DL Open Thread: Tuesday, May 13, 2025

We Are All Episcopalians Now:

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?