Odds and Ends — 3 January 2024
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:
Grayscale’s latest spot Bitcoin ETF amendment omits authorized participants
Gas Prices Fall Below $3 a Gallon for Most Americans
Gas prices have spent the last 10 days bouncing around within a two-cent range, currently averaging at $3.10 a gallon nationwide. But the median average is $2.79, as the national number is heavily influenced by higher prices on the West Coast.
Coinbase Buckles 10% as Crypto Stocks Falter Despite Bitcoin Topping $45K
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
Severe covid-19 infections linked to increased risk of schizophrenia
People with severe covid-19 infections are more than 4 times as likely to later be diagnosed with schizophrenia than people who have not been infected, though the risk of developing the condition is relatively low.
Florida Man:
Ron DeSantis wants to fire Jack Smith on his first day in office
A moot point. Desantis isn’t going to have a first day in office.
Politics:
Trump Intends to Turn Trial Into a ‘MAGA Freak Show’
Attempts to drag Nancy Pelosi into court to berate her on the stand and, hopefully, on live TV. Claims that the Jan. 6 Capitol attack was an FBI frame job, with an assist from Antifa. Conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was indeed ‘stolen,’ supposedly backed up by still-classified documents. Unhinged assertions that President Joe Biden is now secretly, personally orchestrating an unprecedented act of political persecution. Calls to publicly unmask the federal officials and lawyers investigating the former (and perhaps future) president of the United States. Efforts to blame any illegality on some of the ex-president’s closest confidants and former legal allies. Insinuations of election meddling by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
These are just some of the items that former President Donald Trump and his lawyers have been discussing and planning to deploy when he goes on trial for his efforts to steal the 2020 election. The brewing defense strategy is outlandish and feral, even by Trumpland standards, to the point that it’s baffling some of the ex-president’s former lawyers and senior administration officials.
One person with knowledge of these strategic and legal discussions bluntly describes the plans as a blueprint for staging a ‘MAGA freak show’ at Trump’s federal election subversion trial.
Club for Growth Surrenders to Trump
In a sign of Trump’s growing dominance in the primary, the Club for Growth, an anti-tax group once bent on preventing Trump from becoming the nominee, has contacted Trump advisers looking for a détente, according to people familiar with the overtures. The organization shelved its efforts to try to stop him in the fall.
Women Who Are Not Pregnant Are Ordering Abortion Pills
Tens of thousands of women who are not pregnant are ordering abortion pills just in case they might need them someday, especially in states where access is threatened, according to a study published on Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/mluckovichajc/status/1742286285790982285
Lawsuit Seeks to Remove Scott Perry from Ballot
A lawsuit has been filed in Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court to remove Republican U.S. House Representative Scott Perry from the 2024 ballot due to the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause.
Police Expand Probe Into Florida GOP Chair
https://twitter.com/RBReich/status/1742273874501292494
Armed man breaks into Colorado Supreme Court building, causes “significant and extensive” damage
A man shot through a window and broke into the Colorado Supreme Court building early Tuesday morning, causing “significant and extensive” damage in several areas of the building before surrendering to police, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
The incident happened two weeks to the day after the state Supreme Court ruled Donald Trump cannot appear on the state’s primary ballot based on his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach and the riot by his supporters.
The story’s a bit vague on details; it might well be unrelated to Trump.
Steve King Endorses Vivek Ramaswamy
Steve King, the nine-term former Republican representative from Iowa with a history of incendiary, racist rhetoric, endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy for president in his home state on Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1742322732480762122
Seems like a waste of resources to me. Battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania might well be in play, but the states he’s talking about are probably out of reach. Minnesota was purple 20 years ago, but has moved increasingly into the blue column. New York? He’s delusional.
https://twitter.com/ruthbenghiat/status/1742333173931950503
’Storm the Capitol’ Board Game Celebrates Jan. 6 Rioters
Too bad, so sad: Judge rules former clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses must pay $260,000 in fees, costs
Serendipity:
https://twitter.com/Enezator/status/1727790099524382799?s=20
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