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

CBDCs' threat to freedom put under the microscope at Oslo conference

California's pot economy is crashing. What comes next?

Proving once again that he doesn’t have a clue, Donald Trump Says He Wants All Remaining Bitcoin to Be 'Made in USA'

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

MDs' One-Word Summary of Long COVID Progress: 'Frustration'

Politics:

https://twitter.com/BeckyBunzy/status/1800577726765515103

Hunter Biden Conviction Blows Up GOP Conspiracy Theories

Hunter Biden’s conviction in Delaware over a minor charge is significant mainly because it blows to smithereens the arguments Republicans have made on behalf of Donald Trump. There’s the small claim that Trump didn’t receive a fair trial, that blue-state juries can’t render impartial verdicts on famous political figures. Analysts predicted a jury in Delaware, a tiny state where everybody seems to personally know and adore the Biden family, would go easy on his son. But this failed to transpire.
Most important is the idea that Joe Biden is personally ‘weaponizing’ the justice system to target Trump. House Republicans devoted a hearing last week to pressing their unsubstantiated claim that Biden had orchestrated Alvin Bragg’s moves, as ‘evidenced’ by Bragg’s hiring of an attorney with DOJ experience, a move they seem to believe is unusual…
To hold this theory together — which, again, is the belief held by a supermajority of Republicans, not just the Glenn Beck audience — you have to believe Biden is directing the activities of local prosecutors while exerting no control at all over the Justice Department of the branch of government he presides over.

https://twitter.com/ejdionne/status/1800567683475484747?s=12

The Biggest Lie Trump–Biden 2024 Rematch Voters Are Telling Themselves

Number of Dark Money News Sites Surges

The number of partisan-backed outlets designed to look like impartial news outlets has officially surpassed the number of real, local daily newspapers in the U.S., according to a new analysis.
Many of those sites are targeted to swing states — a clear sign that they’re designed to influence politics.
There are least 1,265 websites identified as being backed by dark money or are intentionally masquerading as local news sites for political purposes.

https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1800642742017519790

Canada’s Big Worry: A US Civil War

In a spring report titled ‘Disruptions on the Horizon,’ a quiet office known as Policy Horizons Canada proposed American civil war as a scenario that Ottawa should consider preparing for.
This hypothetical was tucked into the middle of the 37-page document, which sketched the possibility in 15 spare words: ‘U.S. ideological divisions, democratic erosion, and domestic unrest escalate, plunging the country into civil war.’

Merrick Garland Contempt Vote Hanging By a Thread

A House vote on holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress is in severe danger of being pulled by GOP leadership.
Canceling the vote would be a letdown for conservatives who have pounded the table for the vote — and showcases the weakness of Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) thin House majority.

Serendipity:

Paul Giamatti Boards ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’

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