Odds and Ends — 13 February 2024

3 months ago

What a weird winter so far. Mid-February in Minnesota and I’ve yet to use our snowblower. Almost no snow. A few flurries but I’ve only had to shovel the walk three times so far. The heaviest snowfall was barely an inch. More rain than snow? And other than about five days of brutal sub-zero Fahrenheit in January, it’s been remarkably warm.

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

Franklin Templeton Joins Ethereum ETF Race

Russia’s war economy cannot last but has bought time

https://twitter.com/middleageriot/status/1757135194476196287

Matt Damon Stars In Super Bowl Commercial Promoting Paper Money (The Onion)

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

A growing body of research finds COVID can lead to mental health problems.

Politics:

Two Judges Are Poised to Ruin Donald Trump’s Week

On Thursday, one of the judges, Juan Merchan, may schedule the first criminal trial of a former American president for as early as next month — raising the specter that Mr. Trump might end up behind bars.
The following day, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, the second judge is expected to deliver a ruling that threatens not Mr. Trump’s freedom, but his family business.
The dual threats represent a turning point in Mr. Trump’s legal odyssey, a week that could reshape his personal and presidential fortunes as he marches toward the Republican nomination. Justice Engoron’s ruling could drain Mr. Trump’s cash coffers, and if the former president ultimately leaves Justice Merchan’s courtroom as a felon, it would send the country’s already bitter politics into uncharted realms.

This is how you play hardball: Virginia Democrats Force Vote on Abortion Bill

Virginia Democrats have spent the 2024 legislative session blocking most bills that would limit abortion access in the state, but one effort was allowed to advance to the full House floor Monday and political intrigue followed.
Delegate Tim Griffin (R) brought the bill which would block state funds from being spent on abortion in any circumstances, including rape, incest or the life of the mother.
Griffin’s plea came after House Democrats purposefully put the bill on the floor to get a recorded vote on the controversial issue. Griffin tried to amend the effort Monday by adding those exceptions, claiming he meant to put them there originally, and putting it in line with the Hyde Amendment which blocks federal taxpayer abortion coverage with those exceptions. But the Democratic majority denied him that amendment.

https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1757231082343170453

How Biden Can Defuse the Age Problem

If we’ve learned anything from the Trump years, it’s that one problem is a tragedy, but a thousand problems are just white noise. So don’t be defensive about the age and don’t complain about the media fixating on it. Lean all the way in. Make it a part of the candidate’s identity…
Meanwhile, the problem with Donald Trump is NOT that he, too, is old. The problem with Trump is NOT that he sometimes forgets what day it is, or who he’s running against.
The problem with Trump is that he’s a madman who wants dangerous things.

Republicans are a bunch of gutless fucking cowards

the GOP goes silent on Trump’s NATO betrayal

https://twitter.com/DoctorHenryCT/status/1757094588202766634

Obsessing on gaffes is lazy journalism

We should be less concerned about minor things politicians do accidentally than major things they do on purpose.

https://twitter.com/marcthiessen/status/1757052081532272963

Prominent Anti-Vaxxer’s Snake Oil Store Has a Propaganda Outlet

https://twitter.com/MarkJacob16/status/1757034163931148764

The Legal Coup

New Documents Reveal How Trump Lawyers Sought ‘Chaos’ to Force SCOTUS, or Whoever Else, to Anoint Trump

A Brief Oral History of Wayne Barrett, the First Journalist to Doggedly Cover Donald Trump

Then a fresh-faced real estate scion, Trump was seen as the “embodiment of a rising city.” Wayne Barrett saw through the façade.

https://twitter.com/nfergus/status/1756679733377466797

Trump and the GOP’s Fascist Rhetoric Has Broad Appeal: Poll

“There is a significant market for openly authoritarian ideologies in the United States,” says an academic who oversaw the new poll

https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1757062237271769141

Who is behind 'He Gets Us' Jesus commercials? What to know about charity funding Super Bowl ad

https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1757072770922606788

Domination or Dissolution, Rule or Ruin

The American Right is fully devoted to a fundamentally anti-pluralistic political project. They steadfastly refuse to accept the complex, complicated process of balancing interests, of reconciling different ideas, values, and aspirations that a pluralistic society necessarily depends on. They believe they shouldn’t have to, because they regard it as their prerogative, as the sole proponents of ‘real’ (read: white Christian patriarchal) America, to shape the nation in their image and to define the boundaries of what does and does not count as ‘American.’
If they don’t get to dominate America, then America as they conceive it is no more; they will rule – or might as well ruin.

https://twitter.com/stealthygeek/status/1756739025891680307

Historic Turnout in Pakistan is Swamping the Military’s Effort to Rig the Election