Odds and Ends — 20 February 2025

@preparedwombat 77

2 months ago (Edited)

oddsandends

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

Strategy Set for Another $2B in Bitcoin Buying Power as it Prices Latest Capital Raise

https://twitter.com/NathanJRobinson/status/1891890915347771417

Company Behind $700 AI Device Announces All Of 'Em Will Be Bricked In 9 Days

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

https://twitter.com/drdagly/status/1891969509340131633

So many Americans died from Covid, it’s boosting Social Security to the tune of $205 billion

https://twitter.com/stretch14tw/status/1892244636011250065

Politics:

https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1892288587250405492
https://twitter.com/covie_93/status/1892317598487810100
https://twitter.com/RyanShead/status/1892308188197949846

Trump approval rating underwater 1 month into second term

https://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1892353867288887749
https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1892326356496646457

Trump Blindsides Staff and Congress

President Donald Trump surprised some of his own staff Wednesday when he endorsed a House budget that would gut Medicaid, hours after pledging that the safety net program ‘isn’t going to be touched.’
The comments sent aides scrambling to figure out what Trump meant and which Medicaid cuts he would be willing to accept, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the action happening behind closed doors. The potential Medicaid reductions — an option to help pay for Trump’s wide-ranging tax, energy and border agenda — are triggering a backlash from Republican lawmakers whose constituents rely on the program.

https://twitter.com/RepJackKimble/status/1891999058991993340
https://twitter.com/RandTaylor2/status/1892309208743194850

Hegseth considering firing top military officers

https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1892102474242154815
https://twitter.com/TristanSnell/status/1892031093248758130

What to Make of Trump’s Total Capitulation to Putin

Back in December, during his transition to the White House, I wrote, “Donald Trump probably isn’t a Russian agent, but he wouldn’t be behaving much differently if he were.” I was sneering a bit when I typed that out two months ago. Now I’m scowling. Things have become very serious.
Trump’s obeisance to Vladimir Putin’s views has raised suspicions on many occasions over the past decade, but his outright kowtowing remarks at a news conference Tuesday were enough to set off sirens.
In less than a minute’s time, Trump blamed Ukraine for starting the war, claimed Ukraine could have made a deal to stop the war soon after it began, and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of being an illegitimate leader who didn’t deserve a seat at the table in Riyadh, where U.S. and Russian diplomats asserted the exclusive rights to negotiate a peace.
Not only were all these statements false, they parroted Kremlin propaganda, which Trump likely heard from Putin himself.

https://twitter.com/DarthPutinKGB/status/1892254525559329109
https://twitter.com/BethanyAllenEbr/status/1892086856990237059

It’s Not Time to Protest, It’s Time to Strike

It’s happened before. It’s worked in other countries. And what else can we do?

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1892248975119372675
https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1892195979400462413
https://twitter.com/WalshFreedom/status/1892189625617150104

Vance Calls Zelensky’s Comments ‘Disgraceful’

https://twitter.com/olddog100ua/status/1892107559802134865
https://twitter.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1892277851581305174
https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1892189470205898829
https://twitter.com/fellaraktar/status/1891970087227146352

ICE Prosecutor Runs White Supremacist Account

https://twitter.com/Chris_D_Steele/status/1892157972870025637

Talks to Avert Shutdown ‘Not Going Well’

https://twitter.com/SkylerforNY/status/1892258295433310502
https://twitter.com/acnewsitics/status/1892291389162918032
https://twitter.com/jethrostudio/status/1892089530980679734

Elon Musk Has ‘God Mode’ Access to Government Data

https://twitter.com/HarrisonBecker7/status/1892185818506150343
https://twitter.com/RBReich/status/1892306948298588551

Republicans Are Mum After Trump Turns on Ukraine

As President Trump makes an abrupt pivot toward Russia, upending generations of American foreign policy, he is also defying members of his own party in Congress, many of whom have spent their careers arguing for a hawkish stance against Moscow and strong backing for allies in Europe facing its most immediate threats.
But the response from Republicans on Capitol Hill has been muted, in some cases to the point of silence. There has been little G.O.P. pushback on Mr. Trump’s efforts to draw closer to President Vladimir Putin of Russia or blame Ukraine as he seeks to bring a quick end to the war that began when Russia invaded the country.

https://twitter.com/raghu_venugopal/status/1891928847878156727

"Intentional cruelty": Trump administration accused of "disappearing" immigrants at Guantanamo

https://twitter.com/EmmaVigeland/status/1892353167884525873

Senate Republican Acknowledges That This Might All Be Very Illegal

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1892016641392742529

The U.S. Just Switched Sides

President Trump’s latest rhetoric on the Ukraine war isn’t just aligned with Vladimir Putin—it’s a direct echo.
In a stunning reversal of U.S. policy, Trump is now blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion, calling its democratically elected president a dictator, and praising a Russian leader who silences, jails, and even has his political opponents thrown out of windows or poisoned.

https://twitter.com/danielsgoldman/status/1892210151001624619

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Eric Adams?

As long as Eric Adams refuses to resign, New Yorkers must contemplate other options, including—but not limited to—intervention by the state’s governor.

Trump DOJ Tries To Bully Its Way To End Of Eric Adams Prosecution

I last saw attorney Emil Bove one month ago, when he was representing his client, then-President-elect Donald Trump, at his New York state court sentencing in early January.
On Wednesday, Bove was down the street at the federal courthouse, and had a new, bigger title. He’s the acting Deputy Attorney General. But after watching Bove argue before a federal judge that the DOJ should be allowed to proceed with dropping its prosecution of New York City mayor Eric Adams, it was entirely clear: he is still Trump’s lawyer.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1892282019561796064

Trump Orders the VA to Scrub Veteran Medical Record Note Templates

The Trump administration is changing the way medical professionals at the Department of Veterans Affairs can chart in Veterans electronic health record by removing prohibited language.

https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1892259895245688971

Are We Now the Bad Guys?

There was a time, not too long ago, when America stood as the beacon of freedom, the defender of democracy, and the steadfast ally of those who resisted oppression. We weren’t perfect—far from it—but we tried to stand for something bigger than ourselves.
Yet today, as I watch the behavior of our political leaders, the comments of an ever-increasingly unhinged Trump, and the growing indifference of many Americans toward our role in the world, I have to ask a painful question: Are we now the bad guys?