar power

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