Prattling Before the Pratfall

Trump, Gotham^* actor Ben McKenzie, and myself each have a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. Trump originally called Crytocurrency a scam.

Being a con man himself, once Trump got in on the scam he blessed Crypto. It finally made him the billionaire he had always, and falsely, claimed to be.

McKenzie had gotten burned in an investment. From that hard lesson, McKenzie made it his mission to study, then speak out against, the Crypto market. To that end he produced the documentary Everyone is Lying to You for Money.

I’m going to help McKenzie earn back some of his investment in the documentary by renting it for $20.

https://www.everyoneislying.com/

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(Less than two hours later)

I’ve watched the documentary, and it deserves a ★★★★★ DogRat review rating. It’s entertaining and informative, especially for those who are not super familiar with Crypto. McKenzie’s interview with Sam Bankman-Fried, from before the fall of FTX, is exceptionally telling about the nature of the market.

It’s a fraud-driven market that hasn’t changed in any essential way since Bankman-Fried’s conviction, now having the support of the president of the United States. In fact, Sam is hoping that Trump will grant him a pardon.

But I will confess that, having once had a brief moment of contact with McKenzie’s wife, Crypto wasn’t my only reason for renting the documentary.

A Brief Close Encounter

^* I know McKenzie only for Gotham. Until becoming aware of him regarding Cryptocurrency, I’d never even heard of The O.C.

No, Iran is not winning: In Act IV of the war, it’s losing its leverage in Hormuz

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/no-iran-not-winning-act-103029745.html

Is the United States prepared to keep a Navy presence in place permanently at the Strait of Hormuz? If not, then Iran will always have leverage in the region. I hope I’m wrong, but the alternative is to send ground troops into Iran.

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The thought occurs to me that Trump is now 80 years old. Fully one-third of the time since the signing of the Constitution that Trump has no interest in preserving, protecting and defending.

Eighty is just too old to be a 4-year president or a 6-year senator. Which was why I voted for Seth Moulton over Ed Markey. The fact that Markey chose to run for reelection to the Senate shows, by itself, poor judgment.

Apparently, nobody has learned from the experiences of Joe Biden, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Dianne Feinstein or, for that matter, Mitch McConnell?

Follow-up comments to a couple of recent posts:

• Regarding Massachusetts being the most expensive state: When I was in Columbus, Ohio, I chatted with the OSU bus driver who shuttled us between the hotel and the Billy Ireland Cartoon building. He asked where I was from, and he said he used to live in Central Square Cambridge. When his rent went up he moved to a cheaper apartment in Somerville. Living there also became too expensive. He heard the cost of living was lower in Ohio, so he moved the Columbus, where he now proudly owns a house.
• Regarding the FTC looking into the business practices of Epic Systems: If the investigation has something to do with Judy Faulkner’s past support for Obama, it probably has just as much to do with Epic competitor Cerner now being owned by Trump friend Larry Ellison. Which has me thinking it’s good that Judy has kept Epic a privately-held company.