In the thread entitled “The most recent failure of MAGA crowd leaders” that I started about three days ago in this forum, I provided some reasons why the huge majorities that voted in favor of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House and in the Senate were the most recent failures of MAGA crowd leaders. One of those reasons was that those huge majorities further demonstrated that MAGA crowd leaders “still have not learned how to do the things that must be done in order to accomplish their stated objectives, let alone how to govern.”
https://www.reddit.com/MAGAs/comments/1415y3g/the_most_recent_failure_of_maga_crowd_leaders/
Among the MAGA crowd leaders whose conduct further demonstrated this is Marjorie Taylor Greene. She was first elected the U.S. representative for Georgia's 14th congressional district in 2020 and then reelected to that seat in Congress in 2022. When she entered Republican primary race for that seat for the first time on 6-4-19, she pledged that her top priority in Congress would be overhauling the country’s finances by reining in government spending, balancing the federal budget and supporting a proposal that would replace federal personal and corporate income taxes with a national retail sales tax.
https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/business-owner-enters-6th-district-gop-race-with-pledge-cut-spending/TQvikYZTGIqlc5ng9pVCvI/
As a result, she, like other MAGA crowd leaders, has had plenty of time to learn what had to be done to gain enough votes in the House and in the Senate to pass legislation that would do one or more of those things in the ways required by MAGA crowd leaders such as Trump. However, her conduct has continued to be so outrageous, and so well-known that it need not be reiterated here, that she made it a virtual certainty that she would never become able to gain the votes in the House and in the Senate needed to pass any of above kinds of government spending, federal budget, and tax legislation that she had pledged to support.
Her outrageous conduct continued most recently by telling reporters just outside the Capitol office of Speaker Kevin McCarthy that the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 was “a shit sandwich” even though she promoted, supported and voted for it.
https://www.salon.com/2023/06/05/i-100-support-a-challenge-to-mtg-knives-out-in-maga-world-over-greenes-betrayal
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4027240-greene-leaning-towards-yes-on-s-sandwich-debt-bill-but-she-also-wants-impeachment/
That may be the kind of conduct that is permitted of a candidate for reelection in Georgia's 14th congressional district. However, that is not kind of conduct that will gain the votes in the House and in the Senate that are needed to pass any of above kinds of government spending, federal budget, and tax legislation that she had pledged to support. Moreover, calling it “a shit sandwich” was not enough to satisfy other MAGA crowd leaders who are now seeking to have her primaried.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/far-right-turns-on-marjorie-taylor-greeneand-mtg-hits-back-in-text-to-matt-gaetz

Hey Everyone!
Let’s go….
Newly Covered Today:

1. Ohhhhhhh! This did not go in the SEC’s favor. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1666492499505090563
2. IOG’s response to the SEC suits against Coinbase and Binance. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2023/06/07/iog-response-to-the-recent-sec-filings/
3. The court in Coinbase’s earlier Petition for Writ of Mandamus against the SEC (basically just requesting the SEC to do its rulemaking job and provide some clarity) has noted the SEC v. Coinbase complaint and is ordering the SEC to respond in seven days. https://twitter.com/iampaulgrewal/status/1666234163110748160
4. Brian Armstrong says they will NOT shut down their staking service in response to the complaint. https://twitter.com/TheOCcryptobro/status/1666545429306290176
5. With all the SEC complaints it’s easy to forget that the Digital Asset Market Structure Discussion Draft is still in play. https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=408838
6. The SEC is busy filing documents that are pretty bad for Binance. We’ve seen some of the chat logs before. But, some of the docs are new. https://twitter.com/adamscochran/status/1666473028610408450
7. Looks like Binance wants the court to know they were once in discussions with Gensler to bring him on as an advisor. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/07/binance-lawyers-say-sec-chair-gensler-offered-to-be-advisor-in-2019.html

Previously covered, but still interesting:

1. Cardano Native Assets are vastly superior to BRC20 and ERC20 tokens. https://twitter.com/TheOCcryptobro/status/1655673557710692352
2. Rumor: SEC is going to make a move against Binance. Will the DOJ also? https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1655546961968103425
3. At the end of Q3 of last year, 722 banks reported unrealized losses greater than 50% of capital. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/files/board-briefing-on-impact-of-rising-interest-rates-and-supervisory-approach-20230214.pdf
4. Wyoming is inching closer to a state stablecoin. IOG’s significant presence there may turn out to be a huge advantage. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/05/09/wyoming-stable-token-a-multibillion-dollar-opportunity-as-officials-wrestle-with-how-to-make-it-happen/
5. Paypal disclosed almost $1 billion in customer crypto in its latest 10-Q. https://blockworks.co/news/paypal-discloses-1b-crypto
6. MiCA is shifting the balance of crypto investment to Europe. https://twitter.com/paddi_hansen/status/1655883224726241281
7. Today (May 10) will be a joint hearing of the Agriculture and Financial Services Committees on Crypto. The CLO of Kraken will testify. https://financialservices.house.gov/
8. This is a legit point about centralized L2s: the best ones are called Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. https://twitter.com/el33th4xostatus/1655845787593502720
9. There’s already a new version of Lace Wallet out. https://twitter.com/lace_io/status/1656347737355608066
10. A nice thread on the many strengths of Cardano. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1656388178369212416
11. Remember, lobster traps are a thing. https://twitter.com/TheCardanoTimes/status/1656064744225120257
12. Today (May 11 at 1pm EST) there will be a Messari Cardano Analyst call with Charles & Frederik. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1656272372452954112
13. I think we all love it when they start making our case for us. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1656379837823561730
14. Ethereum is lamenting many of its poor design choices that Cardano already fixed. https://twitter.com/moo9000/status/1656215016016683008
15. Drunkenmiller says this is the broadest asset bubble he’s ever even studied let alone seen firsthand and we’ve only had a few soft landings since 1950. https://twitter.com/Stephen_Geigestatus/1656416819312222219
16. Live footage of meme coin investors accepting their ROI. https://twitter.com/KaylerSmithTV/status/1656130092966264834
17. Here’s the Messari call from today with both Fred & Chaz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouUhWwF74MM
18. People really seem to be enjoying the CF’s Blockchain Education Alpha Program. https://twitter.com/andreassosilo/status/1644263843743293451
19. The US Chamber of Commerce brief in the Coinbase case is calling out the SEC for acting “unlawfully”. https://twitter.com/MetaLawMan/status/1656737447756038177
20. About that whole self-custody thing we’ve discussed… https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1656706653801136132
21. The SPO poll on K and minFee starts today (May 15)! You should redelegate if your stake pool doesn’t vote the way you would vote! https://cardanofoundation.org/en/news/entering-voltaire-poll-experiment-live-on-mainnet/
22. There are also a series of forum topics for discussion of the various options in the Cardano.org forums. https://twitter.com/Lovecoach_nic/status/1657700010148896770
23. Coinbase spotlights Empowa! May be the first time they’ve ever given such a spotlight to a Cardano project. Tides are turning. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1657081243518005254
24. Wow. Leaked “Key Messages” document for the joint committee meeting in the US House last week. Best part: they basically complain about separation of powers in point three. https://twitter.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1656362002577772544
25. Dr. Vanishree Rao on ZK-Rollups. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1657778843854274560
26. Here’s a new Decentralized Identity article from IOG. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2023/05/11/atala-prism-pioneering-digital-identity-with-decentralized-solutions/
27. There are reasons we’re in a hard capped cryptocurrency like Cardano. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/business/argentina-interest-rates-inflation/index.html
28. What is a dRep? This video is for you. There will be additional categories of default dReps that vote abstain or no confidence on every vote. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1658034085401337857
29. The US Dept. of Justice is officially saying they are targeting exchanges. Great. Great. https://www.ft.com/content/5aac457e-cc80-44ae-ac40-9b51d9b601a3
30. Wow! Ledger just made what is possibly the greatest PR blunder in the history of crypto. Trezor will be poppin’ bottles tonight. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658458714771169282
31. People are claiming that the hysteria is a misunderstanding of cryptography. But, that’s not what’s going on here if Ledger plus one of the other two shard custodians can reconstruct your private key without having to use your private key. https://twitter.com/nimuepool/status/1658517533836574720
32. The Ledger Recover FAQ seems to support this understanding as it suggests you use a brand new device for recovery. https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/9579368109597
33. Wow. Unfortunate timing for this. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658095051375800321
34. Ken Kodama will be doing a Japanese language interview on CardanoSpot on May 18. https://twitter.com/Emurgo_Ken/status/1658838077136162828
35. The stake pool operator poll on network parameters of K and minPoolCost is live. See the results here. The re-delegation phase will begin on May 25th. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
36. Cornucopias dropped some new in-game footage. As expected, Solace is beautiful. https://youtu.be/j5iwNsQVMDQ?t=1846
37. Wow….the Ledger shards are encrypted with “a master key that is contained in all devices”. Wut? https://twitter.com/P3b7_/status/1658809445965606913
38. Sadly, the Ledger CEO seemed to be denying exactly the above just a day ago. https://twitter.com/_pgauthiestatus/1658508082941403144
39. Here’s why 340 ADA minPoolCost promotes multi-pools. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1659387255537176581
40. Numbers are emerging on the benefits of K=1000 over K=500. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1659398551917727744
41. Here’s the latest on the Stake Pool Operator poll. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
42. Rep. Tom Emmer is trying to help crypto by cutting crypto assets out of the definition of a “security”. He creates a new non-security asset category called “investment contract asset”. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1659291641281146886
43. Prof. Wadler (co-inventor of Cardano’s Plutus) has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society joining the likes of Einstein, Darwin, Hawking, and Isaac Newton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOm-dWje-M
44. Huge amount of voting for economic self-interest by multi-poolers in the SPO poll. Earlier today (May 21), 84.73% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 340 ₳ was multi-poolers. Only 15.6% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was multi-poolers. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
45. Large pools also voted heavily for economic self-interest with the K parameter. 70.02% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools with delegation over 35 million. Only 30.57% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools over 35 million. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
46. Apparently Cardano has its own wiki now! Probably better given our previous treatment by the big wiki group. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660383700243329024
47. Rep. Tom Emmer is getting some reactions on the bill he sponsored with Rep. Soto. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1660329932495486977
48. You’re really gonna hold up a debt ceiling deal because you hate crypto so bad? https://twitter.com/gaborgurbacs/status/1660248530135515138
49. Looks like a few big multi-poolers have voted in the poll since yesterday. Pretty easy to predict what they didn’t vote for. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
50. Reports coming in that DCG has defaulted on the payment owed to Genesis. https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1660671386388504577
51. Ledger Recover would allow governments to confiscate crypto assets by subpoena? Called “not a real concern in the end.” Really? https://twitter.com/TheBTCTherapist/status/1660677064700178436
52. Frederik Gregaard on DeFi and regulation. https://twitter.com/F_Gregaard/status/1660655806709211137
53. Don’t Forget, the May Cardano 360 will be on May 25th. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660621805017608194
54. Here’s the daily check-in on the status of the SPO Poll. We have surpassed 590 pools voting (as of May 23). https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
55. The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has decided to get our hopes up with a proposed regulatory framework for crypto exchanges that could mean more trading for coins like Cardano. https://apps.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/news-and-announcements/news/doc?refNo=23PR53
56. Here’s an IOG thread on the latest out of Atala Prism and Self-Sovereign Identity. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660904360925188097
57. Here’s an IOG article on Cardano native tokens. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660975383997448193
58. The difference in decentralization between Cardano and Bitcoin is still…laughable. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660979639907500033
59. Ledger is finally caving (a little) to the backlash. It’s reported that they will focus on open sourcing parts of their code and only release the “Recover” firmware after that open sourcing is finished. https://twitter.com/NFTherdestatus/1661026174779420672
60. Looks like the Hong Kong announcement yesterday might have been a hint of what’s coming. https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1661391542504902664
61. The Cardano Layerverse is coming to life. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1660697833115385856
62. Wow! Incredible! Thank you for voting in favor of decentralization, 1PCT! https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1661460222203002880
63. Federal Reserve report debunks claim that crypto is not useful to people in the US. https://twitter.com/SebVentures/status/1661063483369177108
64. The SPO phase of the poll is over. Nearly 800 pools voted. Now it’s your turn to see how your pool voted and re-delegate if you think they voted against decentralization and for their own pocketbook. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
65. The May Cardano 360 is out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_bCa_xCoxA
66. Charles dropped an update today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfL2U2hAGWw
67. Sen. Cynthia Lummis declares her opposition to the 30% tax on bitcoin mining. https://twitter.com/SenLummis/status/1661803569341759495
68. Lots of volume being transacted on Cardano recently! https://twitter.com/cwpaulm/status/1662929296329981952
69. Recent subpoenas to the Python Package Index don’t bode well for those hoping to store seed phrases with third-party custodians. https://twitter.com/_jonasschnelli_/status/1662531840606093312
70. Transaction volume is looking very interesting right now. https://messari.io/charts/cardano/txn-vol
71. JPG Store has now launched Android and IOS apps. https://twitter.com/jpgstoreNFT/status/1663281982262919170
72. It’s true. Cardano is straight killing it on the security leg of the trilemma.https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1662987243655684096
73. Just checked. Yep. The centralization in ETH is still staggering. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1663222056870350848
74. There’s a documentary about a 2022 Plutus hackathon in Argentina. https://twitter.com/LarsBrunjes/status/1663111319732535297
75. Pavia is testing NFT gating. This could get very interesting. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1663153213988823040
76. Marlowe is on mainnet! You can now code Cardano smart contracts in javascript or blockly via Marlowe! This is an amazing leap forward. https://twitter.com/marlowe_io/status/1663480828016435200
77. Don’t forget! We are still in the re-delegation phase of the CF Poll. See how your stake pool voted! If they were voting for their pocketbook instead of decentralization, you should re-delegate! https://twitter.com/Cardano_CF/status/1663564854572244994
78. Wow! Cardano projects are doing big things these days! https://twitter.com/CardanoCrocClub/status/1663468916843114498
79. The CCP has dropped a white paper on how it will develop Web 3 including NFTs and the metaverse. https://twitter.com/milestones_nft/status/1663458500922712064
80. Lace is now open source! https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1663953642045714433
81. Binance is back and apparently they don’t care if someone had that ticker first. https://twitter.com/pool_pm/status/1663809731603906560
82. Summon is now allowing for multichain swaps of ADA & ERG. https://twitter.com/N8iveToEarth/status/1664038846563225600
83. Charles did a Twitter Space with World Mobile. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1663984094252810283
84. Here’s an easy infographic on CIP-1694 Voltaire governance from IOG. https://twitter.com/Hornan7/status/1664007623799185409
85. Apparently, Cardano sushi is a thing! https://twitter.com/Allison_Fromm/status/1663841386074976257
86. This kind of sums up the problems with central bank behavior over the last 20 years. https://twitter.com/JeffWenigestatus/1664012650781585409
87. Interesting news about the currency in one of Cardano’s biggest metaverse projects. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1664240389610704896
88. Messari has released an article on operational decentralization in proof-of-stake crypto. https://messari.io/report/evaluating-validator-decentralization-geographic-and-infrastructure-distribution-in-proof-of-stake-networks
89. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has MASSIVELY revised their figures on Q4 of 2022. No surprise, the numbers were much worse than they told us. https://twitter.com/FrogNews/status/1664253845399130113
90. Looks like DAOs are getting a little hesitant about fee switches due to possible legal/tax implications. https://twitter.com/FrogNews/status/1664253845399130113
91. We even have Arctic block production. https://twitter.com/Laponia_pool/status/1664226409466740737
92. Questions are being raised regarding the blockspace consumption of dApps still on Plutus v1. https://twitter.com/matiwinnetou/status/1664385383122051073
93. Atomic wallet got hacked. https://twitter.com/zachxbt/status/1665080799253733377
94. No surprise: general interest in crypto & Cardano is still pretty low according to google trends. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&geo=US&q=cardano&hl=en
95. Here’s the Weekly Development Update from June 2. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1665394985934499840
96. The Chairs of the House Committee on Financial Services (McHenry) and the House Committee on Agriculture (Thompson) are co-sponsoring a new pro-crypto Digital Asset Market Structure Bill. Currently just a discussion draft. Here’s the summary. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AG/AG00/20230606/116051/HHRG-118-AG00-20230606-SD002.pdf
97. Here’s the actual discussion draft. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AG/AG00/20230606/116051/HHRG-118-AG00-20230606-SD003.pdf
98. Here’s a section-by-section with exhibits. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AG/AG00/20230606/116051/HHRG-118-AG00-20230606-SD001.pdf
99. Cornucopias has released more game footage. https://twitter.com/RobGreig3/status/1665310543589040130
100. SEC vs. Binance/CZ. It begins!!!!! https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1665845917268815874
101. Written response from Charles to the SEC/Binance complaint. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1665780536177217537
102. Written response from Binance on the SEC complaint. https://www.binance.com/en/blog/ecosystem/sec-complaint-aims-to-unilaterally-define-crypto-market-structure-8707489117122437402
103. Video response from Charles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zBZ-aGqldA
104. Cornucopias has dropped a whole new reel of gameplay footage. It looks really good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8ftHH8bbxQ
105. Cardano Gaming at the NFT.Brazil event! https://twitter.com/cardanowarriors/status/1665815653398507520
106. SEC vs. Coinbase. Yep…crypto is now at war. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1666159275217911835
107. Brian Armstrong’s response. https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1666129111025324035
108. The Cardano Foundation has disputed the characterization of Cardano as a security in comments to Fortune. https://twitter.com/Cardano_CF/status/1666128229952897024
109. Here’s Coinbase politely pointing out the SEC’s complete refusal to provide any direction or cooperation despite Coinbase’s continuous and plentiful attempts. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1666135834062467083
110. The question of regulatory jurisdiction may end up being the biggest problem for the SEC in all these crypto matters. https://twitter.com/MetaLawMan/status/1653821211544092672
111. Rumor: There could also be a DOJ case coming for Binance. https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1666180524535062529

~Army of Spies

Demographics Korean international student Moved from CA to Korea in Junior year, so not domestic Junior, Male, high income, first generation
Intended major Biochemistry Entomology Biology
Academics
ACT: 33 SAT: Planning this summer. What score should I be satisfied with? GPA: 3.91 our school use only UWGPA Coursework: APHUG, APBIO, APWORLD - SCORE 4 APCHEM, APSTATS, APUSH - SCORE TBD Senior year course: Korean language and history(mandatory), senior capstone, Spanish 2, english 12, APCALC BC, maybe physics
Awards:
Sports 3rd place in 202a Ayala Golf Tournament JV team match 2021, 2022 scholar athlete award from school 2023 Spring KISAC golf individual champion 2023 varsity golf MVP medal
Others - Certificate of congressional recognition - community volunteer award - 3rd place in Orange County Young Writing Contest - House of Representatives certificate of special recognition - Award for excellent achievement in 2022 Orange county young writing and art contest - Certificate of achievement from city of Stanton, CA - 2022 community clinic math competition perfect score - Award for excellent achievement in 2022 community clinic science competitions
Extracurriculars Livingstone community clinic SVO vice president Westview multicultural program art/physical/speech therapy assistant for disabled people La Jolla Indian Reservation lead volunteer Rainbow family daycare, fundamental subject tutor, and fundraising Habitat for humanity - underprivileged home management Orange tech pros - programmesoftware engineer for local sport competition software Zero carbon emission club at school planning for entomology club next year Varsity Golf team captain Drum tutoring at dormitory
Internships shadowed doctor in stem cell research center Internship at Pharmicell, Korean stem cell treatment/research company participated in case report for stem cell application for multiple sclerosis patients. Planning for participation at 2023 Annual Meeting of Korean Society for stem research for experiment result report
Independent study Collected and bred 10 Korean species of beetles in family Lucanidae Collected variety of insects, made specimens, and donated them so local island national park Small business on internet selling rare beetle collections in Korea Working on experiment using the Rhino beetle larvae that I bred, to utilize them as a potential future food source and pet
Common Application essay would probably be about my early interest in insects, or life as a boy in a small island who transitioned to international student to CA preparing universities in the United States. I think essay has strong hook, as I will tell them my story of being chased by a wild hog on a mountain while collecting insects.
LORs - processing AP Chemistry Teacher Environmental Science teacher Golf team coach Pharmicell internship doctor
I transferred from CA to Korea during Junior year, due to parents divorcing. My cumulative GPA dropped from 3.94 to 3.91 The divorce lawsuit is still processing, not going to end before admission results comes out
My realistic dream schools are any top UC schools or USC. I am trying to ED Cornell for Entomology, but I think I am not likely to get in. First of all, my stats don't look that good. Also, a few years ago, our former student had problems with Cornell university, and since then our school never had Ivy league acceptances, but only top 10-20s. My counselors blame him, but I am not sure.
I want to get recommendations for schools. Also, any improvement advice would be very appreciated. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your day.

To many of us, NAFO is a place to make memes that bonk on Ruzzia cause it makes them look bad and boosts the moral of our brothers and sisters fighting in Ukraine. This is good, keep it up.
What I want to discuss, is how we can use the cyberspace to cause massive impacts with regards to undermining Ruzzian propaganda and by extension, support for the Ruzzian regime.
The topics I will discuss will make this post quite lengthy and it may seem on the surface that the points I a making are irrelevant or that I am taking a very long winded approach in order to get to the ultimate points I am making - but I will do my best to communicate the key components of each topic and why they are all related.
If that's okay with you, read on and buckle up - we're going to be covering a lot of intermediate and heavy topics first before we can get to the good stuff.
--------
Before we get started, I want to give you my perspective on how I see the World, the Universe and everything around me (yes, just bare with me...).
The Universe is this great big mathematical object. I theorised this some years ago, only to realise that a much better physicist than myself had the same idea with far superior backing and research for the theory than I ever could have applied (The Mathematical Universe Hypothesis - Max Tegmark, 2014).
The best that we can observe is that there are these little spikes of data representing what we understand to be subatomic atomic particles from the Standard Model within these spaces called "Quantum Fields". Actually - these particles aren't so much individual particles themselves, the particle is the excitation in that Quantum field. These excitations follow very rigorous mathematical laws - they won't change unless there is some external stimuli that affects them. When these excitations coalesce due to the physical laws of our Universe, we say that these particles have formed larger structures such as Pions, Hadrons and even Atoms. These atoms go on to form larger structures such as planets, stars, cellular life and the human brain.
All this is to impress upon you the idea that everything, absolutely everything, is the product of mathematical determinism. Even if we consider the probabilistic nature that Quantum Mechanics implies, this is in itself is a deterministic construct if we were to consider that probabilities are determined by the nature of the events leading up to the new event as yet to be determined - further, many scientists reason that this is evidence for a "Multiverse theory". Personally, I speculate that the probabilistic appearance of the Quantum world is indicative of axial dimensions that are additional to the classical x, y, z, t dimensions most of us are probably use to.
Regardless, the point remains. You do not have free will. No matter how much you may or may not want to believe it - Everything you are, everything you believe, everything you know, is a product of everything else that has happened before you.
"If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the strength of a resolution taken once and for all. So would a Being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect intelligence, watching man and his doings, smile about man's illusion that he was acting according to his own free will." - Albert Einstein
The "decisions" you make are not so much a choice you ever really had, but the manifestation of the synapses in your brain responding to external stimulation.
---
To think about the Brain for our purposes, we need to think about it as a physical object. This object, and the conclusions it makes about the world around it, can be influenced, guided, manipulated and/or programmed. In a funny sort of a way it can kind of be thought of as a computer...
We are the products of our environmental conditioning - the events of everything that has happened before us and all the events that have shaped our experiences, make us who we are today.
Nature plays its part of course, nurture is nature. Both genetics and epigenetics will play significant roles in how we interact with the world; but consider this:
If a baby born to Chinese parents were to be adopted at birth and raised in Houston, Texas, will they speak English or Mandarin? I suspect that they will probably end up speaking English with a thick Texan accent, and that they may also find it difficult to identify many persons of Chinese origin due to a lack of exposure they have had to Asiatic faces.
“Give me just one generation of youth, and I'll transform the whole world.” - Vladimir Lenin
The stimuli that affects the brain can come from all forms of external sources. It will manifest itself by the way that we literally sense the world - every sight we see, every sound we hear, every smell, every touch, every temperature variable, every pattern we recognise. Recognising this and understanding how this relates to shaping the very experiences and views that people have of the world is the key to understanding how and why people believe what they believe.
---
Belief is a natural product of human evolution. There are no papers on this - this is my own theory, but I would bank a lot of money on it if I had any.
Imagine a hypothetical scenario in cave man times to keep things simple. Tribe A and Tribe B are at war with each other. Tribe A aren't the most abstract of thinkers, but they are all united on a common belief that Tribe B are "bad dumb-dumbs" that need their heads bonking. Tribe B, meanwhile, are arguing and debating amongst themselves about the ethics in their approach to fighting Tribe A and about who's method amongst themselves is the best to be adopted when dealing with the Tribal War Issue. Unless Tribe B can be unanimous and expedient in developing their strategy for dealing with Tribe A, then their advantage of greater capacity for abstract thought will be rendered effectively useless - Tribe A will wipe the floor with them (I'm looking at you Ancient Greece).
Human beings, for the most part, have a natural propensity for adopting belief systems irrespective of irrefutable evidence. Evolution does not require you to consistently choose and believe the objective truth. Evolution only cares that you adopt the strategy that is most likely to increase your survival, and more specifically, the survival of your group whom are likely to share similar genetic material as you. Belief, regardless of objective truth, is therefore a survival strategy in and of itself - the underlying strategy of which being to obtain social unity and cohesion.
In reality, a groups survival will depend upon a multitude of factors - but this survivability will increase if that group has many different members more capable of different skills and different kinds of abstract reasoning. It's why the concept of "Time and Motion" works, why the cells in our bodies all function to serve unique purposes, why symbiotic relationships in the animal kingdom work so effectively... Our collective capabilities, and therefore our odds of survival, are increased when individual members are able to specialise in areas the group as a whole can benefit from. We are very much a social animal - Mother Nature has dictated that we should be this way.
[As a side note: This also adds into my theory for why Autism in many is not so much a disability, but rather an evolutionary strategy that makes the neurological trade-off in the autist themselves that sacrifices social capabilities for increased pattern recognition and abstract awareness. Their social skills are not required if the group is well off enough and able to take care of them - the autistic person is able to provide a level of abstract thought and reasoning that can provide technology with the capability of increasing the groups probability of survival massively.]
For more information on this topic, I thoroughly recommend this Ted-talk on Homosexuality and Epigenetics.
---
"Neuro-Linguistic Programming" (or simply "NLP") is, more or less, an applied science on how language and communication techniques can be used to influence (other people as well as ourselves). It is a "science"* that is exploited immensely in the fields of sales and marketing (*long story, some people hold the opinion it is a pseudo-science). NLP is used by psychologists and hypnotists and what it boils down to is the idea that communication techniques (as well as the utilisation of intelligently placed external stimuli) can be used to influence people into certain ways of thinking.
NLP can be used, and has been used, to alleviate people of their phobias. NLP is used to provide therapy for people to overcome trauma and depression. NLP is used to sell products. NLP can be used to convince people into sleeping with you. NLP can be used to manipulate large swathes of people into believing what you want them to believe. NLP can be used to elicit emotions like happiness, sadness, anger and practically any other emotion you can think of. It is used to achieve results. It is used, by those with the inclination to do so, as a means to achieve the outcomes from people that they themselves want to see in them. The most common use of NLP is in by making you believe that a choice you've made is the result of your deciding on a matter, and not the result of some smart fucker hacking into your neurological programming.
NLP is a tool. It is neither good nor bad. How it is used provides the basis for our own subjections as to whether something has been used for "Good" or "Evil".
Remember that the brain is just an object that is malleable and can be influenced by external stimuli? This is what it is about. Along with another field called Behavioral Economics, NLP is about controlling the perceptions and behavior of people - Behavioral Economics is the same thing but on a large scale. Just as Sales is to the Marketeer, NLP is to the Behavioral Economist.
---
This is propaganda. Now do you understand me? The underlying objective is to assist the propagandist in their (or their Masters') objective to attain, or retain control of, Power. The means by which they do this is by calculating the most effective ways to achieve the results that most fit their desired outcome. Do we want more people to quit smoking? Let's make legislation so that packs of cigarettes must have NSFL imagery on them so more people have an adverse negative reaction and association to it. Do we want Western nations to be divided so as to undermine their internal security? Let's pump out reactionary memes and propaganda to outrage the people and polarise the population into demonizing "the other side".
"Divide et Impera" - Latin: Divide and Rule - sometimes translated as "Divide and Conquer", Antiquity
Do we want to win the election by any means necessary irrespective of the values of freedom and democracy? Let's use AI technology to send out specific messages via social media designed to bring about strong emotional responses in those with the potential to be galvanized to voting in our favour, and other messages designed to make those who would vote against us apathetic to the voting process.*
"The greatest danger to our future is apathy." - Jane Goodall
[*This actually happened in 2016 during the Brexit and Trump Election campaigns using technology by a company called Cambridge Analytica - it's a wild story in and of itself, so check it out if it interests you.]
Do we want to convince the population that, what would otherwise be considered an unjustified war, is entirely necessary for our defense and security? 9/11 Let's blow up an some apartment blocks, kill hundreds of civilians, and use this as a justification to invade Chechnya!
Minds can be controlled. People can be manipulated. The results of these manipulations have real world effects and are very much considered by top military analysts as being major components of modern warfare along with other little known dimensions of conflict such as espionage, economic and political interference.
---
What happens when you train an Artificial Intelligence algorithm into identifying and producing propaganda unique to an individual?
To do this effectively, you'd need data... a lot of data... petabytes upon petabytes of data... both to train the AI algorithm in identifying the psychological makeup of a person and to train the algorithm into understanding what kinds and forms of stimuli are going to be most effective when trying to influence this kind of person. How would you do this? You'd need some kind of platform with an unfathomable amount of human resources.
Now imagine you have an application, with the structural architecture for keylogging, that aggressively harvests data from users phones, with a known history to censor content critical of authoritarian regimes, and has over 1 Billion active monthly users...
... what do you think they're going to be using all that data for?
For the love of all that is FUCKING good in this world. STOP. USING. TIKTOK.
---
We are up against individuals who are hellbent on their own power. These people will use the technology I have discussed to manipulate as many people as possible in ways that most suit them. They will divide us. They will make us apathetic, or they will galvanize us into blindly supporting policies or actions that suit them. Their fight is for control over hearts and minds - they had no intention of alleviating you of your chains, only replacing them with shackles they alone hold the key to.
---
By all means, carry on bonking vatniks with your clubs and your sticks when they carelessly wonder upon our turf - I certainly don't object... but I have the basis for a toolkit to help you develop highly accurate strategic information missiles to help you make significant impacts in the places where it most matters.
When you are making memes to combat Ruzzian disinformation, think about who the meme is for... is the meme for other fellas so we can fratbro with each other confirming what we already know and how great we all are? Well, you'd be preaching to the crowd... ofc we're fucking awesome! We haven't necessarily convinced anyone else of that though and we might have even pissed off some vatniks hard enough they want to go out there way to use slimey techniques to underhand us...
Maybe the memes we make could be aimed at those who are falling victim to Ruzzian (and Chinese) propaganda... maybe we could take a calculated approach to consider exactly what is going to be most effective method in dispelling the beliefs held by those who are sympathetic to Ruzzia. Maybe we can talk to people in such a way that gets them to change their minds.
Remember: the mind is malleable - it is a programmable object, we're not trying to program people with our own ideas, we are trying to alleviate people that have had virus's infect theirs.
---
We don't have to be looking at those spouting Ruzzian bs like vile creatures and enemies... if you're friend had a brain tumour, would you hate your friend or the cancer? (Fuck Cancer).
There's a good chance we will be more effective with removing the cancer from peoples minds if we adopt a position that is explicitly non-hostile. Imagine, from their point of view, what it would be to convince them to rethink their world-view. For the vast majority of those on the opposing side, they will need a way out accepting that they have done wrong in their lives without fear of being treated as a pariah (this is why the forgiveness and "born-again" narrative works so well for so many religions) - of course we want to treat them like pariahs because of the hurt we and our people have endured; but I ask you, what is better: hating on someone who is helping to push the Ruzzian narrative or letting it go and maybe having one less vatnik to worry about?
Our true enemies after all are those pulling the strings on the marionettes we see before us. To them, we should also be measured since they are likely calculated but with their own interests in mind.
---
To develop the perfect memes for our cause, you need to consider:

• What is going to have the most impact?
• What will spread to the most amount of people?
• What will have the greatest likelihood of alleviating our side from apathy?
• What will have the biggest impact in dispelling the beliefs of those who might be sympathetic to the other side? What will make them question the legitimacy of the false narratives they have been told?

When dealing with victims of Vatnik propaganda in person, you need to let them know that you are their friend and not like all the propaganda has led them to believe about you. Be NICE!
You can use techniques from NLP in order to communicate more effectively, but do it responsibly, it is not a tool to be abused.
In time I will try and develop this system so it is easier and more succinct to follow for your regular everyday normal fella. For now, and for those of you who have been brave enough to read this far, I have given you the underlying framework for understanding how communication can be used as a tool to directing people into a directed frame of thinking.
What I'm really trying to impose upon you more than anything else is the idea that we should be thinking strategically about our methods for addressing the issues of Ruzzian disinformation. Consider exactly what it is you want to achieve in combating misinformation and calculate the most effective means of communication in order to achieve it.

So the announcement of Furlong resigning or being terminated (It doesn't matter which) made me wonder if he had any stock options or other things vesting as part of a severance package. It might have been neato if he was granted a large number of shares as part of his departure that might have made interesting orders into the ecosystem.
Alas, this is not the case... see details below:
​

åItem 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Appointment of President and Chief Executive Officer
On June 9, 2021, the GameStop Corp. (the “Company”) announced the appointment of Matthew Furlong, age 42, as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, effective on or about June 21, 2021. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Furlong served as Country Leader, Australia for Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”) since September 2019 and in various other roles at Amazon since October 2012, including as Director, Technical Advisor, Amazon North America. Prior to joining Amazon, Mr. Furlong served in various roles at The Procter & Gamble Company focused on brand, marketing and sales strategies.
In connection with his appointment as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, the Company entered into a letter agreement with Mr. Furlong on June 9, 2021 describing the basic terms of his employment (the “Furlong Letter Agreement”). The Furlong Letter Agreement provides that Mr. Furlong’s starting annualized base salary will be $200,000 and that he will also be eligible to earn a total of $4,700,000 in sign-on bonuses, paid in 24 monthly installments, subject to his continuous employment with the Company through the payment date of the applicable installment unless he is terminated by the Company without Cause (as defined in the Furlong Letter Agreement). In each of the first 12 months of his employment with the Company, Mr. Furlong will receive a sign-on bonus installment of $229,167. In each of months 13 through 24 of his employment with the Company, Mr. Furlong will receive a sign-on bonus installment of $162,500. Mr. Furlong is also entitled to a relocation bonus in the amount of $250,000 to assist with the costs of his relocation to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The Furlong Letter Agreement also provides that, on the first business day of the first calendar quarter that commences after the effective date of his employment, Mr. Furlong will be entitled to a grant of a number of restricted stock units or restricted shares of the Company’s Class A common stock determined by dividing $16,500,000 by the average closing price of the Company’s Class A common stock for the 30 trading days immediately preceding the grant date (the “Initial Equity Award”). This equity award will vest as follows: 5% on the first anniversary of the grant date, 15% on the second anniversary of the grant date, and 20% on each of the dates that are 30, 36, 42 and 48 months following the grant date, subject in each case to his continuous service to the Company through the applicable vesting date. Finally, the Furlong Letter Agreement provides that Mr. Furlong’s employment is conditioned on his execution of a non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreement.
Under the Furlong Letter Agreement, if Mr. Furlong’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause (as defined in the Furlong Letter Agreement), he will be entitled to receive the following severance benefits: (i) an amount equal to six months of his base salary, (ii) an amount equal to six months of COBRA premiums for Mr. Furlong and his eligible dependents, (iii) any sign-on bonus installments which then remain unpaid and (iv) the vesting of that portion of the Initial Equity Grant, if any, that was otherwise scheduled to vest in the ordinary course during the six month period immediately following his termination date. Mr. Furlong’s eligibility for these severance benefits is subject to his execution of a release of claims against the Company and his compliance with any applicable post-employment covenants.
The foregoing description of the Furlong Letter Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the Furlong Letter Agreement, a copy of which is filed herewith as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
There are no other arrangements or understandings between Mr. Furlong and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. Furlong was named President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Furlong does not have any family relationship with any of the Company’s directors or executive officers or any persons nominated or chosen by the Company to be a director or executive officer. Mr. Furlong does not have any direct or indirect interest in any transaction or proposed transaction required to be reported under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

So I highlighted a few sections and dates of note. Matt did not quite make 2 full years (out of 48 months which is 4 years (edit: I am an idiot who cant do maths so I fixed thanks to comments.)) but it looks like he was close enough that the section "iii" and "iv" above still grants him his payments and shares. this also seems to be verified by the 10.1 offer letter:
​

June 9, 2021
Via Email:
Matthew Furlong
Re:
Offer Letter
Dear Matt,
Congratulations! I am pleased to offer you employment with GameStop Texas, Ltd. and as the President and Chief Executive Officer GameStop Corp. (the “Company”). You will report to the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”). You will be subject to all policies of the Company and GameStop Texas, Ltd. in effect from time to time, including the Company’s Anti-Hedging Policy, Clawback Policy, Insider Trading Policy and Code of Ethics.
We would like you to start on a mutually agreed upon date no later than June 21, 2021. Your starting annualized base salary will be $200,000, less applicable taxes.
You will also be eligible to earn a total of $4,700,000 in sign-on bonuses. These bonuses will be paid in 24 monthly installments, as follows: In each of the first 12 months of your employment with us, you receive a sign-on bonus installment of $229,167, less applicable taxes. In each of months 13 through 24 of your employment with us, you will receive a sign-on bonus installment of $162,500, less applicable taxes. Your right to receive each installment is conditioned on your continuous employment with us through the payment date of that installment*.* Except as otherwise provided below in connection with a termination by the Company without Cause, if your employment with us ceases for any reason, no additional installments will be paid.
On the first business day of the first calendar quarter that commences after your start date, and subject to your active employment with us on that date, you will be granted a number of restricted stock units or restricted shares of the Company’s Class A common stock (“Common Stock”) determined by dividing $16,500,000 by the average closing price of Common Stock for the 30 trading days immediately preceding the grant date (the “Initial Equity Award”). The Initial Equity Award will vest as follows: 5% on the first anniversary of the grant date, 15% on the second anniversary of the grant date, and 20% on each of the dates that are 30, 36, 42 and 48 months following the grant date, subject in each case to your continuous service through the applicable vesting date. The above-described equity award will be documented in a separate award agreement; that agreement will contain additional terms and conditions (not inconsistent with this letter) and be delivered to you following the applicable grant date.
The Company’s agreement to grant equity to you and to pay you signing bonus installments does not guarantee your employment for any period or otherwise limit our ability to terminate your employment at any time, for any reason, even if your opportunity to receive or vest in such equity or receive such signing bonus installments would be forfeited as a result of such termination. We will periodically review your performance and compensation levels and may, beginning in 2022, make adjustments consistent with our executive compensation program, all as determined in the sole discretion of the Compensation Committee of our Board; provided, however, that such adjustments will not include a material adverse alteration of the above-described sign-on bonus installments or the Initial Equity Award without your consent.
You are eligible for 3 weeks of vacation per year. On the 61st day from your start date, you will be eligible to participate in the Company’s health (including dental and vision) benefits program, as well as be automatically covered in the Company’s company-paid life insurance program and, after 90 days, the long-term disability program. You will be eligible to participate in the 401(k) plan on the first day of the month following or coinciding with 60 days of service. You will be eligible for the company match commencing with the first of the month after or coinciding with your first year of service. The company match is funded on an annual frequency. Please feel free to contact our Benefits Team at (817) 722-7501 or 1-866-637-4387 with any specific benefit questions you may have.
Your position requires you to permanently relocate to Dallas/Ft Worth,TX. You are not eligible for benefits under our relocation policy. Instead, we will pay you a relocation bonus in the first pay period after your start date in the gross amount of $250,000 to assist you with your relocation costs.
Consistent with all roles in the organization, your employment will be on an at-will basis, having no specified term, and may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other. However, if we terminate your employment without Cause (as defined on Exhibit A***), you will receive the following severance benefits***, subject to the conditions noted below: (i) we will pay you an amount equal to six months of your base salary, (ii) if you are participating in our group health plans immediately prior to your termination, we will pay you an amount equal to the applicable premium for COBRA continuation coverage for you and your eligible dependents for six months, (iii) we will pay you any sign-on bonus installments which have not by then already been paid; and (iv) that portion of the Initial Equity Award (if any) that was otherwise scheduled to vest in the ordinary course during the six month period immediately following your termination date will become vested. To be eligible for these benefits you must (x) sign a release of claims on such form as we supply (which form will be substantially consistent with that used for other terminating senior executives) and that release must become irrevocable within 60 days after your termination date, and (y) comply with any applicable post-employment covenants under any other written agreement with us. The amounts described in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) will be paid in a single cash lump sum (less required tax withholdings) as soon as practicable after the release becomes effective, and in no event later than 70 days after the termination date. The shares described in clause (iv) will be issued (if not already outstanding) and released from transfer restrictions as soon as practicable after the release becomes effective, and in no event later than 70 days after the termination date.
You will have rights (i) to indemnification in accordance with, and subject to the terms and conditions of, and limitations in, our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws and (ii) under any applicable directors and officers insurance under which you are covered.

Soooo... He seems to get all payments and seems to be leaving on good terms. It may be a nothing-burger, but it is certainly interesting that he left almost exactly 2 years from the start as though it was part of the plan all along.
That last part about 70 days also makes me wonder... will we see something within the next 70 days after this separation date? Will he vest and have a large buy of shares? Is there any chance that he dumps his already accumulated shares?
I just did a little digging simply because I was curious and don't have the time or the wrinkles to interpret it much more from that. Maybe someone could do the math and see how many shares he already vested (his current ownership is reported somewhere) and figure out how many more he has left to vest?
Do with this information what you will.... or won't. What do I care?
​
edit: fixed because I cant do maths. Thanks u/RayneAdams... DOH!

GameStop reported first-quarter net sales of $1.237 billion, which were down from $1.378 billion year-over-year. Net sales missed an estimate of $1.36 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
The company reported a net loss of $50.5 million in the first quarter. Earnings per share were negative 14 cents per share in the first quarter, which missed a Street consensus estimate of a loss of 12 cents per share.
GameStop cited restructuring costs of $14.5 million related to its European operations. More transition charges are expected in the second quarter.
The company ended the first quarter with $1.31 billion in cash and cash equivalents. The company had no long-term debt outside of an unsecured term loan related to the response of the French government to COVID-19.
GameStop announced after market close that Ryan Cohen has been elected executive chairman of the company. Cohen’s duties will include “capital allocation and overseeing management.”
Cohen had the previous title of Chairman of GameStop. The activist investor took a 9% stake in the company that was disclosed in August 2020. The investor later increased the stake to 13% in late 2020.
Cohen has been a vocal supporter of GameStop since investing in the company and is was also seen as a leader for retail traders in their battle against hedge funds and short sellers betting on Gamestop's demise.
The company’s former CEO Matt Furlong resigned from the company on June 5, 2023. GameStop noted the resignation did not come from any disagreement with the company.
The Board of Directors for the comapny has been reduced to five members as a result of Furlong's resignation.
The comapny also announced the promotion of Mark Robinson to General Manager. Robinson previously served as the company's Vice President, General Counsel of the company since January 2022; Robinson will resume his General Counsel role alongside the General Manager title.
https://www.benzinga.com/amp/content/32767924

Part 2 of 2: All constructive criticism is welcome and the more specific, the better.

Bringing a pitchfork to an android fight

This leaves the ruled with the sole strategic deterrent of their collective potential for violence. The deterrent is twofold:

1. Their potential as agents of coercive violence on the part of intra-class competitors
2. Their collective power as a ‘mob’ or mass movement that if necessary can overwhelm through numbers (a la Bastille)

In societies, where the institutions of legitimacy are hereditary, intra-class rivalries are more likely given the largely unconditional and irrevocable nature of legitimacy conferred by birth. No effective mechanism can remove class membership without challenging the legitimacy of the institution conferring membership.
Privileges and special treatment are often accorded to members of the same class in external societies with matching institutions of legitimacy. These privileges can even hold in wartime where either special treatment during capture or prohibitions against shedding ‘royal’ or ‘noble’ blood set class members apart from the ruled populace of either society.
This irrevocability of status limits the ability of a class to neutralize rogue members. Even if rejected by other class members, rogue members are often able to still garner support internally and externally based on their claim to legitimacy as in the case of James Francis Edward Stuart.
This inherent instability results in the courting of the ruled by competing members of the ruling elite as agents of violence. It can be as gross as the direct financing of the Clodian and Milonian gangs by Caesar and his opponents or the actual bidding war for the Roman Imperial purple by Didius Julianus. Or it can be as professional as purchasing the services of condottieri during the Italian city-state conflicts. The commonality is gathering enough of the ruled to bludgeon other members of the ruling elite into submission.
The 20th century saw the beginning of the end for hereditary institutions of legitimacy. The Chinese and Russian Communist revolutions as well as the ascent of Nazism in Germany represented the rise to power of ideologies that were fatally antagonistic to the aristocracy) and royalty. The post World II breakup of the British Empire - especially in India - saw the removal of more hereditary rulers as former colonies coalesced into independent modern nation-states. Even the former imperial leader saw radical institutional shakeups. The Labour Party’s victory in the 1945 elections started Great Britain’s transition from hereditary legitimacy as well culminating in the House of Lords Act 1999 and its following updates. In less than 100 years, a substantial portion of humanity transitioned their institutions of legitimacy and the basis of ruling elite power.

The end of elite intra-class conflict

Modernity has seen the irrevocable legitimacy of birth and descent replaced with the conditional legitimacy of intellectual compliance with the ruling elite’s philosophy or ideology. This phenomenon is most easily discerned in the Soviet Union, Communist China and other formecurrent Communist countries.
Elites were subject to constant surveillance and purged for even small infractions of ideological deviation. Surveillance was pervasive - so pervasive that in East Germany it was estimated that there was one Stasi (secret police) informer for every 6.5 citizens. Once identified as deviants, purged members were de-legitimized prior to removal in tightly controlled trials where ‘extracted’ confessions were presented as damning evidence of ideological nonconformity. This ‘delegitimization’ was so effective that popular uprisings on behalf of purged members were/are virtually nonexistent. With no legitimate claim or access to energy in the system, the purged members are rendered powerless to raise groups of the ruled to save them.
In Western Europe and the vast majority of the Anglosphere, credentialism is the preferred institution of legitimacy and can be revoked unlike inherited nobility or spiritual superiority. Credentialism (nominal meritocracy coupled with ideological compliance) forms a framework of class control slightly less punitive, yet every bit as pervasive as the Communist regimes.
In a credentials-based system, the institutions that bestow credentials - such as elite universities - represent a significant chokepoint of control over ruling elite members.
Attendance has its privileges. In the United States, Ivy League and Ivy League plus graduates are overrepresented in the upper echelons of US government, business and non-profit institutions. Currently 8 out of 9 US Supreme Court justices are graduates of just two law schools: Yale and Harvard Law. 4 out 5 of the last US Presidents graduated from Ivy League schools.
However, despite representation as a ‘meritocracy’, admission to and attendance at these institutions are not contingent solely on merit. The most obvious exceptions being legacy preferences and affirmative action. Legacy preferences and affirmative action are non-merit criteria for admission that enables ruling elites to play gatekeeper and prefer members of their class or preferred candidates for addition to the class.
Less obvious though is the implied ideological conformity to become a member of these credential granting institutions. During the 1950s and 1960s, the whiff of Communist sympathies could blacklist an individual from these institutions. In present times, differing views on gender, race, immigration or even ‘lack of personality’ can bar an individual from admission, cause rescission of admission or expulsion from these credential granting institutions. Earned credentials can be revoked for academic disagreement if it buts against the class consensus as is the case in California where disagreement with the ‘consensus’ over COVID now allows medical license revocation.
Technology makes possible the ubiquitous yet decentralized class policing to maintain conformity in the West. Stray comments from years in the past during literal childhood are now grounds for exclusion or ‘cancellation’. Social media and cancel culture allows class coordination in real-time with everything captured on phones and immediately shared on Twitter, Tiktok, Instagram to generate instant class outrage and cancellation - all without recourse to a government institution. There’s no longer a need to ‘eliminate’ someone when a bot can post inciting content that results in the loss of credentials, employment and social status for the problematic individual.
Whether the punitive Communist system or the slightly less punitive yet every bit as controlling Western system, the revocable nature of legitimacy in both systems enables modern elites to resolve intraclass disputes without having to resort to mass violence. Expulsion from the institutions of legitimacy is possible without death and can be instantaneous since unlike birth-descent legitimacy which only ends upon death, removal of a credential or Party membership doesn’t require the individual to be found, seized and killed. A few keystrokes and boom! - virtual death.
This ease and swiftness of delegitimization means class dissidents are less likely to be able to garner and maintain enough popular support necessary to violently contest for supremacy.
While beneficial to the ruling class, this removes participation in the informal violence of intraclass conflict within the ruling elite as a path of advancement or accommodation for the ruled. The ruled are no longer needed to maintain the intra-class balance.

We need pitchforks. Lots of pitchforks.

The ruled populace’s sole remaining leverage is to act as members of the formal security institutions of the society such as the armed forces or law enforcement.
The structure of the armed forces mimics the same control structure as other social institutions with the officers corps overpopulated with members of the ruling elites and the bulk of recruits from the other strata of society.
In the US, the bulk of the enlisted recruits - 80% - 90% of the total - are from households under $100k annual income. With an average income of slightly over $50,000, these recruits’ household incomes are significantly below the top 10% annual income average of $173,000 .
Doing the bulk of the fighting and dying has meant that the ruled populace has enough strategic value to the ruling elite as violent counterbalances to external elites that accommodations in energy distribution and class membership are a grudging but recurring feature of political history.
There’s a roughly direct relationship between conflict severity and the level of accommodation. The violent global paroxysms of the 20th century (WWI, WW2, the Korean War) saw the advent of socialized medicine), the GI Bill and other concessions throughout Western Europe and the Anglosphere. The Cold War saw the further growth of the welfare state in the societies of the West as well the advent of a series of development/aid programs directed towards the developing world. The ruling elites of the West and the Communist bloc competed with accommodations to shore up their popular support domestically and globally in case of another world conflict that might be nuclear and apocalyptic in nature.
The Vietnam War represented the beginning of the end of this type of popular accommodation in the United States. The usual inequities of socioeconomic status vs combat exposure were hyper-magnified as college and health related exemptions allowed many scions and aspiring members of the ruling elite to avoid the conflict altogether.
This left the armed forces composed of draftees - disproportionately from the lower socioeconomic classes - commanded by the few volunteer members of the ruling elite. The results were disastrous. Social justice protests, McNamara’s Morons, ‘fragging’ and other disciplinary and performance issues - caused by the imbalanced force structure - proved such a toxic stew that the US moved to an all-volunteer force in 1973.
The move to a professional army removed the need for broad-based popular consent to ensure force cohesion during conflict (or so the theory went). And with the decreased need for broad-based support, the US ruling elites began to contract the post-World War accommodations and welfare-state.
First to suffer was veteran treatment as the soldiers exposed to Agent Orange were denied compensation and care for the myriad health problems resulting from their exposure. The 1980s saw the beginning of the end for The Great Society welfare state and culminated with the ‘end of welfare as we know it’ being signed into law by President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Offshoring began in the 1980s and accelerated with NAFTA and China’s accession to the WTO. This coupled with the Reagan-Bush-Trump tax cuts further eviscerated the middle class which typically provides the bulk of armed forces recruits.
Initial impacts on operational readiness appeared during the first Gulf War, Afghanistan and the second Gulf War but were ameliorated by extended and repetitive use of reserve forces. However, recruiting has plummeted across the board and the soldiers that fought the last three American conflicts are aging out of service eligibility. In 2022 and 2023, it is projected that all branches except the Space Force will have failed to meet recruitment goals.
The likelihood that new recruitment techniques will improve the situation are grim as the Army estimates that only 23% of the 17-to-24 year olds in the US would even qualify as recruits. The other 77% are unable to pass the basic armed forces entrance exam or are too overweight/obese to meet minimum fitness requirements.
A shrinking pool of recruits has not impaired the ruling elites’ willingness to engage in armed conflict to achieve their geopolitical goals. Currently, the United States and its NATO allies are engaged in a proxy war in Ukraine against Russia. The United States, Taiwan, Australia, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines stand on the verge of conflict over Taiwan and access to the South China Sea.
All of the actors in these brewing or ongoing conflicts are experiencing some degree of demographic decline with severe population declines projected for Russia, Ukraine, China, South Korea, Japan and much of Europe. The United States is projected to be buoyed by immigration however the native birth rate has already plummeted below replacement levels.
This leaves the ruling elites with the confounding situation where the current economic and political institutions they control have ennervated the ruled populace to the point it impairs their ability to project power externally. Rebuilding the middle class that provides the bulk of recruits would necessitate major structural changes that would greatly lessen their class’ control and at least a generation of time for enough children to be born to erase the recruitment deficit.
Reversing 40-years of rigged economic and political policy alone would represent a Herculean task. But couple this with natural class resistance to any loss of control egged on by the psychopathy of the class leaders, the necessary changes are improbable to the point of impossible.
With no change and conflicts on the immediate horizon, the ruling elites have one solution left to them to replace the dispossessed recruitment pools of the middle class - artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons.

Move over humans. It’s time for something scarier.

A.I. powered weapons offer a number of advantages over human combatants. Not only does A.I. already demonstrate tactical superiority against human opponents in simulation, but its unique nature is particularly appealing to the ruling elites.
Without conscience or kinship ties or moral safeguards, the A.I. soldiers will pursue any objective regardless of the dubious nature of the orders. History would have been markedly different if A.I. soldiers had been present in the Soviet Union during the hardline coup against Gorbachev or available to the Arab rulers during the Arab Spring. Implementing Asimov’s Laws of Robotics would be foolhardy in a combat android but even if implemented, the noted problems of AI control could result in unintended casualties.
Additionally, as non-humans, casualties no longer equal declining morale in the armed forces and society as a whole. The Vietnam War demonstrated the impact of seeing body bags of soldiers returned home. During the Afghanistan, Gulf and Iraq wars, this type of footage was banned (until 2009) to stop the type of social unrest that occurred during the Vietnam War when the public was faced with the direct cost of conflict. It is doubtful that humans will see injured or killed A.I. soldiers in the same empathetic light as they do human casualties. Risky missions start to have acceptable loss levels and this change enables more aggression on the part of ruling elites.
But the greatest advantage of the new A.I. soldier is that there is absolutely no need for accommodation by the ruling elites to the ruled populace to maintain their base of power. A newer, remorseless and completely obedient purveyor of violence is now available to the ruling elite. It makes no demands beyond bare functioning and feels no emotional remorse for immoral acts.
These A.I. soldiers that are capable of maintaining the developed world’s strategic parity to the global masses’ numbers can be also used internally to quell any possible dissent or mass movement. A.I. generally offers unlimited potential for surveillance and internal class discipline but coupled with advances in robotics, it will offer an ethics-free physical enforcer to combat protests like Sri Lanka, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. There are no repercussions available for the A.I. soldier since they have no personhood or control so even the spotty administration of ICC justice isn’t a deterrent. Already law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles, New York and other jurisdictions are deploying robotic dogs - which is eerily reminiscent of the usage of attack dogs by oppressors through history. An A.I. soldier that was used for similar purposes would have no fear of punishment or injury or fear at all unlike the officer or even the dog in past situations.
Attempts to control this new technology and A.I. soldiers are manifesting in calls for A.I. regulation and licensing by the ruling elites of the US and Western Europe. The potential for positive change through a human-A.I. partnership is tremendous and widespread availability has the potential to provide the ruled populace with substantial technical and economic advancements without the overhead of the ruling elite. Citing the danger of extinction by A.I. while simultaneously continuing development of the technology highlights how disingenuous the call for regulation is by the ruling elites. In reality this is a call to restrict any dangers presented to their institutional control of education, finance and healthcare as well as their monopoly of violence within society.
The future is grim for the ruled populaces of humanity. At a time that technology could power the solutions to climate change, economic collapse and space exploration, the technology is being evolved and restricted to prop up the ruling class’ domination. And with no bargaining chips left - whether as producers or gangs or soldiers - the real extinction crisis may not be for humanity as a whole but for the ruled.

Appendix: A Classical Case of Control

Pre-Marian reforms

In the pre-Marian reform Roman Republic, strict divisions were made between patricians )and plebeians with severe restrictions on political and religious participation placed on the plebeian class. Military service was strictly limited to property owners to ensure that the landowning class maintained a monopoly on violence. A credo of tribal superiority ranking Roman -> Latin -> Italian -> non-peninsulars was embodied legally in tiered political membership of Citizen -> Latin Rights holder -> Foreigner. Membership was zealously policed by officials called censors who were initially exclusively patrician.
The patricians of Rome were successful in maintaining their monopoly of power until a series of secessio plebis (Latin: withdrawal of the commoners or secession of the plebs) or general strikes by the plebeian class forced the patricians to cede some power, privileges and land to the plebeian class. Faced with complete economic standstill, a series of accommodations were made to maintain the viability of the power structure itself.
This cession of power was largely illusory though. While technical class distinctions were removed, the old patrician class and the wealthiest of the plebeian class merged through co-option and intermarriage to form a new nobility that enforced their new collective will through property qualifications restricting political participation.
This new nobility fought any further accommodations to middle and lower classes such as the Gracchan, Marian and Livian reforms. The brothers Gracchi and Livius Drusus) were killed and Marius died in the middle of a civil war with Sulla and his noble adherents.
Conquest and the resulting ubiquity of slavery destroyed any further economic leverage the lower classes had. With literally millions of slaves now cheaply available, laborers, craftspeople, shopkeepers and domestic employees were dispossessed of their livelihoods as slaves replaced them in their jobs. Small landholders were driven off their farms and into the urban stews as the treasure of conquest inflated the price of real estate astronomically.

Post-Marian reforms

The Marian reforms left one avenue for the lower classes - the military. As the rich and powerful (Marius v Sulla, Pompey v Caesar, Augustus v Antony) fought each other for supremacy within their own class, the poor were courted with numerous concessions and bonuses to serve as soldiers for the powerful.
While always at the whim of the commander (barring assassination) who was always a member of the ruling class, military necessity served as a check on the ruler's ambitions. Armies need soldiers and another ambitious member of the same class could always bribe or recruit soldiers with better terms to topple the current leader. A degree of class balance was a necessity to preserve the power structure.
For those who couldn’t or wouldn’t join the army, panem et circenses (bread and circuses) dulled the need for rebellion. Gladiator games, free food distributions and occasional money distributions maintained a docile subsistence-based population that remained fairly quiescent until the late Western Empire despite depredations by the landed elite and nobility.
The system despite all its inequities suffered along for multiple centuries until external pressures and the depredations of the nobility overwhelmed the economic and military capacity of the Empire and resulted in its fall in 476 CE. But it’s important to note that the system wasn’t overthrown from within but overwhelmed from the outside.

PUBG MOBILE
ROYAL PASS COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Contest Official Rules

1. No Purchase Necessary; Entry Instructions.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE THE CHANCES OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE ENTRANTS AND ON THE SKILL OF THE ENTRANT. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW OR WHERE REGISTRATION, BONDING OR LOCALIZATION REQUIRED. SUBJECT TO ALL NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND LOCAL LAWS. THESE OFFICIAL RULES INCLUDES AN ARBITRATION SECTION.
The ROYAL PASS COMMUNITY CHALLENGE (the “Contest”) is governed by these official rules (“Official Rules”), and the PUBG MOBILE’s EULA available at http://pubgmobile.proximabeta.com/terms.html (“EULA”). Additional terms specific to the Contest, including deadline(s), entry method(s) and particular prize(s) may be set forth on the page which linked to these Official Rules (the “Contest Page”). By registering for or participating in the Contest, you are accepting the terms and conditions of participation on the Contest Page, these Official Rules, the EULA, and the Rulebook.
The sponsor of this Contest is Proxima Beta Pte. Ltd., a Singapore corporation with offices at 10 Anson Rd., #21-07, International Plaza, Singapore (“Sponsor”).

1. Eligibility. All entrants must, as of the date of entry: (a) be at least 18 years old or the age of majority in their residence (whichever is higher), and (b) have a PUBG MOBILE game account in good standing. Employees of Sponsor, Krafton, and their respective parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. The entrant must be a registered member with their own account. In the event of a dispute as to any entrant, the authorized holder of the associated account, email address, or username will be deemed to be the entrant. The “authorized holder” is the natural person assigned an account, email address, or username by an Internet access provider, online service provider, social media channel or other organization responsible for assigning accounts, email addresses, or usernames. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized holder.

Multiple participants are not permitted to share the same email or other account needed for participation. Any attempt by any participant to obtain more than the stated number of entries by using multiple/different email or addresses, accounts, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that participant’s entries and that participant may be disqualified. Use of any automated, programmed or robotic system or the like entry methods to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder. All entries become property of Sponsor, and none will be acknowledged or returned.

2. Entry Methods

To participate in the Contest and be eligible for a potential prize, participants must share their in-Game Specter Slayer Set screenshots or their special trick video with Specter Slayer Set below in response to the applicable post from the applicable PUBG MOBILE social media post or post on their own account on the applicable platforms with the hashtag #PUBGMOBILE #PUBGMRPA #PUBGMOBILEC4S12 #RPAOUTFITCHALLENGE #GIVEAWAY.
· Entries must be original and not violate any third-party rights, and the entrant must have all rights necessary to submit the entry.
· Entries may not contain material that (a) is obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, racially or ethnically offensive, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or violate any law; (b) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, contractual rights, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or any other rights of third parties; (c) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability; (d) is fraudulent, false, misleading or deceptive; (e) is grossly harmful, racially or ethnically objectionable, disparaging, blasphemous, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, pedophilic, vulgar or offensive; (f) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group; (g) is violent, bullying, or threatening or promotes violence, money laundering or gambling, terrorism, or actions that are threatening or disrespectful to any person or entity; (h) harms minors in any way; or (i) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances.
· Entries must follow the community guidelines and terms of service of the social media platform used for entry (where applicable).
Alternate Mail-In Entry: Legibly print your full name, postal address, valid email address, phone number, and date of birth on a piece of paper or a 3” x 5” index card, along with a print-out of a screenshot from your PUBG MOBILE gameplay, and mail it in to Proxima Beta Pte. Ltd., Attention: PUBG MOBILE ROYAL PASS COMMUNITY CHALLENGE, 12777 W Jefferson Blvd., Unit E, Los Angeles, CA 90066. To be eligible for the Contest, mail-in entries must be postmarked by June11, 2023 and received by Sponsor no later than May 12, 2023.

1. Contest Period. This Contest will begin on June 7, 2023 at 6am (UTC+0) and runs through June 14, 2023 at 6:59am (UTC+0) (the “Promotion Period”). Sponsor’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the Contest.
   
2. Winner(s). This Contest will have ten (10) winners. All entries meeting the requirements of these Official Rules will be entered into the Contest. The number of Contest winners is specified below in this section. The Judges’ determination of the Contest winners is final and binding, subject to the below.
   

Judging Criteria:
· Creativity: Creativity and most eye-catching scenes/actions.
· Originality: The uniqueness of the entry.
In order to verify potential winner(s), Sponsor may require each potential winner to provide a valid ID. Sponsor will attempt to notify potential winner(s) by their PUBG MOBILE account, and/or by other means consistent with the Contest. Sponsor may contact winners in a language prominent in the country of entry of each such winner, or English. Winners must respond to Sponsor within 96 hours after notification from Sponsor.
Sponsor will notify winners on promptly following the close of the Promotion Period via their social media account and/or by other means consistent with the Contest as soon as reasonably practicable following the applicable drawing, but at least within seven (7) days of the final drawing. Sponsor is not responsible for any delay or failure to receive notification, including inactive account(s), technical difficulties associated therewith, or winner’s failure to adequately monitor any account. Participants are solely responsible for monitoring their Game account or social media account for potential prizes and must respond to Sponsor within forty-eight (48) hours or such other time frame as may be specified on the Contest webpage. In order to verify winner, Sponsor may require winner to provide a valid photo ID. Sponsor may contact winner in a language prominent in the country of entry of each such winner, or English. Winner may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and liability and publicity release. Should winner fail to respond to Sponsor or cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim a prize and/or where applicable an affidavit of eligibility and liability and publicity release is not timely received, is incomplete or modified, the prize may be forfeited and Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify that winner and select a new winner in a second-chance random drawing from remaining valid, eligible entries timely submitted.

1. Prizes. The prizes are as indicated below. The prize(s) will be subject to the terms of the issuer. Winner may be disqualified if winner is unable, for any reason (including, without limitation, due to age or residence), to receive the prize from Sponsor. No substitution, assignment or transfer of the prize(s) is permitted. TAXES AND ANY OTHER COSTS, IF ANY, RELATED TO THE PRIZE ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER.

Each winner will receive:
· One (1) “Ultramarine Velociraptor” skin in-Game vehicle skin (approximate retail value: US$20)

1. List of Winner(s). Following the event, Sponsor may announce the winners on the PUBG MOBILE social media accounts. Individuals may request the name of the winner(s) by submitting a self-addressed stamped envelope prior to 3 months from the Contest end date to Proxima Beta Pte. Ltd., Attn: PUBG MOBILE ROYAL PASS COMMUNITY CHALLENGE, 12777 W. Jefferson Blvd – Building E, Los Angeles, CA 90066.
   
2. Conditions of Participation. By participating in this Contest, you agree to abide by these Official Rules and any decision Sponsor makes regarding this Contest, which Sponsor or its designees shall make in their sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify and prosecute to the fullest extent permitted by law any participant or winner who, in Sponsor’s reasonable suspicion, tampers with Sponsor’s site, the entry process, intentionally submits more than the allowed entries, violates the Contest Page terms, these Official Rules, the EULA, the Rulebook, or acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner.
   
3. Intellectual Property. Ownership of the pre-existing underlying intellectual property of the entrant remains the property of the entrant subject to Sponsor’s rights to reprint, display, reproduce, perform, use, and exhibit the entry for the purpose of administering and promoting the Contest and for Sponsor’s marketing and advertising purposes. By participating in the Contest, each entrant grants to Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, fully paid, royalty-free, perpetual, transferable license, with the right to sublicense, to reprint, display, reproduce, perform, use, modify, remake, and exhibit (including the right to make derivative works of) the entry and materials and information submitted on and in connection with the Contest or use or receipt of the prize for any and all purposes in any medium. Each participating entrant hereby warrants that any entry and other materials and information provided by entrant are original with entrant and do not violate or infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity, moral rights or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity, and do not violate any rules or regulations. If the entry or information or materials provided by entrant contain any material or elements that are not owned by entrant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, entrant represents he or she has obtained, prior to submission of the entry and information or materials, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit use and exploitation of the entry and information and materials by Sponsor in the manner set forth in the Official Rules without additional compensation.
   

Each entrant warrants that the entry and materials and information provided do not contain information considered by entrant or any third party to be confidential, and that the entry, materials and information provided do not violate any laws or regulations. Entrant agrees that Sponsor has the right to verify the ownership and originality of all entries and that, upon Sponsor’s request, entrant must submit a written copy of any release or permission entrant has received from a third-party granting entrant the right to use such property. Entrant understands and acknowledges that in the event a submission is selected as a winning entry, and entrant’s ownership, rights and the originality of the entry cannot be verified to the satisfaction of Sponsor or is in any other way ineligible, Sponsor may select an alternate winner based on the same winner selection process set forth in these Official Rules.
Except to the extent prohibited by law, entrants waive the benefit of any “moral rights” or “droit moral” or similar rights in any country to any content that they upload, submit or otherwise provide to Sponsor associated with the Contest (“Entrant Content”). In addition, entrant grants Sponsor a non-exclusive, transferable, worldwide, royalty-free, unrestricted, perpetual, irrevocable, license, with the right to sublicense, to such entrant’s name, likeness, and voice, including in connection with commercial or sponsored content. This means, among other things, that such entrant will not be entitled to any compensation from Sponsor, its affiliates, or its business partners if such entrant’s name, likeness, or voice is conveyed through the game or any related services, or on one of Sponsor’s business partner’s platforms.

1. Disclaimer, Release and Limit of Liability. SPONSOR MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING ANY PRIZE OR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST. BY ENTERING THE CONTEST OR RECEIPT OF ANY PRIZE, EACH ENTRANT AGREES TO RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS SPONSOR, KRAFTON, PEPS, ROCKSTAR, POLARIS, ANY THIRD-PARTY SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS UTILIZED FOR THE CONTEST, AND EACH OF THEIR SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, DISTRIBUTORS, ADVERTISING/CONTEST AGENCIES, AND PRIZE SUPPLIERS, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARENT COMPANIES AND EACH SUCH COMPANY’S OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “RELEASED PARTIES”) FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, OR DAMAGE TO OR LOSS OF PROPERTY, ARISING OUT OF PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR RECEIPT OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE. THE RELEASED PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR: (1) ANY INCORRECT OR INACCURATE INFORMATION, WHETHER CAUSED BY ENTRANTS, PRINTING ERRORS OR BY ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT OR PROGRAMMING ASSOCIATED WITH OR UTILIZED IN THE CONTEST; (2) TECHNICAL FAILURES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO MALFUNCTIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, OR DISCONNECTIONS IN PHONE LINES OR NETWORK HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE; (3) UNAUTHORIZED HUMAN INTERVENTION IN ANY PART OF THE ENTRY PROCESS OR THE CONTEST; (4) TECHNICAL OR HUMAN ERROR WHICH MAY OCCUR IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONTEST OR THE PROCESSING OF ENTRIES; OR (5) ANY INJURY OR DAMAGE TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CAUSED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, FROM ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR RECEIPT OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE.

If for any reason an entrant's Entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Contest, provided that if it is not possible to award another entry due to discontinuance of the Contest, or any part of it, for any reason, Sponsor, at its discretion, may elect to hold a choosing from among all eligible entries received up to the date of discontinuance for any or all of the prizes offered herein. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. In event that production, technical, programming or any other reasons cause more than stated number of prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be available and/or claimed, Sponsor reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes by a choosing from all legitimate, unawarded, eligible prize claims.
Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate, modify or suspend the Contest in whole or in part, if in Sponsor’s opinion: (a) the Contest is not capable of running as planned by reason of the occurrence of any event beyond its control including, but not limited to, fire, flood, epidemic, pandemic, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, communications, equipment failure, utility or service interruptions, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared), interference with the Contest by any party, or any federal, state, local or provincial government law, order, or regulation, order of any court or jurisdiction, or other cause not reasonably within Sponsor’s control, or (b) any other factors beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, in all instances without liability to the participants. Sponsor also reserves the right to disqualify any participant or winner, as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.

1. Hold Harmless. You agree to release, indemnify, defend and hold Sponsor and its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees, sponsors and agents, including advertising and promotion agencies, and assigns, and any other organizations related to the Contest, harmless, from any and all claims, injuries, damages, expenses or losses to person or property and/or liabilities of any nature that in any way arise from participation in the Contest or acceptance or use of a prize or parts thereof, including, without limitation, (a) any condition caused by events beyond Sponsor’s control that may cause the Contest to be disrupted or corrupted; (b) the prize, or acceptance, possession, or use of the prize, or from participation in the Contest; and (c) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest.
   
2. Governing Law. These Official Rules and the Contest, and any action related thereto, will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, federal arbitration law and the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict of laws provisions. Except as otherwise expressly set forth in Section 11 “Dispute Resolution and Arbitration” the exclusive jurisdiction for all Disputes (defined below) that you and Sponsor are not required to arbitrate will be the state and federal courts located in Santa Clara County, California and you and Sponsor each waive any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts.
   

12. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

(a) Mandatory Arbitration of Disputes. We each agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to this Contest and these Official Rules or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or participation in the Contest (collectively, “Disputes”) will be resolved solely by binding, individual arbitration and not in a class, representative or consolidated action or proceeding. You and Sponsor agree that the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of these Official Rules, and that you and Sponsor are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of these Official Rules.
(b) Exceptions. As limited exceptions to Section 11(a) above: (i) we both may seek to resolve a Dispute in small claims court if it qualifies; and (ii) we each retain the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief from a court to prevent (or enjoin) the infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights.
(c) Conducting Arbitration and Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by these Official Rules. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. A party who wishes to start arbitration must submit a written Demand for Arbitration to AAA and give notice to the other party as specified in the AAA Rules. The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration at www.adr.org. Any arbitration hearings will take place in the county (or parish) where you live, unless we both agree to a different location. The parties agree that the arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to decide all issues relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability and scope of this arbitration agreement.
(d) Arbitration Costs. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Rules, and we won’t seek to recover the administration and arbitrator fees we are responsible for paying, unless the arbitrator finds your Dispute frivolous. If we prevail in arbitration we’ll pay all of our attorneys’ fees and costs and won’t seek to recover them from you. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to the extent provided under applicable law.
(e) Injunctive and Declaratory Relief. Except as provided in 11(b) above, the arbitrator shall determine all issues of liability on the merits of any claim asserted by either party and may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party’s individual claim. To the extent that you or we prevail on a claim and seek public injunctive relief (that is, injunctive relief that has the primary purpose and effect of prohibiting unlawful acts that threaten future injury to the public), the entitlement to and extent of such relief must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration. The parties agree that litigation of any issues of public injunctive relief shall be stayed pending the outcome of the merits of any individual claims in arbitration.
(f) Class Action Waiver. YOU AND SPONSOR AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, if the parties’ Dispute is resolved through arbitration, the arbitrator may not consolidate another person’s claims with your claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this specific provision is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section shall be null and void.
(g) Severability. With the exception of any of the provisions in Section 11(f) (“Class Action Waiver”), if an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction decides that any part of these Official Rules is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of these Official Rules will still apply.

1. Entrant's Personal Information. Information collected from entrants is subject to the PUBG MOBILE Privacy Policy, which is available at https://www.pubgmobile.com/privacy.html.
   
2. Languages. These Official Rules may be made in multiple language versions. In the event of a dispute as to the terms of different language versions, the English version shall prevail.
   
3. No Affiliation with Social Media Channels. This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, any of the social media channels used in connection with this Contest. You understand that you are providing your information to Sponsor and not to the social media channels. The information you provide will only be used as described in these Official Rules and the PUBG MOBILE privacy policy.
   

For any feedback or questions regarding these Official Rules, this Contest, winners, or prizes, you can contact Sponsor by sending an email to: [email protected]

Housekeeping:

• HOW TO SUPPORT: If you are in the position to support my work, I have a patreon, venmo, and a paypal set up. Just three dollars a month makes a huge difference! No pressure though, I will keep posting these pieces publicly no matter what - paywalls suck.
  
• NOTIFICATIONS: You can signup to receive a monthly email with links to my posts.
  

Background: What is Cop City?

Cop city is a $90 million proposed training center for police officers. It would include a mock city, a helicopter pad, areas for explosives testing and high-speed vehicle chases, and new shooting ranges in 85 acres of the South River Forest (south of Atlanta, Georgia). Taxpayers will foot one-third of the bill, with the Atlanta Police Foundation funding the remaining $60 million.

The Atlanta Police Foundation, which is helping fund the project in an unincorporated part of DeKalb county, says on its website that it will have “the necessary facilities required to effectively train 21st-century law enforcement agencies responsible for public safety in a major urban city.”
Among the training features will be a burn tower for firefighters to practice extinguishing life-threatening blazes; areas for high-speed vehicle chases; a helicopter landing pad; a mock village including residential, school, nightlife and community areas, with structures such as a bank and a gas station; and a shooting range.

The project was approved by the city of Atlanta in September 2021 after 17 hours of public comment, 70% of which was against the training center.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said...that she is aware of widespread opposition to the recently-approved $90 million public safety training facility to be built of forested land, and it is unfortunate that the city “didn’t have anything else to choose from” in terms of other potential sites to build the sprawling facility.

Shortly after the city vote in late 2021, forest defenders and activists barricaded the area and took residence among the trees to prevent the forest from being demolished. The movement is largely described as leaderless and autonomous, with participants citing varied motivations:

“It’s sort of this ungoverned amorphous group of folks,” said Roddy. “Nobody's the boss. It’s really empowering to see how much a group of folks can accomplish together and to know that you can participate however feels empowering and feels comfortable to you.”

The protests have attracted people against the further militarization of the police, the destruction of green space and pollution of the environment, and the continuance of colonial policies (South River Forest was once Muscogee Creek Native American land).

Oppression

Though protests have taken place since the city approved the construction of Cop City, state officials began severely cracking down on activists over the past year.

Tortuguita

Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, also known as Tortuguita, became the face of Cop City resistance after Georgia State Patrol troopers shot and killed the activist. Paez Terán was a 26-year-old Indigenous Venezuelan and member of the queer community who took part in several social justice movements.

In an interview from an encampment in the Atlanta forest last year, a protester identified only as Tortuguita—Spanish for “little turtle”—explained how nonviolence would pave the way for them to successfully stop “Cop City,” a proposed $90 million police training facility slated to be built across 85-acres of dense woodland.
“We get a lot of support from people who live here, and that’s important because we win through nonviolence,” Tortuguita, who used they/them pronouns, told journalist David Peisner for a feature published in Bitter Southerner in December and updated this week. “We’re not going to beat them at violence.”

On January 18, 2023, officers raided the South River Forest encampment. According to the official police account, Paez Terán ignored their commands to exit a tent and pulled a gun, firing first at officers. A bullet allegedly from a gun in Paez Terán’s possession struck an officer in the pelvic area. The troopers then opened fire on Paez Terán, killing them.
There is no body camera recording of the shooting. However, Atlanta Police Department officers with body cameras were nearby in the forest, capturing snippets of conversation that suggest the wounded cop may have been hit by friendly fire.

Approximately 18 minutes into the video, four gunshots can be heard off-camera and one officer mutters, “Oh shit,” to himself. The group of Atlanta police officers immediately stop in their tracks, then another 16 shots ring out before there’s a barrage of noise—making it hard to make out individual shots. After approximately 12 seconds of shooting an officer can be heard muttering to himself, “Is this target practice?” Another officer turns and says, “Those are real shots being fired.”
Roughly a minute and 40 seconds after the first shot, the group starts to move ahead after some sort of audible signal. The officers are warned multiple times about crossfire.
One officer whispers quietly, “They’re shooting at us.”
“Nah, that sounded like suppressed gunfire.”
“Yeah, it did.”
An announcement over the radio confirms an officer was injured. A few seconds later, the officer wearing the body camera can be heard saying, “Man, you fucked your own officer up.” [...]
In the last two minutes as officers are seemingly winding down from the operation a conversation can be overheard.
“Did they shoot their own man?”
To which an officer replies, “We don’t know what he got shot by…” and the rest of what he says is hard to decipher. An officer responds and says, “The first one, they said, was suppressed.”

Further calling into question the official version of events, the DeKalb County coroner did not find gunpowder residue on Paez Terán’s hands. An independent autopsy determined that Paez Téran had been shot 14 times "by different firearms" with their hands raised while sitting cross-legged on the ground—again, inconsistent with the firing of a gun, though the autopsy report states “it is impossible to determine” if they were holding a firearm or not.

Arrests

At least 35 people have been arrested for protesting Cop City in recent months, charged with a controversial domestic terrorism provision of Georgia law.
In 2017, the Georgia state legislature changed the legal definition of domestic terrorism (Title 16, Chapter 11, Article 6). Instead of only criminalizing acts that are intended to or reasonably likely to kill or injure at least 10 people, the new definition includes certain property crimes intended to “change” government policy through “intimidation or coercion.”

ACLU: The amendment added a stigmatizing label and a harsher punishment — up to 35 years in prison — to property crimes that were already illegal, simply because of accompanying political expression critical of government policy. At the time of the amendment’s passing, the ACLU of Georgia and other civil rights groups objected that the statute could be weaponized to suppress protected First Amendment activity…As states have increasingly passed “domestic terrorism” laws, the result is that a range of at times wholly innocent or constitutionally protected activity is penalized and stigmatized with a politically-charged label.

In December 2022, five protesters were arrested for allegedly throwing rocks at police cars while officers tried to clear the forest. All were charged with domestic terrorism, four with criminal trespassing, three with aggravated assault, and two with interference with government property.
Seven more protesters were arrested in January, during the same raid that resulted in the murder of Paez Téran. All were charged with domestic terrorism and criminal trespassing. Following the arrests, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) called the protesters “militant activists” and said “we will bring the full force of state and local law enforcement down on those trying to bring about a radical agenda through violent means.”
Then, in March, police stormed a music festival organized by “Stop Cop City” activists and arrested 35 people. According to officials, some of the protesters had earlier set fire to a bulldozer and police ATV a mile away at the South River Forest construction site. Of the 35 people arrested, 23 charged with domestic terrorism, including a designated legal observer for the National Lawyers Guild. The police based the arrests on the fact that some protesters had muddy shoes in a forest.

The probable cause stated in the warrants against the activists is extremely weak. Police cited arrestees having mud on their shoes — in a forest. The warrants alleged they had written a legal support phone number on their arms, as is common during mass protests. And, in a few cases, police alleged protesters were holding shields — hardly proof of illegal activity — which a number of defendants even deny…
“Roughly 1,500 people attended over the weekend; to dance, to commune, and to take a stand against Cop City,” organizers of the music festival, the Sonic Defense Committee, told me. “There is no excuse for the police violence that festival attendees were subjected to.”

In April, police arrested three activists in Cartersville, about 40 miles north of Atlanta, for distributing flyers calling attention to the police killing of Paez Terán. The three were charged with felony intimidation of an officer of the state and misdemeanor stalking for sharing flyers that included the names of six officers involved in the shooting—information that was already made public by a different organization.

According to their lawyer, Lyra Foster, the activists drove once through the neighborhood and placed flyers on numerous mailboxes without exiting their vehicle or approaching any residents…All three arrestees are being held at Bartow County Jail; all were denied bond by a magistrate judge on Monday. None of the defendants has a criminal history, nor is there any allegation of violence in the current charges. “Denying them bond was extreme, in my opinion,” Foster said.

Finally, last week Atlanta police officers and agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested three people connected to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which has paid bail and provided legal support for Cop City protesters. Video of the raid showed at least a dozen officers in riot gear with assault rifles raiding a community organizing house in East Atlanta. The three people arrested — Marlon Kautz, 39; Savannah Patterson, 30; and Adele MacLean, 42 — were charged with the felony crimes of charity fraud and money laundering, under the state’s tenuous theory that supporting protesters accused of domestic terrorism is, itself, a crime.

Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, called the arrests an "extreme provocation" in a statement.
"Bailing out protestors who exercise their constitutionally protected rights is simply not a crime," Regan said. "In fact, it is a historically grounded tradition in the very same social and political movements that the city of Atlanta prides itself on. Someone had to bail out civil rights activists in the 60's — I think we can all agree that community support isn't a crime."

Gov. Kemp called the organizers “criminals”:

“These criminals facilitated and encouraged domestic terrorism with no regard for others, watching as communities faced the destructive consequences of their actions.” the Republican said. “Here in Georgia, we do not allow that to happen.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, also a Republican, pledged to “not rest until we have held accountable every person who has funded, organized, or participated in this violence and intimidation.”

The latest

The Atlanta City Council voted 11-4 to approve legislation to fund Cop City in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 6. More than 1,000 people signed up to speak during the 15-hour long session, which can be watched here. Many more community members were allegedly prevented from speaking after the city council cut off public comment signup.

This one will be shorter-- not an Angry Observation proper. There's been a lot of discussion here about the present clown car of the Republican Primary. Don't these idiots know they can't win?
There are definitely authentically delusional Republicans running, there are definitely people running for VP, and there are definitely guys that are in it for the free book tour. But there's also a very strategic reason to run for President right now.
Lately, we've been seeing a side of Trump that's generally hidden from the public eye: political competence. He does have it, when he's in his element, and lately that's exactly where he's been. Ron DeSantis has been the opposite, and it's now nearly impossible to imagine a scenario where he wins. His hyped-up run announcement was arguably the worst of its kind, ever, and resulted in zero positive changes to his polling. In fact, he might've lost ground.
DeSantis has sunk below 20% in many aggregates. There is now a serious race for second place, and if not second place, then a great chance to get your face on the news and build your profile and brand for something else.
There's a weird, anti-DeSantis unity between Trump and most of his would-be opponents, which implicitly means the Republicans have conceded Trump will be the nominee again. The race is already over. I don't see any realistic case for Trump losing it beyond him actually dying or something horrible like that. Everyone but Ron DeSantis has reached something of an understanding: the little candidates will get to have their mugs in the news, and they'll split from DeSantis. Trump's team is actively celebrating when more people join the race. Trump even posted a very gracious Truth welcoming Tim Scott to the race.
What we have here is basically the tragedy of the commons. Trump getting re-nominated is one of the worst outcomes imaginable for the Republican Party. His trial in New York City will be held in March of 2024. Fulton County has pledged to indict before fall, and the feds appear to be weeks away from making a move. However little his supporters may want to admit it, this will affect the race and how the electorate sees him and Joe Biden. Of all the residents of the clown plane, it's difficult to imagine one worse than Donald Trump to run in the general election. And most of the Republican Party's braintrust is tripping over itself to make that happen.

"The Lord has determined I am a woman. My pronouns are U.S.A." - Harris Faulkner taking the Fox News “my pronouns are” bad joke format to new heights.

Fodder Over The Dam

Leaked classified reports have unearthed some blockbuster information regarding last fall’s Nord Stream pipeline attack.

• Late last September, sudden, unexplained gas leaks were reported in the pipelines between Russia and Germany known as Nord Stream 1 and 2, later found to have resulted from bomb attacks. At the time, it was widely assumed that Russia was behind the sabotage, as the only global actor that could actually benefit from more uncertainty in the European gas market. But a new report from the Washington Post details that the Biden administration knew months in advance that Ukraine planned to attack the undersea network.
  
• Information about the plan had been collected by a European intelligence service, then shared with the CIA in June of last year, with some of the most specific evidence to date linking the Ukrainian government to the bomb attack in the Baltic Sea. This revelation is the latest to come out of the massive Discord leak by (rogue racist guy who isn’t old enough to rent a car but for some reason had unbelievably high security clearance) Jack Teixeira, a junior Air National Guardsman.
  
• The details resulting from the investigation include highly specific numbers and methods of attack, meaning that for the better part of a year, Western allies had evidence leading them to suspect that the actor behind the attack was Ukraine. Ukrainian officials did not respond to requests for comment and previously denied the country was involved in the attack. The White House and the CIA also declined to comment.
  

This is…not great!

• At the time of the attack, some members of the Biden administration suggested that Russia was to blame. President Biden promised that the United States would work with its allies to “get to the bottom of,” what he characterized as a “deliberate act of sabotage.” Publicly, the Biden administration officials have deflected about who they believe was responsible for the attack, but privately, they began admitting that there was no evidence that conclusively pointed to Moscow in late fall of 2022.
  
• History may have repeated itself on Tuesday when Ukraine and Russia accused each other of attacking a major dam and hydroelectric power plant in southern Ukraine, which resulted in flooding near the front lines. A White House spokesman said the administration is closely monitoring the repercussions of the attack, but offered no assessment of who or what caused the dam to collapse. The International Atomic Energy Agency warned both countries not to undermine the safety of the nearby nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, but also noted that there was “no immediate risk” to it.
  

The United States’s unequivocal support for Ukraine stems from Ukraine’s innocence. Largely, of course, it is. But these latest revelations (and the fact that the U.S. seemingly knew all along) is a good reminder that we must maintain a critical eye with our allies, not just our adversaries.

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

What happens when a mysterious stranger comes to town, with a wild idea that weed can solve all of the city's problems? That's the question of Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto - Crooked’s newest podcast and an official selection at this year's Tribeca festival. Dreamtown is the zany but true story of one down on its luck city in the Southern California desert, and the scrappy - sometimes morally dubious - cast of characters determined to reinvent it.
Listen to the first 2 episodes of Dreamtown now, and hear new episodes every Wednesday on Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Under The Radar

The Supreme Court’s erosion of the separation of church and state reached a logical and much-feared result on Monday when a state school board in Oklahoma voted to approve what would be the first publicly-funded, explicitly religious school in the nation. Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R-OK) warned the board that the division clearly violates the state constitution, but it voted to approve a K-12 online public charter school run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma nonetheless. Shortly after the vote, Drummond made a statement calling the approval “contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers.” Executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma Brett Farley said, “We are elated that the board agreed with our argument and application for the nation’s first religious charter school.” Activist groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State were decidedly less excited. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK)—who earlier this year signed a bill into law giving parents in the state a tax incentive to send their children to private schools including religious schools—praised the board’s vote, as it furthers his goals of imposing Christianity on all Oklahomans and defunding the state’s public schools.

What Else?

Ring the Bad Guy alarm! Disgraced former president Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows testified before a federal grand jury as part of DOJ’s ongoing investigation of Trump’s theft of classified government documents as well as his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Surprise, surprise: after pretending for the past six goddamn months that the government needs to “rein in government spending to reduce the deficit,” what’s Republicans’ first order of business now that they’ve released the debt-limit hostage? You guessed it! Tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, one of the largest contributors to the national debt.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sued the country’s largest cryptocurrency platform Coinbase on Tuesday for failing to register as an exchange and therefore operating illegally.
Legal counsel for wretched billionaire and Clarence Thomas’s benefactor Harlan Crow have agreed to speak with the Senate Judiciary Committee about Crow’s relationship with Thomas, after initially rebuffing requests from the panel. Don’t worry, though, he’s still blowing off the Senate Finance Committee.
Protests against pension reform in France are still going strong(!) and even made their way to the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Tuesday.
In a so-dumb-it’s-funny turn of events, 11 members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus joined all Democrats to kill a pair of GOP bills to “protect gas stoves” (lol) in a move to punish House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for cutting a debt ceiling deal with President Biden instead of forcing the country into recession.
Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino logged her first (and second) day at the beleaguered and devalued social-media company. Welcome to hell, Linda!
A Pennsylvania appellate court ruled that the government cannot ban people convicted of non-violent crimes from owning guns.
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf (the league that sprung up out of nowhere bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund) unexpectedly announced a merger after months of fighting for top billing in men’s professional golf. Saudi Arabia has been staggeringly successful in buying its way into the global sports arena in recent years.
Former New Jersey Governor and Trump-sycophant-turned-critic Chris Christie will, hilariously, announce his bid for the White House tonight in New Hampshire. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is somewhere visibly shaking.

Be Smarter

Twitter owner and plague on all of our houses Elon Musk has, for many months, been peddling baseless claims that the United States government forced the company to censor a 2020 New York Post article about Hunter Biden. He hand-picked a group of red-pilled journalists and gave them access to company archives, which they compiled into a series of tendentious reports that became the so-called “Twitter Files.” But now, Twitter’s own lawyers are disputing those claims in court, emphatically rejecting the notion that the Twitter Files demonstrate what Musk and many conservatives rabidly assert they contain. One of the central allegations from the Twitter Files is that regular communications between the FBI and Twitter ahead of the 2020 election amounted to government coercion to censor content, or an even more spurious claim that Twitter had become a conduit of the U.S. government. One of the problems with that theory is that in the fall of 2020, Donald Trump was president, not Joe Biden. The Trump administration made its own requests for removal of content on Twitter, and payments to Twitter from the government have been identified as routine reimbursements for responding to subpoenas and investigations, not for content moderation. Twitter’s lawyers went even further, saying that the communications show no proof of coercion “because they do not contain a specific government demand to remove the content — let alone one backed by the threat of government sanction.”

What A Sponsor

Expert-recommended hair loss treatments - Keeps offers a simple, affordable, and stress-free way to keep your hair via personalized treatment plans that are recommended by a licensed medical provider and delivered straight to your door. With Keeps, you can get quality, expert care without ever visiting a doctor’s office or pharmacy. Keeping your hair shouldn’t be hard! That’s why they make it easy to subscribe to Keeps and get refill reminders, so you’ll never run low on the products you need to take care of your hair.
24/7 care and support - Keeps has a network of expert medical advisors, prescribers, and care specialists to support you in making your hair goals a reality. Each treatment plan comes with a full year of unlimited messaging so you can connect with your medical provider about anything, anytime.
Low cost – Treatment plans are affordable—typically half the cost of pharmacy prices.
Whether you’re looking to prevent hair loss, stimulate hair growth, or just take better care of the hair you have, Keeps has you covered.
Remember, prevention is key – treatments can take 4-6 months to see results, so act fast!
If you’re ready to take action and prevent hair loss, visit Keeps.com/world to receive your first month of treatment FREE!

Light At The End Of The Email

A federal judge in Florida partially blocked the state from enforcing its ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender minors.
Almost 98 percent of Screen Actors Guild members voted to authorize joining the Writers Guild of America on strike if studios continue railroading contract negotiations.
Lawmakers in Michigan are considering a set of bills to ban the practice of conversion therapy for minors.
Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) has vetoed 106 GOP bills in her first year as governor, including one bill criminalizing homelessness and another that would have banned ranked-choice voting.

Enjoy

James Hesky on Twitter: "As part of the merger, the PGA will control holes 1-8 and 12-18. The Saudis do 9-11."

I am not providing any advice nor condoning any mental health decisions made without the supervision and council of medical professionals. This post recounts my struggles with involuntary suicidal ideation but does not encourage, condone, or glorify self-harm.
If you're in crisis, go to the ER, call emergency services, or a crisis hotline. There are people who can help.
So my journey with mental health and various diagnoses is long, and I feel that sharing my multiple diagnoses and their timelines is essential to my story. That said, I'll try to be brief (no promises).
I seemed like a relatively normal kid until around the age of 3. I was difficult to potty train (I have memories from that time, which was traumatic for me and my mom). I believe this is due to my ongoing struggles with interoception. My family was also concerned about my delayed speech development. I am the youngest of 24 grandchildren and was often doted on as a child. For years my family just assumed that my development was delayed during that time because everyone did everything for me and that I lacked any need to speak for myself or toilet train because people spoke for me and found that changing me was less of a fight than trying to deal with outbursts with potty training. Then, I suddenly went from hardly speaking to one day speaking in complete sentences far beyond what other children my age could.
By age 4, my parents felt I was hyperactive and unruly. My dad, being a pharmacist, thought I should see a pediatric shrink to see about some stimulants as he had been diagnosed with ADHD and was hoping to get me treatment as early on as possible.
For the most part, nothing changed until I was 12. By this point, my family and I had spent the better part of 7 years jumping from stimulant to stimulant to control my seemingly uncontrollable nature. It was at this point in time that we decided I should have a complete Neuro-psych evaluation. At this time, I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, bipolar tendencies, and dysgraphia, but not ADHD. I was put on enough Seroquel to tranquilize a horse and gained 40 pounds in about 4 months.
It took me a long time to learn to accept this diagnosis as a kid, and I didn't want to be seen as the "kid from Parenthood" or as Rainman.
At age 14, I was hospitalized at a pediatric psych ward for 9 days. I wasn't keeping up with the medications I had been prescribed (pretty sure it was bupropion), which caused violent mood swings. I was struggling. I was relentlessly bullied for my lack of social skills, being overweight, and effeminate demeanor. I was called every homophobic and neurodivergent slur, often in front of faculty. My peers would throw rotting food at me on my walk home from school. I had no friends and had lost all hope in the public school system. It got to the point where I decided to take matters into my own hands as I felt that the adults could no longer protect me in this environment.
I now know there were better ways to handle my situation and that I had more options at my disposal, but nevertheless, I chose to say something that would ensure that I would never have to return to public school ever again. The school district learned of the negligence from the staff, and my expulsion was lifted. I would be allowed to return to school the following year. In the meantime, I was to attend class at the district office with a personal instructor, away from my peers (thank god).
My mom decided to investigate various private schools for kids both exclusively on the spectrum, and more broadly affected by various neurodivergencies. I shadowed these schools and attended each one for a week. I concluded that their resources would be wasted on me as I knew other kids needed their services more than I and would feel guilty if I took that from someone who needed it more.
After attending these schools, I decided it was up to me to learn to adapt to the world around me, and I dove into teaching myself social skills, masking techniques, coping skills, healthy living, and mindfulness. I returned to in-person instruction after earning my GED at 17 and immediately proceeded to college.
At 17, I had another evaluation completed to fulfill the accommodation requirements at a community college. At that time, I was then diagnosed (by the same clinician) with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and Dysgraphia. My psychiatric team now lacked the bipolar suspicion, as they believed those symptoms, at age 12, resulted from a poor home life.
And to be honest, until I turned 19, I was fine. I had been unmedicated without issue since I was 16. I was working at the college bookstore during rush week, I got a student-elected job as a club liaison, my grades were good enough for me, and I learned to buckle down when needed. I had grown, made friends, finally found myself at a healthy weight, got involved with student government, and "become popular," and while I wasn't the most dedicated student, I was progressing. I felt proud of myself.
That would all soon change. After beginning to doubt my decision to study physics (as many people had told me that it would result in more debt than I could afford and likely working in IT/CompSci like every other physics Ph.D. wannabe). I decided to change majors to Data science and move away to a full-fledged university. I hated my studies and struggled with large classrooms. I moved in with two other students who were complete strangers in an apartment off-campus. My eyes had been opened. I was not ready. I struggled with time management, public transportation, and social isolation. And then, before I knew it, I would be hit with perhaps the most distressing symptom I've ever experienced.
Disclaimer: The following paragraph contains my experiences with involuntary suicidal ideation and visual OCD. Its purpose is to shed light on my experience with mental health. It is by no means a glorification of, or encouragement to attempt, any form of self-harm. I will not go into graphic detail about what I saw and continue to see, as it is unnecessary and potentially triggering to others.
This is when the symptoms, which I now understand to be visual OCD, began. I would start to see the aftermath of my own demise regularly. At first, I would attempt to reason it away. After all, I'm happy, intelligent, and more emotionally aware than ever. But the flashes of horrific imagery continued to become more graphic and frequent, causing me to become increasingly distressed by the day. I didn't want to die, so how could I be seeing these things? It got to the point where I didn't know what to do. I was at my wit's end and felt like I was losing my mind.
I decided to see a campus NP once I had begun to fail all my classes, and he very abrasively diagnosed me with Bipolar Depression and ADHD, concluding that I was never on the spectrum. I got a medical withdrawal, my term was refunded, and I felt like a failure. I would then go on to take my classes online the following semester, but as my grades began to slip and with little hope for a brighter future, I withdrew again.
I would then dive head-first into a relationship with another man to run from my problems. I moved almost 1500 miles away from my family to be with him, and I had hoped that if I ran fast enough, my problems wouldn't keep up. This flawed thinking blinded me from the issues within the relationship and encouraged me to ignore red flags about my now ex-partner.
At 22, after trying to ignore my visual OCD for the better part of 3 years and missing the glaring issues, I finally fell into the most profound depression of my life. Despite trying online education again (and barely meeting my credit requirements), I was constantly ill, depressed, and often unwilling to get out of bed. My relationship had been falling apart since we had moved in together, and I had grown tired of running away.
My ex-partner was unexposed to mental health struggles before being with me, and rightfully assessing that it was not his responsibility to be my caretaker, he gave me an ultimatum. Either I do something about it or go home and let my family take over. I decided to try a few medications I had been on in the past based on my mom's best recollection of what was most effective growing up. No success.
Six months later, I finally came clean about the hallucinations/flashes when my best friend took her own life. I couldn't risk keeping this secret any longer if I was to have any chance of making it. I had to persevere. For myself, for my family, for her.
By this point, I had been on almost every class of drug used to treat mental illness, excluding MAOIs and tricyclics. I needed something different and fast.
That's when I learned about ketamine infusions for depression from my mentor. He encouraged me to go to a clinic and see if they felt I was a good candidate. I was, and it's the best treatment I've ever received. I'm fortunate that I can afford it with the help of my family's financial support.
I had found relief from the visual OCD and gained clarity regarding my relationship. Over Thanksgiving of 2022, I broke things off with him and moved back in with my folks. I have been continuing my treatment here, and my new psychiatrist finally revealed that I have OCD, ADHD, and ASD. He also told me that depression and anxiety are accessories to these other issues.
My treatments have been helping more than anything has in the past. But now more than ever, I feel like I'm still struggling with the fallout of the last 5 years. I think I've wasted precious time and let naivety dictate my decisions for far longer than reasonable.
I've been enrolled in online school for the last year and a half in a program I love, but I've lagged behind. Lacking the motivation to continue and feeling ill-equipped to confront the road ahead of me, I'm stalling.
I know I'm bright, but I feel it's unearned when people talk about me in high regard. I don't feel I've accomplished anything when I complete a course ahead of schedule. I don't feel happiness in success, and I struggle to carry out my goals.
I'm still struggling to take care of myself. Keeping my surroundings clean and organized, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule (even when practicing seemingly perfect sleep hygiene), bathing myself, socializing with others, and managing my time all feel like ginormous tasks on their own (let alone maintaining all of them simultaneously).
I often wonder... "What happened to me?" "I was doing so well." "How did things get to this point?" "I want things to go back to how they were."
The last 6 months have been the best I've been in 5 years, but it's still hard. There's so much to do, so much to relearn.
When I returned to my home city, my friends had all moved on. I tried to make new friends by joining a league at a local pool hall (billiards is a passion of mine), but I couldn't make a good connection with any of them. The things I used to love, like video games, mountain biking, billiards, music, scripting projects, and drawing, are all met with anhedonia.
I'm seeing a therapist, and it's helping some, but I still feel like cogs and gears are missing from my clock. Pieces are missing from the puzzle. I feel unwhole. I want to live up to "my potential" and have something to feel proud of, but I feel anxious and self-conscious whenever I pursue an activity. I want to do things again.
Part of me wonders if I even have the proper diagnosis, if there's something we still don't know about. I have a hard time trusting that mental health professionals that diagnose and prescribe can help me anymore because they've all had a different idea of what I have, with no new ideas for treating my mental illness.
I keep trudging along, trying to find joy in the process, but I can't help but feel the weight of the tasks ahead. I know results-based thinking isn't sustainable, but when you feel like you're stagnating in the process, it's hard not to feel hopeless for the years to come.
I'm not suicidal, but I'm beginning to question what all this is even for. I'm unlikely I'll ever find complete relief from my symptoms. Life is probably going to keep being hard. I'm just hoping that one day all this work and dedication will pay off, the other shoe will drop, and I'll finally find meaning and joy in life.
Until then, I'll keep persevering with the ebbs and flows, trying to maintain whatever kind of good habits and routine I can until I feel comfortable enough to try adding something new.
Hopefully, this post doesn't get flagged, as I actually found typing this out pretty therapeutic. We aren't alone in our struggles.
There's hope out there... I think. Maybe not now, but hopefully, the page will turn, and the sun will shine for a brighter tomorrow.
Edited for improved reading clarity.

Hey Everyone!
Let’s go….
Newly Covered Today:

1. SEC vs. Coinbase. Yep…crypto is now at war. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1666159275217911835
2. Brian Armstrong’s response. https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1666129111025324035
3. The Cardano Foundation has disputed the characterization of Cardano as a security in comments to Fortune. https://twitter.com/Cardano_CF/status/1666128229952897024
4. Here’s Coinbase politely pointing out the SEC’s complete refusal to provide any direction or cooperation despite Coinbase’s continuous and plentiful attempts. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1666135834062467083
5. The question of regulatory jurisdiction may end up being the biggest problem for the SEC in all these crypto matters. https://twitter.com/MetaLawMan/status/1653821211544092672
6. Rumor: There could also be a DOJ case coming for Binance. https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1666180524535062529

Previously covered, but still interesting:

1. A nice thread on the many strengths of Cardano. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1656388178369212416
2. Remember, lobster traps are a thing. https://twitter.com/TheCardanoTimes/status/1656064744225120257
3. Today (May 11 at 1pm EST) there will be a Messari Cardano Analyst call with Charles & Frederik. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1656272372452954112
4. I think we all love it when they start making our case for us. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1656379837823561730
5. Ethereum is lamenting many of its poor design choices that Cardano already fixed. https://twitter.com/moo9000/status/1656215016016683008
6. Drunkenmiller says this is the broadest asset bubble he’s ever even studied let alone seen firsthand and we’ve only had a few soft landings since 1950. https://twitter.com/Stephen_Geigestatus/1656416819312222219
7. Live footage of meme coin investors accepting their ROI. https://twitter.com/KaylerSmithTV/status/1656130092966264834
8. Here’s the Messari call from today with both Fred & Chaz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouUhWwF74MM
9. People really seem to be enjoying the CF’s Blockchain Education Alpha Program. https://twitter.com/andreassosilo/status/1644263843743293451
10. The US Chamber of Commerce brief in the Coinbase case is calling out the SEC for acting “unlawfully”. https://twitter.com/MetaLawMan/status/1656737447756038177
11. About that whole self-custody thing we’ve discussed… https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1656706653801136132
12. The SPO poll on K and minFee starts today (May 15)! You should redelegate if your stake pool doesn’t vote the way you would vote! https://cardanofoundation.org/en/news/entering-voltaire-poll-experiment-live-on-mainnet/
13. There are also a series of forum topics for discussion of the various options in the Cardano.org forums. https://twitter.com/Lovecoach_nic/status/1657700010148896770
14. Coinbase spotlights Empowa! May be the first time they’ve ever given such a spotlight to a Cardano project. Tides are turning. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1657081243518005254
15. Wow. Leaked “Key Messages” document for the joint committee meeting in the US House last week. Best part: they basically complain about separation of powers in point three. https://twitter.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1656362002577772544
16. Dr. Vanishree Rao on ZK-Rollups. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1657778843854274560
17. Here’s a new Decentralized Identity article from IOG. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2023/05/11/atala-prism-pioneering-digital-identity-with-decentralized-solutions/
18. There are reasons we’re in a hard capped cryptocurrency like Cardano. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/business/argentina-interest-rates-inflation/index.html
19. What is a dRep? This video is for you. There will be additional categories of default dReps that vote abstain or no confidence on every vote. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1658034085401337857
20. The US Dept. of Justice is officially saying they are targeting exchanges. Great. Great. https://www.ft.com/content/5aac457e-cc80-44ae-ac40-9b51d9b601a3
21. Wow! Ledger just made what is possibly the greatest PR blunder in the history of crypto. Trezor will be poppin’ bottles tonight. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658458714771169282
22. People are claiming that the hysteria is a misunderstanding of cryptography. But, that’s not what’s going on here if Ledger plus one of the other two shard custodians can reconstruct your private key without having to use your private key. https://twitter.com/nimuepool/status/1658517533836574720
23. The Ledger Recover FAQ seems to support this understanding as it suggests you use a brand new device for recovery. https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/9579368109597
24. Wow. Unfortunate timing for this. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658095051375800321
25. Ken Kodama will be doing a Japanese language interview on CardanoSpot on May 18. https://twitter.com/Emurgo_Ken/status/1658838077136162828
26. The stake pool operator poll on network parameters of K and minPoolCost is live. See the results here. The re-delegation phase will begin on May 25th. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
27. Cornucopias dropped some new in-game footage. As expected, Solace is beautiful. https://youtu.be/j5iwNsQVMDQ?t=1846
28. Wow….the Ledger shards are encrypted with “a master key that is contained in all devices”. Wut? https://twitter.com/P3b7_/status/1658809445965606913
29. Sadly, the Ledger CEO seemed to be denying exactly the above just a day ago. https://twitter.com/_pgauthiestatus/1658508082941403144
30. Here’s why 340 ADA minPoolCost promotes multi-pools. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1659387255537176581
31. Numbers are emerging on the benefits of K=1000 over K=500. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1659398551917727744
32. Here’s the latest on the Stake Pool Operator poll. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
33. Rep. Tom Emmer is trying to help crypto by cutting crypto assets out of the definition of a “security”. He creates a new non-security asset category called “investment contract asset”. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1659291641281146886
34. Prof. Wadler (co-inventor of Cardano’s Plutus) has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society joining the likes of Einstein, Darwin, Hawking, and Isaac Newton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOm-dWje-M
35. Huge amount of voting for economic self-interest by multi-poolers in the SPO poll. Earlier today (May 21), 84.73% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 340 ₳ was multi-poolers. Only 15.6% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was multi-poolers. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
36. Large pools also voted heavily for economic self-interest with the K parameter. 70.02% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools with delegation over 35 million. Only 30.57% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools over 35 million. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
37. Apparently Cardano has its own wiki now! Probably better given our previous treatment by the big wiki group. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660383700243329024
38. Rep. Tom Emmer is getting some reactions on the bill he sponsored with Rep. Soto. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1660329932495486977
39. You’re really gonna hold up a debt ceiling deal because you hate crypto so bad? https://twitter.com/gaborgurbacs/status/1660248530135515138
40. Looks like a few big multi-poolers have voted in the poll since yesterday. Pretty easy to predict what they didn’t vote for. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
41. Reports coming in that DCG has defaulted on the payment owed to Genesis. https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1660671386388504577
42. Ledger Recover would allow governments to confiscate crypto assets by subpoena? Called “not a real concern in the end.” Really? https://twitter.com/TheBTCTherapist/status/1660677064700178436
43. Frederik Gregaard on DeFi and regulation. https://twitter.com/F_Gregaard/status/1660655806709211137
44. Don’t Forget, the May Cardano 360 will be on May 25th. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660621805017608194
45. Here’s the daily check-in on the status of the SPO Poll. We have surpassed 590 pools voting (as of May 23). https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
46. The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has decided to get our hopes up with a proposed regulatory framework for crypto exchanges that could mean more trading for coins like Cardano. https://apps.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/news-and-announcements/news/doc?refNo=23PR53
47. Here’s an IOG thread on the latest out of Atala Prism and Self-Sovereign Identity. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660904360925188097
48. Here’s an IOG article on Cardano native tokens. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660975383997448193
49. The difference in decentralization between Cardano and Bitcoin is still…laughable. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660979639907500033
50. Ledger is finally caving (a little) to the backlash. It’s reported that they will focus on open sourcing parts of their code and only release the “Recover” firmware after that open sourcing is finished. https://twitter.com/NFTherdestatus/1661026174779420672
51. Looks like the Hong Kong announcement yesterday might have been a hint of what’s coming. https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1661391542504902664
52. The Cardano Layerverse is coming to life. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1660697833115385856
53. Wow! Incredible! Thank you for voting in favor of decentralization, 1PCT! https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1661460222203002880
54. Federal Reserve report debunks claim that crypto is not useful to people in the US. https://twitter.com/SebVentures/status/1661063483369177108
55. The SPO phase of the poll is over. Nearly 800 pools voted. Now it’s your turn to see how your pool voted and re-delegate if you think they voted against decentralization and for their own pocketbook. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
56. The May Cardano 360 is out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_bCa_xCoxA
57. Charles dropped an update today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfL2U2hAGWw
58. Sen. Cynthia Lummis declares her opposition to the 30% tax on bitcoin mining. https://twitter.com/SenLummis/status/1661803569341759495
59. Lots of volume being transacted on Cardano recently! https://twitter.com/cwpaulm/status/1662929296329981952
60. Recent subpoenas to the Python Package Index don’t bode well for those hoping to store seed phrases with third-party custodians. https://twitter.com/_jonasschnelli_/status/1662531840606093312
61. Transaction volume is looking very interesting right now. https://messari.io/charts/cardano/txn-vol
62. JPG Store has now launched Android and IOS apps. https://twitter.com/jpgstoreNFT/status/1663281982262919170
63. It’s true. Cardano is straight killing it on the security leg of the trilemma.https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1662987243655684096
64. Just checked. Yep. The centralization in ETH is still staggering. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1663222056870350848
65. There’s a documentary about a 2022 Plutus hackathon in Argentina. https://twitter.com/LarsBrunjes/status/1663111319732535297
66. Pavia is testing NFT gating. This could get very interesting. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1663153213988823040
67. Marlowe is on mainnet! You can now code Cardano smart contracts in javascript or blockly via Marlowe! This is an amazing leap forward. https://twitter.com/marlowe_io/status/1663480828016435200
68. Don’t forget! We are still in the re-delegation phase of the CF Poll. See how your stake pool voted! If they were voting for their pocketbook instead of decentralization, you should re-delegate! https://twitter.com/Cardano_CF/status/1663564854572244994
69. Wow! Cardano projects are doing big things these days! https://twitter.com/CardanoCrocClub/status/1663468916843114498
70. The CCP has dropped a white paper on how it will develop Web 3 including NFTs and the metaverse. https://twitter.com/milestones_nft/status/1663458500922712064
71. Lace is now open source! https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1663953642045714433
72. Binance is back and apparently they don’t care if someone had that ticker first. https://twitter.com/pool_pm/status/1663809731603906560
73. Summon is now allowing for multichain swaps of ADA & ERG. https://twitter.com/N8iveToEarth/status/1664038846563225600
74. Charles did a Twitter Space with World Mobile. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1663984094252810283
75. Here’s an easy infographic on CIP-1694 Voltaire governance from IOG. https://twitter.com/Hornan7/status/1664007623799185409
76. Apparently, Cardano sushi is a thing! https://twitter.com/Allison_Fromm/status/1663841386074976257
77. This kind of sums up the problems with central bank behavior over the last 20 years. https://twitter.com/JeffWenigestatus/1664012650781585409
78. Interesting news about the currency in one of Cardano’s biggest metaverse projects. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1664240389610704896
79. Messari has released an article on operational decentralization in proof-of-stake crypto. https://messari.io/report/evaluating-validator-decentralization-geographic-and-infrastructure-distribution-in-proof-of-stake-networks
80. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has MASSIVELY revised their figures on Q4 of 2022. No surprise, the numbers were much worse than they told us. https://twitter.com/FrogNews/status/1664253845399130113
81. Looks like DAOs are getting a little hesitant about fee switches due to possible legal/tax implications. https://twitter.com/FrogNews/status/1664253845399130113
82. We even have Arctic block production. https://twitter.com/Laponia_pool/status/1664226409466740737
83. Questions are being raised regarding the blockspace consumption of dApps still on Plutus v1. https://twitter.com/matiwinnetou/status/1664385383122051073
84. Atomic wallet got hacked. https://twitter.com/zachxbt/status/1665080799253733377
85. No surprise: general interest in crypto & Cardano is still pretty low according to google trends. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&geo=US&q=cardano&hl=en
86. Here’s the Weekly Development Update from June 2. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1665394985934499840
87. The Chairs of the House Committee on Financial Services (McHenry) and the House Committee on Agriculture (Thompson) are co-sponsoring a new pro-crypto Digital Asset Market Structure Bill. Currently just a discussion draft. Here’s the summary. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AG/AG00/20230606/116051/HHRG-118-AG00-20230606-SD002.pdf
88. Here’s the actual discussion draft. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AG/AG00/20230606/116051/HHRG-118-AG00-20230606-SD003.pdf
89. Here’s a section-by-section with exhibits. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AG/AG00/20230606/116051/HHRG-118-AG00-20230606-SD001.pdf
90. Cornucopias has released more game footage. https://twitter.com/RobGreig3/status/1665310543589040130
91. SEC vs. Binance/CZ. It begins!!!!! https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1665845917268815874
92. Written response from Charles to the SEC/Binance complaint. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1665780536177217537
93. Written response from Binance on the SEC complaint. https://www.binance.com/en/blog/ecosystem/sec-complaint-aims-to-unilaterally-define-crypto-market-structure-8707489117122437402
94. Video response from Charles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zBZ-aGqldA
95. Cornucopias has dropped a whole new reel of gameplay footage. It looks really good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8ftHH8bbxQ
96. Cardano Gaming at the NFT.Brazil event! https://twitter.com/cardanowarriors/status/1665815653398507520

~Army of Spies

https://www.kotatv.com/politics/election-results/