Odds and Ends — 12 January 2025

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Not Equal Justice

Even though this may have been the least of Trump’s crimes, it was not a trivial matter. His attorney, Michael Cohen, went to prison for his role in arranging the payments. And, as Cohen later explained, the payoffs were not designed to cover up a personal scandal but were made ‘for the principal purpose of influencing the election.’ Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, including ‘two counts of illegal campaign contributions related to payments to women.’
Cohen served more than a year in prison and a year and a half in home confinement. Trump himself faced as many as four years for his own felony convictions. But, unlike Cohen, Trump will not serve a day.

Democrats and the Ruthless Aggression Era

America needs a real opposition party…
First: Do not help Republicans. Not in any way. On any issue. Republicans can’t pass a budget, or raise the debt ceiling? Tough luck. Do not provide them any bailout votes on any issue. Period, the end.
Second: Make Donald Trump own every bad outcome that happens, anywhere in the world while paying special attention to areas where Republicans are particularly vulnerable. Like housing and Ukraine.

Trump Doesn’t Believe Anything

It might seem bizarre for an executive to employ someone they consider at odds with their agenda. But there is a design behind this seeming dysfunction, and it reflects one of Trump’s strengths: He is a nakedly transactional coalition leader with few, if any, core beliefs. This enables him to balance the demands of opposing constituencies without alienating them.
Because Trump has few real commitments, he can take contradictory positions and appease rival factions—in this case, hiring a member of the GOP establishment that he has assailed as ‘freaks,’ ‘warmongers,’ and ‘neocons’—without paying a price for inconsistency. On the contrary, Trump’s unapologetic amorality is a proven electoral asset that allows him to do things other politicians cannot.
Trump’s transparent transactionalism permits him to assimilate the anti-vaccine support base of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into his camp while simultaneously trumpeting the success of Operation Warp Speed, with both sides believing they can leverage the president-elect to their advantage. It enabled Trump to deliver anti-abortion Supreme Court justices for the religious right but then declare on the 2024 campaign trail that he wouldn’t ban abortion—and to have voters believe him, because they rightly surmised that Trump genuinely doesn’t care about the issue.


Greenland’s Premier Says Island Seeks Independence

Greenland does not want to be American or Danish but independent, according to the Arctic island’s prime minister at the end of a tumultuous week following US president-elect Donald Trump’s refusal to rule out force to take control of the territory.
Múte Egede said that ‘the status quo is not an option’ as he laid out the desire of the vast and geopolitically crucial island of 57,000 to have ‘its own voice’ by gaining independence from Denmark and turning down Trump’s attempts to buy Greenland.
Said Egede: “We don’t want to be Danish, we don’t want to be American, we want to be Greenlandic.

All well and good, but they might want to wait on independence until after Trump/Vance leave office.


Meta Kills DEI Programs

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is terminating major DEI programs, effective immediately — including for hiring, training and picking suppliers.
The move is a strong signal to Meta employees that the company’s push to make inroads with the incoming Trump administration isn’t just posturing, but an ethos shift that will impact its business practices.

Biden Issues Sweeping Deportation Protections

The Biden administration on Friday issued sweeping extensions of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of people from Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela in a move that makes it almost impossible for President-elect Donald J. Trump to swiftly strip the benefit when he takes office.
The extension of Temporary Protected Status, as the program is called, allows the immigrants to remain in the country with work permits and a shield from deportation for another 18 months from the expiration of their current protection in the spring.

The Return of Havana Syndrome

New information has come to light causing some in the intelligence community to adjust their previous conclusions. And a new report reopens the possibility that a mystery weapon used by a foreign adversary caused Havana syndrome. At the White House, senior Biden-administration officials are more convinced than their colleagues in the intelligence agencies that Havana syndrome could have been the result of a deliberate attack by an American foe.
The geopolitical consequences are profound, especially as a new president prepares to take office: If Russia, or any other country, were found culpable for violent attacks on U.S. government personnel, Washington would likely feel compelled to forcefully respond.

A trial balloon, or Vance already knows he’s being thrown under the bus? Vance Says Violent Jan. 6 Protesters Shouldn’t Be Pardoned


Trump Calls Handling Los Angeles Wildfires ‘Incompetent’

President-elect Donald Trump offered fresh criticism early Sunday of the officials in charge of fighting the Los Angeles wildfires, calling them ‘incompetent’ and asking why the blazes were not yet extinguished.
Said Trump: “The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out.”

Serendipity:

Bigmouth buffalo: The mysterious fish that live for a century and don't decline with age

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Odds and Ends — 12 January 2025 | Ecency