Odds and Ends — 22 October 2025

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

Bitcoin’s MVRV Ratio hints at ‘cyclical bottom’ forming below $110K

90% of Americans plan to skip the No. 1 piece of Social Security advice, study finds

https://twitter.com/Tennesseine/status/1980618016812372346

Walmart halts job offers for H-1B visa candidates

https://twitter.com/JohnFugelsang/status/1980688688439873717

DraftKings Prediction Market App Will Focus on States Without Legal Sports Betting

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Traverse City Is Now Home To America's First National Long COVID Treatment Center

Politics:

https://twitter.com/daviss/status/1980782306856968284

Trump Refugee Plan Seeks 7,000 Afrikaners

If the administration succeeds, almost all people admitted to the U.S. as refugees — as many as 7,000 from a maximum potential pool of 7,500 — could be Afrikaners, a group not traditionally eligible for the program but one that President Donald Trump says has been tyrannized by South Africa’s Black majority.

https://twitter.com/Angry_Staffer/status/1980769524560314375 https://twitter.com/itsJeffTiedrich/status/1980725677931594043

https://twitter.com/chiweethedog/status/1980440960577441882

Trump’s nominee for whistleblower office is withdrawn after reports of racist texts

https://twitter.com/mikenelson586/status/1980583966802694389

———— The Epstein Coverup ————

Trump seeks to proceed with $10B lawsuit over WSJ story on Epstein's birthday book

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://twitter.com/aintscarylarry/status/1980332681465590228

https://twitter.com/gregolear/status/1980551352511262841

Tearing Down Trump’s Palace

The stated policy of every Democrat seeking the presidency should be that the first thing they will do is demolish the Trump ballroom and restore the East Wing of the White House and the White House grounds to their pre-Trump state. Period. It’s the easiest layup in the history of politics. Trump’s transformation of the People’s House into a presidential palace is undemocratic. Presidents are not kings. Erasing this monstrosity is fundamental statement about the right-ordering of our project in self-government. Why is this so hard? Why haven’t Democrats already laid out a marker on this?

Majority of Americans Think Trump Is a Dictator

A new Public Religion Research Institute poll asked people if Donald Trump is a “potentially dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys democracy” or if he’s a “strong leader who should be given the power he needs to restore America’s greatness.” Americans chose the “dictator” option by a strong margin, 56% to 41%.

Autocracies live and breathe fear: Some Trump Critics Fear They Could Be Targeted Next

Fear is spreading among some who’ve run afoul of President Donald Trump. A foreboding that grew out of Trump’s election victory last November has deepened after the Justice Department secured indictments against two public figures who’ve long been in his crosshairs: New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. Some said they worry that the Trump administration will target them for prosecution, draining their life savings and potentially landing them in jail. In a time of heightened political violence, others said they fear that the president’s most zealous followers may try to do them harm.

No Kings organizer says there will be a third round of protests

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

Trump Demands Justice Department Pay Him $230 Million

President Trump is demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him, according to people familiar with the matter, who added that any settlement might ultimately be approved by senior department officials who defended him or those in his orbit. The situation has no parallel in American history, as Mr. Trump, a presidential candidate, was pursued by federal law enforcement and eventually won the election, taking over the very government that must now review his claims. It is also the starkest example yet of potential ethical conflicts created by installing the president’s former lawyers atop the Justice Department.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1980679717314568583

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1980503985912979471 https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1980741075456389426

Ukraine war briefing: Storm Shadow missiles ‘hit gunpowder plant in Russia’

Russians confirm attack on Bryansk region home to explosives factory…

https://twitter.com/tweet4Anna_NAFO/status/1980771743473033515

https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1980807566646038629

https://youtu.be/F5G3W7_9MU8?si=TCn5MwVQyV8O9ThF

https://twitter.com/TimothyDSnyder/status/1980653924047786403

Trust in Pete Hegseth Has Evaporated

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has lost the trust and respect of some top military commanders, with his public ‘grandstanding’ widely seen as unprofessional and the personnel moves made by the former cable TV host leading to an unprecedented and dangerous exodus of talent from the Pentagon. Said one Army general: “If he ever had us, he lost us.”