Odds and Ends — 7 January 2023
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:
Tron’s Price Sinks 8%, USDD Depegs Amid Drama at Justin Sun-Related Huobi Crypto Exchange
Balancer warns some LPs to remove liquidity ASAP because of a ‘related issue’
Who is Alex Mashinsky, the man behind the alleged Celsius crypto fraud?
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
The US Keeps Offering China Its Covid Vaccines. China Keeps Saying No.
In related news, New Chinese mRNA Covid vaccine shows positive early results
Politics:
Trump Special Counsel Bolsters Team
The special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump brought on two current and former long-time career prosecutors experienced in handling complex public corruption cases.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has tapped Ray Hulser, a veteran prosecutor who previously led the Justice Department’s public integrity section, and hired David Harbach, who previously served as counsel to a Trump adversary, former FBI Director James Comey.
The two attorneys have prosecuted some of the most high-profile public corruption targets of both political parties in recent years, including cases against Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and former presidential candidate and Senator John Edwards.
THERE IT IS: McCarthy agreed to give Freedom Caucus the keys to the car on pushing for national debt default. pic.twitter.com/Hl33FpQnSv
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 6, 2023
Democratic Officials’ Homes Shot Up in New Mexico
The homes or offices of four elected Democratic officials in New Mexico have been hit by gunfire over the past month, and authorities are working to determine if the attacks are connected.
Why can't Kevin McCarthy just pretend he won? Republicans love that kind of thing.
— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) January 6, 2023
Meet Cheryl Johnson, the clerk running the House
The ‘Stolen’ Election That Poisoned American Politics.
The 1984 race for Indiana’s ‘Bloody 8th’ trained a generation of politicians in the scorched-earth tactics of recounts. Its legacy lives on in Trump’s ‘stop the steal’ rhetoric.
Imagine Negotiating the Debt-Ceiling Ransom With These Maniacs
Imagine a Republican Speaker — any Republican Speaker — figuring out a ransom that almost the entire caucus could agree on. The intraparty dynamics virtually guarantee that anything a Republican leader could agree to would immediately be seen on the far right as too little.
All is to say that even if you think Biden ought to negotiate a debt-ceiling-ransom demand, it’s now a practical impossibility. The only way to accomplish the goal is to separate it from policy altogether. The best way to do that would have been for Democrats to lift the debt ceiling when they still had control of Congress. (Their failure to do so could potentially prove to be the decisively catastrophic choice of the last four years.) The best remaining option is for the Treasury to use its Congressionally inscribed authority to mint coins in denominations it chooses.
WATCH THIS SPACE: In the past 48 hours, not one, not two, but *three* secret grand jury court battles have landed before the federal appeals court in DC.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 6, 2023
Do I know these are Jan. 6/Trump-related? No. But they have hallmarks of a similar secret court fight that occurred in Oct. pic.twitter.com/rm3wvOHNrE
Michigan Pledges Case Against Fake Electors
The Michigan attorney general said Friday there’s ‘clear evidence’ to pursue charges against pro-Donald Trump Republicans who claimed they were the state’s presidential electors in 2020, despite Democrat Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory.
Dana Nessel referred the matter to federal prosecutors last year, but no public action has been taken. A year later, she said it’s time for state authorities to step in.
Two lawmakers nearly come to blows — and other crazy moments from McCarthy’s final speaker votes
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) lunged at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and had to be pulled away by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.)…
Standing up a little while later to give a nominating speech for Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Rep. Dean Philips (D-Minn.) summed up the spectacle everyone had just witnessed: “Madam clerk, I rise to say, ‘Wow.’”…
Throughout the whole evening, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) was reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” while waiting on votes.
Tim Burchett, who was in between Matt Gaetz and Mike Rogers during their confrontation on the House floor, tells me Rogers was making threats about ending careers.
— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) January 7, 2023
“People shouldn’t be drinking, especially when you’re a redneck, on the House floor,” Burchett said.
Serendipity:
The Writer’s Most Sacred Relationship
Creative partnerships can be a challenge for fragile egos—but they also provide a lifeline in difficult times.
The secret ingredient in Roman concrete that means buildings can last for millennia
I meant to take pics yesterday morning but had a brain fart. A guy who lives a few miles from me got the job done:
I've never seen rime ice like this. This morning is full of surprises! pic.twitter.com/ttokyp3lFk
— Bill Borghoff (@BillBorghoff) January 6, 2023
