Odds and Ends — 12 January 2026

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

Russians ask government hotlines whether pensions are paid in crypto

Bitcoin Shrugs Off Powell Probe as DOJ Targets Fed Chair

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Heart Failure Deaths Have Accelerated in US Since Covid Pandemic

Politics:

MAGA’s Theory of Trump’s Dismal Approval Ratings

The political result of Trump’s full populism in his second term appears to be largely the same as the political results of his first term: a president with an underwater approval rating and a drubbing in the off-year elections that portends a blue wave in the midterm elections.
So how exactly do congressional Republicans answer Trump’s question about why he and Republicans aren’t more popular in the mind of the public? Some Republicans contend the problem is simply one of messaging, while others claim the party needs to be even more populist. While polling shows Trump and the GOP faring poorly on the economy and affordability, few elected Republicans are willing to argue that Trump’s tariffs—at their highest level since the 1930s—are a source of the GOP’s political woes.
The core tenet of today’s Republican Party is that Trump cannot fail; he can only be failed. And according to Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, congressional Republicans have failed Trump by not fully implementing a populist agenda.

———— Murder in Minneapolis ————

I’m filled with rage. Just got a text from my son who lives in Minneapolis:

Morning Dad. Getting pretty scary around here; ICE was in (his employer’s) parking lot yesterday and then later stopped a friend who was out running with his dog and tried to intimidate him. Have photocopied my papers to have with me at all times, feels like I’m going to get stopped at some point.

He shouldn’t have to live in fear. We no longer live in a functioning democracy. Trump will probably die before ever facing justice but Vance, Noem, Miller, et al must have Nuremberg 2.0 trials.

This will not go over well in Minnesota: Noem Tells Tim Walz and Jacob Frey to ‘Grow Up’

Nor will this:

https://x.com/MAGACult2/status/2010497894584082700

———— Jerome Powell ————

———— Stark. Raving. Mad. ————

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

———— Autocracy R Us ————

States move to rein in ICE after fatal Minnesota shooting

Legislators nationwide are advancing bills to curb immigration enforcement and limit cooperation with federal agents.

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The Authoritarianism Will Be Televised

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

Schools in Occupied Ukraine Aim to Turn Children Into Russian Nationalists

Required lessons are heavy on militarism and pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Some people make an arduous escape, partly to avoid the indoctrination.

Britain to develop new ballistic missile for Ukraine's defense

———— Mors Imperii ————

Serendipity:

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Odds and Ends — 12 January 2026 | Ecency