The current second Trump administration: a compendium of horrors

Because most people - including most crypto enthusiasts - don’t know anything more about crypto past “line go up”.

If the U.S. decides to create a “bitcoin strategic reserve” of 1 million coins at the current per-coin valuation of $93.6K, that’s 93.6 billion dollars of taxpayer money being converted into bitcoin. Which means a like amount of bitcoin being converted into actual dollars. Whaddaya wanna bet it’ll be friends of certain highly-connected executive branch individuals who get to put their wallets’ bitcoins in for that exchange?

@Ann_Hedonia said it right - “biggest rug pull in history.” This will go straight to the top of the leaderboard on Molly White’s web3isgoinggreat.com

What a huge fucking waste of time and money. As a GIS professional, I can say that changing the name of something is quite a large undertaking.

Is this even something POTUS can do on his own or doesn’t it require a vote in Congress?

Re last post, proponents are claiming the government can do it under something called the Gold Reserve Act. I have no idea if that is reasonable, but I doubt courts like interfering with technical Treasury operations.

My link above says the government already has some bitcoin. I say — Sell!

Chris Hayes on Patel

Remember William Webster — appointed FBI director by Carter and CIA director by Reagan? The centenarian has an opinion:

Former FBI and CIA head prods Senate to reject Patel, Gabbard

For what it is worth, Wikipedia says Webster is a Republican.

These nominees are so obviously defective, by all prior standards, that I can hardly believe they will be confirmed. But I guess they may.

Even if the Senate rejects Patel and Gabbard the replacements DJT will come up with will be just as bad and possibly even worse. It is highly unlikely either of them will run into trouble getting approved.

The oligarchs who believe in getting rich off of immigrant labor, and the MAGA base which believes in getting rid of foreigners, are not getting along.

Elon Musk pledges “war” over H-1B visa program, calls opponents racists

Here is the horror if the MAGA base side of the war for Trump’s soul wins:

Trump’s mass deportation effort estimated to cost $86 billion

I guess I’m, relatively speaking, pro-oligarch. But the Putin precedent suggests that oligarchs who do not know their place lose.

Musk with his attention deficit has invented Calvin Ball Politics.

Note that this column was actually written by Hayes Brown.

Trump 45 threatened to leave the World Health Organization. Reports say he will actually do it this time — probably this month:

Trump transition team plans immediate WHO withdrawal, expert says

This will be an early test of whether Trump 47 is going to be far worse than Trump 45.

The Independent reported that in November of 2023 RFK said, “I’m gonna say to NIH scientists, God bless you all,” Mr Kennedy said, NBC News reported. “Thank you for public service. We’re going to give infectious disease a break for about eight years.” Tuberculosis and fungal infections are each responsible for over a million deaths worldwide each year. Viruses such as SARS-CoV2 will not stop mutating.

“‘We’re gonna say we’re fixing to file some racketeering lawsuits if you don’t start telling the truth in your journals,’ he told the crowd." Why would journals lie? Who else is in on the fix in his mind?

We respond. We put together a team. Collect all of RFKs ramblings. Then reject it by peer review: Your article contains no varifiable facts. Please revise. We will wait. Four years enough for you?

Bloody hell. He’s actually insane, isn’t he?

And I’m gonna say I feel like I’m fixin’ to die.

Because they are being bribed by Big Pharma presumably. As to how this is accomplished is left in some unpublished methods supplement.

Wait a minute. Wut? Stop all study of disease for eight years? Does he think that disease will just go sit in a corner for all that time?

Yes, he is allowing the infectious agents some freedom. Our herd immunity should kick in soon.

Honestly, with as long as we’ve been trying to thwart terrorists, and with as much money as we’ve spent attempting to intercede in their dark plots, perhaps they, too could use a respite to rearrange, resupply, reconsolidate, reformulate, and regroup.

Fair’s fair.

I’ll mention it to Homeland Security Secretary nominee, Kristi Noem, the next time we chat.

“Bring back smallpox!”

Seriously, this was why I made sure to get the M-pox vaccine: smallpox still exists, and some powerful people are crazy.