Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:

A carbon coin. Proof of Carbon Sequestration (PoCS) on a blockchain. A crazy idea, or long overdue? BTW, I don’t mean this.

Is $40K Bitcoin the new $10K? BTC holds $43K support as exchange Bitfinex halts trading

JP Morgan Preparing for ‘Catastrophic’ Debt Default

Fed Chair Powell Says He Has ‘No Intention’ of Banning Crypto

When asked about earlier comments he had made about CBDCs replacing private crypto, Powell said he’d “misspoken.”

Yeah, as if it would even be possible to ban crypto.

The workers who keep global supply chains moving are warning of a 'system collapse'

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

Instead of just getting vaccinated, anti-vaxxers are drinking iodine antiseptic

U.S. Covid Recovery Spreads as Prospects Improve

The U.S. recovery from the latest Covid-19 wave is taking hold across the country, with cases dropping or poised to start falling in the vast majority of states.
In 47 states plus the nation’s capital, a measure of average new infections from one newly infected person is below the key level of 1, signaling that cases are expected to decline.

Los Angeles moves toward barring the unvaccinated from most businesses

The U.S. Owes Its Existence to a Vaccine Mandate

In 1777, smallpox was a big enough problem for the bedraggled American army that George Washington thought it could jeopardize the Revolution. An outbreak had already led to one American defeat, at the Battle of Quebec. To prevent more, Washington ordered immunizations — done quietly, so the British would not hear how many Americans were sick — for all troops who had not yet had the virus.
It worked. The number of smallpox cases plummeted, and Washington’s army survived a war of attrition against the world’s most powerful country. The immunization mandate, as Ron Chernow wrote in his 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Washington, ‘was as important as any military measure Washington adopted during the war.'

It Sure Seems Like a Lot of People Are Choosing to Get Vaccinated Rather Than Lose Their Jobs

Hive Power Up Day:

I did a smallish power up this month.

By itself, less than one half of one percent of an increase to my Hive Power. But, in the background, little HP increases happen day after day from one’s posting rewards, curation rewards, and the Hive Power accrued from staked Hive. I also earned some liquid HIVE from delegations and, early in the month, some HBD for 50/50 posts when HBD was above its nominal peg, which was converted to HIVE on the internal market.

For the month as a whole, there was an 1.8% increase in my HP, from 50,133 on the first of September to 51,033 today. If compounded and annualized, potentially a 23% increase per year. Just try earning that from your legacy bank. I would argue that most active accounts can probably achieve similar percentage results. Nothing’s guaranteed of course and the posting rewards are the component that I have no real control over. Several orcas who upvote me on a fairly regular basis could stop doing so. Or a whale could get into the habit of downvoting me to zero (which has happened more than once already). But earnings derived from stake are under nobody’s control but mine.

Meh, I’ve never really tried to maximize my earnings. I do some little donations here and there, delegate to some accounts that don’t pay out returns, and didn’t try to chase maximum curation under the old reward curve.

I’m here for the long haul. I’ve got skin in the game. If the Hive ecosystem does as well in coming years as I think it might, I’ll do just fine. Sure, it might crash and burn. But I’m guessing that won’t happen.

Politics:

An “attack on American cities” is freezing climate action in its tracks

The natural gas industry was losing in cities across the US. Then came an obscure partisan tactic called preemption.

The Strange Death of American Democracy

Suppose Trump comes back to power in 2024, determined to exact vengeance on his foes, backed by Congress and the Supreme Court. Yes, even this might be just an interlude. Trump is old: his passing might be the end of the authoritarian moment. But neither the electoral system nor the Republican party will go back to what it was. The latter is now a radical party with a reactionary agenda.
The US is the sole democratic superpower. Its ongoing political transformation has deep implications for liberal democracies everywhere, as well as for the world’s ability to co-operate on vital tasks, such as managing climate risks. In 2016, one could ignore these dangers. Today, one must be blind to do so.

Racist ‘Great Replacement’ Talk Is Mingling With Popular Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories

Schumer Says Reconciliation Can’t Be Used for Debt Limit

“It’s an odd statement since Schumer may be forced to use reconciliation — unless he’s got some secret plan to eliminate the filibuster.” — Taegan Goddard

It’s Cal Cunningham’s Fault

Blame Cal Cunningham for everything. He lost a probably winnable 2020 Senate seat in North Carolina because of a sex scandal. In an alternative universe, the Democrats would have 51 Senate seats and Sinema could follow her own weird path without affecting the outcome.

If the French can do it, why not us? Former French President Convicted

It says a lot that’s not good about American politics and society that $7.5 trillion for a decade on defense gets almost no debate while less than half of that investing in people and saving the planet is so hard to pass

— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) September 30, 2021

Trump Still Faces a Reckoning in New York

Lindell’s Election Fraud Claims Shot Down In Idaho

Now Election Deniers Are Circulating A Fake Arizona Audit Report To Attack 2020 Results

A Deep Divide Between Trump and Biden Voters

A strong majority of Trump voters see no real difference between Democrats and socialists, and a majority of Biden voters at least somewhat agree that there is no real difference between Republicans and fascists.

Leaked List Shows Top Republicans in Shadowy Group

A leaked document has revealed the membership list of the secretive Council for National Policy, showing how it provides opportunities for elite Republicans, wealthy entrepreneurs, media proprietors and pillars of the US conservative movement to rub shoulders with anti-abortion and anti-Islamic extremists.
The CNP is so secretive, according to reports, that its members are instructed not to reveal their affiliation or even name the group.

Serendipity:

Costa Rica's answer to range anxiety

A museum says they gave an artist $84,000 in cash to use in artwork. He delivered blank canvases and titled them “Take the Money and Run.”

^{Badge thanks to @arcange}

^{Meme credit: Dr_Iceu (source)}

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