Washington Post Editorial Board: The Supreme Court Should Toss the Colorado Decision

NYT Puts Its Spin on What Harvard's Finding...Since They've Been Forced to Look

In 2021‚ the government of El Salvador did what many fans of cryptocurrencies had been pleading for: it made Bitcoin legal tender. All businesses in the Central American country were legally required to accept Bitcoin as an alternative to the US dollar‚ which had been El Salvador’s only currency since 2001. The government even launched an app to make it easier for Salvadorans to join the world of digital currency. Many economists predicted disaster‚ but three saw an opportunity to study the results‚ and have now published their findings.Enough people have been burned by cryptocurrencies that some of the hype around them has died down‚ but there are plenty still convinced it’d save the global economy if only central banks would get out of the way. Professor Fernando Alvarez of the University of Chicago and co-authors tell a very different story. El Salvador’s adoption of crypto has produced neither the stunning success nor the disaster predicted by opposite sides of the debate‚ for the simple reason that most of the population never went near it. Even those that did have used it less as time has gone on‚ suggesting it is not merely learning how to open an account and use a cryptocurrency to buy things that forms an obstacle. The authors explored who was most likely to get on board with the experiment‚ and the reasons why people did or didn’t participate.Most governments have either taken a hostile approach to cryptocurrencies‚ seeing them as a means to evade taxes or pay for illegal activities‚ or stayed neutral. El Salvador stands out in getting behind the idea‚ at least partly because the country has a problem few rich nations share. Like most other developing nations‚ El Salvador has a lot of people (two-thirds in its case) locked out of the banking sector because financial institutions see them as carrying more risk than they are worth. Unable to get a credit card‚ borrow from regulated lenders‚ or store what little money they have securely‚ these people’s economic progress is greatly impeded‚ holding back the whole country with them.To President Nayib Bukele‚ cryptocurrency‚ facilitated by his Chivo Wallet app‚ offered the answer.“For the unbanked and those reliant on remittances‚ Bitcoin presents a potential solution by enabling financial transactions‚ bridging the gap left by traditional banking systems‚” Alvarez and co-authors write.Certainly‚ Bukele gave digital currencies a boost private programs probably never could. The app charges no transaction fees‚ users received a $30 bonus to download it‚ and the government backing could also provide assurance against the possibility of it being a scam.In February 2022‚ the three economists organized a survey of 1‚800 Salvadoran households regarding their app use. More than two-thirds of respondents knew about the Chivo Wallet‚ and three-quarters of those had tried to download it.For those who succeeded‚ most quickly spent the $30 starting money – unsurprising in a country where that is almost two days' average wages. However‚ having used this money to buy goods or services‚ most hadn’t used the Wallet since. Of those that did‚ most made use of the app’s capacity to transfer US dollars‚ rather than Bitcoin. Only 5 percent of the population have paid their taxes in Bitcoin‚ for example. Among the minority that continued to use the Wallet‚ transfers were 3 to 4 times as likely to be made in US dollars as in Bitcoin.Remittances from family members working in the United States represent a major source of income for many Salvadorans‚ estimated at 23 percent of GDP. Given the hefty bite banking services take out of international transfer fees‚ facilitating remittances was considered one of the Chivo Wallet’s biggest selling points‚ yet only 3 percent of respondents reported getting remittances this way.Those who kept using the Chivo Wallet were predominantly young‚ highly educated‚ and male: not the demographic most in need of banking assistance‚ but definitely the one most likely to bore you at parties about how great crypto is.Although many non-users gave not owning a smartphone as their reason for not using the Wallet‚ concerns about security and privacy were even bigger deterrents. Many rejected Bitcoin because they said they didn’t understand it.Publicly available data on Bitcoin transactions confirms this research. There was a considerable amount of money transferred to or from Chivo Wallets soon after its launch‚ but three months later usage had crashed‚ and it has never recovered.Since El Salvador passed its Bitcoin Law‚ two other countries have followed. Although results are not yet available for either‚ prospects seem poor‚ particularly since neither offered incentives as generous as El Salvador’s to get people using it.At least El Salvador produced the power for the project from geothermal energy‚ so unlike most other Bitcoin users‚ the planet wasn’t cooked as a side effect.The study is published in Science.

Pax and Penny‚ two adorable dogs‚ found love despite a fence separating them. Their story shows the fact that love knows no boundaries. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pax Thomas (@derpderppax) Pax‚ as described by his mom Emily‚ had a daily routine of rushing to the fence to wait for Penny.... The post ‘Soulmate’ dogs can’t contain emotions when they finally get to be together in same yard appeared first on Animal Channel.

At least three teachers have lost their day jobs after using OnlyFans for a side hustle. Two high school teachers from Missouri were placed on leave after word got out that they had personal OnlyFans accounts‚ Fox News Digital reported. The move received both praise and ridicule. Megan Gaither and Brianna Coppage‚ both now-former teachers at St. Clair High School‚ apparently started “selling racy content to pay off student loans.” Gaither had $125‚000 in student loans to pay off and turned to the digital prostitution site to supplement her income. Coppage‚ who makes only $42‚000 annually as a teacher‚ is now “among the platform’s top creators‚ raking in nearly $1 million since she began the account over the summer‚” Fox News Digital added.  These girls aren’t the only ones who turned to OnlyFans for extra cash. Samantha Peer‚ a former Arizona teacher‚ said‚ “I created content at the beginning of the summer in order to earn extra money on the side to help pay for our basic necessities that our salaries were no longer meeting‚” adding she later felt pressured to resign after some of her students found her account.  Kristin MacDonald‚ a former special needs teacher in Canada‚ was fired after “refusing to take down her OnlyFans account‚” according to Fox News Digital.  Teachers are supposed to carry themselves in a light that sets them apart and gives them the chance to be role models for their students. There’s a sort of set of unspoken - with some literally spoken - rules that I feel like teachers are held to. You know‚ like don’t wear belly shirts‚ don’t drink at school‚ don’t date your students‚ don’t talk about your sex life (though as of late woke teachers have gotten especially bad at limiting that). Being on OnlyFans is a violation of a school district’s code of conduct.  Nonetheless‚ while I get that teachers are teachers at school and regular people at home who deserve privacy‚ I feel like if someone is low enough as a person to sell their body for sexual purposes‚ they aren’t right in the head enough to spend eight hours a day imprinting on kids. Even still‚ Rita Mkrychyan‚ a senior defense attorney at the Oak View Law Group in California told Fox News Digital that it was “disheartening” to hear about the “backlash” these teachers are receiving and blamed the education system for not paying them enough and forcing these teachers “into such positions.” “In my opinion‚ it's not even debatable because we hold teachers to a higher standard because they're not only teaching academics‚ they're also teaching character and how to be a good citizen‚" Mkrychyan said. "I understand there's those codes of conduct‚ I don't oppose it‚ it's clearly a contractual violation‚ [but] I wouldn't say it's illegal." Related: Washington Post Encourages ‘Crossing Political Aisle’ To Fulfill Sexual Fetishes Nikki Neily‚ founder and president of the parental rights group Parents Defending Education‚ was not in favor of the teachers' choice to join OnlyFans. “Teachers are held to a higher standard for good reason: not only are they tasked with shaping the minds of young children‚ but they're also role models who parents assume will lead by example‚” Neily wrote on X. Another X user wrote‚ “even if they made $100k per year they would still be doing it. People with no sense of morality trying to rationalize their filthy wretched behavior. Disgusting and disgraceful!” So what do you think? Do you think it’s appropriate for the people who teach your kids to take raunchy videos and pictures and sell them online? Or do you too‚ think they’re nuts!? Follow us on Twitter/X: Woke of The Weak: Have Yourself An LGBTQ Christmas These people are for sure on the naughty list this year. pic.twitter.com/cQoiSOfvVq — MRCTV (@mrctv) December 20‚ 2023

For this installment of late-night group therapy for rich‚ white liberals‚ NBC’s Late Night host Seth Meyers pointlessly bloviated about how much he hates Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) as a “Handmaid’s Tale werewolf”‚ just one of Donald Trump’s “weird” “cavalcade of goons”‚ and someone who‚ if they were murdered‚ their colleagues wouldn’t seek to find his killer. Meyers started with a lame dud mocking Cruz’s quip at a Turning Point USA conference that liberal women are unhappy because they’re stuck cohabitating with “weenies” for men: “Well‚ joke’s on you‚ Ted‚ because liberal women sleep with each other”.     The Cruz-bashing continued in his “A Closer Look” segment that was largely dominated by his liberal bellyaching masquerading as deep‚ unobjectionable thoughts. “Trump and his cavalcade of goons are weird. But they’re not just weird. They’re off-putting. Like‚ set their politics aside just as people‚” Meyers insisted. Question for Seth: Do you know (a) know any real‚ living conservatives (pundits from John Weaver’s Lincoln Project don’t count) and (b) do you actually like them? Meyers continued: “Can you imagine actually spending any quality time with someone like‚ say‚ Ted Cruz. True story‚ Delta has a policy if you get seated next to Cruz on a flight‚ they refund your ticket. This is a guy so off-putting and unpopular‚ even fellow Republicans tee off on him.” He then dredged up a few headlines from years past about other Republicans bashing him and took particular interest in fellow Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) having once said‚ “if you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate and the trial was in the Senate‚ nobody would convict you.” Naturally‚ the murderous loons in the audience laughed and cheered at this prospect. Meyers kept going‚ describing all conservatives as “weirdos” (click “expand”): And again‚ those are the reviews he gets from other conservative weirdos. That’s like‚ if your restaurant got a review that said‚ “inedible‚ worst food ever” and you looked at the review and it was from Arby’s. [LAUGHTER] When Cruz flew to Cancun during a snowstorm‚ his wife invited the neighbors — and this is true — their neighbors hated them so much they leaked the texts to The New York Times. Ted Cruz sucks so hard‚ his regular-ass neighbors figured out how to get ahold of The New York Times. [LAUGHER] And‚ of course‚ he made phone calls in support of Donald Trump after Trump insulted his wife’s looks and said his dad killed JFK. [LAUGHTER] It wasn’t enough for Trump to say Ted Cruz’s dad was a murderer he had to make him an assassin [LAUGHTER] And Cruz just took it. If anyone accused my dad of being an assassin‚ I would laugh in their face because Larry Meyers would make a terrible assassin. [LAUGHTER] Meyers finally arrived at Cruz’s TPUSA remarks‚ with one soundbite of him joking to the audience of mostly 20 and 30somethings that “[w]e have a president of the United States who his team carries extra pairs of pants with them when he travels‚ in case he has poopy pants.” The NBC comic’s attempted at laughs consisted of defending Biden on the basis of “dairy monster” Biden’s love of ice cream‚ joking that he’d “be surprised if he poops at all.” Moving on to Cruz’s bit about liberal women‚ Meyers called it “pathetic” and climbed aboard a high horse to lecture Cruz about going into the gutter: I have a question: what is politics now? [LAUGHTER] Like for real‚ what are we doing? Everyone thinks the Ivy Leagues are too woke. Meanwhile‚ this dude is a senator who went to Princeton and Harvard‚ and he’s doing bad stand-up about an old dude [EXPLETIVE] his pants and liberals are bad at [EXPLETIVE]. What are we doing? What are we doing?!  Before moving back to Trump and arguing the GOP should “be slightly more focused on nominating a candidate for president who is eligible to run in all 50 states‚” Meyers argued to cheers and applause Texas women are unhappy because they’re not able to murder their kids: Also‚ buddy‚ do you want to know why liberal women in your home state of Texas are mad? It’s because they have to leave the state to get abortions for their high-risk pregnancy‚ you Handmaid’s Tale werewolf. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] Maybe do a tight five on that the next time you’re telling jokes at the chuckle hut‚ or Johnny [EXPLETIVE]‚ or whatever comedy club it is you try your material out at. To see the relevant transcript from NBC‚ click “expand.” NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers December 21‚ 2023 12:37 a.m. Eastern SETH MEYERS: At a conservative conference yesterday‚ Republican Senator Ted Cruz told the crowd that the left is unhappy and added‚ “if you are a liberal woman and you had to sleep with those weenies‚ you’d be pissed too.” Well‚ joke’s on you‚ Ted‚ because liberal women sleep with each other — [LAUGHTER] — dude. (....) 12:43 a.m. Eastern MEYERS: As we have established many times on this show‚ Trump and his cavalcade of goons are weird. But they’re not just weird. They’re off-putting. Like‚ set their politics aside just as people. Can you imagine actually spending any quality time with someone like‚ say‚ Ted Cruz. True story‚ Delta has a policy if you get seated next to Cruz on a flight‚ they refund your ticket. [LAUGHTER] This is a guy so off-putting and unpopular‚ even fellow Republicans tee off on him. Former House Speaker John Boehner once called him “Lucifer in the flesh. And Lindsey Graham said‚ “if you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate and the trial was in the Senate‚ nobody would convict you. [LAUGHTER] [CHEERS] And again‚ those are the reviews he gets from other conservative weirdos. That’s like‚ if your restaurant got a review that said‚ “inedible‚ worst food ever” and you looked at the review and it was from Arby’s. [LAUGHTER] When Cruz flew to Cancun during a snowstorm‚ his wife invited the neighbors — and this is true — their neighbors hated them so much they leaked the texts to The New York Times. Ted Cruz sucks so hard‚ his regular-ass neighbors figured out how to get ahold of The New York Times. [LAUGHER] And‚ of course‚ he made phone calls in support of Donald Trump after Trump insulted his wife’s looks and said his dad killed JFK. [LAUGHTER] It wasn’t enough for Trump to say Ted Cruz’s dad was a murderer he had to make him an assassin [LAUGHTER] And Cruz just took it. If anyone accused my dad of being an assassin‚ I would laugh in their face because Larry Meyers would make a terrible assassin. [LAUGHTER] For one thing‚ my dad couldn’t sneak up a set of stairs to save his life. [LAUGHTER] When he’s coming‚ you know he’s coming. Second‚ the idea that my dad could quietly put a sniper rifle together? Give me a break. I mean — he’d have all the pieces out‚ looking at the instructions‚ cursing to himself at every step. “Ah‚ this [EXPLETIVE] scope doesn’t fit!” [LAUGHTER] And if he shoots like he golfs‚ everybody duck. [LAUGHTER] Where were we? Oh‚ right‚ my dad rules and Ted Cruz is a weirdo. For example‚ yesterday at a gathering of fellow conservative weirdos in Phoenix‚ Cruz decided to become even more off-putting when he said this about Joe Biden. SENATOR TED CRUZ (R-TX) [at TPUSA’s AmericaFest]: We have a president of the United States who his team carries extra pairs of pants with them when he travels‚ in case he has poopy pants. MEYERS: I mean‚ in Biden’s defense‚ I [EXPLETIVE] My pants every time Ted Cruz enters a room. I mean‚ the man’s father killed JFK! [LAUGHTER] Cruz‚ of course‚ is doing comedy about Biden’s age because he’s lucky enough to be supporting this spring chicken over here. [LAUGHTER] Age aside‚ based on how much ice cream Biden chugs‚ I’d be surprised if he poops at all. [LAUGHTER] I mean‚ the guy is a dairy monster. If anyone on the ballot is going to [EXPLETIVE] their pants‚ my money is on the guy who orders all the fast food. [LAUGHTER] That looks like the promo photo for a new game show called Don’t Crap Your Khakis! [LAUGHTER] But “poopy pants” was‚ somehow‚ not the most pathetic thing Cruz said at this event. He also claimed liberal women are unhappy because liberal men can’t satisfy them in bed. CRUZ [at TPUSA’s AmericaFest]: The left is so Bad. They’re so unhappy. they’re so pissed off. And by the way‚ if you were a liberal woman and you had to sleep with those weenies‚ you’d be pissed too. MEYERS: I have a question: what is politics now? [LAUGHTER] Like for real‚ what are we doing? Everyone thinks the Ivy Leagues are too woke. Meanwhile‚ this dude is a senator who went to Princeton and Harvard‚ and he’s doing bad stand-up about an old dude [EXPLETIVE] his pants and liberals are bad at [EXPLETIVE]. What are we doing? What are we doing?! Also‚ buddy‚ do you want to know why liberal women in your home state of Texas are mad? It’s because they have to leave the state to get abortions for their high-risk pregnancy‚ you Handmaid’s Tale werewolf. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] Maybe do a tight five on that the next time you’re telling jokes at the chuckle hut‚ or Johnny [EXPLETIVE]‚ or whatever comedy club it is you try your material out at. So‚ that’s the kind of thing Republicans are focused on at the moment although‚ if I were them‚ I personally would be slightly more focused on nominating a candidate for president who is eligible to run in all 50 states.

He's ALWAYS Sucked: RedSteeze Just Needs 1 Post to Shut Biden's SKEERY TRUMP THREAT Down and It's Perfect

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Anime is a beloved art form and medium of entertainment for millions around the world. However‚ one of the most frustrating things for anime fans is when a great show seems to end too soon‚ leaving fans wanting more. These prematurely concluded anime often leave behind unresolved stories and unanswered questions.

John Fetterman Says He Believes His Own Colleagues Wish He Was Dead