Odds and Ends — 14 October 2026

preparedwombat(78)

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One of my brothers built this crib for his granddaughter with maple and cherrywood. The cherry had been acquired by our dad over 40 years ago. Craftsmanship is not dead.

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

https://x.com/ArthurCDent/status/2110134473006485952

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Why do some children become seriously ill with COVID? The answer may lie in their genes

Iran:

Oil prices surge as Iran deploys new tactics to target tankers

Politics:

Trump Is Free to Be What He Has Always Been

Now, the lying is over. Donald is free to be what he always wanted to be and to sing it loudly to the world. He, and by extension the government of the United States of America, is Vladimir Putin’s friend and partner. He will help Putin, protect Putin, and do what he can to get the best possible deal for Vladimir Putin.
This time he probably cannot go back. The expressions of intense emotion of the last 24 hours are too clear for even the most gullible of the press (and that is most of them) to ever again start writing about the next, supposed Trump ‘pivot’ to Ukraine. Trump is free now. His heart can sing the song he has always wanted to sing, and the American people can no longer deny that the USA is run by a Russian useful idiot or agent of influence (depending on the nomenclature you prefer).

https://x.com/caslernoel/status/2110345925000364168

———— Ken Paxton ————

https://x.com/Amy_Siskind/status/2109832028711534971

As President Trump weighed endorsing Ken Paxton over incumbent Texas Sen. John Cornyn this spring, he was told that damaging revelations were likely to surface about Paxton… Trump was dismissive and said there would be more negative material about Democratic nominee James Talarico.
Trump plowed ahead and endorsed the scandal-plagued Texas attorney general, helping him win the Republican-primary runoff in May. Months later, that decision is looking like Trump’s biggest gamble of the midterms.
Meanwhile, damaging revelations about Paxton continue to emerge. A new scene that could join the list: a previously unreported New Year’s Eve 2024 celebration where Paxton partied in Dubai with two fugitives from U.S. justice and a woman who wasn’t his wife.

https://x.com/girlsreallyrule/status/2109821124712530164

https://x.com/electionsjoe/status/2109842868873420982

https://x.com/bourscheid/status/2109958515146334380

https://x.com/RepJackKimble/status/2110153087591895479

———— The New Ivanka ————

https://x.com/atrupar/status/2110011356548063375

https://x.com/Mpolymer/status/2110059253071298994

https://x.com/atrupar/status/2109982243410018689

https://x.com/donkoclock/status/2110009002847518930

White House Scrambles to Explain Katie Zacharia’s Résumé

The White House on Tuesday scrambled to answer questions about the legal credentials of President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, who made a brief and halting debut in the briefing room and later said she had passed a bar exam in China, a country where noncitizens aren’t allowed to practice in courtrooms.

https://x.com/AveryBa68752542/status/2110040295173660860
https://x.com/ProjectLincoln/status/2110017731416203292

———— My Big Fat Greek Firing ————

https://x.com/acnewsitics/status/2110037159986319500

https://x.com/covie_93/status/2110086784080105820

———— Dementia Don ————

https://x.com/JoyceCarolOates/status/2109862901364207849

Trump Jokes Around as Supporter Punches Protester

…Donald Trump mocked a protester as they were being physically attacked by his rallygoers.
A video of the incident showed a bald man in a T-shirt punching a woman in the face, pulling her hair, and hitting her repeatedly.

https://x.com/fire_starter457/status/2109989392794390959
https://x.com/girlsreallyrule/status/2110139681572618673
https://x.com/smalls2672/status/2110073647113089051

Godfather of AI Calls Trump a ‘Corrupt, Senile Felon’

Americans aren’t just seeing the price tag increase for imported goods. Thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, they are now paying more for products made in the USA, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In fact, the research finds that prices for many everyday goods would have fallen last year and into early 2026 without Trump’s tariffs.