DL Open Thread: Tuesday, May 13, 2025
In a striking move that ends a nearly four-decades-old relationship between the federal government and the Episcopal Church, the denomination announced on Monday that it is terminating its partnership with the government to resettle refugees, citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa who have been classified as refugees by President Trump’s administration.
In a letter sent to members of the church, the Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe — the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church — said that two weeks ago, the government “informed Episcopal Migration Ministries that under the terms of our federal grant, we are expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees.”
The request, Rowe said, crossed a moral line for the Episcopal Church, which is part of the global Anglican Communion, which boasts among its leaders the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a celebrated and vocal opponent of apartheid in South Africa.
I’d ask where are the Democrats on this, but what passes for the Party has now settled on a strategy of normalizing through silence. Like, you know, this:
A $2 billion Trump-branded crypto deal. Access to the President auctioned off to top holders of $TRUMP coin. Businesses bragging about spending $20 million on the President’s branded crypto coin in a bid to gain influence.
President Trump’s crypto ventures are, on their face, a mess of corruption that looms over 2025’s politics. In its shadow last week, the Senate came very close to passing the first significant piece of legislation aimed at legitimizing critical elements of the crypto industry.
That effort failed, for now. But whether it is dead, or merely deferred, remains a topic of some dispute. Negotiations continue. The bipartisan bill was long-sought by the fledgling cryptocurrency industry, which flexed its financial muscles in the 2024 elections, and which has signaled it will continue to do so.
Don’t forget, kids, LBR was a supporter of this bill (and probably still is) when the Bitcoins hit the fan:
The legislation has opened up a group of Democrats — who initially planned to support the bill — to criticism that they are legitimizing a particularly brazen example of Trumpian corruption and, from crypto skeptics, that they’re helping legitimize an industry that exists largely for speculation and untraceable money transfers. Supporters of the bill contend this is the best shot available to bring a degree of regulation to this aspect of crypto.
Why did D’s fall in line?:
Democrats on Capitol Hill point to the Ohio Senate race last year as an example of this pivot in the industry’s political influence. That contest pitted Sherrod Brown, the long-serving Democratic incumbent and vociferous crypto skeptic, against Sen. Bernie Moreno, a luxury car dealer and longtime crypto devotee who once launched an effort to make Cleveland a blockchain hub (he dubbed it “Blockland”), and who helped launch a company that uses blockchain to record vehicle titles.
Defend American Jobs, a crypto industry super PAC, spent $40 million in the 2024 cycle attacking Brown, a longtime economic populist, while giving Moreno name recognition. It was a positive cycle for Republicans across the country, and Brown was serving in a state that has trended deeply red over the past decade, so Moreno’s win was not necessarily a huge surprise. But the crypto industry pocketed it, and began to broadcast to Democrats, many of whom it also supported, that it intends to use its newfound clout to push for new legislation.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) co-sponsored the GENIUS Act, and has become one of the industry’s biggest boosters within the Democratic Party. She denied to the New York Times that campaign contributions might have anything to do with policy.
Her lips move. She lies. Bottom line: At best, they’re a-scared. At worst, they’re just pocketing more campaign cash. Your Democratic Party. Perhaps someone in the Party might want to raise this:
On Monday, the top 220 buyers of a Donald Trump-sponsored cryptocurrency won access to an exclusive dinner with the president as a reward for pouring money into the coin. It was the culmination of Trump’s weekslong promotion of the contest, which has drawn allegations that he is using his position to enrich his family business while opening himself up to foreign influence.
The cryptocurrency, called $TRUMP, was created in mid-January and boasts a market capitalization of over $2bn after months of investors buying into the heavily promoted coin. A Trump family-linked company and another firm own a majority of the coins, according to Reuters.
“Congratulations, if you’re in the top 220 on the leaderboard we will be contacting you in the next 24 hours. Check your inbox (and spam folder) and expect a phone call for the Trump Official Dinner invitation and details,” the $TRUMP website announced mid-day on Monday. “President Trump will see YOU on May 22 at the Gala Dinner in Washington D.C.”
Perhaps This Will Wake Democrats Up? Or, perhaps not:
On Sunday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) released budget reconciliation text that outlined extensive cuts to Medicaid planned by the Republican Party—which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office promptly estimated “would reduce the number of people with health insurance by at least 8.6 million” nationwide.
At least $715 billion would be cut from health programs, according to the CBO analysis, but it is unclear how much would be cut directly from Medicaid. Optional services under Medicaid—including physical therapy, hospice, and respiratory care for people on ventilators—would likely face cuts in many states.
Gee, too bad the DNC Chair is too busy trying to rid the committee of the scourge that he views as David Hogg to, you know, say anything about this.
The National Democratic Party is a vast Enthusiasm Suck.
Don’t Forget: We have local school board elections today. Polls are open until 8 pm. Let your voices be heard.
What do you want to talk about?
You have to give republicans credit – they voted against everything as a whole that Biden supported (even when it would have benefitted them). Dems vote for everything this openly corrupt administration throws out there exposing their own corruption.
The democrats still opposing digital assets are not going to be around long. An estimate of 13-28% of American adults own them. 20 years from now everyone on this blog will be using blockchain tech and digital currency whether they want to or not and they might not even realize it. This is just another out of touch policy from our party that has no upside.
The are three legs to the digital asset world, Bitcoin, alt coins, and stable coins. Bitcoin is sound money and will be around for a long time. 99% of altcoins are scams and are basically a casino, and stable coins are essentially digital dollars you can send on the blockchain. When people refer to crypto as a scam they’re talking about alt coins not BTC or stable coins. Trump’s crypto coins are alt coins, literally anyone with an internet connection can go create one.
The bill that stalled in the senate had nothing to do with trumps grift. It’s about stable coins, which are pegged to the dollar. Stable coins are the most secure and cost effective way to transfer money cross-border. No western union fees, not waiting, no relying on a store being open. Immigrants living in the US can send money back home for a few cents instead of getting hit with 11% fees and it happens instantly. We need stable coin regulation and this bill needs to pass. It will help get rid of all the middle men in traditional finance sucking the blood of regular people.
All the downsides of crypto people cry about happen at a much larger scale with the US dollar on a daily basis and no one complains about the dollar. At the end of the day bitcoin and the USD are both backed by nothing but the faith of the people who hold it. Most Americans do not realize this. The difference is that there will only ever be 21 million bitcoin and the US dollar’s value will be debased for eternity.
The old monetary system is dying, the dollar is falling, and trump just sped up global de-dollarization with his dumb ass tariffs. Of course, achieving the opposite of his attended goals. The old American economy is gone. Get ready for higher prices, higher interest rates(because of a weak dollar), and the final crunch of the middle class.
Estimates of 13-28% A bit of an error bar there, no?
It’s a wonderful system for laundering money and hiding assets. I have more faith in the US government – rather, I will once Trumpism passes – than in whatever it is backing Bitcoin. What is backing Bitcoin?
At root, it’s libertarianism. Why do you identify as a Democrat?
The lack of regulation doesn’t allow for a super accurate head count of digital asset holders because the feds don’t have tracking systems like they do for stocks. Roughly over half a billion people around the world own crypto and it has an adoption curve steeper than the internet did. Doesn’t matter what the US does, bitcoin, altcoins, and stablecoins will continue to be adopted world wide. Bitcoin is the 4th or 5th largest asset in the world(depending on the day).
Bitcoin is quite possibly the worst way you can attempt to launder or hide assets. It is a public block chain, all transactions are live, public, and traceable. That critique is a common talking point that is not based in truth or genuine concern. If your concern if fraud and crime, I will once again point you to the US dollar.
Another misconception is that all bitcoiners are libertarians. Bitcoin has a minority of supporters that are what i would more so call anarchist than libertarians. (i don’t identify with either) I also believe that central banks will still play a major role in the future monetary system but their power will be a fraction of what it is now, especially the US Fed.
I assume you think I am saying that bitcoin will replace the dollar, I don’t think that will happen. What I am highlighting is that the monetary system the world operated in post WWII is rapidly unraveling. In my lifetime I will see the dollar fall off as the world reserve currency and it’s already happening. it will be a world where the euro, dollar, and yen are pretty even in value. Which will help level out wealth inequality in country to country terms, but the US has the most to lose in that situation.
The future monetary system will be borderless, and we won’t be able to bully the world with our reserve currency status. Most American’s have no clue how the fed, monetary policy, treasury bonds, federal debt, and foreign markets affect their daily lives. They are finding out now and it will only get worse.
Our national political leaders have decided that they will not allow boomers to feel any economic pain and all that matters are stock prices. This was at the cost of the younger generations which are saddled with a spiraling federal debt crisis that we cannot cut or tax our way out of without significant pain in the labor and stock markets. The world is fleeing US bonds which will continue to balloon our debt. Bond yields drive interest rates. It is very likely 2022 was the last time the average American will see a 3% or lower mortgage rate.
To all who read this, if you don’t own assets by 2030 you will not recover. We are barreling towards a Lords and Serfs economic system and all the recent economic idiocy from trump have sped that up. Everyone else will be inflated into poverty. Not telling you to buy bitcoin, because I never do that. But do everything you can to get property and equities.
Bitcoin at it’s root is not libertarianism, it’s digital gold, a store of value. it is a way to protect your wealth from being inflated away by central banks. It’s not and will never be used as a currency for small day to day transactions.
You asked me why i identify as a democrat. First we can’t write off people from the party because they differ on one issue, unless that issue is democracy itself. Second, I have been a dem my entire life a believe that we are the only party genuinely trying to improve the lives of regular Americans and expand the middle class.
Predictions are hard, especially about the future, but apparently a desire to make them is what separates us from the animals. You’re free to invest in whatever you like, but your assertions aren’t facts, they’re predictions. As for checking back in five years, that’s about how long the actuaries give me, so it’s pretty much moot for me.
Gold, by the way, has very little intrinsic value either – more than pieces of paper, but not much. People decide what has value and what doesn’t. At some point people will lose enough confidence in the dollar for something to replace it. It might or might not be “digital assets.” It might just be the yuan.
Best of luck with your investing.
Thank you. You’ve provided something missing from the blog:
Speculative fiction.
Or the world you think you live in is speculative fiction. Check back in 5 years.