Odds and Ends — 25.4.25

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

In the old country, we called this corruption: How Trump team turned a dinner invite into a crypto boon worth millions

Federal Reserve Withdraws Crypto Rules for Banks, Ending 'Choke Point' Practices

‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Pays Roger Stone $600,000 to Lobby

Roger Stone, the longtime associate of President Trump’s, has been lobbying for a pioneering cryptocurrency investor known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ who is facing federal fraud and criminal tax charges, according to congressional filings.
Mr. Stone filed paperwork last month indicating that he had been retained by Roger Ver, an early Bitcoin investor who was charged last year and accused of shielding his cryptocurrency holdings from $48 million in taxes.

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

Global study on Covid vaccine safety falls victim to Trump cuts

Politics:

Trump Pardons Michele Fiore Before Sentencing

President Donald Trump has pardoned former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore, a Republican who was convicted of wire fraud charges last year for using money intended for a fallen police officer’s memorial for her personal use.
Fiore was set to be sentenced next month on her conviction of six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each count would have carried a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.

States Warned They Could Lose Transportation Funding

The Trump administration said Thursday states could lose federal transportation funding over failing to cooperate on federal immigration enforcement efforts or for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

https://twitter.com/TristanSnell/status/1915367307347476585
- TristanSnell

Trump Blocks Federal Aid for Tornado Victims

Disaster survivors in Arkansas left homeless by recent tornadoes have been blocked from receiving federal recovery aid after President Donald Trump rejected the state’s request to declare a major disaster in March.
The Trump administration denied Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ request for individual and public assistance following an outbreak of severe storms and tornadoes that also affected neighboring Mississippi and Missouri and left more than 40 people dead.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1915371659365589313
- RonFilipkowski

Tim Walz: Trump has unleashed ‘chaos’ on world

“Let’s be honest. This uncertainty, this chaos, is no accident. The president of the United States has chosen. Chosen to destroy the federal government’s ability to help people.”

———— Autocracy R Us ————

Which Past Fascist Does Trump Most Resemble? The Incompetent One.

Donald Trump’s narcissism bears a striking resemblance to Benito Mussolini’s. Which does not bode well.

https://twitter.com/danielsgoldman/status/1915382491168334027
- danielsgoldman

Judge pauses parts of Trump's sweeping executive order on voting

https://twitter.com/theliamnissan/status/1915478915189268872
- theliamnissan

———— Smoot-Hawley 2.0 ————

https://twitter.com/SpencerHakimian/status/1915440518806249629
- SpencerHakimian

Republican Megadonor Says Trump Made U.S. 20% Poorer

https://twitter.com/EricBoehm87/status/1915111169099956552
- EricBoehm87

China says there are no negotiations with the US over tariffs

China on Thursday denied U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that the two sides were involved in active negotiations over tariffs, saying that any suggestion of progress in this matter was as groundless as “trying to catch the wind.”

https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1915386487878582397
- MeidasTouch

https://twitter.com/Molson_Hart/status/1915248938753392642
- Molson_Hart

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1915195186311028969
- RonFilipkowski

Everyone Says They’ll Pay More for “Made in the USA.” So We Ran an A/B Test.

https://twitter.com/jefftimmer/status/1915198501320802521
- jefftimmer

https://twitter.com/FreightAlley/status/1915249557295817209
- FreightAlley

———— Francis ————

https://twitter.com/EricIdle/status/1915213690833678828
- EricIdle

https://twitter.com/JustAJaneJ/status/1915211264906641581
- JustAJaneJ

———— I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies. ————

https://twitter.com/EastEndJoe/status/1915208523316633753
- EastEndJoe

https://twitter.com/DarrigoMelanie/status/1915089155626852544
- DarrigoMelanie

https://twitter.com/PaulRudnickNY/status/1915409989809623128
- PaulRudnickNY

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1915387138926948458
- RonFilipkowski

Why Is Trump Acting like Putin’s Agent?

Adding recognition of Crimea as part of Russia to negotiations makes no sense and suggests ulterior motives.

Trump says Russia offered a "pretty big concession" by not "taking the whole country" of Ukraine

Russian general killed in car blast just outside Moscow ahead of Witkoff-Putin meeting

———— Signalgate ————

Pete Hegseth Had ‘Dirty’ Internet Line Installed

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer.
Known as a ‘dirty’ internet line by the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon’s secured connections maintain.

———— Musk and DOGE ————

Elon Musk Comes Up Short

President Trump and Elon Musk promised taxpayers big savings, maybe even a ‘DOGE dividend’ check in their mailboxes, when the Department of Government Efficiency was let loose on the federal government. Now, as he prepares to step back from his presidential assignment to cut bureaucratic fat, Mr. Musk has said without providing details that DOGE is likely to save taxpayers only $150 billion.
That is about 15 percent of the $1 trillion he pledged to save, less than 8 percent of the $2 trillion in savings he had originally promised and a fraction of the nearly $7 trillion the federal government spent in the 2024 fiscal year.

Elon Musk Leaves a Legacy of Self-Destruction at DOGE

Elon Musk arrived in Washington as the most powerful political outsider ever, brimming with Silicon Valley swagger and bipartisan buy-in for his goal of streamlining the federal government.
He’s leaving with his reputation wounded, relationships severed, companies in crisis, fortune diminished — and little to show for DOGE but chaos and contested savings.
Musk’s net worth has declined by a staggering $122 billion this year — nearly matching the $160 billion in government savings claimed by DOGE, which budget experts believe is wildly inflated.