#Cheap stocks that will skyrocket

[dritaseries]

Cheap stocks that will skyrocket

#Cheap stocks that will skyrocket for free#

#Cheap stocks that will skyrocket how to#

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#Cheap stocks that will skyrocket how to#

Our investing reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most - how to get started, the best brokers, types of investment accounts, how to choose investments and more - so you can feel confident when investing your money. All of our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts, who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next.īankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. What to do when you lose your 401(k) matchįounded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. Should you accept an early retirement offer? How much should you contribute to your 401(k)? The information, including any rates, terms and fees associated with financial products, presented in the review is accurate as of the date of publication. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.Īll reviews are prepared by our staff. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. Any estimates based on past performance do not a guarantee future performance, and prior to making any investment you should discuss your specific investment needs or seek advice from a qualified professional. Our articles, interactive tools, and hypothetical examples contain information to help you conduct research but are not intended to serve as investment advice, and we cannot guarantee that this information is applicable or accurate to your personal circumstances.

#Cheap stocks that will skyrocket for free#

Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence. Last year, for example, Alibaba's Jack Ma had to lay low for months after his Ant Financial was forced to withdraw its IPO following his criticism of regulators.We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. There's a constant clash between capitalist businesses operating in a communist country that has sometimes resulted in some harsh backlash. For perspective, 's Prime Day in June is estimated to have generated less than $12 billion in sales.Ĭhina is also cracking down on tech companies and is considering limiting CEO pay. A sister promotion to the annual 11-11 shopping extravaganza Alibaba ( BABA -2.12%) launched several years ago, the June event generated $136.5 billion in sales between Alibaba and JD. Online sales in China rose 4.4% in July, which was far lower than expected and largely due to the June 618 sales event pulling sales forward. There are two concerns surrounding China's second-largest e-commerce platform, JD.com ( JD -0.04%): China's slowing economy and a regulatory crackdown on tech stocks and their CEOs by Beijing.

[anotherpapercut]

"the housing market is crashing" "YES PLEASE I CANT WAIT TO BUY A SUPER AFFORDABLE AND CHEAP HOUSE" none of you are going to be able to buy a house when the market crashes. you've all got to give up this dream :/ you're gonna be so fucking disappointed when another recession hits and you're actually just poorer and less able to afford housing than before

[genderqueerdykes]

homeless disabled trans person needs help paying for hotel, storage unit & phone while government assistance housing program keeps delaying their move in date

March 21st, 3/21/2024: hello, I'm equinox or Johnny, I'm a severely multiply disabled trans person living in a hotel right now due to not being able to afford apartments on the housing market right now. i have a guaranteed apartment through a government assistance program, but their compliance team keeps delaying my move in date because they cannot figure out how to calculate my earned income because i am self employed. they have been running me in circles asking for the exact same information for six months and have been becoming increasingly more condescending and rude as I've pointed out that they're asking for information i physically cannot provide, like "bank statements" for GoFundMe, a fundraiser website that considers all money earned personal gifts, and tumblr bank statements.

i haven't been able to get my hormones in weeks.

i was promised to move into my apartment on the 7th, then the 11th of this month, and it was requested of me to put the electricity bill in my name so I could get moved in as soon as possible. I did this and now i have a $20 electric bill in my name because they've delayed for so long. my unit has been sitting empty for 6 months and now I'm expected to pay for the electricity that is running in a 1 bedroom apartment I'm not living in.

i have been homeless for 6 months straight. i have been living in my hotel for 2 months. my hotel has been without WiFi for a month which forced me to get a Tracfone with a data plan so I can do my job and communicate with this apartment complex via email. i unfortunately need to buy more data because this has taken so long. most of my possessions including large portions of my stock and shipping supplies are in my storage unit, of which the $78 bill is due in 3 days.

the hotel I'm staying at is normally $40/night but the prices are skyrocketing this weekend because this is a very cheap hotel due to its low rates. i can't afford any of these nights independently of each other, let alone altogether, and it's Thursday and i haven't heard a single word about my move in date.

i have been depressed and crying for days, i cracked a tooth from clenching my teeth and i haven't been sleeping due to stress and nightmares. anything helps. thank you for taking the time to read and support and share. everyone has kept me housed for 2 months so far. i owe you all so much

PayP al: glittergraphicnightmare@gmail.com

cash app: $glitterGraphix

venmo: @ Equinoxian

chime: @ Equinoxian

[arabian-batboy]

Disney, Starbucks and Mcdonald's all had their stocks plummet to all-time lows this month, yet suddenly all of their stocks have now skyrocketed again at the same exact time (with Starbucks rising by 11%??), even though call for boycotts are stronger and louder than ever? Sounds like someone is lying about these new stocks numbers as propaganda to discourage people from boycotting them, almost like they're saying: "Why bother boycotting us when it doesn't even affect our sales anyways? Just come back already <3"

Either that or them selling their products for dirt-cheap helped temporarily rise their stocks for the time being, either ways don't stop boycotting these genocide supporters.

[literary-motif]

Pick Me Up

Jonah x Reader

An interaction with a rude customer leaves you a little rattled.

Warnings: harassment

Working at the bar would not be half as bad if it were not for the small percentage of horrible customers. The majority was alright, some were even memorably polite, but at the end of the day, you always remembered the outright rude ones, making every pleasant customer interaction sink to the back of your mind. 

You could still picture the face of the woman who had sneered at you, telling you that the Vodka Martini you had served her was made with cheap Martini — as if you had any control over the beverages your employer chose to supply his establishment with. 

You remembered the man who had rolled his eyes at you, clicking his tongue before telling you that you were horriblyorganized because you told him the licorice was out of stock — as if it was your job to walk to the store and get it.

When being served, people often forgot the basic structure of the establishment they were sitting in. 

It was normally not the bartender who was responsible for the limited option of drinks at the bar — it was their employer. It was not the waiter’s fault if the portion of the food was insufficient, they were not the ones in the kitchen preparing it. 

It was not you who made the prices, but the boss who occasionally helped himself to the tips of his staff. It was not your fault if you were out of every type of whiskey if your boss refused to buy new ones because their prices had skyrocketed. 

The only problem was that it was you, interacting with the customers. It was your face they saw. It was you representing the establishment, so naturally, it was you they blamed for every little inconvenience they could think of.

Still, it was alright. 

You had learned quickly not to take these things to heart, and it was not an unusual occurrence for you to return home late from one of your shifts, find Jonah still awake, and spill your guts about the trashy customer you had had to deal with that day. He always listened attentively, laughing alongside you at these people’s weird sense of entitlement, and offering commentary on the situation. Together, you often came up with the most hilarious replies to people’s snide comments that had you howling with laughter. 

If rude customers were rare in the majority of people you interacted with daily, there was another fraction who was rarer still: the people who made you genuinely uncomfortable. 

Every once in a while, maybe every two months or so, a person would fall into that category. Sometimes, they tried flirting with you. Sometimes, they made inappropriate comments. Sometimes, they reached over the counter and gave you a confused look when you sprung back. 

Most of the time these people were drunk, having indulged in a little too much alcohol. They tried fighting your decision to stop serving it to them, and only begrudgingly walked out of the bar after you remained stubborn. 

Rarer still were the times when someone completely sober was sitting on the stool before you, watching you like a hawk as they tried chatting you up. 

“You have a pretty face,” he said, keeping his gaze on you as you prepared his Espresso Martini. He wore a tailored suit with a striped tie and must have bathed in cologne. You could smell its deep scent from the other side of the counter from how exceedingly he had applied it. “You should smile more. You’re too serious.”

You glanced at him. He gave you a smirk. The air of entitlement was strong with this one. 

“What is there to smile about when I am pouring vodka into a cocktail shaker?” you retorted, keeping your face carefully blank. 

“Maybe it’s the fact that you’re doing it for me, love. Come on, give me a smile.”

Your colleague had just left for a smoke break, so you were alone behind the counter with his increasingly uncomfortable presence before you. 

Those gray eyes did not stop boring into you, and your hands began to shake as he continued smiling at you. 

“Smile, come on.”

“Sir, I need you to back off,” you said, moving away from him in a faux search for the sugar syrup. 

“It’s behind you, darling,” he said, giving you a dazzling smile. “I’ve seen you here a few times. How come you still don’t know where everything is? Am I making you nervous, or are you just that much prettier than you are intelligent?” He chuckled, expecting you to do the same. 

You only stared at him, clenching your jaw. Who the fuck did this baster think he was talking to? You opened your mouth to reply, the words dying on your tongue as you caught sight of his watch. It was engraved, the name William Kennedyglaring at you in pretty cursive. How had you not recognized the son of your employer? 

You swallowed thickly. 

“Cat got your tongue, sugar?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Now come on, finish my drink.”

You reached for the sugar syrup, not dignifying him with a response as you did what you were told. What could you do? You needed this job, and although you were sure you could find another one in no time with your experience and qualifications, it was still an inconvenience you would much rather avoid. Telling the son of your boss to fuck off would get you fired, right? You were pretty sure it would, so you bit your tongue. 

“You know,” he continued, and you had never wanted anyone to shut up as badly, “now you are just the type of person I would take home. You’re sweeter when you keep your mouth shut, the only thing missing is a smile.” He pulled out his wallet, waving a ten-pound note in front of your face. “Smile if you want a tip,” he said. 

You stood frozen, the cocktail shaker in your hands forgotten as you blinked at the scum before you. “I’m in a relationship,” you said tensely, your eyes narrowing in a glare. 

“So am I,” he replied, adding five pounds. “Smile.”

“Listen,” you began, losing your patience. Son of your boss or not, this was getting ridiculous. You set aside the cocktail shaker, meeting his gaze coldly. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing here. I’d advise you to stop, or I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

“You listen, actually,” he said, placing his elbows on the counter and leaning forward until he was face to face with you, “maybe you don’t know who I am, and I can excuse ignorance. This whole place is going to be mine someday, got that? I could get you fired with a phone call. So how about you give me a pretty smile and serve me that drink I ordered.” 

“Sir, I need you to leave this establishment.” 

He chuckled, making a show of checking his watch. “I’m going to give you sixty seconds until I—” 

Whatever he was about to say got caught in his throat as you opened the cocktail shaker, throwing the contents of his would-be Espresso Martini onto his white dress shirt, staining it irreparably.

He cursed profusely, springing to his feet and staring down the front of his ruined shirt. You had gotten some on his suit jacket as well. 

The two women at the table in the far corner snickered loudly, and even the elderly man who liked to read his newspaper with a glass of red wine looked up, raising an eyebrow at the cursing mess before you. 

“I’m going to give you sixty seconds to leave before I call the police on you for harassment,” you said, staring him down. “Sir.”

He shot a deathly glare your way, picking up his wallet off the counter. “Just you wait,” he spat, storming out of the bar and leaving a wet trail of footsteps you now needed to clean up. 

The added work was worth it though. You wondered what your boss would think when he watched the CCTV. Perhaps he had gotten the angry call already, demanding to fire you immediately.

Your blood was boiling, and you found yourself not caring about his opinion at all. Nobody treated you like this, least of all your boss’ entitled son. Still, his words rang in your ears, and you wondered if his petty scheme of revenge extended beyond an angry phone call to his father. Who knew the connections he had? Who knew how much you had truly pissed him off. 

At the end of your shift, you found yourself dreading the thought of walking home alone. 

“Hey babe, what’s up?” Jonah’s cheery voice on the other end of the line was an immediate ray of sunshine on this bleak night. “You’re done early.”

“Hi, uh,” you stammered, feeling a little embarrassed. Your anxieties were probably just paranoia anyway. There was no need to inconvenience Jonah with any of this.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, the tone of concern slicing through your heart like a knife. You had not meant to make him worry. “Babe?”

“Nothing’s wrong, just,” you began, shifting your weight and looking around the empty bar. “Today was weird and— and if you’re not busy, could you come get me? I’d rather not make my way home alone.”

“Sure. Where are you?” he asked. You heard the creak of his gaming chair and the shuffling of clothes. “Still at the bar?”

“Yeah,” you replied, glancing at the cocktail shaker. 

“Stay there. I’ll be there in approximately fifteen minutes, alright? I’ll smother you in a hug and you’ll tell me all about your day. Sounds good?”

You chuckled, picking up your bag and turning off the lights behind the counter. “I can start walking and we’ll meet halfway.”

“Babe, you don’t need to if you don’t feel like it,” he said. You heard the front door shut. “I’m on my way. If you’d rather we walk together, then that’s fine. There is no need to rush, and honestly, if you tell me today has been weird, I’d rather you wait for me inside.”

“I’m probably overreacting.”

“On the one-in-a-million chance you’re not, I’d rather not test it,” Jonah said, hurriedly making his way down the street. “Do you need me to stay on the line?”

“Nah, I’m fine,” you said, peering through the shut blinds into the darkness outside. “I’ll wait for you.”

“Good. See you in a few minutes, babe. Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

[mrsshabana]

♡ 𝐌𝐲 𝐆𝐲𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ♡

I decided to take pictures of my collection since so many people asked! This is everything I've collected over the past two years. I'll give links for items that are still easily available. Also, please excuse how terrible these photos look. It took me over 3 hours to get everything out and take these photos, I was pretty tired and I was trying to figure out how to do it. I decided it'd be easiest to separate everything by type. And for some categories, I separate Gyutaro and Daki. The majority of these items are official merchandise, but I will make a note for items that are not official. (∩｀-´)⊃━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

These are all of the large figures that I have! There was a new one that was recently released in Japan, and once I get it shipped I'll make a review about it. I got all of these figures from BigBadToyStore. Most of them are still available and a few are even on sale right now. I'd highly recommend their website! Out of all of these figures, I'd have to say the large one in the middle with Gyutaro using his blood demon art is my favorite.

𝐆𝐊 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

These are the garage kit figures that I own! None of these figures are official. The one on the right can be found super cheap on Amazon. I got this one from a good friend of mine. I'd say for how large it is it's definitely worth the price. The two on the left I got myself for my birthday. The one with the lantern even lights up, and it's definitely my favorite. You can still buy these, but only on eBay. The prices skyrocketed after I purchased mine, so I honestly can't recommend anyone buying them. They are just way too expensive now in my opinion. But here are the links anyway if you are still interested. Gyutaro lantern statue & Human Gyutaro and Ume

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

And here are the rest of the Gyutaro figures! I believe this is all of the ones that are currently released (except for the new one I mentioned earlier). A few of these are also available on BigBadToyStore. The one on the top left is one of my favorite items that I own. I've never seen him sold outside of Japan which sucks because he's absolutely adorable. The top middle one is really cool too because he comes with changeable arms and you can pose him in different ways - this one is also on sale on BigBadToyStore's website.

Here are the Daki/Ume figures! Most of these came in pairs with the Gyutaro figures so that's why I have a lot of these too. Again, most of these can be found on BigBadToyStore's website.

𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐬

Gyutaro plushies!! I don't know about you, but I am so obsessed with Gyutaro plushies. They make me so unexplainably happy. To be honest, all of them are my favorite haha. But if I had to choose, I'd say the teddy bear in the back. I also really love the Kitty Gyutaro on the left. The kitty Gyu, and the other Gyu doll on the right are not official. The one on the right was a gift from a close friend, it was custom made on Etsy. The Kitty Gyu was actually available on eBay (they are sold out now, but might restock later). I got mine elsewhere though. The human Gyu plush is also available on BigBadToyStore's website along with the Ume one. The little grabby Gyu's in the front right are some of my favorites too. I'll just clip them onto my laptop while I'm writing or drawing. I bought them from Amiami, they are out of stock now but I have seen them occasionally go on sale again.

And here are the Daki/Ume plushies! I got a few of them from AmiAmi with the Gyu ones, so they might come back up for sale eventually.

𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬

Sorry for the terrible photo, I tried my best to fit all of these into one picture. I didn't include the demon gathering diorama because that thing is way too big. It's so hard to pick a favorite for these ones. I love the holiday ones and the world tour one the most. Surprisingly these aren't often available outside of Japan. I have seen a few come up on eBay but they are usually overpriced. There are a few ones that I wanted to talk about because they are unique. Like the acrylic stand of the actor who played Gyutaro in the live-action play. I thought it was really cool that they made a stand for that. Also, the one where Gyutaro is seen fighting Tengen, it's hard to see in the photo but it has a lot of components to it that make it look 3D!

𝐊𝐞𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬

I love love love the Gytutaro keychains! There's a lot here so I won't ramble too much about them. My favorites are the kitty one on the top row, and the 2nd and 3rd one on the bottom row. Like look how cute he looks on his stomach like that, I swear that's the cutest pose I've seen them make for him. The kitty Gyu keychain was actually the first Gyutaro item I've ever bought! You might be able to find some of these on Mercari or on eBay.

And here are the Daki/Ume ones!

𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐬

I used to have an ita bag that I would fill with these pins! But it got really dirty, so if you have any you can recommend let me know 👀 Anyway here are the enamel pins. The only one that is still available is the large FiGPiN one. It's limited edition and they only made 1,000 of them. It was for an event in New York I think? Anyway, here is a link to where you can purchase one on eBay.

And here are the other pins. I don't have as many of these because they stopped fitting in my ita bag, but I'd totally get more if I had a large bag to fit them in.

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬

Ok so I had a ton of miscellaneous items, so this will be the biggest section. Some of my favorite items are here like the ring, necklace, and perfume. Apparently, the perfume is illegal to ship outside of Japan because it's flammable so I have no idea how I got it. But I got it as a gift in 2023. The ring is definitely one of my favorite items though, I've had it for a really long time now and I love the pattern on it. It's hard to see in the photo but one ring has a motif matching his spots and the other one matching his ribbons. If you want to see my full post on the ring and perfume I'll link them here. Ring & Perfume.

More miscellaneous items. The only one I'll comment on is that pink little box in the middle. It's a gachapon and it's actually functional too. It's the cutest little thing. I also really like the pens too, the little chibi drawings on the front are adorable.

These are just a bunch of random cloth items I have. My favorites are the Gyutaro tote bag and the Gyutaro underwear. Yes, I said underwear... yes it is official... I'll make a separate post about it another day 😭 On the right is some Tengen toilet paper, no that isn't official. It has a funny story behind it I promise. So one day my little brother asks me, "Which character from Demon Slayer do you want to eat shit?" I said Tengen of course, and months later he gave me this for my birthday. I freaking love my brother 😭

I had to make a separate photo for this one since it was so big. This is a towel with all of the upper moons on it. I really love the art for this and I think it's just so beautiful.

Shikishi boards! I love collecting these because they have official art of Gyutaro that we don't get to see anywhere else!

More shikishi boards! He looks so handsome, right? 🤭

Just some photos (idk why they sell these) and coasters from the Ufotable Cafe in Japan.

More miscellaneous stuff. The graded card in the middle was also a birthday present from my brother. 💚

A folder and some stickers!

Finally, these are the last things. These are large items so instead of taking photos of them I just made a collage. They are luncheon mats and mat cases from the Ufotable Cafe. There is also a double-sided pillow, I use this every day in my gaming chair to support my back!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!

This is my entire collection! I may have forgot about one or two items but this is the majority of it. I also have shirts but maybe I will show those another day. (Maybe in a face reveal?) I hope you enjoyed seeing how my adhd brain hoards everything with Gyutaro on it.

I'm sorry I wasn't able to provide more links for these items as most of them sold out long ago. They are focusing on making merch for the Hantengu clones now, so Gyutaro item releases have slowed down a lot.

But if/when any new items come out I will be sure to share them! If you made it all the way through my collection, you're awesome! And I'd love to hear which thing was your favorite 💚 ✧( ु•⌄• )◞◟( •⌄• ू )✧

[brumeraven]

🦋: Tombstone Keys || dolls, commoditization, abandonment, conformity, mutilation, transformations, violence, gods?, angels?, curious to know if anyone gets the title since it's fairly obscure and opaque

It's funny, isn't it? What is and isn't fashionable. Changes with the weather sometimes, others times things stick like glue.

There aren't many dolls left anymore. Not much use for them since the gig economy took over.

The doll aesthetic, though?

So hot right now.

Can't go a minute in a sleepy village without seeing a girl with porcelain mask or clockwork gloves or something else "dollcore."

Sometimes a literal doll core, showing oh-so-coyly from a provocatively low neckline, elegant crystal facets nestled in between so much garish flesh.

I grimaced as just such a number went mincing by, sundress all embroidered with primroses, hair coiffed and topped with a canted, raffish arrangement neither quite fascinator nor derby hat. All that kept it from being chintzy was the price tag with more zeros than class.

It might have been a convincing display, if not for her airs.

While a doll might once have been bedecked so by its owner, any would have done all it could to avoid notice, even in such an getup. Certainly, none would have walked with so much...heaving and jiggling of flesh.

I brushed the thoughts away as I followed the girl down the street. There is, of course, no accounting for taste, and yet that saying is so rarely afforded to the more daring of us, those who actually broke norms.

Like it or not, dolls were "in." Or at least their aesthetic was.

Only problem is they weren't made anymore. Hadn't been for decades. On the other hand, given the number produced, it was easy to find old stock to break down for parts.

First, it was just the broken and worthless, of course, but then, well, fashion demands nothing but the best.

Flesh might decay, but dolls never did.

The thought brought with it bitter awareness of the once-taught skin that now sagged and slumped tiredly about my face.

Dolls just...went on existing, no matter what changed, untouched by the passing of the years.

Buyers started scouting estate sales and secondhand stores, desperate to find anywhere a well-maintained family heirloom might have been carelessly tossed out, hungry for the payday such a find could bring, like so many vultures...no, vultures ate carrion; these were predators.

Then, of course, the market caught on, as it always does, and deals became rare as the pickings became slim. There's only so long you can drain an irreplaceable resource before prices skyrocket.

The cheap knock-offs from overseas were simply no match for the real, vintage item.

This girl, well, she clearly had the means to afford it. The parts she wore were pristine, or had been before they'd been scalped. My fingers clenched, not as smoothly as they once had, true, but still with a force than belied their gnarled form.

It was revolting. Sacrilegious. Dolls had been marvels of engineering, masterpieces of ingenuity. Beautiful, yes, but not for porcelain shells and glittering cores. Beautiful because they were a thing made for a purpose, made to last, effective and graceful no matter the task.

The beauty lay in how they'd been made with such care by human hands, the ineffable meeting of the mundane and the sacred.

No, not the mundane...for dolls were not mortal, purposeless things, cursed with free-will and the capacity for sin. Dolls were created, yes, but divine.

Dolls were as angels, wheeled, mechanical things of inerrant purpose and inscrutable construction.

Angels on whom God had turned His back.

Angels now cast from heaven for the sin of having shining wings that pleased the eye, no matter they'd once been used to fly.

She turned to face me, eye vacant, smile vacuous, devoid of everything but life.

I shut my eyes, trying to forgive her sins. It had been her hunger that destroyed, if not her hands.

I didn't fear death as she did. Nonexistence was simply that. This fate, though, how much worse?

That a thing once given purpose might be hacked apart and used as but aesthetic trappings?

I could think of no worse fate.

A pity I couldn't inflict it on her. She'd been made for no reason but a grunting, sweaty collision of flesh, some tepid spurts of what passed for passion.

If anything, well, I'd done her a favor.

The thought amused me as I made the switch, peeled the near-putrid skin off my frame and replaced it with her face and hands.

Some creators found meaning in their creations, whether they wanted to or not.

~🦋

[spacelazarwolf]

tldr scroll down to see my new plants.

this is a departure from my usual posts, it's a bit more like hybrid blog/diary entry, idk, but here u go.

for those of y'all who don't know, one of my hobbies is plants. i like to collect them propagate them, trade them, etc. and my favorite type of plant is aroids, particularly philodendrons. it was a very difficult hobby to maintain after the plant boom during lockdown caused plant prices to skyrocket, so for the past year or two i haven't relaly been buying that many new plants, and when i have it's just been from garden centers or local nurseries.

yesterday, however, i went to an aroid show where there was a vendor from south america who had brought a bunch of specimens people could purchase. they're a family owned business that focuses on protection and preservation of biodiversity and native plant species, and all their plants are ethically sourced, usually grown in their own greenhouses from propagations instead of taking them from their natural habitat and selling them. so obviously i had to check them out.

but this is where i sort of pause while writing this post, because i get really nervous talking about spending money, especially on here. i've frequently asked for help when i needed assistance getting my account out of the red or paying late rent, so part of me feels like it would be insulting to post about things i spend money on that aren't the essentials. but my plants make me happy. they give me something to take care of. they brighten up my apartment. they give me something to be excited about. so i'm just gonna tell you about my new plants.

about a month ago when i left my old church job, they gave me a gift card that the choir had pitched in for. i couldn't get cash out, use it for rent, or transfer it to my bank account, so i decided it would be my hobby fund. when i found out about the aroid show, i set aside a portion of that fund for plants because i knew that the specimens at the show would be significantly less expensive than anything i could find online or in local shops, and it might be one of the only chances i would ever have to actually buy some of my wishlist plants.

this is a philodendron esmeraldense. this is what they look like when the leaves get bigger and more mature. this is one i hadn't seen before so it wasn't on my wishlist, but when i was checking the vendors' stock last week i loved how it looked. i'm gonna put it on a moss pole and let it climb. the leaves probably won't ever get as big as the one in the linked photo, but i'm still excited to watch it grow.

this is a terrible picture but this is a philodendron patriciae. they get super long. this one’s putting out like two new leaves. it’s also a climber. the ripples in the leaves get more intense as it matures, so paired with the very long leaves it looks so cool. i can't wait to grow this one bigger.

philodendron pastazanum. it’s a crawler so i’ll be getting a window box to put it in so it has space to grow across the substrate. this has been on my list for a while but i couldn’t find it anywhere. the big heart leaves are just gorgeous.

this is a philodendron melanochrysum. the leaves can get huge. technically i already have a smaller one, but this one was just so gorgeous. i will probably end up planting them together on one moss pole. it’s one of my favorite plants, i am a sucker for velvety leaves. you can see one of the older leaves is getting ready to drop, and i think i'm going to try to make a project out of it.

philodendron tortum. it feels like the kind of plant that would have been growing while the dinos were around. it's very reminiscent of a fern, but it is also a climber. i had one like two years ago but i had to sell it to pay some bills, so i'm happy to have it back in my collection.

the one in the center. anthurium veitchii, or king anthurium. this one was kind of an impulse buy. i don’t usually do anthurium but it was cheap and looked incredibly cool. they look even cooler when they get mature.

what is a king without his queen. anthurium warocqueanum, or queen anthurium. i wasn't sure if i wanted to tackle this one bc it's notoriously hard to take care of, but it was very cheap so i took the plunge. these also get super long, and the velvety shiny leaves are so pretty.

monstera obliqua peru. this was a unicorn plant. it is difficult to find in the wild, grows slowly, and is hard to propagate, so it was mostly just passed from collector to collector until the plant boom during covid. nodes of this plant, literally just bits of stem you would cross your fingers and hope would root and grow leaves, were going for a thousand dollars and a single leaf up to three thousand dollars a year or two ago. and now i have a very full plant for only forty bucks. 2020 me is screaming. this specimen looks a little squished from the trek from south america to the midwest, but when it acclimates to its new environment, it's going to look so cool. this is another plant that has dino vibes.

and finally the grand finale. philodendron spiritus sancti. i honestly can't believe i'm typing this. this plant is considered to be one of the rarest philodendrons in the world - if not the rarest. it only grows in one place, and there are reportedly only 10 known plants left in the wild because of a combination of poaching and the excessive clearing of their habitat. it was another one that pretty much only existed in high level (wealthy) collections for a very long time. now, more specimens of this plant exist in private collections than in the wild, which makes ownership of this plant very emotional for me. this is a plant that was going for upwards of $14k for large specimens at the height of the plant boom. people were scrambling to get their hands on that one plant that no one could get, the highest prize, a bragging point. no one cared if they were getting it ethically. someone even stole a cutting from a botanical garden just to sell it.

this plant was not on my wishlist because i never thought i would even get to see in person, let alone hold, let alone own. and yet yesterday i picked it up, held it in my hands, saw the two digit price tag, and decided yeah. i think it's only fair that the money a bunch of presbyterians gave me should go to adding a plant called a "spiritus sancti" to my jewish plant collection.

it still doesn't feel real. i can just look over at my plant cabinet, and there it is. a spiritus sancti. bc for me it was never about having a big name plant in my collection. it was never about bragging or showing off or just checking names off a list of things i was supposed to want if i was into houseplants. this plant still exists because botanists and aroid enthusiasts have worked tirelessly to conserve it. and having this little piece of history and the world in my little plant cabinet feels more like a responsibility to me than a prize.

so yeah. those are my new plants. i'm excited to see them grow and still a little starstruck that i was even able to bring home the last two.

[phoenixyfriend]

Ko-Fi prompt from @kayasurin:

Just rant about the stock market, whatever you want to say about it!

'just rant' is such a prompt for uhhhh my distaste.

LEGALLY NECESSARY DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed financial advisor, and it is illegal for me to advise anyone on investment in securities like stocks. My commentary here is merely opinion, not financial advice, and I urge you to not make any decisions with regards to securities investments based on my opinions, or without consulting a licensed advisor.

So here are a few things:

1. Stocks are unreliable.

For the layperson, there is nothing that can be done about the direction a stock takes. Unless you are a majority shareholder, or one of several who can work in concert, you cannot affect the direction a company takes, which means you cannot affect the decisions that might cause a stock to increase or decrease in value. This is a rich man's game. The average investor is just along for the ride, god help them.

Between Random Walk Theory, the dart-throwing monkeys study, and the fact that mutual funds do not beat the market, there is just... it's a crapshoot. Anyone who tells you to invest to make a lot of money is drinking the Kool-Aid. You can invest to make a small return, to keep your money in a lot of places in case your bank gets digitally robbed or whatever your worries might be, diversification is good for safety nets, but for pity's sake, don't expect to become a millionaire, and be aware you can lose a lot, even listening to experts.

2. Stocks can be manipulated, and it's ridiculous and stupid and fucks over perfectly normal companies

Do you remember the GameStop reddit thing? I do. If you don't, please take a quick look at this record of the GameStop stock price.

See that spike in 2021? That was Reddit.

This post did a great job explaining it, but you told me to rant, and so I shall.

A large investment company had decided to make a lot of money for their clients by destroying GameStop. They did this by selling more shares than they actually owned (more than actually existed), force the market to absolutely tank the price, with plans to "buy back" the stock once it was dirt cheap, thereby making a profit for their company. This is a common form of stock manipulation called shortstelling, and investors had been doing it to GameStop for years, without the general public noticing.

Except Reddit did notice. And they decided to Fuck It Up, buying up stock at higher and higher prices, forcing the stock price to skyrocket, and the mutual/hedge funds still had to buy them back, but now it was at a massive loss, and it made headlines across the country because of how incredibly ridiculous it was.

The things to note here is that the market can be manipulated without any regard to the actual profits or health of the company, and that attempts to do so can backfire spectacularly.

3. Returns are minimal

There are two ways to earn money on stocks. The first is returns on capital investment; you buy the share at $10, sell it for $20, and you've thus received $10 profit. This is part of the incredibly unreliable bit I mentioned, because you cannot control the direction the stock takes, and generally can't predict it.

The other way is dividends, which like... profits made over the previous quarter (after paying employees, bank loans, rents, etc.) can be either reinvested to grow the company, or paid out to shareholders. But if you invest $150 in a single share of Walmart stock, your quarterly dividend is $2.25, which is $11/yr.

So unless you're investing hundreds of thousands of dollars, or get really lucky with what you choose to invest in, dividends aren't going to get you much of anything.

And when your stocks do give you healthy dividends, it's because there's money left for shareholders! Which, if you remember a few lines back, is left over after paying employees.

If an investor wants a return on their investment, and they can vote to change policy, and policy that pays employees dictates that they get a smaller dividend, do you think that the investors are going to vote to pay their employees fairly?

Yeah, didn't think so.

4. Rapid, Consumptive Growth

There was a really good post recently that described how and why the Chicago School of Economics, colloquially Reaganomics, has completely fucked over the entire US economy by encouraging the absolute worst state for the market to be in, which is seeking eternal parasitic growth. I urge you to read that one if you can, because the bloggers did a good job. Basically, screw Reagan and screw the Chicago school. The economy still would have been a capitalist hellscape without them, but they sure did hasten it!

(Prompt me on ko-fi!)

[tokenlauncher]

From Meme Dreams to Business Class Seats: How Solana Crypto Could Take You There

Picture this: you’re scrolling through your phone, belly aching from laughter at the latest doge meme. Suddenly, a thought strikes you — “This could be me, living the high life, reclining in a plush business class seat, sipping champagne as I soar towards an exotic destination.”

Well, the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency might just hold the key to unlocking these luxurious travel dreams. One particularly intriguing corner of this world is the rise of memecoins: digital tokens inspired by internet jokes and cultural moments. While they started as a playful experiment, some memecoins have skyrocketed in value, catapulting their early investors into unimaginable wealth.

But here’s the reality check: memecoins are inherently volatile and relying solely on them for a luxurious lifestyle is a gamble. So, how can you leverage the potential of memecoins while building a more secure foundation for your travel aspirations?

Enter Solana, a high-speed blockchain platform rapidly becoming a breeding ground for innovative memecoins. Here’s why Solana stands out:

Lightning Speed & Low Fees: Transactions on Solana are lightning-fast and incredibly cheap compared to other blockchains like Ethereum. This makes it ideal for the fast-paced world of memecoin trading, where frequent, small transactions are common.

Innovation Hub: Solana is constantly pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology, attracting developers and fostering a dynamic memecoin ecosystem. This translates to more creative and potentially lucrative memecoin opportunities.

However, building wealth for luxurious travel goes beyond memecoins. It requires a well-rounded investment strategy that leverages different avenues to create a robust financial base.

Here’s your comprehensive roadmap to achieving that coveted business class seat:

1. Diversification is Key: Don’t gamble your travel dreams on a single memecoin. Diversify your portfolio by exploring established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Consider incorporating traditional investments like stocks and bonds into your strategy for a balanced approach.

2. Knowledge is Power: Never invest blindly, especially in the volatile world of memecoins. Before diving in, conduct thorough research on the project you’re considering. Understand the tokenomics (the structure and distribution of the token), the development team’s experience, and the project’s overall roadmap. Invest only what you can afford to lose, as memecoins are inherently high-risk assets.

3. Continuous Learning is Crucial: The crypto landscape is continuously evolving. Stay informed by following reputable news sources and attending educational webinars or workshops. Embrace the learning curve; the more you understand about crypto and memecoins, the better equipped you’ll be to make informed investment decisions.

4. Embrace Responsible Investing: Investing in memecoins, or any crypto for that matter, involves inherent risk. Always prioritize responsible investing practices. Never invest with borrowed money, and clearly define your risk tolerance and investment goals before putting your hard-earned money into any project.

5. Consider Professional Guidance: While not a necessity, seeking advice from a qualified financial advisor can be incredibly beneficial. A good advisor can help you create a personalized investment strategy tailored to your specific risk tolerance and financial goals.

Design Freedom: Unleash your creativity by designing your own eye-catching logo and defining your meme coin’s name.

Simplified Setup: Set key parameters like total token supply and transaction fees with our easy-to-use interface.

Community Building Tools: SolanaLauncher.com integrates with popular social media platforms, allowing you to seamlessly connect with potential investors and build a strong community around your meme coin.

Remember, building wealth for travel takes time, effort, and a well-rounded strategy. Don’t expect overnight success with memecoins. However, by combining a dash of memecoin excitement, a sprinkle of Solana innovation, and a whole lot of dedication to responsible investing, you just might find yourself sipping champagne in business class, living out your travel dreams.

Here are some additional tips to keep in mind:

Set Realistic Expectations: Don’t chase unrealistic get-rich-quick schemes. Building wealth takes time and a consistent effort.

Focus on Long-Term Gains: While memecoins offer the potential for explosive growth, it’s not guaranteed. Consider them as long-term investments and focus on building a diversified portfolio.

Enjoy the Journey: The world of crypto is an exciting one, filled with constant innovation and a passionate community. Embrace the learning process and enjoy the ride!

[anthonybialy]

Economic Accomplices

Bitching about problems they cause will surely lead subjects to maturity.  Negativity that reflects their own decisions is the specialty of adult children whose tantrums affect everyone else in the supermarket.  You’d think moaning as policy wouldn’t be profitable, and you’d be correct in every life aspect except in politics.  Enjoy the millionth reason to reduce the power of politicians until figuring out how parking meter apps work becomes voluntary.

Everything falls apart when Democrats are in charge, which really makes it hard for them to repair everything.  Take how crime somehow skyrockets when those who obey laws are the only ones treated as criminals.  It’s really unfair that old-timey shoplifters grabbed the few items in stock just when their hobby was legalized.

The economy seems to relapse into addiction every time Democrats indulge their regrettable tendencies.  Utterly cruel corporate raiders made life unaffordable just to spite selfless liberals who they oppose for trying to remove profits.  Accusing demonic sellers of making money off suffering is rich from those who totally don’t have said notion baked in their platform.

Vacant carts and bare cupboards create roominess.  Groceries are for the rich.  An elite item category is brought to you by perspicacious Democrats who thought we were losing perspective.  Wise leaders reduced ingratitude by making everyday items unobtainable.

Diners partake daily despite no food mandate.  Some ravenous types even engage in the tasty hobby multiple times per day.  Thanks to efforts to make life affordable, the multiple meal hobby has become exotic.  People are thankfully more likely to dine today than require medical treatment.  Don’t suggest a right to eat to Democrats who might not get that they’re being mocked.

The human energy acquisition process only became prohibitively costly when everything else did, namely when Democrats decided the cure for poverty was handing out free money.  The item used itself for purchases somehow became less valuable, which you’d think might offer a lesson about things bought with money as well.  Can’t people run on solar?

Smaller portions aren’t merely a path to better health: they’re the only way to also afford a gallon of fuel that month.  Downsizing is a popular trend as seen both in erstwhile ice cream pints and restaurant plates with lots of china visible.  Do you feel thinner?

Fighting obesity the North Korean way has made the Biden era even crankier.  Americans and humans have every right to eat a bag of Doritos that could block out the Sun for dinner.  The health conscious could choose a lesser container, but those with more robust metabolisms don’t presently get the option to indulge.

Consumers never thought about the supply chain before.  Nobody had to on account of how it worked.  The system of responding to needs broke as soon as Democrats decided it needed mending.  A band of meddlers has been punished for their hubris.  The problem with their pushy ideology is that the verdict is inflicted on everyone else, too.  These truly are communal times.

The place with the sleeping quarters and ideally a roof where you presently reside will have to suffice.  The thought of ever buying a home is as incomprehensible as simultaneously owning two bread loaves.  The dream just happened to cease after your kindest politicians did everything they could to make homes affordable.  I blame some cruel conspiracy by diabolical conglomerates to keep customers from having money.

The inability to afford a dwelling or things to put in it is certainly not the fault of a government that has racked up 14 figures of debt.  Involvement in every life aspect only made each of them complicated by coincidence.

Start an education by learning why it’s so costly.  Tuition became suspiciously unaffordable as soon as government decided it must be subsidized to become cheap.  That’s one way to learn about markets.  Universities should offer a class in competition, but they don’t want to cut off their scholarships.  Discovering how the rotten private sector expects results as they seek to protect their cash flow would ruin the whole racket.

It’s important to not notice the pattern of education becoming a struggle once government got involved.  That would count as learning, and what’s the point without earning credits?  Keeping the feds away from education would make students smarter.  Brats can’t get any dumber.

Teach the young people about liberty by removing states and localities, as well.  Private schools only sound snotty.  If paying for school sounds expensive, wait until you hear what free costs.  At least graduates are no smarter.  Public schools are the perfect government institution, which their fans realize is not a compliment if they attended better institutions.

Whippersnapper babysitting services would have to compete without a monopoly provided by the same entity that controls them.  Note who has a problem with your decisions.  The same involved planners who think you don’t know what kind of car to buy demand subsidies to save Earth.  Idling is their plan to make the planet’s existence eternal.

Democrats want start them off wrong young.  Being horrified at the idea of parents paying for their own children is good training for a lifetime of treating the state as a guardian.  Those who are biologically in the same family could savings in taxes, which would allow for donating to schools by pious coercion fans who can’t seem to figure how to click donate buttons.

We should get government as far away as possible precisely because the task is important.  Necessity is the same reason we should allow market interactions between health customers and providers.  Advanced leaders inform us we can’t get by without them hunched over us while moving our hands before telling us we’re bad at it.

[lorwolf-salt]

The MS prices really skyrocketed after the anniversary. The only reason they were so cheap during the anniversary was because people were stocking up on anniversary phoenixes. I bought enough phoenixes to make 150k pebble profit off Nana every day from just the phoenixes alone. I'm surprised there wasn't a harder cap on how many phoenixes you can buy. This isn't great for the economy in the long-run.

[shower-racoon]

cookie clicker stock market manipulation update

the stock market is uniform across all games, allowing for people to buy, for example, a chocolate stock when it's cheap on their main account and then use an alternate account to cheat in a ton of cookies, then buy all the chocolate stocks they can on their alternate account, making chocolate stock values skyrocket on the next tick

this is a good idea (lie)

[thessalian]

Thess vs Helplessness

It came to me today, as I was committing yet another act of Making Things, exactly why I enjoy Making Things as much as I do: it’s not quite spite, though that’s sort of close. It’s about the only thing I have to alleviate the feelings of helplessness that just kind of ... gather en masse these days.

I mean, there’s the fibromyalgia for starters. Never knowing what shape I’m going to be in day to day. Having to be so careful about spoon expenditure. Hurting all the time, and while I can generally get some improvement, I get no real relief from any of it. It’s a horrible feeling.

Then add to that ... well, this fucking country. The Bank of England has just raised interest rates again, massively - so it’s up to 3% now. We’re looking down the barrel of the longest recession since the 1930s. Which ... we’re talking about Great Depression terms here. The cost of living is skyrocketing, wages are in no way rising to compensate, and the murmuring from the government is that there are going to be more cuts to things that can’t afford to be cut anymore, not to mention tax rises (and gods know they probably won’t be for the rich, though at least one mention has been made of abolishing the whole non-domicile tax loophole - though if Sunak lets that one go, he’s going to end up sleeping on 10 Downing Street’s sofa because that loophole is his wife’s favourite). It’s a nightmare.

They say all this like it’s just arbitrary numbers, but it isn’t. I see the difference every time I shop for groceries. It’s not even just the price of everything going up - the quality and quantity you get for your money has plummeted too. The chicken I cooked today, for example. I have to order my groceries online, for the most part, because dragging home even a week’s worth of groceries is a nightmare, never mind a month’s worth. So when I ordered a chicken I wanted to last for many days, I ordered a medium-sized one. What I got was one that was smaller than the ‘small’ chickens I was buying a couple of years ago, and it hadn’t been properly plucked - none of the poultry I’ve been getting lately has, to be honest. Also it was more bone than substance, especially in the legs, so damnit, I probably got a battery chicken (I hate that, but with prices what they are... Ugh). All of that taken into account, my ‘medium’-sized chicken is not going to last as long as I thought it would. Which pissed me off because that’s just ... I got less for more in so many ways. So I was angry, and again, I felt helpless.

And then I thought, “Fuck this. I am going to squeeze EVERY DROP OF GOOD I CAN OUT OF THIS BIRD”, and looked up how to make chicken stock. I had to do some guessing and goshing, and may have used slightly too much water, but what I also used were more fresh herbs from my windowsill-and-balcony garden. And some peppercorns. And a couple of cloves of garlic. And I just boiled them all for hours and now I have chicken stock. Which I will use in risotto, along with some of my leftover chicken. I am going to make as many meals as humanly possible out of that pitiful bird and price-gouging assholes who think more about shareholders than people can get fucked with knives.

It also helps to make sure I get all the things that I actually want, the way I want them, which is incredibly hard here. "We make our pickles super-sweet here and if you don’t like it, then tough luck”. Fuck that; I’ll make my own. “Sugar tax and price-gouging and cheaping out on ingredients in sweets, and if you don’t like it, don’t buy it”. Fuck that; I’ll make my own. “We don’t do much gluten-free so you can forget most breaded things unless you pay through the nose for it”. FUCK THAT AND FUCK YOU; I am asking for an air fryer for Christmas and, again, I will make my own. I am not as bound by what I can find - and, more to the point, what I can afford, on the supermarket shelves. Yeah, the base ingredients cost, but not as much and at least you know what you’re getting.

So that’s basically it. I make things because I am tired of feeling held hostage by price increases. I refuse to buy ‘just the bare essentials”, at least in part because even my essentials are expensive because gluten issues. But mostly, it’s just that everyone needs some goodness in their lives. And if this fucking country seeks to deny me that through an ill-thought-out Brexit, if it keeps insisting that raising wages in line with inflation will cause a ‘wage-price spiral’ because they’re more interested in inflating the bubble economy a few more inches than they are in letting people live, if it keeps telling me that I’d be a lot better off financially if I just cut out all sources of joy? Well, then, fuck them. Up the arse. With cacti. SIDEWAYS. They won’t do right by me; I’ll just do right by myself as much as I can. If that means putting some effort into growing my own herbs, making my own candy, dehydrating fruit so I can have fruit that won’t go off if I buy in bulk, and generally squeezing the maximum benefit out of every single fucking thing my budget will allow in this situation? At least I’m doing something.

We’re two years away from a general election, and we keep getting prime ministers that we never voted for making our lives worse and worse with every decision they make. They talk about the potential for running out of fuel this winter to the point where they’ve got a worst case scenario for week-long blackouts (and keep in mind that this is the same country that refused to acknowledge the worst case scenarios about Brexit and Covid, and both ended up worse than their projected scenarios, so I have the terror) ... but I look out the window and I see all the office buildings lit up like Christmas trees. Why do all the lights in those buildings need to be on if we’re worrying about upcoming fuel shortages? Wouldn’t we save a lot if they just turned off all the lights beyond the ones on the tops of those buildings that are there to warn low-flying aircraft that they want to pull up if they don’t want to crash into a building? But no; apparently it’s so much more convenient to ignore it and have the potential for people freezing this winter, and being unable to cook for days at a time, even if they can afford their electricity bills. (And what’s the bets there won’t be any reduction in the standing charge even when the power companies aren’t providing the service for periods that long?) I can do nothing about any of this, because ... well, see above. Two years away from a general election, protest all but criminalised (and will be worse if they pass that horrible bill that says that anyone who’s been in a protest that has been so much as ‘annoying’ or ‘noisy’ will have to wear a gods-damned ankle tracker). Also I couldn’t manage a protest march. There is literally nothing I can do about the root causes of any of this.

So I will do what I can to make my life as bearable as possible for as long as I’m able. Does it hurt? Yes. Does it anger me beyond all reason that I should have to do this? Sort of, but I guess I don’t have to. Nobody expects me to. That’s why I get, “That sounds like so much effort, though!” Well, I mean, yeah, but I have some control here. I can make something good happen. And if it spites Tory assholes who think that people like me should live on gruel and do nothing but work and sleep, or preferably die because I can’t work hard enough to be a sacrifice to the Great God ECONOMY ... so much the better. It’s a small thing in the grand scheme of things, I guess, but I have to do something or I’m just going to despair, and in terms of my mental health, I can’t afford that. Sure, it’s not great for my chronic pain, but it’s still better than the alternative. The alternative isn’t pretty. I can deal with physical pain way better than I can deal with a depression spiral. I speak from experience.

[bllsbailey]

Kamala's New Campaign 'Faith' Director Blasts America As 'Cult, Bloodthirsty, Imperial Beast'

The face of evil.

In the slimmest of chance that you needed a reminder that the Harris-Waltz ticket is the most radical presidential ticket in American history, you've come to the right article. 

Harris recently hired a campaign director who has viciously attacked White Christians and claimed that America is an imperial "cult" and a "bloodthirsty beast." Did I mention that the new hire is not only Kamala's campaign "faith" director but that she's also a Presbyterian minister? Yeah.

So-called "Progressive" Rev. Jennifer Butler

argues that "White supremacists" have "hijacked" the Christian faith — a "quality" that seems to fit perfectly with the Harris-Walz ad nauseam attack on White (and Black) conservatives. As a result, Butler's job will be to court people of faith — ahem — to the Harris-Walz ticket. Oh, and Butler runs a program that seeks to "root out" alleged "White nationalism" from the Christian faith.

Here's Butler in 2020 from her book, "Who Stole My Bible?"

Today we face fundamental threats to democracy. The wealthy are overwhelmingly White and those who are systemically economically disadvantaged are people of color. The many-headed beasts reveal the corruption of the imperial system around us. The imperial cult of the United States of America, whose stock market booms while unemployment skyrockets, had numbed many of us to our own reality. 

Not to nitpick, but let's go with Butler's supposition that the wealthy are overwhelmingly White, and the economically disadvantaged are overwhelmingly people of color, for a minute. Why is the premise mutually inclusive with "White supremacy"? It's not, of course — and there are certainly more than enough examples to the contrary.

As to the hyperbolic "many-headed beast" nonsense, perhaps Reverend Butler could have given us a few specifics. And maybe she could have included a direct correlation between a booming equity market and unemployment. Oh, wait— she couldn't have.

Butler was far from finished spewing her "Christian" venom.

[T]hese catastrophes are an apocalypse... a revelation ... of the greedy, bloodthirsy, imperial beast beneath the fine linens. 

I think the Rev missed her calling as an author of cheap, melodramatic fiction.

Christians need to "'come out of the closet," she continued, and "witness to the word of justice in the face of a brutal empire asserting its control. They are to resist the temptation to go with the temptation to go with the flow of the imperial… military status quo."

And, of course:

Individualism is triumph over care for neighbors and freedom over equality as communities of color are hardest hit.

Blah, blah, blah.

And then, a direct attack on White Christians.

A large percentage of White Christians is marching to the drumbeat of White nationalism. Given all this, nothing could be more important than reclaiming this radical book called the Bible and acting to make its vision for radical justice, equality and liberation a reality.

Yeah, I beg to differ, rev. One thing more important is the growing number of Hamas-loving, Israel-hating radicals in this country. Another thing more important is showing us where in the Bible your vile bitterness is justified. 

Claiming White Christians have "weaponized" their religious freedom, Butler wrote: "Rather than using religious freedom as a shield, Christians are using it as a sword." 

Again, how so? How does the behavior of White Christians compare to that of radical leftist pro-Hamas, and anti-Israel mobs (some of whom attack Jews in the street and on college campuses)? Or, Black Lives Matter rioters in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis? 

How does the Bible put it, Reverend Butler?

That would be the King James Version, 7:5, rev. (I assume it's not one of your favorite Bible quotes.)

[leprivatebanker]

This Incredibly Cheap Tech Stock Is Skyrocketing, and It Is Likely to Soar Further