Odds and Ends — 2 August 2025

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

U.S. Added Just 73K Jobs in July, Unemployment Rate Rose to 4.2%

GENIUS sets new stablecoin rules but remains vague on foreign issuers

Ancient Bitcoin Whale Moves Millions in BTC After 12 Years

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Most adults do not plan on getting COVID-19 shot amid vaccine policy changes

Politics:

Trump’s Warm Embrace of India Turns Cold

In just a matter of months, President Trump has gone from praising India as a major strategic partner to saying he wouldn’t care if its economy implodes.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Shuts Down

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1951443464543244732
- RonFilipkowski

MAGA’s New Russiagate ‘Evidence’ Was Likely Made Up by the Kremlin

The administration’s latest attempt to distract from the Epstein scandal debunks a key part of their Russia investigation narrative

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1951295650097672411
- kylegriffin1

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1951299634032259264
- RonFilipkowski

Someone Waived Ghislaine Maxwell's Sex Offender Status to Move Her to a Minimum Security Camp in Texas

According to sources, you can't move someone with a Public Safety Factor (PSF) designation - which Maxwell had - without waiving it. That's what happened here.

https://twitter.com/allenanalysis/status/1951306471972467145
- allenanalysis

https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1951340286476689487
- TheRickWilson

Giuffre family blasts Trump for Maxwell's prison move: "Smacks of a cover up"

———— By The Numbers ————

https://twitter.com/mtkonczal/status/1951263351327076746
- mtkonczal

https://twitter.com/esjesjesj/status/1951353071893655626
- esjesjesj

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1951385791151608126
- RonFilipkowski

https://twitter.com/JustinWolfers/status/1951386362537714005
- JustinWolfers

https://twitter.com/BruceBartlett/status/1951518211146473942
- BruceBartlett

———— Autocracy R Us ————

How the Trump admin is covertly reconfiguring online algorithms

For the first time, here’s a look at the administration’s playbook for reverse algorithmic capture.

———— Blatant In-Your-Face Corruption ————

https://twitter.com/DoctorHenryCT/status/1951252664446005368
- DoctorHenryCT

Donor List Suggests Scale of Trump’s Pay-for-Access

It also reveals how lobbyists, political consultants and others in the influence industry have capitalized on Mr. Trump’s aggressive fund-raising while in office to deliver for clients and earn chits with a president who keeps close tabs on who is delivering cash and listens to their appeals. It is a cycle that has helped Mr. Trump fill the coffers of his political groups, defying the gravity that sometimes drags down the fund-raising of term-limited presidents.
The degree to which this dynamic has benefited Mr. Trump, his donors and their lobbyists — while shutting out regular people seeking assistance from their government — was laid bare in MAGA Inc.’s financial report. The group, which can accept unlimited donations, raised an astounding $177 million in the first half of the year. That was nearly twice as much as the amount raised during the same period by the Republican National Committee, which is subject to contribution limits.

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/GrandpaRoy2/status/1951261291861123323
- GrandpaRoy2

Trump says he's deploying two nuclear subs after 'highly provocative statements' from Russia's Dmitry Medvedev

———— Smoot-Hawley 2.0 ————

Consumers Begin to Feel the Pinch of Tariffs

Companies are starting to shift more tariff-related costs onto consumers.
Many businesses chose to absorb the additional tax during the early days of President Trump’s trade war. But evidence is emerging that they are running out of options to keep prices stable in the face of deteriorating profit margins, suggesting that the tariffs could have a more pronounced effect on prices in the months ahead.

———— Melon Husk ————

Elon Musk gives millions to Republican super PACs ahead of the midterms

———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————

Infighting Inside the Pentagon

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s string of missteps has spurred infighting inside the Pentagon and raised concerns among some Republicans on Capitol Hill about his ability to run the department.
The problems are rooted in Hegseth’s lack of managerial experience in overseeing an entity anywhere near as large as the Pentagon, which employs around 3.4 million people on a budget now approaching $1 trillion.
White House officials were frustrated by Hegseth’s refusal to part with his acting chief of staff despite their misgivings about the aide’s qualifications… Some blame poor Pentagon staffwork for leaving Trump in the dark about a pause in some weapons deliveries for Ukraine… Hegseth has feuded with top generals and fired three senior aides that were well-liked at the White House.

———— Mors Imperii ————

https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1951365452275622007
- davidfrum

https://twitter.com/WalshFreedom/status/1951260349702828396
- WalshFreedom

Supreme Court, in Order Asking for Additional Briefing in Louisiana Voting Case, Appears to Put the Constitutionality of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act into Question

The stakes here are enormous; I was worried the Court would put the VRA’s constitutionality into question when there was this great delay in the Court ordering supplemental briefing. Something big was happening behind the scenes. And now we know.