Odds and Ends — 25 August 2026


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

MiCA cracks down on USDT in Europe... but no one else cares

https://x.com/CoinMarginalX/status/2091752693748658489

Coinbase Puts Tokenized Stocks on Base

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Study ties COVID infection at delivery to increased risk for mom and baby

Iran:

https://x.com/berningman16/status/2091971035654701090

So, it’s not going to happen: Squeezing Iran Means Confronting China

https://x.com/PhillipsPOBrien/status/2091913040224473381

Politics:

Trump’s bullying has backfired

Trump makes almost no attempt to win over either domestic or foreign audiences to his views. Instead of cajoling or convincing, he tries to coerce and compel others to do what he wants. That strategy is failing, because few take his threats seriously anymore.

https://x.com/atrupar/status/2091877966506803232

The D.C. Bar is officially deciding whether to investigate Chief Justice John Roberts for misconduct over millions in payments to his wife

https://x.com/RonFilipkowski/status/2091905538992886004

https://x.com/jimstewartson/status/2091892147821891670

*———— Minnesota Under Siege ————*

https://x.com/KellyScaletta/status/2091372024773894636

*———— Scott Bessent ————*

https://x.com/ColMoeDavis/status/2091291298246340631

https://x.com/RonFilipkowski/status/2091873056591372778

*———— A mari usque ad mare ————*

https://x.com/ruthbenghiat/status/2091539649067962855

https://x.com/anneapplebaum/status/2091593655421210790

https://x.com/BillKristol/status/2091886624678228455

https://x.com/RonFilipkowski/status/2092208473157018096

https://x.com/covie_93/status/2091641918782337051

https://x.com/HQNewsNow/status/2091976869612544084

*———— Natalie Harp ————*

https://x.com/BillKristol/status/2092010804153299300

White House Crops Natalie Harp Out of Video

In broadcasts of the event, Harp was clearly visible among Trump’s guests. In the president’s suite she was spotted standing behind and to the right of Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who has reportedly found herself at odds with Harp over her increasingly controversial relationship with her husband. Shocking. Someone in the press office, it seems, is trying to lower the temperature.
A clip of Trump waving the starting flag for the IndyCar race held on the National Mall on Sunday was oddly cropped. Half of the Fox Sports logo was missing, the first lady had an arm almost entirely cut out of the frame. Zoom out and the full picture shows Harp hovering just beyond the first lady’s shoulder.

https://x.com/MaryPatFlynn1/status/2091906174367265257

https://x.com/JamieBonkiewicz/status/2091898073530106038

*———— Where’s the Beef? ————*

https://x.com/JamieBonkiewicz/status/2091271193198559488

https://x.com/TheRickWilson/status/2091560599062720560

https://x.com/FiveTimesAugust/status/2091665409040601373

*———— The Panopticon ————*

https://x.com/JasonBassler1/status/2091184115966173695

https://x.com/Hannibal9972485/status/2091712931951972747

https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/2091715245522014398

*———— Autocracy R Us ————*

Judge to Baby: File an Asylum Application

The 1-year-old is one of the migrant children who advocates say appeared in immigration court without legal representation.

https://x.com/anneapplebaum/status/2091060576952664495

Civil Society Group CIVICUS Says U.S. Shows Signs of a “Rapid Authoritarian Shift.”

CIVICUS, the global civil society monitor, downgraded U.S. democracy to “obstructed,” citing militarized protest policing, campus repression, and rising pressure on independent media.

https://x.com/AdamKinzinger/status/2092024484131742175

https://x.com/mehdirhasan/status/2092009880102085007

*———— Blatant In-Your-Face Corruption ————*

https://x.com/RonFilipkowski/status/2091833452261720308
https://x.com/jason_kint/status/2091727512409653311

*———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————*

https://x.com/Kasparov63/status/2091980458280243584

Good luck with that: Putin Authorizes State Control of Some Infrastructure

Russian President Vladimir Putin is allowing the state to take over temporary control of critical facilities that are regarded as insufficiently protected from Ukrainian drone attacks.
If certain facilities deemed critical don’t enact security measures in a timely manner or violate security requirements for preventing drone attacks, the state may place them under temporary management, according to a presidential order published Monday on a government website.

https://x.com/Kasparov63/status/2091589916442735087

*———— Florida Man ————*

https://x.com/joncoopertweets/status/2091549099015254392

*———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————*

https://x.com/Amy_Siskind/status/2091600041282535770

*———— Mors Imperii ————*

https://x.com/LadyNyobi/status/2091013256865280417

https://x.com/jimstewartson/status/2091879084829892919

Serendipity:

https://x.com/RealUnsweetDee/status/2091640229103075379

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