Odds and Ends — 17 May 2024


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In my library’s parking lot, I found this 1928 Willys Knight.


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Unlike modern cars that have all the gauges, dials, and backup cameras on the dashboard or HUD, on this one the radiator temperature is old school, atop the radiator:


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

Coinbase Shares Sink 9% on Report CME to Consider Listing Spot Bitcoin

Vitalik Buterin says OpenAI’s GPT-4 has passed the Turing test

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

Wearing face masks did not reduce risk of COVID infection after first omicron wave, research suggests

Politics:

A 1938 Mob Case Has Mind-Boggling Parallels to Trump’s N.Y. Prosecution

All Signs Point to a Trump Debate Meltdown

Biden is eager for the chance to stand toe-to-toe with his predecessor because it will be incredibly hard to look worse in comparison.

The Israeli Defense Establishment Revolts Against Netanyahu

To appease his far-right flank, the prime minister has refused to commit to Palestinian governance of Gaza. Israel’s security figures are calling his bluff.


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Criminal Court Is the New Mar-a-Lago

According to someone close to Trump’s legal team, the requests from Capitol Hill and elsewhere to visit Trump at his trial aren’t slowing down. Politicians are calling up their best connections in the campaign or Trump himself to secure a spot, then the campaign’s advance team figures out how many can fit in the defense’s limited space for spectators.
The growing list includes members of Congress and potential vice presidential picks.

A Massive Tax Battle Looms

Presidencies are unpredictable — no one can be sure what challenges Joe Biden or Donald Trump would face in a second term. But there is one that’s 100% certain: A colossal multi-trillion-dollar fight over taxes that’s likely to be one of the biggest lobbying battles in policy history.
With large chunks of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set to expire at the end of next year, along with a key piece of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, whichever party wins the White House and Congress will have the opportunity to rewrite much of the IRS code.

Consumer Financial Watchdog Survives Supreme Court

The Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge that could have dismantled the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ruling that Congress had authority to insulate the agency’s funding stream from political interference.
Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for a 7-2 court, said that Congress has wide discretion in structuring the way federal agencies are funded. Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, dissented.

Donald Trump’s a racist and Labour should call him out, Sadiq Khan says


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Texas Democrat accuses Abbott of ‘alliance with white nationalists’ over pardon

Serendipity:

A ‘plague’ comes before the fall: lessons from Roman history

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Badge thanks to @arcange

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