Odds and Ends — 6 June 2024

On D-Day, the U.S. Conquered the British Empire

On June 6, 1944, the British found themselves suddenly and irrevocably overtaken by their former colony.

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

Paxos International to issue regulated interest-paying stablecoin

Elon Musk Accused of Massive Insider Trading

Bitcoin Miners With Attractive Power Contracts Are Potential M&A Targets, JPMorgan Says

U.S. listed bitcoin miners have access to large amounts of power, making them potential takeover targets for hyperscalers and AI firms, the report said.

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

New Report Underscores the Seriousness of Long Covid

The National Academies said the condition could involve up to 200 symptoms, make it difficult for people to work and last for months or years.

Politics:

https://twitter.com/acnewsitics/status/1798336548108398863
- acnewsitics

Prison Time for Trump Would Sway Voters

Voters who lean toward Mr. Trump may well conclude that having to check in with a probation officer periodically won’t impede his performance as commander in chief.
Prison is different. The reality is that most voters are not anticipating that Mr. Trump will actually face incarceration. In my data, only one in five thinks he is likely to get prison time, and most of those are already Biden voters. It isn’t hard to imagine a voter who isn’t crazy about Mr. Trump but leans toward voting for him, who thinks the trial and verdict itself were much ado about nothing, yet when confronted with the prospect of voting for a man who has been sentenced to prison has a strong reaction.

https://twitter.com/danielsgoldman/status/1797769685225935176
- danielsgoldman

Another Prosecutor Is Apparently Racing Toward a Trump Indictment

Senate Republicans block consideration of bill to create a ‘right to contraception’

https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1798395985095504016
- MuellerSheWrote

https://twitter.com/thejackhopkins/status/1798429330319491179
- thejackhopkins

How Modi Turned a God Into a Weapon

The hero my grandmother told me stories about has become a monster.

Kushner’s Deal with Pro-Russia Serbs Raises Hackles

Belgrade development, joined by former Trump envoy Ric Grenell, includes a memorial to “victims of NATO aggression”

https://twitter.com/MarkJacob16/status/1798088767145673002
- MarkJacob16

Trump’s Protectors Push Johnson for House Vote

Conservatives want a floor vote on a bill that would allow current or former presidents to move any state case brought against them — such as the one in New York that resulted in Trump’s conviction — to federal court.

https://twitter.com/PaulRudnickNY/status/1798049887638155591
- PaulRudnickNY

A Small Shift Towards Biden

Voters who dislike both candidates — who have been dubbed double haters — were especially likely to defect from Mr. Trump. Overall, Mr. Trump lost more than one-fifth of the double haters who once backed him.

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1798060047429419457
- Acyn

As Hunter Biden Stands Trial, a Republican Noise Machine Goes Silent

Republicans have gone after Hunter Biden for years, but his trial on gun charges undermines their views on gun rights and on a “weaponized” Justice Department…
For nearly four years, Republicans have delved into the darkest corners of Hunter Biden’s life, seeking to tie his troubles to his father, President Biden. But as the younger Biden stands trial in Delaware on gun charges, the case’s glaring political contradictions have rendered the G.O.P. largely mute, from former President Donald Trump on down.
It stands to reason: The baseless claim that the Biden Justice Department is running a political persecution of Mr. Trump is somewhat undermined by the department’s prosecution of the president’s son. It is also hard to make much of allegations that Hunter Biden lied about his drug use to purchase a handgun when your party is sponsoring legislation to ease gun-purchasing restrictions for veterans struggling with mental illness, not to mention the case before the Supreme Court that could allow domestic abusers to buy firearms.