Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1. https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%) NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar. https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866 NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis !!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should. In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase. Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below: https://www.playboy.com/ https://www.playboytv.com/ https://www.playboyplus.com/ https://www.iplayboy.com/ Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success. “Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.” https://www.scientificgames.com/ https://www.microgaming.co.uk/ “This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.” https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/ As per their SEC filing: “Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1 They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon. https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again: https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea “Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.” “According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently: https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress. Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait. https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/ Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05 Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing: “For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.” “In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.” They are profitable across all three of their current business segments. “Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world. "Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.” Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame: “As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn. The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :( He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :) Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw. I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003 Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this: “Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy. “Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative. https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html Y’all like that China money? “Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.” Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose. I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing “Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.” “Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.” Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong. Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will. Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way. Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains. TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here: WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf Or here: https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.” STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon. Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.
Hello again, and good morning! This listing is for items that did not sell during the January 17 Auction, so you can buy anything you want right here and right now - no buyer's premiums, no additional fees. *FREE shipping for any order over $100. *All items priced at $1 are now .75 each Each lot was individually imaged (front and back) for the auction - so the easiest way for you to see exactly what you're buying is to visit the auction link (the auction is over, so I'm not advertising anything different or advertising an upcoming auction) - so here that is: https://www.invaluable.com/catalog/2qx7j50tq0?size=50&page=1&categories=&sort= Here is the required "prove you still have the stuff" photo with the username card and today's date: PHOTO Payment: PayPal only. I do not have Venmo/Zello/Bitcoin or any other form of digital payment at this time. No notes if using PPFF, please. (Thank you.) If you choose to use PPFF, please make sure to send me your shipping address here as it won't automatically load with your payment. Shipping: I will charge you what it costs me for the USPS label rounded up to the nearest dollar. For First Class that is usually $4, for USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Small Box it will be $9. I will get you a tracking number right after payment is received and will get your package scanned into the USPS system within 24 hours of receipt of payment. I will offer "Risky Shipping" (via stamped greeting card)at my discretionfor $1 - for single, small coins ONLY.NOTE: These prices are for Continental US shipping only - if you live outside the continental US, shipping will be more expensive. I am still happy to do it under the same rules as above, but just keep in mind it's going to cost more. What do YOU need to do to buy coins from this group: send me a list of which lots you want (for example, I want to buy lots # 51, 52, 53, 54, 55) and I will send you a total. There are too many coins here (plus there are duplicates) so I cannot look up the coins you want by description - just give me lot numbers and it will be much simpler. I'd like to make a simple and polite request - if I have sent you my PayPal information (meaning we've agreed to a deal) please finish it up as soon as you can so I can check you off the list and move on to the next person. This helps make sure you get all the coins we discussed and no one else is in limbo. I will do my absolute best to update the ad as soon as lots sell. LEFTOVERS: 52 China (Republic) 10 Cash $5.00 57 China (Hu-Peh Province) 10 Cash $1.00 59 Hong Kong - 1866 1 Cent NICE $8.00 61 China (Republic) 10 Cash $3.00 62 China (Kiang-Nan Province) 10 Cash NICE $20.00 63 China (Republic) 20 Cash $5.00 641977 D Eisenhower Dollar UNC MINT CELLO $4.00 67 British West Africa - 1940 1/10 Penny NICE $5.00 70 France (Perpignan) 1917 A 10 Centimes $5.00 71 1976 Shelbyville Dam (Illinois) Elongated/Smashed Nickel Souvenir $3.00 76France (Orleans/Lyon/Toulouse) 10 Centimes Transportation Token (good to 31 Dec 1918) $3.00 77 Papua New Guinea - 2008 2 Kina UNC $2.00 78 Missouri Insurance Company (St. Louis) Good Luck Token $3.00 79 1900 India (Rama-Laksmana) Type C #1 (Brotman) Temple Token NICE $40.00 801956 Roosevelt Dime UNC TONED $6.00 83 1955 General Motors "Motorama" Medal BU $15.00 86 Central States 70th Anniversary Convention Token Jerry Lebo Advertising $6.00 87 Consolidated Numismatic Advertising Token Good For $1 Edmundston, Canada $2.00 88 France (Perpignan) 1917 A 5 Centimes $5.00 91 France (Perpignan) 1921 A 25 Centimes Scalloped Edge $8.00 93Ukraine - 2003 100 Hryvnia UNC $2.00 94 German East Africa (Tanzania) - 1916 T 20 Heller $10.00 95 Illinois Governer Otto Kerner Inauguration Medal $2.00 96 5 Cent Trade Token NICE $3.00 98 Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) - 1923 10 Mark Notgeld UNC $10.00 99 A. Phillips Co Cambridge, Maryland 20 Cent Trade Token NICE $8.00 100 EZ Park Courtesy Token $1.00 159 Great Britain - 1949 Penny NICE $2.00 1631959 Type B Reverse Washington Quarter UNC TONED $12.00 165 Great Britain - 1932 1 Penny NICE $3.00 1661960 Type B Reverse Washington Quarter UNC $10.00 167 1960 Type B Reverse Washington Quarter UNC $10.00 169 Portugal - 1921 10 Centavos NICE $10.00 170Germany (Prussia) 1700's-1800's Jeton (Token) Wilhelm 3 "Neue Ehre Neues Gluck" $3.00 172 1963 Type B Reverse Washington Quarter UNC TONED $12.00 175 1964 D Washington Quarter UNC TONED $8.00 176 Canada - 1921 1 Cent NICE $4.00 179Stag Beer Wooden Nickel "Fair on the Square" $1.00 180 The TV Shop Slidell, LA One Wooden Buck $1.00 181 Canada - 1929 1 Cent NICE $3.00 1851962 Type B Reverse Washington Silver Quarter NICE $8.00 186 Canada - 1920 1 Cent NICE $4.00 1881957 Type B Reverse Washington Quarter NICE $6.00 192 Canada - 1945 5 Cents NICE $2.00 193 State of Missouri Sesquicentennial Medal $2.00 194 State of Missouri Sesquicentennial Medal $2.00 195 Canada - 1945 5 Cents NICER $4.00 196France - 1916 2 Centimes LOW MINTAGE $2.00 197Germany (Empire) 1914 J 2 Pfennig NICE $8.00 198 Mexico - 1946 1 Centavo NICE $1.00 200Mexico - 1924 2 Centavos BETTER DATE $6.00 2591954 S Washington Quarter UNC $10.00 260 1957 Washington Quarter UNC TONED $10.00 261 1963 Type B Reverse Washington Quarter UNC TONED $20.00 2621999 D Kennedy Half Dollar UNC from Mint Set GEM BU PROOFLIKE $3.00 263 1941 S "Large S" Lincoln Wheat Cent $1.00 2641941 S "Large S" Lincoln Wheat Cent $1.00 2661941 S "Large S" Lincoln Wheat Cent $1.00 267 1941 S "Large S" Lincoln Wheat Cent $1.00 269 Maybrook NY Golden Jubilee Good For 10 Cent Wooden Nickel $1.00 270 Maybrook NY 1975 Golden Jubilee 25 Cent Wooden Nickel $1.00 274 2009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 013 UNC $2.00 275World Silver - Barbados 1973 Proof 5 Dollars LOW MINTAGE $20.00 276 2009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 013 UNC $2.00 2772009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 013 UNC $2.00 279 2009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 012 UNC $2.00 280 2009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 012 UNC $2.00 2812009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 012 UNC $2.00 2822009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse Book Low UNC $2.00 2862009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 002 UNC $2.00 2871983 Lincoln Cent DDO FS-101 $25.00 2882009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 012 UNC $2.00 2892009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 012 UNC $2.00 2911964 D Washington Silver Quarter UNC TONED $8.00 293 1960's Terre Haute, IN Sesquicentennial Wooden Nickel $2.00 295 2009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 002 UNC $2.00 296 2009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 002 UNC $2.00 298 1982 Buffalo NY Sesquicentennial Wooden Nickel $1.00 352 Denmark - 1950 5 Ore KEY DATE $10.00 354 2009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 013 UNC $2.00 355 2009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 013 UNC $2.00 3562009 P Lincoln Cent "Formative Years" Doubled Die Reverse 013 UNC $2.00 357 1990 Rappahannock Area Coin Club Wooden Nickel $1.00 359Germany (Empire) - 1874 C 1 Pfennig $2.00 360 Old Time Wooden Nickel Co Support Our Troops Wooden Nickel $1.00 361 1941 S "Large S" Lincoln Wheat Cent $1.00 362 1941 S "Large S" Lincoln Wheat Cent $1.00 364 1980 D Jefferson Nickel Mint Error - Minor Curved Clip (@3:30) $3.00 365 1979 S "Type 2 - Clear S" Proof Jefferson Nickel $2.00 367Germany (Empire) - 1895 F 1 Pfennig $3.00 368Germany (Empire) - 1874 A 1 Pfennig $2.00 369Germany (Empire) - 1900 F 1 Pfennig $2.00 370Germany (Empire) - 1874 B 1 Pfennig $2.00 371 Australia - 1951 3 Pence $2.00 372Great Britain - 1861 3 Pence $3.00 373Germany (Empire) - 1875 J 5 Pfennig $2.00 375 50 Cents in Trade Token $1.00 376Germany (Empire) - 1874 E 2 Pfennig $2.00 377 Clear Lake, IA Perkins Wooden Nickel $1.00 378 50 Cents in Trade Token $1.00 379 Medallic Art Co Grand Canyon National Park 50th Anniversary Medal Bronze $3.00 380 Great Britain - 1981 25 New Pence UNC $3.00 382 Pomona National Bridge / Jackson County 200 Year Anniversary Medal $3.00 383Guyana - 1970 1 Dollar UNC $2.00 384Germany (Empire) - 1875 J 2 Pfennig $4.00 385 Illawarrra Numismatic Association Membership Discount Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 386 San Juan Quality Royale Casino Token $1 Face Value $1.00 387Canada - 1963 Prooflike 1 Cent Emerald Rainbow Toning $3.00 388 Artisan Silverworks Temecula, CA Wooden Nickel $1.00 389 Canada - 1966 1 Cent Emerald Toning $2.00 390Germany (Empire) - 1875 E 2 Pfennig $2.00 391Germany (Empire) - 1874 H 2 Pfennig $4.00 392 5 Cent Token $1.00 394Germany (Empire) - 1894 F 1 Pfennig $3.00 395 Denmark - 1904/804 1 Ore NICE $8.00 396 Netherlands Antilles - 1965 2.5 Cents UNC TONED $6.00 397 Germany (Empire) - 1874 G 1 Pfennig $10.00 398 Netherlands - 1921 1/2 Cent BETTER DATE $2.00 399 Netherlands - 1922 1/2 Cent BETTER DATE $4.00 400 Germany (Empire) - 1874 D 10 Pfennig $3.00 451Sweden - 1901 1 Ore $1.00 452 Norway - 1948 50 Ore Overdate 4/4 $5.00 453 Netherlands Antilles - 1959 1 Cent UNC $2.00 454Germany (Empire) - 1899 A 1 Pfennig $1.00 455Germany (Empire) - 1899 A 1 Pfennig $1.00 456Germany (Empire) - 1898 A 5 Pfennig $1.00 457Germany (Empire) - 1875 F 5 Pfennig $1.00 458 Canada - 1948 5 Cents $1.00 460 Denmark - 1951 10 Ore NICE $5.00 461Barbados - 1973 Proof 5 Cents in OGP $1.00 462Germany (Empire) - 1875 A 5 Pfennig $1.00 463 Barbados - 1973 Proof 25 Cents in OGP $1.00 464Germany (Empire) - 1876 D 5 Pfennig $1.00 465Hungary - 1965 2 Filler Key Date $5.00 466Germany (Empire) - 1889 A 5 Pfennig $1.00 467 Germany (Empire) - 1889 A 5 Pfennig $1.00 468Switzerland - 1968 5 Rappen UNC TONED $1.00 469Germany (Empire) - 1875 A 5 Pfennig $1.00 470Germany (Empire) - 1875 C 5 Pfennig $1.00 471Trinidad & Tobago - 1973 Proof 1 Cent in OGP $1.00 473Germany (Empire) - 1892 D 5 Pfennig $1.00 474 Germany (Empire) - 1897 A 5 Pfennig $1.00 475Germany (Empire) - 1890 E 5 Pfennig $1.00 477Germany (Empire) - 1890 D 5 Pfennig $1.00 478Germany (Empire) - 1894 D 5 Pfennig $1.00 480 Barbados - 1980 Proof 25 Cents in OGP cello $1.00 481World Silver - Switzerland 1975 1 Franc $6.00 482Germany (Empire) - 1897 D 5 Pfennig $1.00 484Canada (New Brunswick) - 1861 1 Cent $3.00 485Canada (Nova Scotia) - 1861 1/2 Cent $2.00 486 Austria - 1893 10 Heller $1.00 488 Netherlands East Indies - 1921 1/2 Cent NICE KEY DATE $8.00 489 Austria - 1895 10 Heller $1.00 490 Austria - 1894 20 Heller $1.00 492World Silver - Mexico - 1887 Do C 10 Centavos LOW MINTAGE $5.00 551South Africa - 1965 Proof 1 Cent LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 553Switzerland - 1902 2 Rappen KEY DATE FIRST YEAR $8.00 554 Panama - 1975 Proof 1 Centesimo in OGP $5.00 557 South Africa - 1965 Proof 5 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 560South Africa - 1965 Proof 20 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 561 Panama - 1975 Proof 5 Centesimos in OGP $1.00 562 Panama - 1976 Proof 5 Centesimos in OGP $2.00 563 South Africa - 1965 Proof 50 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $5.00 564 South Africa - 1966 Proof 1 Cent LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 565 South Africa - 1966 Proof 2 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 566 South Africa - 1966 Proof 5 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 567 South Africa - 1966 Proof 10 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 568 Panama - 1974 Proof 5 Centesimos in OGP cello $1.00 569 South Africa - 1966 Proof 20 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 572 Panama - 1973 Proof 1/10 Balboa in OGP $1.00 573 South Africa - 1967 Proof 1 Cent LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 574 Barbados - 1973 Proof 1 Cent $1.00 575 Panama - 1973 Proof 1/4 Balboa in OGP $1.00 576 South Africa - 1967 Proof 2 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 577 South Africa - 1967 Proof 5 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 578South Africa - 1967 Proof 10 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 579 South Africa - 1967 Proof 20 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $2.00 580 South Africa - 1967 Proof 50 Cents LOW MINTAGE 25,000 $4.00 584 Liberia - 1974 Proof 10 Cents in OGP $1.00 590 Mexico - 1923 1 Centavo NICE UNC TONED $8.00 593 Mexico - 1923 5 Centavos NICE $5.00 594 Bahamas - 1970 Proof 1 Cent in OGP $1.00 595 Mexico - 1935 20 Centavos NICE $30.00 596 Token "10" Unknown origin $1.00 652 Indiana Sesquicentennial Medal 1966 $3.00 654 Alleppey Dist Treasury 286 Token $3.00 655 Creotina Remedies Belleville, IL Token $3.00 657 Mexico - 2001 1 Peso UNC in original cello $1.00 658Germany (Empire) - 1903 A 1 Pfennig $4.00 662Germany (Weimar) - 1924 A 1 Pfennig NICE $6.00 664 Malaysia - 1977 50 Sen TONED UNC $3.00 665 Franklin D Roosevelt $2 Trade Token Union Maystern $3.00 666 Great Britain - 1953 5 Shillings UNC (Crown sized) $5.00 667 Russia - 1994 50 Roubles Blind Mole Rat LOW MINTAGE UNC $3.00 672 Mint of Romania Aluminum Token UNC $3.00 673 Bahamas - 1973 and 1974 Proof 1 Cents in OGP (two coins) $1.00 675 Canada - 1939 5 Cents UNC $20.00 676 Penny Press Mint 1 Dollar Token (Morgan Dollar Inspired Design) $2.00 677 Penny Press Mint 1 Dollar Token (Morgan Dollar Inspired Design) $2.00 678 France (Paris) Montmartre Auditing Firm "Good for one audition" Token $2.00 679 Thailand - Bangkok Institute of Accounting Token $1.00 680 Swedish Shooting Medal Double Pistols Design $3.00 681 1941 Mercury Dime Pin $4.00 682 Korea (Republic) - 1968 5 Won UNC $25.00 683 Korea (Republic) - 1973 50 Won NICE $5.00 684 Russia - 1994 50 Roubles Bison NICE LOW MINTAGE $2.00 685 Coca-Cola 1974 "It's the real thing" Silver Dollar City Token $5.00 686 State Mint of Romania Octagonal Token UNC $2.00 687 Canada - 1937 Dot 5 Cents UNC $10.00 688 France - 1977 10 Francs TONED $2.00 690 Saarland - 1954 10 Franken UNC $8.00 692 Mount Vernon, VA High School Token $1.00 693 Korea (Republic) - 1967 10 Won NICE $5.00 694 Korea (Republic) - 1967 10 Won UNC $40.00 695 Princes of Jerusalem - Cahokia Council A.A.S.RITE Valley of East St Louis Token $3.00 697 Magic Mountain Valencia California Souvenir Token $2.00 698 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Driver's Association "good for one full fare" token $1.00 700 Downtown Granite City (Illinois) Shopping Center Token $3.00 751 Canada - 1957 House of Commons Medal $3.00 753 Mr. Pizza (World's Worst Pizza) Wooden Quarter Token $1.00 754 National Pony Express Centennial Medal So Called Dollar UNC TONED $5.00 755 Pulaski Bowling Center Free Game Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 756 Four Canada 1991 UNC Cents (4 coins) in OGP CELLO $1.00 757 Four Canada 1991 UNC 5 Cents (4 coins) in OGP CELLO $1.00 758 Pair of Two Thomas Jefferson 1 Cent Postal Stamps $1.00 761 Mexico - 2000 10 Pesos UNC in original cello $6.00 764 Ye Olde Curiosity Shop Seattle 25 Cent Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 765 Mexico - 2000 20 Pesos UNC in original cello $10.00 768 Morocco - AH1320 10 Mazunas $8.00 773 Diamond Dolls Pompano Beach, FL Free Hamburger Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 774 Nadine's Backwoods Bistro One Free Tap Beer Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 775 Ocean Springs Mini Golf One Free Game Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 777Poland - 2014 2 Zlotych UNC $2.00 778 Lansing, Michigan University Quality Inn One Free Well Drink Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 780 San Jose, California Donut Delight One Small Drink 40 Cents Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 781 H.E.B. Hustle Chip Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 782 Two Mixed Tokens $1.00 784 South Gate, California Robby's Tepee 1 Glass Draft Beer Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 785 Macadoo's One Free Sara Lee Bagle (with butter!) Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 786 Canada - 1970 1 Cent TONED $1.00 788 State Penal Institution 5 Cent Good For Token $3.00 790 Fishing Equipment & Tackle 10% Discount Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 791 District Treasury Alleppey 1860 Token Government of Kerala $2.00 792 Russia (Empire) - 1881 1 Kopek $1.00 793 Black Duck Buck Good For One Premium Drink Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 794 Goodles, Michigan Cook's Cobblestone One Free Beer Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 796 San Diego, California My Yogurt Place One Free Frozen Yogurt Sundae Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 797 Canada - 1939 Coronation Medal $2.00 798 Ellsworth, Maine Bicentennial Headquarters Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 800 Suwanee River Attractions 25 Cent Admission Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 851 Sunnyvale, California Odyssey Room 1 Free Drink Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 852 Great Britain - Queen Victoria 60 Years of Rule Medal $3.00 854 Belgium - 1944 2 Franc NICE $1.00 855 Fredericksburg, Virginia Rappahannock Area Coin Club Wooden Nickel Token One free month $1.00 859 Monarch Automatic Co Northhampton Good For One Coupon in Trading Token $2.00 860 Netherlands - 1881 1 Cent $1.00 862 Mexico - 2000 20 Pesos UNC in original cello $10.00 863 Fredericksburg, Virginia Rappahannock Area Coin Club Wooden Nickel Token One free month $1.00 864 Tullahoma, Tennessee The Finish Line Free Drink Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 865 Here's Johnny's 25 Cents off Purchase Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 866 $1 Good For Token Large $3.00 867 Canada - 1939 Coronation Medal $3.00 868 Boise, Idaho Miller's Sewing Center 25 Cent Needle Package Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 869 San Antonio, Texas Dan's 10861 FM "Round TUIT" Wooden Token $1.00 870 Belgium - 1836 2 Centimes $1.00 871 Vandalia, Ohio Skipper's $3 off purchase Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 872 Roseville, California Onyx Club One Free Beer Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 873 Long Beach, California Fayette Cleaners Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 874 Beckett, Massachussetts 1965 Bicentennial Lee National Bank 5 Cent Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 875 Munhall, Pennsylvania 5 Cent Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 877Washington, Indiana Sesquicentennial 1966 Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 878 1953 Queen Elizabeth Coronation Medal $3.00 881 Fredonia, New York Coyle's Pub One Free Drink Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 882 Monterey, California Wharfside Restaurant Complimentary Calimari Appetizer Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 883 Lyman, Wyoming Cecil Sanderson Military Token & Wooden Nickel Collector "Round TUIT" Token $1.00 884 Eastlake, Colorado Karl's Farm Dairy Inc 25 Cent Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 885 Elko, Nevada Ed's Coins & Currency "Cents of Humor" Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 887 Richmond Hot Stuff Deluxe Tattoo One Free Drink Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 888 Australia - 2014 1 Dollar 100 Years of ANZAC $1.00 889 Sacramento, California The Tides 1 Free Beer Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 890 Lancaster, Pennsylvania The Comic Store Free Comic Wooden Nickel Token RARE $1.00 891 Bennington, Vermont Bicentennial 1961 5 Cent Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 892 Torrance, California Old Towne Mall One Free Play Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 893 Duenweg, Missouri State Bank One Quart Token NICE $3.00 894 Rotary International Token $1.00 896 Canada - 1930 House of Commons Medal $3.00 897 Greenfield, Iowa Al's Shoe Service 5 Cents Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 900 France - 1944 C 2 Francs $1.00 951 France - 1944 C 2 Francs $1.00 952 Poland - 2006 2 Zlotych $3.00 953 Poland - 2003 2 Zlotych $3.00 954 Aurora, Illinois Dairy Queen Free Small Sundae Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 955 Mullan, Idaho Silver Dollar Bar 1 Free Drink Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 956 Poland - 2004 2 Zlotych $3.00 957 New Horizons Computer Learning Center Turkey Token 10 Auction Dollars Wooden $1.00 962 Lake of the Woods 40th Anniversary Token $2.00 963 The Travancore Bank Trivandrum #103 Token $1.00 964 Perryville, Wisconsin Good For 1 Glass Tap Beer Wooden (plastic) Nickel Token $1.00 966 1925 Larkin Dollar Medal BU $8.00 968 Palmolive Soap Chicago, Illinois Good For One Cake Token NICE $5.00 969 Duenweg State Bank Duenweg, Missouri Strawberry Token Good For 1 Crate $6.00 970 Dallas, Texas City Hall Token $1.00 971 California State Numismatic Association 1973 53rd Anniversary Token $2.00 972 Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collector's Club World Money Fair Encased Coin (Mexico 20 Centavos) $3.00 973 Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collector's Club World Money Fair Encased Coin (Mexico 20 Centavos) $3.00 977 Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collector's Club World Money Fair Encased Coin (New Zealand 5 Cents) $3.00 979 Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collector's Club World Money Fair Encased Coin (New Zealand 5 Cents) $3.00 981 Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collector's Club World Money Fair Encased Coin (New Zealand 5 Cents) $3.00 983 Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collector's Club World Money Fair Encased Coin (New Zealand 5 Cents) $3.00 984 Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collector's Club World Money Fair Encased Coin (New Zealand 5 Cents) $3.00 987 Harry S Truman US Mint Bronze Medal in OGP $3.00 988 John Wayne US Mint Bronze Medal in OGP $5.00 989 Vietnam Veterans National Bronze Medal in OGP $3.00 992 2010 Korea Money Fair Token with original Flip $3.00 993 Matchless Metal Polish Co Liverpool 1906 Token $5.00 995 Marissa, Illinois 1967 Centennial Wooden Nickel Token $1.00 996 Central States Numismatic Society 2005 Token Original AirTite $2.00 997 Central States Numismatic Society 2005 Token Original AirTite $2.00 998 Central States Numismatic Society 2005 Token Original AirTite $2.00 999Rustler Silver Gas Token $1.00 1000 Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collector's Club World Money Fair Encased Coin (Euro 5 Cent) $3.00
[Other] These are the top 73 parks in the United States, ranked based on the quality of their coaster collections, as voted by, well... you! This is as close to objective as a ranking will ever get for this. Don't worry, I have some nerdy data to help explain myself.
This post needs a little clarification. Anyway, many of you are aware of the brilliant Vote Coasters project over at Coaster Bot. If not, take a look: https://coasterbot.com/votecoasters-fullresults2020 2699 enthusiasts from across the wrold people ranked every roller coaster they've ever ridden, at an average of 43 coaster credits per voter (116256 total credits). Many of you personally participated in this survey. Their algorithm is extremely clever (https://coasterbot.com/votecoasters-how) - "The community is only permitted to rank roller coasters they’ve actually ridden. This way each roller coasters position in the final results will be as truthful and accurate as possible. By making it easy for lots of people to contribute their lists, Vote Coasters is able to accumulate a large sample which represents everyone! Once the community has voted, the numbers are crunched. Our method involves directly comparing the rank of two individual roller coasters across all of the submitted lists. As Vote Coasters makes direct comparisons between individual roller coasters, the poll is not a popularity contest. Even obscure roller coasters that few people have had the chance to ride yet can do well!" I have taken this data and created a point system for coasters that's directly linked to their ranking on Vote Coasters 2020. The #1 ranking, Steel Vengeance, is worth 500 points. [Zadra's second and would be worth 499 points, but it's not in the US] #3, Lightning Rod, gets 498 points. El Toro gets 497 points and so on, all the way down to La Vibora in 499th place, earning only 2 points for its park. Any coaster under the top 500 (such as Corkscrew at Cedar Point) is worth zero points. This weeds out kiddie coasters and terrible coasters from factoring into a park's collection quality. Basically, crappy coasters add zero points to a park's total points, while excellent coasters are worth way more points than mid-tier ones. For coasters with two tracks, such as Gemini or Lightning Racer, I only counted points for the best of the two tracks. My spreadsheet showing the point values for all 256 American coasters in the top 500 is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10aaS1f8CptsXEvUSqE2-VUtal-Od9gim-x8rT7xkT8M/edit?usp=sharing I have added all of the points for the coasters in all of the 73 American amusement parks that house at least one global top 500 roller coaster. I ranked the earned point totals for all 73 parks. (That's how I got to a "Top 73!") For those like me who care exclusively about coasters and collecting quality credits and nothing else, I think this is an EXCELLENT way to prioritize future amusement park trips based on the quality of each park's overall coaster collection. Without further ado, here's what you want to see:
69 (93 points): Frontier City (5 coasters, 1 ranked)
70 (37 points): Adventureland New York (2 coasters, 1 ranked)
71 (17 points): Lakemont Park (3 coasters, 1 ranked)
72 (12 points): Conneaut Lake Park (2 coasters, 1 ranked)
73 (8 points): Belmont Park (1 coaster, 1 ranked)
If any coaster YouTube channel wants to use this data to fuel an idea for a new video (sup Airtime Thrills or Coaster Studios or, you know, COASTER BOT!), please feel free! 100% of the credit goes to Coaster Bot for helping me compile this ranking.
Told to come into work when I was sick AND when the weather was terrible. What can I do?
I've worked at a casino since the start of 2020. Theres been a lot of questionable things since the pandemic took root but recently I've had concerns over the last few call ins I've had to make. ( I live in eastern iowa) I work surveillance, and our director was let go about 3 months ago. The interim standing in has decided he doesnt want the job, but I still report to him for health issues and work related problems. Lately with winter weather battering my town, my city has been terrible about plowing the roads. One such night (I work 3rd shift) I could not get my car out of my parking spot or my road. I call in, letting my boss know I cant make it in. He says it's his day off and he cant make it in either cause he lives in the next town over and they havent plowed either. I tell him i could walk in, but I'd rather not because no one has shoveled or plowed. He says "anything you can do to make it work." I walked into work, fuming but did my job. Last week I called in after having a vision migraine, ( blurry vision and general nause) I called in because I felt terrible and needed to rest. After having a mental war with myself on whether or not I should, I call anyway. I explain how I'm feeling and that I cant come in. Supervisor: you realize you are the only one scheduled for tonight. Me: I am and I'm sorry, but I just cant come in Supervisor: well I cant come in cause it's my day off and we cant get anyone to work that shift or give overtime. You'll have to make it work. Me: (after a back and forth for five more minutes on how I do not want to come in and feel horrible) I guess I can, I'll wait and see if I get better. I ended up going in, calling security to call in for check ups every hour on the hour. I was fine, in general, but still felt horrible. I emailed the GM about this incident to ask what could be done to avoid the issue in the future. Jerry response was that she was sorry I had to go through it, but since I'm the only full time 3rd shift employee, in the event I was sick, hospitalized, or contracted COVID, there was maybe one other person they could call to replace me but they were uncertain if he could fill the role. Is there anything I can do? How much fault is there on my part? The casinos part? I've left out alot of details for the sake of time and being on mobile. Much thanks, generally curious as I've begun looking into other jobs.
[IA] Told to come into work when I was sick AND when the weather was terrible. What can I do?
Repost from legaladvice was told this might be a better place to ask this question I've worked at a casino since the start of 2020. Theres been a lot of questionable things since the pandemic took root but recently I've had concerns over the last few call ins I've had to make. ( I live in eastern iowa) I work surveillance, and our director was let go about 3 months ago. The interim standing in has decided he doesnt want the job, but I still report to him for health issues and work related problems. Lately with winter weather battering my town, my city has been terrible about plowing the roads. One such night (I work 3rd shift) I could not get my car out of my parking spot or my road. I call in, letting my boss know I cant make it in. He says it's his day off and he cant make it in either cause he lives in the next town over and they havent plowed either. I tell him i could walk in, but I'd rather not because no one has shoveled or plowed. He says "anything you can do to make it work." I walked into work, fuming but did my job. Last week I called in after having a vision migraine, ( blurry vision and general nause) I called in because I felt terrible and needed to rest. After having a mental war with myself on whether or not I should, I call anyway. I explain how I'm feeling and that I cant come in. Supervisor: you realize you are the only one scheduled for tonight. Me: I am and I'm sorry, but I just cant come in Supervisor: well I cant come in cause it's my day off and we cant get anyone to work that shift or give overtime. You'll have to make it work. Me: (after a back and forth for five more minutes on how I do not want to come in and feel horrible) I guess I can, I'll wait and see if I get better. I ended up going in, calling security to call in for check ups every hour on the hour. I was fine, in general, but still felt horrible. I emailed the GM about this incident to ask what could be done to avoid the issue in the future. Jerry response was that she was sorry I had to go through it, but since I'm the only full time 3rd shift employee, in the event I was sick, hospitalized, or contracted COVID, there was maybe one other person they could call to replace me but they were uncertain if he could fill the role. Is there anything I can do? How much fault is there on my part? The casinos part? I've left out alot of details for the sake of time and being on mobile. Much thanks, generally curious as I've begun looking into other jobs.
Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in ia. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!
The next Detroit: The catastrophic collapse of Atlantic City
With the closure of almost half of Atlantic City's casinos, Newark set to vote on gambling and casinos or racinos in almost every state, it seems as if the reasons for the very existence of Atlantic City are in serious jeopardy. Israel Joffe Atlantic City, once a major vacation spot during the roaring 20s and 1930s, as seen on HBOs Boardwalk Empire, collapsed when cheap air fare became the norm and people had no reason to head to the many beach town resorts on the East Coast. Within a few decades, the city, known for being an ‘oasis of sin’ during the prohibition era, fell into serious decline and dilapidation. New Jersey officials felt the only way to bring Atlantic City back from the brink of disaster would be to legalize gambling. Atlantic City’s first casino, Resorts, first opened its doors in 1978. People stood shoulder to shoulder, packed into the hotel as gambling officially made its way to the East Coast. Folks in the East Coast didn't have to make a special trip all the way to Vegas in order to enjoy some craps, slots, roulette and more. As time wore on, Atlantic City became the premier gambling spots in the country. While detractors felt that the area still remained poor and dilapidated, officials were quick to point out that the casinos didn't bring the mass gentrification to Atlantic City as much as they hoped but the billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs for the surrounding communities was well worth it. Atlantic City developed a reputation as more of a short-stay ‘day-cation’ type of place, yet managed to stand firm against the 'adult playground' and 'entertainment capital of the world' Las Vegas. Through-out the 1980s, Atlantic City would become an integral part of American pop culture as a place for east coast residents to gamble, watch boxing, wrestling, concerts and other sporting events. However in the late 1980s, a landmark ruling considered Native-American reservations to be sovereign entities not bound by state law. It was the first potential threat to the iron grip Atlantic City and Vegas had on the gambling and entertainment industry. Huge 'mega casinos' were built on reservations that rivaled Atlantic City and Vegas. In turn, Vegas built even more impressive casinos. Atlantic City, in an attempt to make the city more appealing to the ‘big whale’ millionaire and billionaire gamblers, and in effort to move away from its ‘seedy’ reputation, built the luxurious Borgata casino in 2003. Harrah’s created a billion dollar extension and other casinos in the area went through serious renovations and re-branded themselves. It seemed as if the bite that the Native American casinos took out of AC and Vegas’ profits was negligible and that the dominance of those two cities in the world of gambling would remain unchallenged. Then Macau, formally a colony of Portugal, was handed back to the Chinese in 1999. The gambling industry there had been operated under a government-issued monopoly license by Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. The monopoly was ended in 2002 and several casino owners from Las Vegas attempted to enter the market. Under the one country, two systems policy, the territory remained virtually unchanged aside from mega casinos popping up everywhere. All the rich ‘whales’ from the far east had no reason anymore to go to the United States to spend their money. Then came the biggest threat. As revenue from dog and horse racing tracks around the United States dried up, government officials needed a way to bring back jobs and revitalize the surrounding communities. Slot machines in race tracks started in Iowa in 1994 but took off in 2004 when Pennsylvania introduced ‘Racinos’ in an effort to reduce property taxes for the state and to help depressed areas bounce back. As of 2013, racinos were legal in ten states: Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia with more expected in 2015. Tracks like Delaware Park and West Virginia's Mountaineer Park, once considered places where local degenerates bet on broken-down nags in claiming races, are now among the wealthiest tracks around, with the best races. The famous Aqueduct race track in Queens, NY, once facing an uncertain future, now possesses the most profitable casino in the United States. From June 2012 to June 2013, Aqueduct matched a quarter of Atlantic City's total gaming revenue from its dozen casinos: $729.2 million compared with A.C.'s $2.9 billion. It has taken an estimated 15 percent hit on New Jersey casino revenue and climbing. And it isn't just Aqueduct that's taking business away from them. Atlantic City's closest major city, Philadelphia, only 35-40 minutes away, and one of the largest cities in America, now has a casino that has contributed heavily to the decline in gamers visiting the area. New Jersey is the third state in the U.S. to have authorized internet gambling. However, these online casinos are owned and controlled by Atlantic City casinos in an effort to boost profits in the face of fierce competition. California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Texas are hoping to join Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey and the U.S. Virgin Islands in offering online gambling to their residents. With this in mind, it seems the very niche that Atlantic City once offered as a gambling and entertainment hub for east coast residents is heading toward the dustbin of history. Time will tell if this city will end up like Detroit. However, the fact that they are losing their biggest industry to major competition, much like Detroit did, with depressed housing, casinos bankrupting/closing and businesses fleeing , it all makes Atlantic City’s fate seem eerily similar.
[WTS] U.S. Trade tokens, type coins, Morgans, invasion money, mint/proof sets, Eisenhower dollars, and other graded U.S. silver/gold coins.
MAKE OFFERS. I'm selling off a chunk of my collection so I can justify buying other stuff I want, and I'm trying to price it to move. Proof: https://imgur.com/a/RHJaHkN Shipping will be $8 for Priority Mail small flat rate box (or at cost for larger flat-rate boxes), or $4 if you are at less than 10 oz total and want the First Class Mail option. If you want to buy multiple pieces, feel free to make an offer. Worst I can say is no. Obviously the grades listed are my own opinions - see pics to verify for yourself. Payment options accepted (in order of preference): Venmo, Google Pay, Cash App, PPFF, Zelle, PPG&S (add 4%).
[800x]UNC 10-peso Japanese invasion notes from Philippine occupation in WWII. With original Japanese brown paper wrapper. Sold as one lot. Feel free to look at eBay and see how great a deal this is. $1800$1600 FOR ALL - OBO. SERIOUSLY, MAKE AN OFFER.
[36x]1000-peso Japanese invasion notes. Some UNC except for a folded corner, some circulated. I don't want to separate the lot - $120 for all.
If I can in anyway contribute to fighting fake news, let it be this piece about Gen. McInerney (pls share)
Since McInerney is back in the news spreading conspiracy theories about our recent Presidential election, making up bullshit stories about US Special Operations raids, many will find this article I wrote six years ago helpful in learning who this guy is and what he is really about. While many are familiar with President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s famous farewell speech, fewer have read the original drafts which include dire warnings about the future of America and what Eisenhower termed a “military-industrial complex.” One of the original drafts, penned by speech writer Malcom Moos, reads: “We must never let power, implicit in this combination, endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert, knowledgeable, and wise citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that both security and liberty may prosper. In the councils of government, we must jealously guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We can ignore it only at our peril.” The tone is softened slightly in the speech that Eisenhower delivered, but his message remained intact. Since the Eisenhower presidency, the military-industrial complex has grown and gone through a metamorphosis, the rhetoric changing to match the current threats, real or perceived, to the United States. The Cold War gave way to the War on Terror. At the forefront of those who shape the rhetoric are often the same retired generals and admirals who staff the boards of directors of America’s largest and most powerful defense companies. Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney carries three-star clout following an extremely impressive career. Retiring from the Air Force, McInerney served four tours in Vietnam, including hundreds of sorties as a combat aviator. Afterwards, McInerney served in a succession of important military commands. He is a graduate of West Point and also has a master’s degree from Georgetown. Since his retirement in 1994, General McInerney has also served on the board of directors for perhaps a dozen different defense and defense-related companies. However, General McInerney says some very odd things. To the uninitiated, like MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, he sounds “nuts.” When McInerney makes outlandish claims as a paid Fox News contributor, people sometimes describe him as sounding crazy. Yes, the general’s claims, a few of which we will examine here, are bizarre, but McInerney is not crazy. In fact, he is very intelligent, highly rational, and each of his words are very calculated. The Pentagon’s Military Analyst Program When the Pentagon established the military analyst program in 2002, they did so largely to help build public support for the invasion of Iraq. Retired generals were recruited into the program by the Pentagon and given exclusive access to classified briefings, as well as tours of Guantanamo and bases in Iraq. While these analysts were presented on network news each night as being objective experts, they were actually being groomed by the Pentagon and fed talking points. Moreover, many of them had ties to major defense contractors with material interests in the war. Former Green Beret and member of the military analyst program, Robert Bevelacqua, later said of the program that the Pentagon was telling them, “we need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you.” When the New York Times sued the DOD to obtain documents about the program, they found that the talking heads we saw on television were referred to as “message force multipliers” and “surrogates.” When one retired general in the military analyst program received talking points from the Pentagon, he wrote, “good work” and “we will use it.” That general’s name was Thomas McInerney. Malaysian Flight 370 While McIerney is known for his very hawkish stances on foreign-policy issues, he is perhaps better known for the straight-up outlandish claims he often makes. One of the most curious is the theory he advanced on Fox News multiple times when Malaysian Flight 370 disappeared somewhere over the Pacific. The theory: Flight 370 was hijacked by terrorists, probably the pilots, who then turned off the aircraft’s transmitters and flew the plane westward. The pilots then shadowed Singaporean Flight 68 in order to hide their aircraft’s radar signature as they flew over Indian airspace. McInerney insists that the Indian radar operators would not necessarily have picked up flight 370’s radar signature as most countries don’t have their “A-team” manning the radar late at night. If we are to accept this bizarre leap of faith, we then have to invent some way in which Flight 370 then broke away from Flight 68. McInerney insists that the Malaysian passenger plane then landed in Lahore, Pakistan, and the passengers are being held hostage. Fox News is always quick to point out on air how General McInerney has amazing sources and contacts within the Pentagon and elsewhere—an attempt to backstop his strange claims and theories. In this case, McInerney pointed out that it wasn’t simply his sources that gave him his information, but rather that logic dictated the plane was hijacked and flown to Lahore. But this isn’t the same type of logic advanced by Plato, Hobbes, or even Machiavelli. McInerney is making inferences based on inferences based on inferences and none of it adds up or can be verified by anyone. Despite McInerney’s incredible sources that Fox News pundits constantly reference, no one that SOFREP has spoken to in the intelligence community lends a bit of credence to this claim. DEFCON 1 “Something is happening out there and we are asleep at the switch.” Another interesting statement made on Fox News by McInerney is that the United States should go to DEFCON 1. Defense Condition One is America’s highest level of alert and means that nuclear war is imminent. McInerney reminds us that America has never gone to this level of alert before. Even during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when the United States was on the brink of nuclear armageddon with the Soviet Union, we only made it to DEFCON 2. Why would America need to raise our alert status to DEFCON 1 in September of 2014? McInerney references a variety of nebulous threats. In various interviews he says that this threat could be nuclear, an EMP weapon, or cyber-warfare attacks against our infrastructure. Where does this threat emerge from? General McInerney said on Fox that, “unchecked, ISIS is an existential threat to the United States…” However, there is no evidence that ISIS is even remotely an existential threat to America. While ISIS can—and gone unchecked, almost certainly will—become a threat to America, the idea that a ragtag group of jihadists could destroy America has no credibility. Even the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center came nowhere close to actually destroying America. In the same interview, McInerney then repeats his suggestion that the government raise the alert level to DEFCON 1, and that he believes that multiple American cities are soon going to be attacked because ISIS has slipped through our porous borders and are already staging in American cities to strike. He then pushes for a “massive air campaign in Iraq and Syria.” Nuclear Iran “Getting the bombs or the components of bombs into the United States would be simple.” (End Game, 27) At the New Hampshire Institute for Politics, McInerney commented on one of his favorite topics: nuclear Iran. In this speech, he warns America that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon, possibly hand it off to a third party, and then it could be smuggled into the United States to be detonated in a city. McInerney would have us believe that while intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying a nuclear payload can be traced back to the country that launched them, a nuclear weapon smuggled into America would leave no fingerprints as to who the culprits are. Of course, this claim is patently false. The science of nuclear forensics would allow us to quickly identify who built a nuclear weapon set off on American soil. Iran knows this. So does General McInerney. Contrary to many alarmists, Iran is a rational state and the Iranian government does realize that, should they launch such an attack against America, the nation of Iran would cease to exist in short order. To effect a regime change in Iran, and according to McInerney, to prevent this nuclear nightmare, he advocates a 48-hour air campaign over Iran. The goal would be to set the Iranian nuclear program back at least 5 years. This would include the use of bunker busters, 70 stealth aircraft, and 400 non-stealth aircraft to bomb 2,500 targets inside Iran. America’s Nuclear Deterrent “It is very safe and it is very secure.” Considering the dire threats that McInerney insists America is facing on an almost daily basis, he made one curious appearance on television to assure the public that America’s nuclear stockpile is safe and secure. On January 14th, 2014, McInerney appeared on Fox to address reports of missile launch officers being caught up in a drug investigation and cheating on their certification exams. General McInerney responded to the question of the disposition of our nuclear stockpile by assuring us that it is, “very safe and it is very secure.” He goes on to point out that there have been some human failings in our nuclear command, but that our “nuclear-deterrent force is in very good shape.” The general pushed for modernizing our nuclear forces and said that these weapons needed to be maintained, but when it came to the personnel and overall capabilities of our nuclear deterrent, he was very positive. For someone who often warns Americans about dire threats against our nation and even insidious conspiracies from within (in a TruNews interview, he warned that Obama is carrying out a well-orchestrated conspiracy to transform America into a communist/socialist state), it is curious how he assures us that everything is fine with our nuclear forces. Nothing could be further from the truth. The problems plaguing our nuclear command are not just limited to our aging stockpile, a few drug users in the ranks, or cheating on exams. Major General Michael Casey, who was in command of three nuclear wings, was relieved of command in 2013. The reason? Casey was boozing it up in Moscow and hooked up with two local women at a hotel. He was drunk, incoherent, and belligerent during his trip, and went missing for hours at a time. This sounds very much like a “honey trap” engineered by Russian intelligence services. Vice Admiral Tim Giardina was also relieved from his position as deputy chief of U.S. Strategic Command, ostensibly because he used fake gambling chips at a casino in Iowa. With Giardina and Casey relieved within days of each other there may be a real conspiracy at play here. It seems likely that beyond a few human failings, America’s nuclear forces are heavily targeted, if not penetrated, by foreign intelligence agents. This raises the possibility that U.S. military counter-intelligence decided to clean house in October of 2013. Again, the implications of these scandals within our nuclear command would not go unnoticed by someone with the depth of experience and knowledge that McInerney has. All of this begs the question as to why he goes on television to tell us everything is fine with our nuclear forces when he is also constantly warning us about foreign threats and the destruction of American cities. END GAME “Syria is a domino waiting to fall.” (End Game, 54) In 2004, McInerney co-authored a book called End Game with Major General (ret.) Paul Vallely. The two graduated from the same West Point class and became reacquainted when they were both brought into the Pentagon’s Military Analyst Program. Their book opens with, “Today, America is at war with an enemy every bit as dangerous as Nazi 51D6TASMSFL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Germany or the Soviet Union: We know it as radical Islam” (End Game, 9). In order to counter terrorism, they advocate regime change (“major policy shifts”) using military action in six countries. Afghanistan and Iraq were two that had already been toppled when the book was published. They suggested further military action in Iran, Syria, Libya, and North Korea. Since 2004, Libya has experienced a regime change while Syria and Iran have both been under serious duress. Interestingly, two other countries were identified for reform rather than military action: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. But, according to the book, if Saudi Arabia can’t shape up, we may have to bomb them, too. End Game tells us that we don’t have time to take these countries out in sequence, but rather we have to attack all of them at the same time (End Game, 38). To what extent McInerney and Vallely have actually influenced the policy decisions to target these countries is unknown, but it is a safe bet that they have been hard at work behind the scenes. End Game is also filled with predictions that never came to pass. For instance, they said that, if North Korea detonates a nuclear bomb, that Japan, and maybe even South Korea, would develop their own nuclear weapons (End Game, 25). They again assert that if a nuclear bomb was detonated in America that “evidence would vaporize,” making the weapon untraceable (End Game, 29). Regarding Afghanistan, they write that, “The force level that NATO needs to maintain in Afghanistan is relatively small, the duties in the long term, relatively easy.” (End Game, 40). When it comes to Iraq, they write, “We are confident that the Iraqi people are up to the task, based on how enthusiastically they have embraced the opportunities to vote in meaningful elections.” (End Game, 44) Considering the author’s failed predictions for post-war Afghanistan and Iraq, perhaps we should scale back from attacking the rest of these “rogue” nations all at once with massive American air power as they suggest. Maddow Gets it Wrong “We report, you freak out.” -Rachel Maddow Interestingly, journalists and media commentators have never really put McInerney in the spotlight for his many irregularities. On the rare exception in which a critique is offered, it always portrays McInerney as a far-out-there right-winger. Four years ago, Rachel Maddow did a story on McInerney for her show on MSNBC. The reason for her coverage was because McInerney was supporting an Army doctor who refused to deploy on the grounds that he suspected President Obama was not born in the United States, and therefore was not a valid President. In an affidavit written by McInerney, he praises the doctor’s courage and bravery for standing by his beliefs. Yes, apparently McInerney is a birther as well. Rachel goes on to say, “what is news is that someone with General McInerney’s qualifications is saying that maybe the President is secretly foreign.” While Rachel is correct in pointing out how preposterous it is that a three-star general would endorse such a zanny conspiracy theory, she is ignorant of the calculated intent behind his carefully worded and pre-rehearsed statements. She then wraps up the segment with, “the real story, it seems to me, is that a guy this nuts gets paid to comment on foreign policy and wars. The birther general is on Fox New’s payroll…” Rachel is directionally correct in pointing out the strange disconnect between the fact that McInerney is a retired three-star general and that his statements don’t make any sense. However, she misses the fact that, while his statements are off-the-wall, they are never off-the-cuff. In short, McInerney does not actually believe the bizarre things that he says on air, but rather, these are carefully worded statements fed to the public for political purposes. The Military-Industrial Complex Thomas McIerney is constantly on television beating his war drums and warning Americans about amorphous threats to our nation. According to him, we are just days away from a horrendous terrorist attack. But McInerney is not simply a television military analyst, rather, he is an active participant in the military-industrial complex via the various boards of directors upon which he sits. What he does is not analysis, but advocacy. He is an advocate for nuclear weapons, long-range bombers, UAVs (specifically Global Hawk), and he is an advocate of going to war with a half dozen countries simultaneously. This is not conjecture or secret information from anonymous sources, but rather McInerney’s own words. In his book End Game, he claims to have plotted the liberation of Iraq in 2002 on a cocktail napkin with Paul Vallely. They then pitched this plan to Bill O’Reilly at a party hosted by the Fox News network, who agreed to have them on his show to talk about it. In End Game, the generals write, “We knew appearing on The O’Reilly Factor to discuss the plan was something of a risk. In the past, we had acted solely as military analysts. Presenting our plan came close to advocacy.” (End Game, 85) General McIerney chose not to simply be a passive analyst, but to instead become an active participant in shaping history. He believed we could take down Iraq in 30 days, and that the rest would basically be a cake walk. The U.S. military invaded in 2003 and our soldiers fought, bled, and died in the streets fighting terrorists, Baath-party loyalists, foreign fighters, and run-of-the-mill gangsters in places like Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra for an additional nine years. Mcinerney is not to blame for the failures of the war in Iraq, but his rhetoric is suspect when the companies he works with have a material interest in the United States going to war—wars in which the products endorsed by McInerney, such as air power and UAVs, would be employed. In order for those products to be used, the American public has to be kept in a constant state of fear. That fear can then be channeled and used as a vehicle to support war. The vehicle of choice for McInerney is radical Islam. He isn’t a right-wing nut as people like Rachel Maddow would have you believe. If we were to take McInerney’s word’s at face value, the politics he endorses are actually divorced from any ideology in contemporary mainstream politics. Like Lyndon LaRouche, Thomas McInerney’s politics are so far out there that it is disingenuous to describe them as right-wing, Republican, or conservative. But it is highly unlikely that McInerney actually believes silly stories about Flight 370, Iranian nuclear weapons, and birther conspiracies. Far more likely, he says these things cynically for purely political purposes. McInerney honorably served his country for many years, but contrary to the lapel pin on his collar, what he does today is far from patriotic. In fact, it is the exact opposite. Misleading Americans with alarmism and hyperbolic statements is deconstructing our political process. An informed public is an absolute necessity for a democracy to function. When retired generals leverage their credibility to mislead the public like a pied piper for political purposes, we are in serious trouble. When they lend their name to conspiracy theories, it only contributes to polarizing American politics and driving wedges between the American people. When politicians see that the talking heads on television are saying something that does not match up with what our intelligence professionals are telling them, it is then seen as an intelligence failure. Thomas McInerney is not alone. He is one member of a clique of retired generals, admirals, and CIA officers who have created an echo chamber in which they cite each other as sources and stir up the political fringe of America. They do this intentionally, knowing that their alarmist messages will be diluted by the time they make their way down to more reasonable people. But in the meantime, the damage done to American politics is impossible to calculate. This is one facet of the modern military-industrial complex Eisenhower warned us of.
My long story of my trip from Minneapolis to Kansas City (pics, included)
So I took a trip to Kansas City from Minneapolis on a business matter. Just the week before I'd driven in my 97 Honda Civic from Minneapolis to Chicago (no pics). I found the Chicago trip to be fun and interest. The drive was filled with a lot of interesting views, people, and things to do. By contrast, the drive to Kansas City pretty much grated on my nerves. The drive down thru southern Minnesota wasn't so bad. But once I got into Iowa, I started to get sleepy. The landscape is so boring. So I stopped at this gas station, got a hot dog, chips, and a drink, and relaxed for the evening. The gas station parking lot was full of trucks. Dozens of them. But I found a quiet spot in the back and began to fall asleep around midnight. Unfortunately, some dipshits decided to park right next to me and start some bullshit argument. Screaming, "You motherfucker, you left my cell phone, my clothes, and all my shit back at the park cuz you got scared of the cops! Go back to the park and get my shit!" I understand I don't own the parking lot. But why do idiots have to park next to me. This is the reason why I completely black out my windows and have earbuds. Because it's easy to tune out others that way. But I had neither that evening so I had to endure those idiots for 30 minutes til they finally left. I woke up after 7:30am the next day and started driving. And driving. And driving. I stopped off at Des Moines and ate at a local McDs. Des Moines was virtually a ghost town. I could count the number of people I saw on the street on my fingers. But it was raining...so.... In any case, I got back on the road and did more driving and the drive just grated on my nerves. Iowa is the size of England yet the population is only 1 million. And the landscape is nothing but boring praire. Take a look at this pic. This is just a small road. But on the right is what you see on either side of you while driving down the Iowa highway. Nothing but flat prairie dotted by the occasional farmhouse. It's mind numbingly boring beyond belief. Especially when you're in a hurry. When you're in a hurry, not so boring. And Iowa is low on exits of any kind. You can go 5+ miles without seeing any exit. Not an exit for a town, a rest stop, or anything. So if you have to go to the bathroom real bad, you could be holding it in for around 10 miles. And the drive is even more dreary in the rain. But I did find an exit for the Lakeside Casino. I had to stop or I'd have fallen asleep. Their video arcade was smaller than my old bedroom. And the restaurant was dead. I played a few slots but wasn't feeling it. The place was pretty dead. The place was pretty much like any other Native American casino: mostly filled with chain smoking old folks gambling away their retirement money. Plus, this being rural America, I got a few, "Are you serious?" looks from the locals because I was wearing a mask. Although all employees were wearing masks, less than half the patrons were wearing masks and the employees weren't enforcing masks. After a few dollar lost, I went to sleep in the parking lot. I wish I had money for an RV space on the other side of the lot. The casino also has an RV park for people who wanna gamble regularly. Looks like that's how they spend their retirement: living on the lot while gambling. Nice way to retire. After a long drive, I made it into Missouri and finally Kansas City. But it was night by then and I stopped at the local Walmart for relaxation and some zees. Unfortunately, a couple of idiots, one in a white truck and the other in black, had to park right across from me, so they could have a contest to see whose car could rev up the loudest. I was severely tempted to go into the Walmart and buy a weapon but they went inside. I parked as far from them as I could and got some sleep. I woke up around midnight to the sound of the Walmart parking lot sweeper making a huge racket. At the far end, he wasn't annoying. But he kept on driving past my car and it was too loud. After a while, he seemed to go away. I needed to pee so I whipped out my pee bottle. I covered it up under my blanket. Right when I was dabbing the last remains, the sweeper comes right next to the car and looks dead at me. Even though I couldn't see his expression, I am 100% positive he thought I was beating my meat. Because he never came by my car again. I resolved right then and there to get black cardboard to cover my windows. The next day, I finished my business in Kansas City, used the library to charge my devices, and ht the road for Minneapolis. And I kept driving and driving and driving until I thought, "I must be close to Des Moines by now." But then I saw a sign that said, "Welcome to Iowa!" and I screamed at the top of my lungs. It was gonna be a long drive. But I drove faster this time. Kept my foot on the accelerator and stopped only a few times. There are three rest stops in Iowa and the all have stall doors that are only five feet high. So if you were taking a piss, you could turn your head and see a guy dropping a deuce. Nice interior design. I kept driving until I finally needed gas. The gas station had a dystopian feel. The shelves were half empty, the cashier looked like Willie Nelson, and the owners could probably count the number of customers they got per year on their hands. The local Dairy Queen had seen better days. So had the abandoned trailer behind it. The Super 8 appeared to be the liveliest spot in town. After I got on the highway, I drove the remaining 1 and a half to 2 hours at 70 miles without stopping. When I made it back to Minneapolis, I parked at my regular pizza shop. That's when I noticed white smoke was coming from my car. I looked at the temperature gauge to see the needle was way up there in the red. Crap. I got some pasta. Then parked at a nearby Taco Bell, near the Valvoline Oil where I was gonna get an oil change. The Taco Bell kept on having dipshits who would blast their loud crap music even while waiting in line at the drive thru. But I was far away enough to fall asleep. When I got to Valvoline, they told me I had an oil leak and it would take more money to fix than what I'd paid for it. Shit. Time to get a new car. The end.
What A Day: GSA It Ain't So by Sarah Lazarus & Crooked Media (11/18/20)
"You're going to play gotcha questions with me?" - Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), asked if he thought Joe Biden won the election
Don't Wayne On My Parade
Eleven days after the election ended in decisive victory for Joe Biden, Republicans’ continued performance of uncertainty about the outcome is as appalling and dangerous as it is unrelentingly embarrassing.
On Tuesday, the two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers briefly refused to certify the election results in Michigan’s largest county, for a very valid reason that definitely wasn’t “Detroit has a lot of Black voters and we don’t think their votes should count.” (Against all odds, a white man in a polo shirt summed up this stunt best.) The Republicans reversed course on Tuesday night, for a very badass reason that definitely wasn’t “reporters started finding all the racist memes on our Facebook pages.” As a cherry on top, Donald Trump missed the memo and congratulated his would-be coup enablers on their courage, after they had agreed to certify the results.
His hopes of stealing away Michigan’s electoral votes dashed, Trump has turned to Wisconsin, a state he lost by more than 20,000 votes. The Trump campaign has filed a petition for a recount, but only in Wisconsin’s two largest, most Democratic-leaning counties, for a very solid reason that assuredly wasn’t “we’ve been through this, that’s where all the young and Black voters are.” That partial recount cost the campaign $3 million, but if you can pay Rudy Giuliani $20,000 a day to rattle off conspiracy theories at an exasperated judge, what’s a few million dollars to lose Wisconsin again?
As profoundly dumb as all of this is, it is also incredibly corrosive. It’s no particular surprise that Trump fired DHS’s cybersecurity director Chris Krebs for the crime of debunking his lies about the election having been stolen from him, but it deserved immediate, unanimous condemnation. Instead, Democratic lawmakers have spoken up, while Republicans, with a few half-hearted exceptions, have sat on their hands. What will it mean for future elections that a defeated president fired an official who safeguarded this election’s integrity and then told the truth about it, and a whole political party said “sure”?
Republicans might be blowing up democracy in slow-motion, but at least most of them aren’t pretending to agonize over it.
Sources who have spoken to General Services Administrator Emily Murphy say she’s been struggling with her unilateral decision to delay the presidential transition, and feeling like she’s been put “in a very difficult position.” Boy have we got great news for Emily: This one’s actually super simple. There’s no real doubt about who won the election, so you can just go ahead and sign that piece of paper! Get a marketing job and move to Paris! You’re free!
In the meantime, Joe Biden has been pushing ahead with transition briefings from outside experts. Those briefings have limitations, as advisors outside of the government won’t have the most up-to-date information, and can’t share classified intelligence. The White House has refused to provide even basic coronavirus data to the transition team, and in spite of the lives hanging in the balance if sabotaging the transition creates problems with vaccine distribution, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the department won’t communicate with the Biden team until the GSA signs off.
Each of Trump’s far-fetched coup maneuvers has flopped, but way too many Republicans have been happy to give them a whirl, and there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t try again in an election with closer margins. Whatever surreal elements of this year we eventually shove down the memory hole for our collective sanity, that fact can’t be one of them.
Look No Further Than The Crooked Media
On today's Keep It stream, Ira, Louis, and Aida discuss Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro's fervor over Harry Styles wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue: "The hilariousness of 'bring back manly men.' Where do you want them brought?" Watch and subscribe → youtube.com/crookedmedia
Under The Radar
Donald Trump just gave the worst possible job to a former speechwriter who was fired for having white nationalist ties. The White House dismissed Darren Beattie in 2018 after it came to light that he had spoken at a white-supremacist conference, back when that was something the Trump administration could still be shamed about. Beattie then took a bunch of taxpayer money from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), in a violation of House rules. Following that proud interlude, Trump has welcomed Beattie back into the administration fold with an appointment to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, which was established for the specific purpose of preserving the memory of Holocaust victims. Sixty-three days until the Inauguration.
One of the biggest takeaways from this election has been “Latino voters are not a monolith,” and while much of that analysis has focused on Florida, it’s just as true everywhere else. In Texas, Trump became the first GOP presidential candidate in a century to win Zapata County, which is more than 94 percent Hispanic or Latino. Dissecting the result the requires understanding the specific character of South Texas, where most Spanish-speaking residents self-identify as Tejano. Most consider themselves American above all else, wouldn’t identify as people of color, and have positions on gas and oil, guns, and abortion that are closely aligned with the Republican Party. The Trump campaign recognized and effectively targeted that specific community, and Democrats will need more than generic messaging to win it back.
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Is That Hope I Feel?
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s policy of using the pandemic as an excuse to turn away migrant children seeking asylum at the border. Pfizer now says that its vaccine actually seems to be 95 percent effective, and, implicitly, that Moderna can eat its shorts. Pfizer plans to apply for emergency use authorization from the FDA within days. The FDA has issued emergency use authorization for the first at-home rapid coronavirus test. Tiara Mack has become the first openly LGBTQ Black person elected to the Rhode Island state Senate, at age 26: “I'm going to be unapologetically Black, I'm going to be unapologetically queer, and I'm going to be unapologetically young, and I'm going to push back against the system that tells us we don't deserve justice now.”
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