Aure Free Press :verified:
@Free_Press@mstdn.social  ·  activity timestamp 4 days ago

The Death of America!

Trump is using the power of the Presidency to harass, charge and imprison his political enemies.

What was unthinkable in the past is now commonplace under Trump 2.0.

The US is quickly sliding into Fascism!

Trump urges criminal charges against Democrat supporter George Soros and son after falsely accusing them of supporting violent protests across the country
Aure Free Press :verified:
@Free_Press@mstdn.social  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Susan Monarez, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is being ousted from her role less than a month after the Senate confirmed her to lead the public health agency, a source familiar with the matter confirmed.
#AureFreePress #News #press #headline#GOP #Politics #uspolitics#uspol #Breaking #BreakingNews

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-director-susan-monarez-ousted/
Flipboard News Desk
@NewsDesk@flipboard.social  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Today, Susan Monarez, a longtime federal government scientist, was ousted from her role as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just weeks after being confirmed. Now, at least four other senior top officials have quit, including the agency's chief medical officer, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and director of the Office of Public Health Data. Here's more from NBC.

https://flip.it/NgSb8F

#USPolitics#TrumpAdministration#CDC#Health#Medicine#SusanMonarez#RobertFKennedyJr#RFK#HHS
Flipboard News Desk
@NewsDesk@flipboard.social  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Today, Susan Monarez, a longtime federal government scientist, was ousted from her role as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just weeks after being confirmed. Now, at least four other senior top officials have quit, including the agency's chief medical officer, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and director of the Office of Public Health Data. Here's more from NBC.

https://flip.it/NgSb8F

#USPolitics#TrumpAdministration#CDC#Health#Medicine#SusanMonarez#RobertFKennedyJr#RFK#HHS
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

The at least nominally non-partisan Fairshake will have more company than last election cycle, with some powerful crypto executives opting to back explicitly pro-Trump crypto PACs.

And a coalition of crypto companies including Coinbase, Kraken, DCG, and others are teaming up to back an "educational non-profit" to "educate" legislators about crypto.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

The crypto industry has also launched a 501(c)(3) “educational non-profit” called the American Innovation Project, which will focus on “educating” policymakers. Although such groups must by law be cautious about engaging in only minimal lobbying activities, focusing on non-advocacy educational initiatives, I am not confident this will be carefully followed or policed. The group is backed by crypto companies including Coinbase, Kraken, DCG, and others, and funded by DCG and the Cedar Innovation Foundation crypto dark money group.39
The crypto industry has also launched a 501(c)(3) “educational non-profit” called the American Innovation Project, which will focus on “educating” policymakers. Although such groups must by law be cautious about engaging in only minimal lobbying activities, focusing on non-advocacy educational initiatives, I am not confident this will be carefully followed or policed. The group is backed by crypto companies including Coinbase, Kraken, DCG, and others, and funded by DCG and the Cedar Innovation Foundation crypto dark money group.39
The crypto industry has also launched a 501(c)(3) “educational non-profit” called the American Innovation Project, which will focus on “educating” policymakers. Although such groups must by law be cautious about engaging in only minimal lobbying activities, focusing on non-advocacy educational initiatives, I am not confident this will be carefully followed or policed. The group is backed by crypto companies including Coinbase, Kraken, DCG, and others, and funded by DCG and the Cedar Innovation Foundation crypto dark money group.39
Fairshake will have more company than last election cycle. While in 2024 Fairshake operated alongside the Democrat-focused Protect Progress and Republican-focused Defend American Jobs — with all three PACs essentially functioning as coordinated arms of the same operation — a new set of crypto PACs have sprung up, including: Digital Freedom Fund (super PAC): Rejecting Fairshake’s strategy of claimed nonpartisanship, this PAC explicitly supports Republicans who will “help realize President Trump’s vision of making America the crypto capital of the world”. The newly formed committee has not yet filed any fundraising disclosures, but the Winklevoss twins announced a $21 million contribution.37 First Principles Digital (hybrid PAC): This PAC describes itself as a “Republican-led, Republican-focused organization working to elect pro-crypto leaders to Congress”. It’s affiliated with Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and has raised $1 million this year so far (entirely from the Winklevoss twins, except for a $5,000 contribution from Trump crypto adviser David Bailey [I90, 84]). First Principles shares leadership with America First Digital, a new dark money group that aims to “help advance pro-crypto policies and regulations, amplify the efforts of industry champions in Washington, and support ongoing education efforts among key decision-makers.”38
Fairshake will have more company than last election cycle. While in 2024 Fairshake operated alongside the Democrat-focused Protect Progress and Republican-focused Defend American Jobs — with all three PACs essentially functioning as coordinated arms of the same operation — a new set of crypto PACs have sprung up, including: Digital Freedom Fund (super PAC): Rejecting Fairshake’s strategy of claimed nonpartisanship, this PAC explicitly supports Republicans who will “help realize President Trump’s vision of making America the crypto capital of the world”. The newly formed committee has not yet filed any fundraising disclosures, but the Winklevoss twins announced a $21 million contribution.37 First Principles Digital (hybrid PAC): This PAC describes itself as a “Republican-led, Republican-focused organization working to elect pro-crypto leaders to Congress”. It’s affiliated with Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and has raised $1 million this year so far (entirely from the Winklevoss twins, except for a $5,000 contribution from Trump crypto adviser David Bailey [I90, 84]). First Principles shares leadership with America First Digital, a new dark money group that aims to “help advance pro-crypto policies and regulations, amplify the efforts of industry champions in Washington, and support ongoing education efforts among key decision-makers.”38
Fairshake will have more company than last election cycle. While in 2024 Fairshake operated alongside the Democrat-focused Protect Progress and Republican-focused Defend American Jobs — with all three PACs essentially functioning as coordinated arms of the same operation — a new set of crypto PACs have sprung up, including: Digital Freedom Fund (super PAC): Rejecting Fairshake’s strategy of claimed nonpartisanship, this PAC explicitly supports Republicans who will “help realize President Trump’s vision of making America the crypto capital of the world”. The newly formed committee has not yet filed any fundraising disclosures, but the Winklevoss twins announced a $21 million contribution.37 First Principles Digital (hybrid PAC): This PAC describes itself as a “Republican-led, Republican-focused organization working to elect pro-crypto leaders to Congress”. It’s affiliated with Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and has raised $1 million this year so far (entirely from the Winklevoss twins, except for a $5,000 contribution from Trump crypto adviser David Bailey [I90, 84]). First Principles shares leadership with America First Digital, a new dark money group that aims to “help advance pro-crypto policies and regulations, amplify the efforts of industry champions in Washington, and support ongoing education efforts among key decision-makers.”38
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Meanwhile, AI firms are pointing to the Fairshake crypto PAC's massive spending in 2024 elections as a blueprint for "pro-AI" super PACs like Leading the Future, which has received contributions from Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI, Perplexity, and others.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Among those excited about the crypto industry’s massive political influence are current, powerful Senators like Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott.

“Thank you, to all of y’all, for getting rid of Sherrod Brown. ... The industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate.”

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Interviewer: I'd love to hear from your perspective what changed and specifically Senate banking you guys have such a broad mandate So how did you prioritize digital assets? Tim Scott: I gotta tell you I mean Thank you to all of y'all for getting rid of Sherrod Brown He's running again by the way, but Literally the industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate and he's on the banking committee So really having the opportunity to have a team That's focusing on the industry because we have passion For people who want to make a profit and help people this industry does it better than anything I've seen in my adult lifetime
Interviewer: I'd love to hear from your perspective what changed and specifically Senate banking you guys have such a broad mandate So how did you prioritize digital assets? Tim Scott: I gotta tell you I mean Thank you to all of y'all for getting rid of Sherrod Brown He's running again by the way, but Literally the industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate and he's on the banking committee So really having the opportunity to have a team That's focusing on the industry because we have passion For people who want to make a profit and help people this industry does it better than anything I've seen in my adult lifetime
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

The at least nominally non-partisan Fairshake will have more company than last election cycle, with some powerful crypto executives opting to back explicitly pro-Trump crypto PACs.

And a coalition of crypto companies including Coinbase, Kraken, DCG, and others are teaming up to back an "educational non-profit" to "educate" legislators about crypto.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

The crypto industry has also launched a 501(c)(3) “educational non-profit” called the American Innovation Project, which will focus on “educating” policymakers. Although such groups must by law be cautious about engaging in only minimal lobbying activities, focusing on non-advocacy educational initiatives, I am not confident this will be carefully followed or policed. The group is backed by crypto companies including Coinbase, Kraken, DCG, and others, and funded by DCG and the Cedar Innovation Foundation crypto dark money group.39
The crypto industry has also launched a 501(c)(3) “educational non-profit” called the American Innovation Project, which will focus on “educating” policymakers. Although such groups must by law be cautious about engaging in only minimal lobbying activities, focusing on non-advocacy educational initiatives, I am not confident this will be carefully followed or policed. The group is backed by crypto companies including Coinbase, Kraken, DCG, and others, and funded by DCG and the Cedar Innovation Foundation crypto dark money group.39
The crypto industry has also launched a 501(c)(3) “educational non-profit” called the American Innovation Project, which will focus on “educating” policymakers. Although such groups must by law be cautious about engaging in only minimal lobbying activities, focusing on non-advocacy educational initiatives, I am not confident this will be carefully followed or policed. The group is backed by crypto companies including Coinbase, Kraken, DCG, and others, and funded by DCG and the Cedar Innovation Foundation crypto dark money group.39
Fairshake will have more company than last election cycle. While in 2024 Fairshake operated alongside the Democrat-focused Protect Progress and Republican-focused Defend American Jobs — with all three PACs essentially functioning as coordinated arms of the same operation — a new set of crypto PACs have sprung up, including: Digital Freedom Fund (super PAC): Rejecting Fairshake’s strategy of claimed nonpartisanship, this PAC explicitly supports Republicans who will “help realize President Trump’s vision of making America the crypto capital of the world”. The newly formed committee has not yet filed any fundraising disclosures, but the Winklevoss twins announced a $21 million contribution.37 First Principles Digital (hybrid PAC): This PAC describes itself as a “Republican-led, Republican-focused organization working to elect pro-crypto leaders to Congress”. It’s affiliated with Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and has raised $1 million this year so far (entirely from the Winklevoss twins, except for a $5,000 contribution from Trump crypto adviser David Bailey [I90, 84]). First Principles shares leadership with America First Digital, a new dark money group that aims to “help advance pro-crypto policies and regulations, amplify the efforts of industry champions in Washington, and support ongoing education efforts among key decision-makers.”38
Fairshake will have more company than last election cycle. While in 2024 Fairshake operated alongside the Democrat-focused Protect Progress and Republican-focused Defend American Jobs — with all three PACs essentially functioning as coordinated arms of the same operation — a new set of crypto PACs have sprung up, including: Digital Freedom Fund (super PAC): Rejecting Fairshake’s strategy of claimed nonpartisanship, this PAC explicitly supports Republicans who will “help realize President Trump’s vision of making America the crypto capital of the world”. The newly formed committee has not yet filed any fundraising disclosures, but the Winklevoss twins announced a $21 million contribution.37 First Principles Digital (hybrid PAC): This PAC describes itself as a “Republican-led, Republican-focused organization working to elect pro-crypto leaders to Congress”. It’s affiliated with Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and has raised $1 million this year so far (entirely from the Winklevoss twins, except for a $5,000 contribution from Trump crypto adviser David Bailey [I90, 84]). First Principles shares leadership with America First Digital, a new dark money group that aims to “help advance pro-crypto policies and regulations, amplify the efforts of industry champions in Washington, and support ongoing education efforts among key decision-makers.”38
Fairshake will have more company than last election cycle. While in 2024 Fairshake operated alongside the Democrat-focused Protect Progress and Republican-focused Defend American Jobs — with all three PACs essentially functioning as coordinated arms of the same operation — a new set of crypto PACs have sprung up, including: Digital Freedom Fund (super PAC): Rejecting Fairshake’s strategy of claimed nonpartisanship, this PAC explicitly supports Republicans who will “help realize President Trump’s vision of making America the crypto capital of the world”. The newly formed committee has not yet filed any fundraising disclosures, but the Winklevoss twins announced a $21 million contribution.37 First Principles Digital (hybrid PAC): This PAC describes itself as a “Republican-led, Republican-focused organization working to elect pro-crypto leaders to Congress”. It’s affiliated with Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and has raised $1 million this year so far (entirely from the Winklevoss twins, except for a $5,000 contribution from Trump crypto adviser David Bailey [I90, 84]). First Principles shares leadership with America First Digital, a new dark money group that aims to “help advance pro-crypto policies and regulations, amplify the efforts of industry champions in Washington, and support ongoing education efforts among key decision-makers.”38
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99
Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99
Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Among those excited about the crypto industry’s massive political influence are current, powerful Senators like Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott.

“Thank you, to all of y’all, for getting rid of Sherrod Brown. ... The industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate.”

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Interviewer: I'd love to hear from your perspective what changed and specifically Senate banking you guys have such a broad mandate So how did you prioritize digital assets? Tim Scott: I gotta tell you I mean Thank you to all of y'all for getting rid of Sherrod Brown He's running again by the way, but Literally the industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate and he's on the banking committee So really having the opportunity to have a team That's focusing on the industry because we have passion For people who want to make a profit and help people this industry does it better than anything I've seen in my adult lifetime
Interviewer: I'd love to hear from your perspective what changed and specifically Senate banking you guys have such a broad mandate So how did you prioritize digital assets? Tim Scott: I gotta tell you I mean Thank you to all of y'all for getting rid of Sherrod Brown He's running again by the way, but Literally the industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate and he's on the banking committee So really having the opportunity to have a team That's focusing on the industry because we have passion For people who want to make a profit and help people this industry does it better than anything I've seen in my adult lifetime
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Bloomberg published a great story about a plan by Tether co-founder and some other guy to pitch bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver on paying $30 million for a pardon. It didn't work out, and Ver is apparently paying (much less) for Roger Stone instead.

(Bloomberg article: bloomberg.com/news/articles/20)

Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99
Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99
Political action and party committees Viewing 1,399 filtered results for: 2025–2026Super PAC (independent expenditure only) Name Type Receipts Disbursements Ending cash on hand FAIRSHAKE Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $59,056,790.44 $3,800,671.85 $119,500,316.53 DEMOCRACY PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $52,029,116.25 $2,647,275.44 $53,120,780.28 AMERICA PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $45,341,344.67 $47,398,032.68 $165,960.38 SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $26,475,632.45 $2,807,526.22 $29,750,782.85 SMP Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $17,362,935.92 $12,898,516.02 $13,635,089.11 V-PAC: VICTORS, NOT VICTIMS Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $16,971,139.41 $4,391,775.03 $12,696,180.56 UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $14,509,998.44 $4,594,753.92 $38,718,139.62 TEXANS FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $11,248,318.04 $429,741.76 $12,168,534.86 SCHOOL FREEDOM FUND Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $10,000,000.00 $0.00 $10,128,286.22 RESTORATION PAC Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) $8,123,576.61 $5,324,298.83 $4,214,869.99
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
Political fundraising is ramping up for the midterms, and the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake is number one on the list of super PACs by cash raised in the 2025–2026 cycle. They’ve received about $59 million so far, and have almost $120 million in cash on hand.h This puts them ahead of all other super PACs,i including George Soros’ Democracy PAC, Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, and the Senate Majority PAC.33 Most of Fairshake’s contributions this period are from Coinbase ($25 million) and Ripple ($23 million).34
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

The revolving door flung former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines into an advisory role at stablecoin issuer Tether, after he helped back the stablecoin regulation that will largely dictate Tether's operations in the US going forward.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines didn’t spend long looking for work, after he abruptly announced on August 9 that he would be resigning and returning to the private sector [I90]. Only ten days later, the revolving door flung him into a position as “Strategic Advisor for Digital Assets and U.S. Strategy” for Tether, an offshore stablecoin company that I’ve previously described as “the most Wild West of the established stablecoin issuers” [I89] Hines had helped back the Genius Act, which will largely dictate Tether’s future operations in the US; the bill also received a stamp of approval from Tether, whose CEO stood in the background as Trump signed it into law.
Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines didn’t spend long looking for work, after he abruptly announced on August 9 that he would be resigning and returning to the private sector [I90]. Only ten days later, the revolving door flung him into a position as “Strategic Advisor for Digital Assets and U.S. Strategy” for Tether, an offshore stablecoin company that I’ve previously described as “the most Wild West of the established stablecoin issuers” [I89] Hines had helped back the Genius Act, which will largely dictate Tether’s future operations in the US; the bill also received a stamp of approval from Tether, whose CEO stood in the background as Trump signed it into law.
Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines didn’t spend long looking for work, after he abruptly announced on August 9 that he would be resigning and returning to the private sector [I90]. Only ten days later, the revolving door flung him into a position as “Strategic Advisor for Digital Assets and U.S. Strategy” for Tether, an offshore stablecoin company that I’ve previously described as “the most Wild West of the established stablecoin issuers” [I89] Hines had helped back the Genius Act, which will largely dictate Tether’s future operations in the US; the bill also received a stamp of approval from Tether, whose CEO stood in the background as Trump signed it into law.
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Bloomberg published a great story about a plan by Tether co-founder and some other guy to pitch bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver on paying $30 million for a pardon. It didn't work out, and Ver is apparently paying (much less) for Roger Stone instead.

(Bloomberg article: bloomberg.com/news/articles/20)

Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Ver seems to have opted for more reliable lobbyists like Roger Stone, who I certainly can’t argue lacks experience with presidential pardons. (Stone is, if nothing else, substantially cheaper than Argall, charging a mere $600,000 to lobby for “ending the exit tax and reform of cryptocurrency tax policy”. Ver has also paid $30,000 for lobbying by Sterling Green’s Tracy Ackerman on the same subject, as well as “supporting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda” and “criminal justice reform for cryptocurrency related law enforcement and lobbying for the dismissal of charges against Roger Ver.”).2829
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Bloomberg reported a plan by bitcoin fugitive Roger Ver to pay $30 million in hopes of securing a pardon from President Trump. Ver was charged with tax fraud in April 2024 after allegedly evading around $50 million in expatriation taxes owed after renouncing his US citizenship, and is currently fighting extradition from Spain [I57]. According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder (and former Mighty Ducks child actor) Brock Pierce schemed with Matt Argall to pitch a plan for Ver’s pardon in exchange for a hefty fee. “It’s unclear whether Argall and his associates had genuine connections to people with power, much less the clout to persuade them that Ver’s pardon was a worthy cause,” writes Bloomberg, noting that, aside from a LinkedIn picture of him at a campaign event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Argall doesn’t “appear to have any clear connections to Trump’s inner circle”. Although Ver may have been interested in the offer early on, one of his lawyers may have warned him off, opining that the claims of high-level connections seemed false.27
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Commerce Secretary Lutnick has announced plans to "put out GDP on the blockchain". I am a little concerned they hope to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

The revolving door flung former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines into an advisory role at stablecoin issuer Tether, after he helped back the stablecoin regulation that will largely dictate Tether's operations in the US going forward.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines didn’t spend long looking for work, after he abruptly announced on August 9 that he would be resigning and returning to the private sector [I90]. Only ten days later, the revolving door flung him into a position as “Strategic Advisor for Digital Assets and U.S. Strategy” for Tether, an offshore stablecoin company that I’ve previously described as “the most Wild West of the established stablecoin issuers” [I89] Hines had helped back the Genius Act, which will largely dictate Tether’s future operations in the US; the bill also received a stamp of approval from Tether, whose CEO stood in the background as Trump signed it into law.
Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines didn’t spend long looking for work, after he abruptly announced on August 9 that he would be resigning and returning to the private sector [I90]. Only ten days later, the revolving door flung him into a position as “Strategic Advisor for Digital Assets and U.S. Strategy” for Tether, an offshore stablecoin company that I’ve previously described as “the most Wild West of the established stablecoin issuers” [I89] Hines had helped back the Genius Act, which will largely dictate Tether’s future operations in the US; the bill also received a stamp of approval from Tether, whose CEO stood in the background as Trump signed it into law.
Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines didn’t spend long looking for work, after he abruptly announced on August 9 that he would be resigning and returning to the private sector [I90]. Only ten days later, the revolving door flung him into a position as “Strategic Advisor for Digital Assets and U.S. Strategy” for Tether, an offshore stablecoin company that I’ve previously described as “the most Wild West of the established stablecoin issuers” [I89] Hines had helped back the Genius Act, which will largely dictate Tether’s future operations in the US; the bill also received a stamp of approval from Tether, whose CEO stood in the background as Trump signed it into law.
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

The normally five-person CFTC Commission will soon be down to just one Commissioner, Acting Chair Caroline Pham. Pham plans to resign when Trump's nominee is confirmed. This could leave the agency — which may take on primary crypto oversight — under unilateral control.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Crypto lobbying groups have written a letter to President Trump, reiterating their support for his nomination of Brian Quintenz as CFTC Chair. His confirmation, they write, is “essential to accomplishing the proactive agenda your Administration has established to ensure a golden age for digital assets in America”. The letter praises Quintenz for his “forward-looking vision of this transformative technology”.10 It makes no mention of his recently released emails with CFTC employees, obtained via FOIA request, which lawmakers and crypto industry figures have said raise serious questions about possible ethics violations [I90]. Quintenz’s nomination was scheduled for a vote in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee in late July, but the vote was canceled twice. One of the cancellations was at the request of the White House, which did not elaborate on its reasoning for the delay.
Crypto lobbying groups have written a letter to President Trump, reiterating their support for his nomination of Brian Quintenz as CFTC Chair. His confirmation, they write, is “essential to accomplishing the proactive agenda your Administration has established to ensure a golden age for digital assets in America”. The letter praises Quintenz for his “forward-looking vision of this transformative technology”.10 It makes no mention of his recently released emails with CFTC employees, obtained via FOIA request, which lawmakers and crypto industry figures have said raise serious questions about possible ethics violations [I90]. Quintenz’s nomination was scheduled for a vote in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee in late July, but the vote was canceled twice. One of the cancellations was at the request of the White House, which did not elaborate on its reasoning for the delay.
Crypto lobbying groups have written a letter to President Trump, reiterating their support for his nomination of Brian Quintenz as CFTC Chair. His confirmation, they write, is “essential to accomplishing the proactive agenda your Administration has established to ensure a golden age for digital assets in America”. The letter praises Quintenz for his “forward-looking vision of this transformative technology”.10 It makes no mention of his recently released emails with CFTC employees, obtained via FOIA request, which lawmakers and crypto industry figures have said raise serious questions about possible ethics violations [I90]. Quintenz’s nomination was scheduled for a vote in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee in late July, but the vote was canceled twice. One of the cancellations was at the request of the White House, which did not elaborate on its reasoning for the delay.
The hollowing out of regulatory agencies has reached a critical point, with the CFTC soon to have just a single commissioner as the crypto industry heavily lobbies for it to become their primary regulator. In normal times, outgoing CFTC Commissioners would be replaced by a roughly bipartisan slate of presidential appointees, but Trump has not bothered to nominate any new commissioners besides his controversial pick for Chair. With the current CFTC Acting Chair set to depart after a new Chair is confirmed, Trump may hope to exert control over the independent regulatory body by installing a single pawn who will hold unilateral agency control.
The hollowing out of regulatory agencies has reached a critical point, with the CFTC soon to have just a single commissioner as the crypto industry heavily lobbies for it to become their primary regulator. In normal times, outgoing CFTC Commissioners would be replaced by a roughly bipartisan slate of presidential appointees, but Trump has not bothered to nominate any new commissioners besides his controversial pick for Chair. With the current CFTC Acting Chair set to depart after a new Chair is confirmed, Trump may hope to exert control over the independent regulatory body by installing a single pawn who will hold unilateral agency control.
The hollowing out of regulatory agencies has reached a critical point, with the CFTC soon to have just a single commissioner as the crypto industry heavily lobbies for it to become their primary regulator. In normal times, outgoing CFTC Commissioners would be replaced by a roughly bipartisan slate of presidential appointees, but Trump has not bothered to nominate any new commissioners besides his controversial pick for Chair. With the current CFTC Acting Chair set to depart after a new Chair is confirmed, Trump may hope to exert control over the independent regulatory body by installing a single pawn who will hold unilateral agency control.
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Commerce Secretary Lutnick has announced plans to "put out GDP on the blockchain". I am a little concerned they hope to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
I am a little concerned that this push is an effort to lean on the supposed inherent reliability of blockchains to lend artificial credibility to questionable numbers cherry-picked by Trump when the real ones are unflattering, as he did recently with jobs data.22 While it is harder to alter information once it has been recorded on a blockchain, this does not mean the information itself is reliable. Blockchain advocates often conflate immutability with accuracy, suggesting that blockchains inherently validate the truth of recorded data. In reality, a blockchain only preserves data in the state it was entered — it doesn’t verify whether that data was correct in the first place. I may be ascribing a far greater degree of forethought to Lutnick’s announcement than it deserves, though — maybe our Commerce Secretary is actually just making sure he tackles the top priority of making sure Polymarket bettors can bet on the future GDP without needing to rely on an oracle.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
To be extra clear, Lutnick is not proposing moving any funds — just using some unspecified blockchain as a ledger to record statistics like GDP. In a normal timeline, an announcement that the government will publish its statistics in an additional type of database would not warrant announcement from a cabinet official, but it’s 2025 and there’s a Crypto President to indulge.
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
The White House has finally cracked the code on how to publish numbers to the internet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced at a Cabinet meeting, “The Department of Commerce is going to start issuing its statistics on the blockchain, because you are the Crypto President, and we are going to put out GDP on the blockchain. So people can use the blockchain for data distribution, and then we're going to make that available to the entire government, so all of you can do it. We're just ironing out all the details so we can do it.”
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

The Trump family's web of crypto businesses is growing ever more tangled, as they've announced yet another crypto treasury company (this one in partnership with Crypto.​com). This is either the fifth or sixth the Trumps are involved with.

(Full-size image: https://storage.mollywhite.net/trump-family-crypto-projects.png
Zoomable graphic: https://www.mollywhite.net/etc/trump-family-crypto-projects/)

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

The Trump family’s crypto web is only getting more tangled, as Trump family-linked companies are further entwining themselves with various crypto ventures. Trump majority-owned Trump Media and Technology Group, creator of the Truth Social platform, announced a joint venture with Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com. TMTG purchased $105 million of Crypto.com’s CRO token, Crypto.com purchased $50 million of TMTG stock, and the two companies are creating Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc., a CRO treasury company they plan to take public through a SPAC merger. In February, Crypto.com contributed $10 million to the MAGA Inc. Trump super PAC.6 A month later, TMTG and Crypto.com announced their partnership, initially focused on developing “America First investment vehicles” (including crypto ETFs) to be offered by Trump’s social media venture [I80]. Three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com said the SEC had dropped an investigation into the company. This will be either the fifth or sixth Trump family-owned or -linked crypto treasury company, in addition to American Bitcoin,a Trump Media & Technology Group (which itself acquired a substantial bitcoin treasury earlier this month [I90]),b Metaplanet,c and ALT5 Sigma.d Donald Trump Jr. was previously a major shareholder in Thumzup Media;e he sold some or all of his shares,7 though some crypto news outlets continue to describe him as involved with the company.8
The Trump family’s crypto web is only getting more tangled, as Trump family-linked companies are further entwining themselves with various crypto ventures. Trump majority-owned Trump Media and Technology Group, creator of the Truth Social platform, announced a joint venture with Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com. TMTG purchased $105 million of Crypto.com’s CRO token, Crypto.com purchased $50 million of TMTG stock, and the two companies are creating Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc., a CRO treasury company they plan to take public through a SPAC merger. In February, Crypto.com contributed $10 million to the MAGA Inc. Trump super PAC.6 A month later, TMTG and Crypto.com announced their partnership, initially focused on developing “America First investment vehicles” (including crypto ETFs) to be offered by Trump’s social media venture [I80]. Three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com said the SEC had dropped an investigation into the company. This will be either the fifth or sixth Trump family-owned or -linked crypto treasury company, in addition to American Bitcoin,a Trump Media & Technology Group (which itself acquired a substantial bitcoin treasury earlier this month [I90]),b Metaplanet,c and ALT5 Sigma.d Donald Trump Jr. was previously a major shareholder in Thumzup Media;e he sold some or all of his shares,7 though some crypto news outlets continue to describe him as involved with the company.8
The Trump family’s crypto web is only getting more tangled, as Trump family-linked companies are further entwining themselves with various crypto ventures. Trump majority-owned Trump Media and Technology Group, creator of the Truth Social platform, announced a joint venture with Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com. TMTG purchased $105 million of Crypto.com’s CRO token, Crypto.com purchased $50 million of TMTG stock, and the two companies are creating Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc., a CRO treasury company they plan to take public through a SPAC merger. In February, Crypto.com contributed $10 million to the MAGA Inc. Trump super PAC.6 A month later, TMTG and Crypto.com announced their partnership, initially focused on developing “America First investment vehicles” (including crypto ETFs) to be offered by Trump’s social media venture [I80]. Three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com said the SEC had dropped an investigation into the company. This will be either the fifth or sixth Trump family-owned or -linked crypto treasury company, in addition to American Bitcoin,a Trump Media & Technology Group (which itself acquired a substantial bitcoin treasury earlier this month [I90]),b Metaplanet,c and ALT5 Sigma.d Donald Trump Jr. was previously a major shareholder in Thumzup Media;e he sold some or all of his shares,7 though some crypto news outlets continue to describe him as involved with the company.8
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

The normally five-person CFTC Commission will soon be down to just one Commissioner, Acting Chair Caroline Pham. Pham plans to resign when Trump's nominee is confirmed. This could leave the agency — which may take on primary crypto oversight — under unilateral control.

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

Crypto lobbying groups have written a letter to President Trump, reiterating their support for his nomination of Brian Quintenz as CFTC Chair. His confirmation, they write, is “essential to accomplishing the proactive agenda your Administration has established to ensure a golden age for digital assets in America”. The letter praises Quintenz for his “forward-looking vision of this transformative technology”.10 It makes no mention of his recently released emails with CFTC employees, obtained via FOIA request, which lawmakers and crypto industry figures have said raise serious questions about possible ethics violations [I90]. Quintenz’s nomination was scheduled for a vote in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee in late July, but the vote was canceled twice. One of the cancellations was at the request of the White House, which did not elaborate on its reasoning for the delay.
Crypto lobbying groups have written a letter to President Trump, reiterating their support for his nomination of Brian Quintenz as CFTC Chair. His confirmation, they write, is “essential to accomplishing the proactive agenda your Administration has established to ensure a golden age for digital assets in America”. The letter praises Quintenz for his “forward-looking vision of this transformative technology”.10 It makes no mention of his recently released emails with CFTC employees, obtained via FOIA request, which lawmakers and crypto industry figures have said raise serious questions about possible ethics violations [I90]. Quintenz’s nomination was scheduled for a vote in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee in late July, but the vote was canceled twice. One of the cancellations was at the request of the White House, which did not elaborate on its reasoning for the delay.
Crypto lobbying groups have written a letter to President Trump, reiterating their support for his nomination of Brian Quintenz as CFTC Chair. His confirmation, they write, is “essential to accomplishing the proactive agenda your Administration has established to ensure a golden age for digital assets in America”. The letter praises Quintenz for his “forward-looking vision of this transformative technology”.10 It makes no mention of his recently released emails with CFTC employees, obtained via FOIA request, which lawmakers and crypto industry figures have said raise serious questions about possible ethics violations [I90]. Quintenz’s nomination was scheduled for a vote in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee in late July, but the vote was canceled twice. One of the cancellations was at the request of the White House, which did not elaborate on its reasoning for the delay.
The hollowing out of regulatory agencies has reached a critical point, with the CFTC soon to have just a single commissioner as the crypto industry heavily lobbies for it to become their primary regulator. In normal times, outgoing CFTC Commissioners would be replaced by a roughly bipartisan slate of presidential appointees, but Trump has not bothered to nominate any new commissioners besides his controversial pick for Chair. With the current CFTC Acting Chair set to depart after a new Chair is confirmed, Trump may hope to exert control over the independent regulatory body by installing a single pawn who will hold unilateral agency control.
The hollowing out of regulatory agencies has reached a critical point, with the CFTC soon to have just a single commissioner as the crypto industry heavily lobbies for it to become their primary regulator. In normal times, outgoing CFTC Commissioners would be replaced by a roughly bipartisan slate of presidential appointees, but Trump has not bothered to nominate any new commissioners besides his controversial pick for Chair. With the current CFTC Acting Chair set to depart after a new Chair is confirmed, Trump may hope to exert control over the independent regulatory body by installing a single pawn who will hold unilateral agency control.
The hollowing out of regulatory agencies has reached a critical point, with the CFTC soon to have just a single commissioner as the crypto industry heavily lobbies for it to become their primary regulator. In normal times, outgoing CFTC Commissioners would be replaced by a roughly bipartisan slate of presidential appointees, but Trump has not bothered to nominate any new commissioners besides his controversial pick for Chair. With the current CFTC Acting Chair set to depart after a new Chair is confirmed, Trump may hope to exert control over the independent regulatory body by installing a single pawn who will hold unilateral agency control.
Molly White
@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

The Trump family's web of crypto businesses is growing ever more tangled, as they've announced yet another crypto treasury company (this one in partnership with Crypto.​com). This is either the fifth or sixth the Trumps are involved with.

(Full-size image: https://storage.mollywhite.net/trump-family-crypto-projects.png
Zoomable graphic: https://www.mollywhite.net/etc/trump-family-crypto-projects/)

#crypto #cryptocurrency#USpol#USpolitics

The Trump family’s crypto web is only getting more tangled, as Trump family-linked companies are further entwining themselves with various crypto ventures. Trump majority-owned Trump Media and Technology Group, creator of the Truth Social platform, announced a joint venture with Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com. TMTG purchased $105 million of Crypto.com’s CRO token, Crypto.com purchased $50 million of TMTG stock, and the two companies are creating Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc., a CRO treasury company they plan to take public through a SPAC merger. In February, Crypto.com contributed $10 million to the MAGA Inc. Trump super PAC.6 A month later, TMTG and Crypto.com announced their partnership, initially focused on developing “America First investment vehicles” (including crypto ETFs) to be offered by Trump’s social media venture [I80]. Three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com said the SEC had dropped an investigation into the company. This will be either the fifth or sixth Trump family-owned or -linked crypto treasury company, in addition to American Bitcoin,a Trump Media & Technology Group (which itself acquired a substantial bitcoin treasury earlier this month [I90]),b Metaplanet,c and ALT5 Sigma.d Donald Trump Jr. was previously a major shareholder in Thumzup Media;e he sold some or all of his shares,7 though some crypto news outlets continue to describe him as involved with the company.8
The Trump family’s crypto web is only getting more tangled, as Trump family-linked companies are further entwining themselves with various crypto ventures. Trump majority-owned Trump Media and Technology Group, creator of the Truth Social platform, announced a joint venture with Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com. TMTG purchased $105 million of Crypto.com’s CRO token, Crypto.com purchased $50 million of TMTG stock, and the two companies are creating Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc., a CRO treasury company they plan to take public through a SPAC merger. In February, Crypto.com contributed $10 million to the MAGA Inc. Trump super PAC.6 A month later, TMTG and Crypto.com announced their partnership, initially focused on developing “America First investment vehicles” (including crypto ETFs) to be offered by Trump’s social media venture [I80]. Three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com said the SEC had dropped an investigation into the company. This will be either the fifth or sixth Trump family-owned or -linked crypto treasury company, in addition to American Bitcoin,a Trump Media & Technology Group (which itself acquired a substantial bitcoin treasury earlier this month [I90]),b Metaplanet,c and ALT5 Sigma.d Donald Trump Jr. was previously a major shareholder in Thumzup Media;e he sold some or all of his shares,7 though some crypto news outlets continue to describe him as involved with the company.8
The Trump family’s crypto web is only getting more tangled, as Trump family-linked companies are further entwining themselves with various crypto ventures. Trump majority-owned Trump Media and Technology Group, creator of the Truth Social platform, announced a joint venture with Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com. TMTG purchased $105 million of Crypto.com’s CRO token, Crypto.com purchased $50 million of TMTG stock, and the two companies are creating Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc., a CRO treasury company they plan to take public through a SPAC merger. In February, Crypto.com contributed $10 million to the MAGA Inc. Trump super PAC.6 A month later, TMTG and Crypto.com announced their partnership, initially focused on developing “America First investment vehicles” (including crypto ETFs) to be offered by Trump’s social media venture [I80]. Three days after the partnership announcement, Crypto.com said the SEC had dropped an investigation into the company. This will be either the fifth or sixth Trump family-owned or -linked crypto treasury company, in addition to American Bitcoin,a Trump Media & Technology Group (which itself acquired a substantial bitcoin treasury earlier this month [I90]),b Metaplanet,c and ALT5 Sigma.d Donald Trump Jr. was previously a major shareholder in Thumzup Media;e he sold some or all of his shares,7 though some crypto news outlets continue to describe him as involved with the company.8
solarbird
@solarbird@solarbird.net  ·  activity timestamp 6 days ago

“root causes”

I hate linking to The Hill, but here we go:

RFK Jr. says agency will reveal causes of autism in September

No, he fucking won’t. He literally shut down actual studies working on such things, because as with all fundamentalist-approach cardboard science, anything he does is driven by producing the answer he wants, not any answer that’s actually real.

So given all that, here’re a few key lies about “causes” I think we can expect:

  • “Overvaccination,” which isn’t a thing; it’s just a wedge to start rolling back vaccination in favour of “wellness” horseshit and pseudoscience that doesn’t fucking work;
  • High-fructose corn syrup, which in its most common formulation – for those who don’t remember – is chemically identical to honey. There’s literally not a way to tell filtered honey apart from 55/45 HFCS. This is also why filtered honey is fucking awful; once you filter out the water and the pollen remnants you don’t have any flavour other than sweetness.

    (This may be substituted out for artificial colours and/or flavours, he’s got bugaboos about those too.)

    And finally:

  • Hormone-based contraception.

Yeah. I think there’s a pretty good chance they’ll go there. I can’t be sure – this is all speculation, I assure you – but it’s been floated around in christofascism on and off for a while. Not as strongly as other lies about “the pill” (christ they’re so old) causing breast cancer (again: a lie), and being an abortifacient (again: a lie). So why not here? Why not go for it?

It has the added bonus of blaming the woman, which is another thing they always want to do.

Maybe I’ll be wrong. Maybe they won’t. But he used one word in particular that makes me think I’m right. That word is “interventions,” as in “interventions” that cause autism. That’s a word I’ve heard plenty of times before when fundamentalists talk about birth control, and also by the new age crowd that merged in with them, calling hormonal birth control an “unnatural intervention.” In other words, both upstream forks of his anti-vax “wellness” following have a history of using that word to describe hormonal birth control.

And here it is again. That word. “Intervention.”

Really could be a coincidence; really, genuinely could. That word is used by a lot of actual medical people for good and real medical treatments; it’s not one of their own made-up words.

But … they really do have a history of using it that way. And the orange fuckfash muttered on about “a drug or something” as the intervention at work, so… yeah.

I’m smelling an attack on birth control.

They’ve really been wanting to go at it, and given the increased… severity in tone… that we’re seeing out of the fascists, it feels like they’re slamming the metaphorical pedal to the metaphorical metal, and they might just go ahead and go for it.

Stock up on your meds, folks. Clock’s ticking.

#fascism #medicine #politics #science #uspol #uspolitics
Flipboard News Desk
@NewsDesk@flipboard.social  ·  activity timestamp 5 days ago

Both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. will claim that their opponents are the worse perpetrators when it comes to gerrymandering. Sam Wang and his team at Princeton University took a look at the data and graded states for their congressional and legislative redistricting. Here's his blogpost explaining the method, plus, at the second link, the results. "From this systematic comparison across every state, we learned that there is a very particular way that districting can be fair: take the power away from legislators."

https://flip.it/KHImk6
https://flip.it/lEfXGm

#USPolitics#Republican#GOP#Democrat#Redistricting