Odds and Ends — 28 July 2022
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:
Surprising zero people, the Federal Reserve raised interest rate by 75 basis points.
FTC files lawsuit against Meta over attempted monopolization of metaverse
Axie Infinity Reportedly Became Pyramid Scheme In The Philippines
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
New data suggests the CDC’s COVID guidance to isolate for 5 days after testing positive is wrong.
Outrage in Brazil as Jair Bolsonaro avoids five charges related to Covid response
Politics:
Andrew Weissmann: Trump Acted with Premeditation
SYKES: If they don’t go forward with charges, if they decide that it’s just too heavy a lift, and Trump is returned to the presidency, what would Trump 2.0 look like, do you think?
WEISSMANN: I don’t know that I have enough alcohol at home to even fathom that.
The abuse of the pardon power, I think would, which we already saw, I think would create a completely lawless society. He could essentially engage in crime and have other people engage in crime, and then pardon them.
I think he has learned to make sure he’s surrounded by lackeys. The article recently in Axios about essentially getting rid of civil service, which is to put in only political appointees, and various agencies, I think would be incredibly harmful, so that you don’t have a sense of people being loyal to the law and the Constitution as opposed to a person. It would be truly frightening.
Will ‘Dereliction of Duty’ Be What Gets Trump Indicted?
Trump Just Told Us His Masterplan
Trump sketched out a vision that a new Republican Congress could enact sweeping new emergency powers for the next Republican president. The president would be empowered to disregard state jurisdiction over criminal law. The president would be allowed to push aside a ‘weak, foolish, and stupid governor,’ and to fire ‘radical and racist prosecutors’—racist here meaning ‘anti-white.’ The president could federalize state National Guards for law-enforcement duties, stop and frisk suspects for illegal weapons, and impose death sentences on drug dealers after expedited trials.
Norman Lear: On My 100th Birthday, Reflections on Archie Bunker and Donald Trump
Garland Leaves Door Open For Prosecuting Trump
Attorney General Merrick Garland told NBC News on Tuesday that Trump’s status as a former president won’t stop the DOJ from potentially prosecuting him in the Jan. 6 investigation. Same goes if Trump decides to run again, Garland said, because “we will hold accountable anyone who is criminally responsible for attempting to interfere with the transfer — legitimate, lawful transfer of power from one administration to the next.”
Democrats Outsmart Mitch McConnell With Surprise Reconciliation Deal
Trump’s January 6 National Guard lie crumbles.
“If you want to know what the Mike Pence vice-presidency was like, Mike Pence is a guy with an erect posture and flaccid conscience. He stood up tall but he did not stand up to Donald Trump.” — Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, quoted by The Guardian.
There is no better indication of the sad state of mental health in America than Mike Pence thinking he has a chance of being president.
— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) July 26, 2022
Taliban’s ‘Suffocating Crackdown’ Crushing Women’s Lives
Oh, good luck with that: Trump Says He’ll Sue CNN for Defamation
The Bubble Effect in the Conservative Media
Congrats Gaetz, You Mocked A Teen’s Weight And Helped Her Raise $100k In Abortion Funds!
Who would’ve guessed that a sitting congressman cyberbullying a teenager would’ve ended in a win for the teen?
Leaked: US power companies secretly spending millions to protect profits and fight clean energy
Serendipity:
Mystery of Australia’s ‘Somerton Man’ solved after 70 years, researcher says
How David Warner stole “Time Bandits” from the thieves
