Odds and Ends — 25 April 2024

@preparedwombat 76

13 days ago

oddsandends

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

OP_CAT Proposal to Bring Smart Contracts to Bitcoin Finally Gets a 'BIP Number'

This marks the first step towards reintroducing functionality removed from Bitcoin by creator Satoshi Nakamoto in 2010.

US SEC expected to deny spot Ether ETFs in May

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

The Covid Revisionists Are Endangering Us All

Politics:

Harvey Weinstein’s Conviction Is Overturned

New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction on felony sex crime charges, a stunning reversal in the foundational case of the #MeToo era.
In a 4-3 decision, the New York Court of Appeals found that the trial judge who presided over Mr. Weinstein’s case had made a crucial mistake, allowing prosecutors to call as witnesses a series of women who said Mr. Weinstein had assaulted them — but whose accusations were not part of the charges against him.

Trump Is Ready to Lose the Supreme Court Immunity Case

Donald Trump‘s inner circle doesn’t expect the Supreme Court to go along with his extreme arguments about executive power in the immunity case before the justices. But what the high court does now is almost beside the point: Trump already won.
Bringing the case before the court — after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., shut down their arguments on executive power — was a delaying tactic designed to push Trump’s criminal election subversion trial past Election Day this fall. The strategy paid off so much more than MAGAworld anticipated.
Said one source close to Trump: “We already pulled off the heist.”

Trump Is Co-Conspirator in Michigan Fake Electors Plot

Michigan prosecutors consider former President Donald Trump and some of his top aides co-conspirators in the plot to submit a certificate falsely claiming he won Michigan's 2020 election, an investigator for Attorney General Dana Nessel's office testified Wednesday in court.
Howard Shock, a special agent for Nessel, said Trump; Mark Meadows, who was Trump’s chief of staff; and Rudy Giuliani, who was his personal lawyer, are “unindicted co-conspirators” in Michigan's false elector case.

https://twitter.com/ChrisBuryNews/status/1783285203676303661

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1783281041328816535

Gateway Pundit Declares Bankruptcy

Too bad, so sad. Just as with Rudy Giuliani’s case, bankruptcy court won’t save them from Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman’s defamation lawsuit.

https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1783171851818021181

The US quietly shipped long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine

How long until these are used against the Kerch bridge? The railroad at 45.308330° N, 36.505565° E would appear to be a particularly tasty target. Do a double tap on the adjacent roadway at 45.308563° N, 36.506290° E about 24 hours later after repair equipment had been trucked in?

Ukraine foreign minister says west must boost defence as ‘era of peace is over’

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1783129954865094955

Mike Johnson Met by Booing Crowds at Columbia

Speaker Mike Johnson was drowned out by booing crowds during a speech at Columbia University where he condemned the ongoing student protests against the Gaza war.
Johnson called on Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign if she could not restore order to the campus and said he would urge President Biden to take executive action against the protesters.

https://twitter.com/MarkJacob16/status/1783195289483931728

Cassidy Hutchinson claims Trump figures sought to influence her testimony

https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1783222690213457930

Planned Parenthood to Spend $10 Million in North Carolina

A political arm of Planned Parenthood is launching a $10 million voter engagement campaign in North Carolina to elect candidates in favor of abortion rights this year as reproductive rights surge further into the 2024 spotlight.

https://twitter.com/MichaelSteele/status/1782996103085912115

While Donald Trump Sleeps

Watch carefully and you can see the Republican party forming a circular firing squad. The trigger was last weekend’s much delayed vote for $61 billion in Ukraine aid. Republicans were divided almost evenly. The difference between a yes and a no vote on Ukraine was far bigger than Ukraine; it represents irreconcilable world views.
Not even Donald Trump, who is sitting distractedly, day after day, in a dingy New York courtroom, can bridge the gulf between globalist and anti-globalist Republicans.

https://twitter.com/middleageriot/status/1783141707896258836
https://twitter.com/Stonekettle/status/1783139478883676454

Trump’s New Legal Bills Are Hiding an $8 Million Mystery

Trump is using a GOP compliance firm as a go-between to pay lawyers, allowing him to hide who he’s actually paying. Experts have real questions whether he can do that.

“He said, ‘Oh, my God, Chris. I could never do that. I can never go to jail. They tell you when to go to bed at night and when to wake up in the morning and what to wear and what to do, who you can talk to and what you can eat. I could never do that.’” — Former Gov. Chris Christie

George W. Bush Was a Terrible President

The wheels fell off Bushism relatively rapidly after its triumphant reelection, but the period between Bush’s inauguration and the 2006 midterms is a striking and important one.
It’s the only time since Reagan that the conservative movement was truly governing the country. It also falls into a weird kind of gap where the Bush presidency is too recent to be history but too distant to be vividly remembered by many. And I think it’s worth taking a look back and trying to genuinely assess his administration’s major initiatives.

https://twitter.com/JessicaValenti/status/1783153333668061510

SNP’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens collapses

Arizona Lawmakers Booted from Committees

Two Arizona state House lawmakers were removed from key committees Monday following the chamber’s vote to repeal the state’s 1864 abortion ban, with one Republican who voted with Democrats among them.
Arizona state House Rep. Matt Gress (R) was removed from the Appropriations Committee, while Rep. Oscar De Los Santos (D) was removed from both the Appropriations Committee and Rules Committee.

“I think everybody has made their own assessment of President Trump’s character, and so far as I know you don’t pay someone $130,000 not to have sex with you.” — Sen. Mitt Romney