#and they cannot fathom how much inflation has changed things since then

[uboat53]

If you want to know why there's a generational disconnect when you talk about pay, here you go. In 1982, the average starting salary for a college graduate was reported to be $22,449/year. [1]

In 2023, the median salary (not even just starting) for a college graduate aged 25-34 was $59,600. [2]

Now that sounds good, right? More than double? Well, let's take a closer look.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator [3], $22,449 in 1982 had the same purchasing power as $71,617.79 in 2023. In other words, that "more than double" in nominal terms is actually almost a 17% DECREASE in real value.

If anyone is wondering what those dang Millennials and GenZ kids are complaining about, this is it.

[1], [2], [3]

[hcpefulmarshmallow]

Anonymous said:

Once i saw a video on youtube explaining a certain "anime character type", and it compared Akechi with Nagito. (I dont remember the other characters the video mentioned) what are your thoughts about it? Do you think they're similar?

You know, Anon, the dumb lizard brain that governs my every impulse wants to point at them and say: “mentally unstable twinks with great hair and a Very Heterosexual rivalry with the protagonist” and call it a day. Here’s the thing, though: my feelings about Akechi started strong and stayed that way throughout my Persona 5 experience, though the nature of those feelings has changed drastically since my first impression. (And I quote: “Who’s this Light Yagami-looking motherfucker? No, I don’t trust him. That smile is the last thing someone saw.”) And I want to talk about him. I also never don’t want to talk about Nagito. So you know what? I’m gonna. 

 Spoilers, by the way. 

    ---

 In short, I do feel they fall into a very specific character archetype. Namely: the morally ambiguous foil to the main character. Not a villain, not a hero, but rather somebody who follows their own moral code. With a dash of insanity, of course, because anime gonna anime. 

 For me, their most intriguing similarities run deeper than a trope, however, and it all starts with this inflated sense of self-importance they seem to share. I know what I said, just go with me on this one. 

 Nagito, at a glance, seems to have the very opposite of an ego. Forever putting himself down, calling himself all kinds of worthless, and willingly throwing his very life at every cause that comes his way. But herein lies the contradiction that defines him as a character. For all his espousing that the hopeless may never be hopeful, he still leaps at the chance to become worthy. He wants so badly to be more than he is, that he struggles to see a world outside his own perception. He is, of course, compassionate and empathetic; but, unlike Hajime (or even Joker), whose talent with people comes from their respective abilities to remove themselves from a situation and see it as someone else would in order to make a moral judgement, Nagito cannot fathom a world that doesn’t conform to his ideals. Hope and despair, good and back luck -- and there he sits in the eye of it all, defeated yet somehow untouchable. He can’t watch someone trip three feet away from him without assuming his luck has played some role in it. 

 Akechi is much the same way, though he owns it a little better. He sees all things as means towards his ends. He has his idea of how the world and it’s people work, and therein lie his issues with Joker. Because he plays by his own rules, which are fundamentally incompatible with Akechi’s. Much in the same way as Nagito becomes fixated on Hajime, the Ultimate, talentless, worthless, most shining beacon of hope there is; Akechi sees how Joker is consistently beaten down by life and yet strives to carve his own path, and is unable to cope with either the jealously or the admiration he feels, never mind any combination thereof. Moreover, he, too, desires to rise above and be more than he is: the hero of his own story, despite taking rather unheroic steps to get there. 

 I would, of course, be remiss not to mention the similarities in their upbringings that lead to these insecurities. Nagito lost both his parents at a young age, and from there, we’re given no indication of any long-term adult influence in his life. Quite the opposite, he seems to have been demeaned and shunned by his extended family at large. It is also implied at times that his parents were not very loving, though there is some debate around that, so take it as you will. Akechi was abandoned by his father who deemed his mother beneath him because she was a sex worker, and was left with a seething hatred for the man because of it. After his mother’s suicide, he was passed from institution to institution, likewise having no long-term positive influence in his life.

 Both were left to, essentially, raise themselves; glean their own image of the world and build their moral compass around lives that were unimaginably cruel, ruthless, and unfair. Thus, it’s likely their worst behaviours could have been avoided, had they stable home lives. Of course, this is no excuse, plenty of people grow up in unstable environments and don’t go on to harm others, however, it places them a step above senseless. In fact, they also share an incredible intellect, charm, good looks, and quite the way with words. If you’ve played both games, you know what I’m talking about. 

 Furthermore, they have this habit of standing on the outside, looking in. Nagito spends much of DR2 implying heavily that he would like to spend more time with the others as their friend, but does little to actually reach out to them. Viewing himself below them, and seeing no reason why such incredible people would want to hang out with trash like him. Akechi also keeps the Thieves at a distance. There are many times when they reach out to him, offer to help him find his way -- and he almost seems to want to. Yet it is as if he doesn’t know how. He has no idea what, besides hatred and spite, could possibly fuel him. Nor does he really know what there is for him to gain from forming genuine bonds with others, or why he should want them. But he does, that much is clear. They each crave acceptance, while accepting it as a lost cause, even as the protagonist of their respective games has their hand out to them. And this, once again, can likely be traced to their equally terrible upbringings, and lack of any real understanding of the world as it is, rather than as they see it. 

 I could absolutely go on all day down this path. And, hell, at some point, I might. But the overall theme I’m getting at here, is this delicate balance these two characters walk. Being soft and charming, and deadly and dangerous. Intelligent, yet profoundly ignorant. Eccentric and borderline reprehensible, but at the same time, deeply relatable, and extremely likeable. They aren’t psycho for the sake of it, and I’ll argue that to my grave. But moreover, what we have here is the ultimate products of the worlds they were made for. Parallels are drawn constantly between Nagito and Hajime, Akechi and Joker, in a “there but for the grace of god go I” way, and it falls the same every time. Joker forged a home among friends, and people he considered family. Even after being hurt, he found the strength to be vulnerable for someone, and that someone happened to be the right someone; and though these people, he became stronger still. Likewise, Hajime took risks, took responsibility, and became respected and loved through hard work and compassion. He faced his own fear of worthlessness, and in the end, he didn’t fold to it the way Nagito did. He built his own purpose in life, and it was as full of hope as any Ultimate’s. These are feats beyond comprehension to our antiheroes, who may well have turned out to be the heroes after all if they’d only been shown the same support and care. And that’s why I think this character type appeals to so many people, and why these characters become so beloved. I think we become invested in their stories, and we want to show them compassion. There’s a reason why Nagito and Akechi are frequently shipped around, why they exist in so many fix-it fics. At the end of the day, we know the difference between bad people, and people who do bad things. It’s that, the latter may not be beyond saving. 

 And finally, can I...? If you’ve played the third semester of Royal, they really just make Akechi Like That, huh? In the original Japanese, he was apparently supposed to just come off as tired and not particularly wanting to mend any of his relationships or mistakes since he knew his death was looming, so I’m not sure why they took one look at this complex character development and said, “Hm, let’s just make him balls to the wall, shall we?” but hey. I’ve got to give it to his VA, I had to put down my controller several times because holy shit. Just. Holy shit. Give that man all of the awards. All of them, every single one, please. 

[tudorsphillipa]

𝕀 𝔸𝕄 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝔸 𝕎𝕆𝕄𝔸ℕ, 𝕀 𝔸𝕄 𝔸ℕ 𝔸ℝ𝕄𝕐 —

                                          phillipa of england

introducing —

her royal highness, princess of england, phillipa tudor

about phillipa

001 ─ personality

princess phillipa was never denied any material thing, every luxury afforded to her as a child. she is spoiled, and she knows it. having her father favour her only helped to further her sense of entitlement; she sees herself as untouchable. she can be acerbic and cynical at times, yearning for brutal honesty to cut through courtly lies. she is unforgiving and brutal, even to herself, and harshly punishes herself for any outbursts or slips. she even turns spiteful; spite and curiosity are twin forces driving her thirst for knowledge and power. she is highly educated in rhetoric and classical dialogues, and often uses both high-handed and below-the-belt tactics to win arguments. she likes being idealistic, but knows being practical will serve her much more. more than ever, as her ambition grows, phillipa only entertains relationships that are mutually beneficial, and companionship can only come from those who are ridiculous enough to be entertaining, or quick-witted enough to keep up with her. she has a natural commanding charm, moving through any crowd with the presence and gravity of a small sun. phillipa cannot stand sanctimonious people; more often than not, their sense of self-importance is either tied to something of little consequence or far inflated beyond their station.

002 ─ rumours

phillipa does not believe in the rumors surrounding her legitimacy; she knows queen anne dislikes her, but cannot fathom that her devout catholic mother would betray her vows. surely, if it were true, that she were some love-child, then her mother would love her more, is that not so? but no, phillipa had no mother’s skirts to cling to as a child; her majesty the queen would not permit it. phillipa has long since given up attempting to grow into a tudor rose her mother would adore, leaving that to beatrice. she speaks to her mother as duty demands and there is little warmth between them, but a part of phillipa howls and rages at her mother’s emotional abandonment. she can be especially spiteful with her mother. what matters now is not her mother’s endorsement, but her father’s favour; her claim to the tudor throne can only be legitimised through him.

003 ─ lessons

despite a natural curiosity about the world around her, phillipa’s childhood lessons were always dogged by a certain restlessness. there was only so much sitting around and listening the princess could do. perhaps it was because of an equally restless court, who still looked to the queen for a prince when she was born. perhaps it was the howling winds that ravaged england the winter she was born. whatever it was, princess phillipa is much more self-sufficient than her tutors expected her to be. after she had exhausted and promptly forgotten the usual subjects a young princess learns, she pushed her parents to provide for a more thorough humanist education. she has a natural talent not only for philosophies, but also for trade. she wanted to learn of history, power, and languages, making her a good diplomat for her father’s sake. mostly self-taught in other areas, such as literature, phillipa has become an ardent patron of the theatre, enjoying italian erudite plays, something she hopes to indulge in during her time in italy. she also enjoys sketching, with a particular interest in architectural drawings.

plots

001 ─ birthright

she is her father’s favourite, his first-born. beatrice is sweet and devout, and charles might be the wished-for prince, but phillipa knows in her heart that she is the one with the iron will and cunning to rule england. one of the many reasons she refuses suitors is that none are worthy in her eyes. she desires a husband who matches and furthers her ambitions for the crown. she knows the price of the english throne will be a hefty one, so for now, her movements are slow and careful, laying the groundwork and swaying support for her side. her biggest obstacle, of course, is charles; she would rather have him on her side supporting her than have him totally removed from court. he is a loose end at best and a potential threat at worst. the time spent in rome is an oppourtunity, one which she intends to use to the fullest of its advantage, to create allies and integrate herself with other rulers, especially ones sympathetic to her. she suspects the monarchs of milan and the holy roman empire may be her strongest allies, not only for their shared gender but for their common faith. russia and the ottoman empire are equally valuable allies for their economic ties, as well as their expansive territories. perhaps in another era, one more stable and peaceful, charles might have made a good king, but england needs better than good. it needs greatness.

002 ─ on holy ground

all her life, she has been a catholic, and knew nothing else. now, even as she lands on holy ground, she questions the church’s doctrine. there must be a god, she knows that, but does the lord truly require such complexities in order to be present on earth? is there no other way to have a relationship with god? as she mingles with muslims and orthodox christians, she starts to express her frustrations─ quietly, though, in vague words. phillipa is not a fool, and knows enough to fear excommunication from the church. the unity that catholicism provides is useful, but sometimes the ceremonial nature can be stifling and a waste of time. one thing, though, she keeps to herself: that religion is power over all, and it is better to be seen as fearful of the divine than utterly godless.

003 ─ presentation

phillipa is the best of england, despite what others might have said. before, she has dressed modestly, in a manner that better befits a princess of a country in a sombre time. the winds of change being to sweep in, and phillipa is the first to feel them. she begins to carry herself a little taller, a litter grander, a little more like a queen. she fashions herself like her father does, carefully choosing her dress and attitudes to reflect that she is her father’s daughter, both noble knight and tudor rose. even with the whisper within her that calls her an imposter, she begins to change how she acts, how she dresses, how she carries herself. with only her physical presence, she carefully balances projected ideals with reality. phillipa has never faded into the background, despite the best efforts of some, and refuses to do so now.

more

001 ─ phillipa has adhd! nothing officially diagnosed, but she does have it. she frequently masks around others, which is where someone neurodivergent can act neurotypical. she stims using her jewelry, mostly. related to adhd are her imposter syndrome and her rejection sensitive dysphoria. 

002 ─ phillipa is. not a good person. she will slap you as a warning. she is very prone to snap judgements about other people, and tends to use other people. if you’re not funny, cute, or useful, phillipa will probably drop you like a sack of hammers. the only person she’s only somewhat vulnerable with is her younger sister beatrice.

the mun

hey all! sorry this is so late, but here we are! i’m jane ( 21, she/they, est ) and this is my first character! i’m always down to plot but there are a handful of topics i won’t write ( sexual scenes, extreme violence, etc. ). if you want to plot, drop me a message here or on discord! i’m still working on phillipa’s pages, and will update as soon as they are done!

[agaliar3pt]

With Love Choice now an inescapable aspect of Love 365, I figured I’d share some thoughts / concerns on the system and Love 365 itself. Several issues have been brought up previously by others, including:

- Love Choice limiting actual choice insofar as the choice with hearts is the right one, thereby creating a less engaging gaming experience – add to this the standard 5 hour wait time between chapters outside the campaign period

- doing away with the utility of the monthly pass

- the high cost needed to complete the story, or to re-read it a later date

- that we cannot keep the story outside the campaign period

Adding to these, are the following issues I’ve found from playing Kazuomi’s route, which I was thankfully able to complete only because I already had the necessary number of hearts accumulated.

 Warning: this will be a long rant.

1. The increase of hearts required by international players in comparison to Japanese players. I’m actually surprised I didn’t see more of an outcry over this. In Japan, 144 hearts are required to unlock all premium options, which is already a ridiculous amount to charge. In the international app, that number has been bumped up to 169 hearts. Seriously, why are we paying more?! I can’t fathom the rationale behind charging us more, especially given how fervently we have protested the Love Choice system. The only reasons I can come up with are:

- they think there is a viable international market that doesn’t mind paying more (though I find this hard to believe)

- they’re not expecting as much user engagement, and think they can offset those who won’t pay with those willing to pay by charging them more

- they’ve purposefully inflated the cost with the intent of lowering it to what Japan is paying (or lower, but I doubt it) in future routes, all so they can claim: “we’ve heard your concerns, and we’re going to lower the amount of hearts required, see guys, we’re not that greedy and we totally care about your opinion!” Those who don’t know about the Japanese app will think they’re getting a better deal, and will be more likely to buy hearts as a result. A scummy sales tactic, but one that works as people are more likely to fork out money if they think they’re gaining something or saving in some way. Though this option seems likely, I’m still not sure it’s the case, mainly because of….

 2. The lack of engagement with their customers. No announcements have been made whatsoever to address everyone’s concerns about Love Choice. Further, no survey has been released asking for feedback despite their automatic emails on this issue having mentioned considering player opinion through surveys (not that they’d necessarily listen, but as a business you need to at least give the illusion of engaging with your concerns and caring about their opinion). The silence on Voltage’s end, the complete disregard to what their player base have said, and their stubbornness in steamrolling ahead with Love Choice with no regard for player feedback is quite frankly disgusting. Add to this the possibility that they’d further refuse to placate or do right by their international customers by at least lowering the amount of hearts required to, at the bare minimum, what Japan is paying.

 3. The limited means with which to obtain free hearts. Currently hearts can only be acquired through reading a character’s main story endings (both SHE and HE) and the log-in wheel. Once the main story options have been depleted, all that’s left is luck with the log-in wheel. Main issue here is that the main story options are limited, and with every future main route for new titles being Love Choice per Japan’s release schedule, obtaining hearts via this method will soon become obsolete, thereby forcing players to fork out money.

Which is entirely the point, but given the ridiculous amount of hearts one route requires and the unpopularity of Love Choice, Voltage should meet their customers somewhere in the middle as a gesture of good faith and smart business acumen. If they’re not going to decrease the amount of hearts required, then they should implement other avenues to obtain hearts, be it through a daily log-in bonus similar to the Liar! app, with progressively better rewards for more consecutive log-ins, heart rewards for random missions, a 5 or 10 heart option on the long-in wheel that replaces one of the single hearts, and/or extending heart rewards for reading all story endings.

Voltage should reward players who spend their hard-earned money to purchase their stories. There’s no reason to limit heart rewards to a character’s first main story beyond sheer greed and indifference. Season 2, 3, etc. mains cost the same amount (400 coins), and for significantly fewer episodes than their season 1 counterparts (13 vs 10 for recent stories, and let’s not get started on the utter cheek in charging, such as the case of Ayame from OTBS, 400 coins for a season 2 main that only has 5 episodes and 1 CG (WTF Voltage?!)). Other season mains also require you to unlock two different endings. Why not reward your customers with hearts for finishing these routes? Players are already getting less in terms of content for the same if not more money (older title mains were 16 episodes long!). Previous Love Choice options at least allowed us to unlock the collector’s edition, with all choices made available, provided we got the CG – now we get a version with only the choices we paid for unlocked, all to force us to purchase/use more hearts.

 Unfortunately, I don’t see Voltage implementing such a change. There are characters who appear later on in a title’s story whose first main story does not award hearts (eg. Eiji and Kenta in MSB). So even if you’ve paid to read a new character’s route, you get no hearts, all because they weren’t around since season 1. Further, and perhaps most alarmingly, I don’t consider it a coincidence that the frequency of free mains for us to read was reduced around the same time Love Choice was being prepared to be fully rolled out with Masquerade Kiss. Further, there have been multiple characters whose main stories have reappeared in the free section (Shunichiro and  Eisuke, to name a couple). Not only does this limit access to free hearts for those that do not own those stories by giving them less variety less frequently, but further limits hearts by recycling the same mains over and over again, for which no further hearts can be gained. They could showcase some more obscure characters from less popular titles that the majority less than likely owns, but they don’t, as that grants access to new sources of free hearts.

 4. Lack of transparency of the Love Choice system going forward, particularly with regards to campaign editions. Will there be a campaign edition for every Love Choice release? Many players have stated that if Love Choice is here to stay, they’d be happy to pay a little more so as to be able to keep the story (500-800 coins being the most reasonable estimates). At the moment, keeping the story is limited to the campaign period. Is this a permanent feature or not? Voltage needs to make this clear, though it would pay them not to do away with it as many players are more likely to buy hearts at a premium so long as they can keep the story. No collector’s edition, no incentive for many to play Love Choice as it’s just wasted money.

This is why Voltage should consider being more generous with free heart sources. Supposing players need something like an extra 50-80 hearts to get the SHE and acquire the collector’s edition because they don’t have enough free hearts accumulated, they’ll likely fork out the money given that it is time limited and a somewhat reasonable price to pay in comparison to dropping money for the 169 hearts (for all unlocked options) they don’t have just to earn one route. 50-80 hearts is 500-800 coins, still more than the standard 400 coins a main costs, which means Voltage earns more and players don’t feel wholly ripped off. Expecting players to spend somewhere around 1700 coins in their local currency after free heart sources have disappeared for one route is laughable and untenable. Very, very, very few are willing to do this, which means less revenue across the board for Voltage.

This of course doesn’t benefit newer players down the line, as they miss out on past campaign periods. One solution would be to offer VIPs access to past campaigns, in which they can gain the collector’s edition of any currently released Love Choice route. As Voltage will never allow players to buy these stories outright, this is the next best thing in allowing all players, current and future, the opportunity to earn the collector’s edition. It also incentivises the purchase of the monthly pass, which as of current is practically useless as all new mains are Love Choice.

 5. Finally, and this is geared towards Masquerade Kiss itself, the advertising and mechanics of the route are a tad misleading. It’s 26 episodes long, but each episode is about half a standard one, so in the end it ends up being around a usual 13 episode main in length. Further, this title was advertised as being especially mature, in the vein of Kings of Paradise and Irresistible Mistakes. The latter two have actual detailed depictions of sexual acts; Kazuomi’s did not (and yes, there is a plot reason for it given, slight SPOILER, the bet, but it still doesn’t change the fact the marketing for this was misleading). You don’t introduce a billionaire playboy and not allow us to hump like rabbits at every opportunity, Voltage! Talk about wasted potential! As for the story itself, it was enjoyable and different to the usual workplace offerings, but the overall enjoyment was nothing substantially greater than some of my other favourite routes, especially not enough to justify the premium price tag. Every title has its own soundtrack, so again there is nothing really unique or exceptional on that front. And as far as CGs and backgrounds go, they’re comparable in quality to Kings of Paradise.

Again, nothing to justify the exorbitant pricing.

And finally, can we stop comparing Kazuomi to Eisuke. Please. They’re absolutely nothing alike beyond being rich. I get that Eisuke is Voltage’s most popular ikemen, but comparing Kazuomi to him won’t make Eisuke fangirls flock to the new guy with open wallets (because that’s exactly what Voltage intended, let’s not kid ourselves). Kazuomi is a great character with depth that can stand on his own; don’t diminish him or his character’s worth by comparing him to the fan favourite in what is obviously a desperate marketing ploy. Even if they exist in the same universe, with future crossovers in the works, let the title stand on its own.

Or it would, if it wasn’t Love Choice. And Voltage knows they need all the help they can get with making it more appealing to its customers.

  To close things off, as a long-time customer I’m disappointed with Voltage. Ideally I’d like to see them do away with Love Choice altogether, but the odds of that happening are practically non-existent. The least they could do is compromise and listen to player concerns. They’ve shown no indication of doing either, and I doubt they’ll even consider any of the suggestions I and others have proposed, which is sadly unfortunate. The only way to make them listen is by hitting them where it hurts: their wallet. I’ve already cancelled my monthly subscription and I’ll be far less generous with my future purchases, especially if Voltage continues to ignore our concerns and not change Love Choice as it currently is to be more customer friendly. It’s no loss for me as I have quite a backlog of stories I’ve yet to read, and other otome options that are well worth the money.

During a Steam sale last year I picked up Amnesia, Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms for around $11. That’s almost a 90% discount as all three titles sell for around $90 AUD. The games are entirely voiced, interactive with various endings, beautiful artwork, CGs and soundtrack, not to mention translated with no mistakes. The number of love interests I have access to is beyond satisfying. To put all that in perspective, for the price of one character’s main and two sub stories from Voltage, I purchased three professionally developed games of incomparable quality with numerous routes and love interests to choose from.

In contrast, Voltage has never had a character’s main available for less than 300 coins – that’s only 25% off – not even for their older titles (In Your Arms Tonight, Kiss of Revenge, Dreamy Days in West Tokyo etc.) or less popular titles (Sakura Amidst Chaos, First Love Diaries, Kiss Me On Clover Hill, Office Secrets etc.). Their bundle sets are priced around 2-3 times the price I paid for the 3 Otomate games, and that’s just for one character. And if I happen to already own one of the included stories, I’m unable to purchase it.

Voltage offerings are already quite expensive when considering all this (for $60, I can buy an entire PSVita game with, again, numerous available love interests). The only thing they have above other competitors is their quantity and accessibility – I wish Otomate would release more games more frequently (without compromising on quality), and I wish more otome games were translated and made available internationally. But even as I say this, even with so much uncertainty in the otoge market, more titles are bound to be localised as developers will realise a market exists. At some point, we will be spoiled for choice, and Voltage won’t be who we choose to give our money to. Why would we? There are hundreds of Freemium games on mobile. Voltage had a niche in that they were P2P; that’s why their customers chose them. They don’t even have that going for them anymore (so much for their promise that Love 365 would remain a P2P app).

They had a customer base willing to pay their more expensive prices just so they could own a story and read it whenever they like. Now Voltage says we can’t do that; we have to pay much, much more and outside of a limited time period cannot keep the story. They’ve alienated their customers, and so I’ll be taking the majority of my business elsewhere.

[massielandnetwork]

Navigating an Historic Period - Economic Bubble and Anarchy

10. When Dementia Replaces Meritocracy – Chaos keeps Compounding

One of the most fascinating data points this week was the report that three of Biden’s appointees to the State Department resigned this week because of their opposition to the Biden Iranian Deal. This is the same proposed deal that has Iran receiving somewhere between $11 Billion and $100 Billion Dollars. Here are my questions:

1. What in Iran is worth either $11 to 100 Billion? All that money will buy America is more terrorist attacks.

2. Is Biden so compromised that he is pursuing a terrible deal with Iran and afraid to confront Russia over Ukraine because Russia is the “Honest Broker” negotiating the deal?

3. If the report was accurate, where those three folks that resigned the last three adults in the Biden Administration?

If the Russian Ruble is worthless, what is the value of America’s word under Biden or Obama? Based on the guarantees of protection that Obama gave the Ukrainians in the 2014 Agreement between Ukraine, Britain, and America so the Ukrainians would disarm, my guess is… less than a Ruble. Based on the constant reversal of policy, Biden’s puppeteer must be conflicted about us providing F-16’s to Poland so they can give Migs to Ukraine. Ukraine is getting mugged, do it!

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to unfold while Ukrainian President Zelenskyy gives lessons to the world on leadership, an amazing number of data points flowed this weekend.

1. One of the most important trends came from the release of the Pfizer mRNA data which began to force participants to decide whether they were going to be witnesses or defendants in the coming lawsuits. One of the first movers was Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) who stated in a speech that she regretted having too much optimism and too little caution regarding the mRNA vaccines. I am sure that made the victims of the mRNA debacle feel much better about the death of loved ones and the destruction of the health of others.

2. Oil prices touched $130 per barrel while gasoline soared past $4 per gallon on its way higher. Based on the increase in the price of oil since Biden became President, gasoline is headed to $6 to $7 per gallon signaling no pause in inflation.

3. The image of Biden going to various foreign oil producers begging for oil is almost funny. Biden and the Demented Marxists (DM) changed the USA from energy independent to having to beg for oil in just 13 months, a record for stupid.

4. The next crisis is food – supply and cost. Both Ukraine and Russia produce a significant portion of the global wheat and agricultural chemicals used in farming. Dramatically increased costs are rippling through the American farming sector and will result in equally dramatic increased prices for corn, wheat, soybeans, etc. The food price increases will hit this summer, another boost to inflation. The open questions – How high with the cost of food go and Where will food be rationed?

5. Will Dr. Fauci transition from self-important hero to defendant? His emails show him funding “gain of function” research into the bat virus by the Chinese.

6. The only thing melting faster than Dr. Fauci is China’s economy - their real estate development market continues to implode.

With GAVote’s report that over 524,000 2020 votes were “questionable”, the Forensic Audits of the 2020 Election keep percolating. Wisconsin, Georgia, and Colorado plus Arizona have made news with moves toward “De-Certifying “ the 2020 election in those states. Many folks cannot fathom the national scale of the fraud, but the truth will come out. Our society needs honest elections as a release value for corrections to occur without armed revolution.

Did you see the videos of folks supporting the nationwide Truckers for Freedom convoy? Impressive. I believe that support and the convoy both reflect that the DMs have successfully awakened the average Joe and Jane in America who have decided they have had enough – no more CRT, no more mandates, no more cultural wars, and honest elections.

Finally, one of the January 6 Defendants has obtained excellent legal counsel. Held in an illegal and unconstitutional manner, that defendant should be headed to having the charges dismissed. With two martyrs created by death, heads in the Department of Justice should roll. Biden and his Attorney General both weak, old men. Hopefully some real attorneys will step into the breach with lawsuits to pop open this corruption like an over ripe tomato.

Economic Update:

Any accurate economic forecast assumes that gasoline cost rises to $6 to $7 per gallon by summer and food cost doubles. The rate of inflation will soar making 7.5% inflation be the “Good Old Days”. The Fed will have to raise interest rates quickly or risk completely losing control of the devaluation of the Dollar. This will be ugly. Biden and Harris should resign.

Biden and his Demented Marxists will continue to lecture Americans to “Eat your spinach” and be happy that gasoline is high and food unaffordable to fat Americans. Meanwhile the Demented Marxists will try to finish off the collapse of America with more deficit spending programs following their mantra of “Never waste a crisis” to put in place their Marxist society.

The saving grace is that the average Joe and Jane is now awakening. Only 32% of American get their news from the Mainstream Media. Huge crowds went to support the Truckers for Freedom and know that they were conned in November 2020. Many have heard about Germany retreating for Green Energy because it was way too expensive and unreliable. The discussion around the dinner table will be about the canceled Keystone pipeline and missing Trump’s Drill Drill Drill energy independence. The culture wars – CRT, destruction of history, Patriots get jailed, but Antifa goons go free, crime rates are up – are just the finishing touches of being total FED UP.

Short term the 10 Year Treasuries interest rates will decline reflecting the global “Flight to Safety” of capital. But longer term as the rate of inflation increases so will 10 Year Treasury rates rise and take with them the interest rates of 30-year mortgages. Fighting the inflation they helped create, The Fed will raise rates too high because their data lags the actual market, the real estate bubble will burst as a part of the resulting recession, and that will reset the economy. While “Cash is Trash” today, “Cash will be King” during the recession. The Fed will then lower interest rates to clean up the debris from the recession, which is the reason The Fed was created.

Only a regime change will bring REAL prosperity combining Honest Elections and Capitalism to slash taxes, reduce the size of government, and provide tax incentives to re-shore and re-build the American manufacturing economy. That will grow the size of the American economic pie providing the tax revenue to assist those who need help. In the past we prospered under the hand of God because our country combined Christianity, capitalism, and democracy.

The economic disaster we are facing is the result of our government in the control of mentally ill people who worship power and their personal wealth, Demented Marxists. The open question is whether the elections in November of this year will be honest and provide a relief valve for the anger that is building.

Please pray:

1. For the now 598 Americans being held as political prisoners by Biden and the Demented Marxists in hell hole conditions in the DC Gulag.

2. For the Canadian and American truckers who are fighting for your freedom.

3. For honest elections because they are the fulcrum of our American experiment.

4. For the valiant Ukrainians.

Men make plans, but God ALWAYS wins. Every portfolio should contain some cash because it will become King. A great piece of land remains The Best investment long term, but Cash will become King at some point in this cycle. Focus on the Truth, The Way, and The Light. Just like 2022 years ago, those consumed by the world are living in the dark and do not understand that their power, economic or political or both, is worthless.

Let’s Go Brandon!

“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouses nor barns, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”

(Luke 12:24) New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press)

Stay healthy,

Ned

March 9, 2022

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