So, a lot of people have pointed out all the flaws in Caesar's Legion and how the faction won't last very long after the death of Edward Sallow, and hence for that reason (aside from just not wanting to live in a genocidal slave society) it isn't the best choice for New Vegas. I don't disagree with those people, but I also think that the NCR may collapse as well, and this is why I personally think Vegas would be better off becoming independent (I prefer the Yes Man ending to the Mr House one but I'm not going to get into that since this post is about the NCR).
Now, obviously every society and faction will eventually fall apart, but I mean within a human lifetime. This isn't inevitable, granted, but it will likely require major reform to be averted, and I don't think annexing New Vegas will really do anything to prevent it, in fact it might actually end up doing so would do more harm than good.
Doctor Thomas Hildern predicts that due to the projected population growth of the NCR, the country will suffer mass starvation just ten years after the events of New Vegas. Bringing a whole new city and its surrounding settlements into the fold in a region not particularly well suited to agriculture would like the problem even worse.
What's more, while the Legion as it currently exists will of course collapse, it's former soldiers aren't just going to be immediately pacified, they're likely to continue raiding the area for slaves and resources, and while divided they might not be able to threaten the NCR like they did during the two battles of Hoover Dam, they are still going to continue harassing them to the point they have to station a lot of troops in the area, while they are still dealing with enemies in other parts of the country, such as in Baja California to the south.
And bear in mind, the NCR has to transport all of its supplies by Brahmin, and since the roads are so damaged they can't even have them pull carts and instead have to carry the goods directly on them. It has few or no trucks, trains, boats or aircraft, or the infrastructure needed for these things to run on, and even the few that it has could pretty easily be sabotaged by their enemies or attacked by raiders or hostile wildlife, unless they deploy even more troops to patrol them.
Now of course, some of you might point out that these same issues would likely affect an independent Vegas as well, but aside from the fact that the Mojave is a much smaller area than California, the primary advantage of the Securitron army isn't the fact that individual Securitrons are so powerful - it's the fact that they're robots. They don't need food or water, they don't need to sleep, they don't to be paid and they don't have emotions. This means that they will never suffer the morale or logistical issues that the NCR is facing and will continue to face.
The troops are already barely scraping by during the events of New Vegas, but if the NCR due to it's over expansion and economic crises ends up unable to supply or pay its troops then they may well end up deserting, mutinying and even defecting to other factions in order to support themselves and/or their families (afterall, even Chief Hanlon had plans to sabotage the defence of Hoover Dam, so I’m sure the soldiers in the lower ranks are even more frustrated). This is especially likely considering the fact that most troops in Mojave are conscripts rather than volunteers. They're there because they were forced to go there, not because they wanted to.
The securitrons on the other hand will always obey the leader of New Vegas, be they Mr House or the Courier (FTR, Josh Sawyer himself clarified what Yes Man meant by saying he was going to reprogram his personality to become more assertive - i.e. he was now only going to listen to the Courier, and hence some other person couldn't just come along and take over like the Courier did themself).
The NCR would also struggle to recruit local soldiers because it's pretty much universally hated in the region. Jacobstown are opposed to them because they've attempted to exterminate its inhabitants, Westside don't like them because of their water dispute with them, the Great Khans hate them due to the Bitter Springs massacre and all their wars with them, the Brotherhood are still technically at war with them at the beginning of the game, the Followers are opposed to them because them because of their imperialistic aggression coupled with the fact they just denounced the organisation, the Boomers hate them because they’re not Boomers, the Kings are opposed to them because they want to maintain control of Freeside, Goodsprings are opposed to them because they don’t want to pay NCR taxes, the Powder Gangers are angry because they practically enslaved them, gambling and prostitution are banned in the NCR and so the tribes on the Strip are unlikely to support them.
Now, regardless of whether you think these grievances are justified or not, they are nonetheless present. And yes, obviously the Courier can recruit the support of the aforementioned factions in the game or convince them to make peace, but I’m talking long-term here, not just the very brief amount of time the game takes place in. If things escalate further, NCR’s unpopularity could result in locals revolting against them, especially if the Legion has been defeated and hence the NCR’s presence is no longer considered necessary to protect the local populus.
Another problem is in the internal politics of the NCR. The NCR has pretty much copy-pasted the entire political, economic and legal systems of the pre-war United States. The same United States which had itself collapsed two centuries earlier. Now, regardless of whether the US started the Great War or China or whoever else did, the fact of the matter is the excessive consumption of US, coupled with its jingoistic foreign policy at least shared part of the responsibility for the calamity.
We even see the very same issues of the pre-war US crop up in the NCR. Like the former it has a hungry need for resources, and will stop at nothing to acquire these resources, hence its desire to occupy Helios One and the Hoover Dam. In doing so it has acquired more and more enemies from the likes of the Legion to the Brotherhood to the Enclave and so many others.
The capitalist economic system of both the pre-war US and the post-war NCR demands endless growth. Choosing to simply cut its losses and pull out of the Mojave would not be acceptable as this would result in economic stagnation, hence why it simply won’t do so unless forced out by one of the other factions.
We also see the rise of large corporations like the Gun Runners and the Crimson Caravans. Much as companies like Poseidon Energy and Vault-tec had done in the PWUS, these companies have begun using their excessive wealth to provide them with a disproportionate amount influence over the NCR’s government, effectively buying politicians that support their interests, helping them maintain their monopolies over their respective industries and muscle out potential competitors by any means necessary, and effectively replacing the democratic government with an oligarchy.
Now, as awful as Caesar may be, he makes a very fair point when he says that…

Greed runs rampant. The government is corrupt, accepting bribes from Brahmin barons and landowners, to the detriment of citizens. The NCR is a loose conglomerate of individuals looking out for themselves. It's lost virtue. No one cares about the collective, the greater good. It's not built to last. I'm just hastening the inevitable.

Corruption both historically and in our modern world has been a major hamper for civilisations. If you look at the Corruption Perceptions Index (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index), you’ll notice that there is a very strong correlation between a country having a high level of corruption and being economically poor and/or politically unstable.
This is because corruption makes it much harder for a country to collect taxes, enforce its laws, and do everything else it needs to do. If NCR corruption continues to run rampant, then Mr Sallow is very much correct in saying that it’s inevitable that it will be destroyed.
The rise of the aforementioned corporations also suggests that the NCR is facing a growing gap between rich and poor, as many of its citizens have been forced to squat in Freeside, suggesting a lack of housing in NCR territory. Economic inequality is associated with numerous health and social problems including obesity, drug abuse, poor mental health, crime, poor social mobility, and warfare. It has also historically led to numerous political upheavals including the French, Russian, Cuban and Iranian Revolutions.
During the NCR’s war with the Brotherhood, the latter destroyed the NCR’s gold reserves, which its currency was backed by. This forced the NCR to abandon the gold standard and adopt a fiat currency. Now, fiat currencies work in our real world because the countries/group of countries that issue the “safe-haven” currencies of the world (the Dollar, the Euro, the Pound, and the Yen) have been *relatively* stable and at peace for the last 75+ years, and hence they are generally trusted not to accrue excessive debt or to print money to excess.
The same can’t be said about the NCR. The country has been almost constantly at war ever since it was founded. Whether against the Master, or the Khans, or the Enclave, or the Brotherhood, or the Legion, or all the various raiders within or around its borders, and as I mentioned earlier, it is also on the brink of famine. This forces the country to borrow or print money in order to fund its war and relief efforts, respectively, further devaluing its currency.
In the game, NCR workers mention that the money that they are paid is worth a lot less than it should be as people in the area are reluctant to accept it instead of caps. The NCR has effectively three choices here – it can either continue paying them in NCR dollars at the current amount, which would over time decrease in effective value due to the inflation (which would likely spell disaster – if it’s workers or god-forbid, its soldiers were to see their wages gradually become worthless, they’d refuse to work or turn hostile), keep increasing it’s wages to keep up the inflation, which would result in further inflation, or just pay their wages in caps, which would set a pretty bad precedent if even the NCR’s government can’t trust its currency. If it were to abandon its currency altogether and go back to using bottle caps officially it would render all dollars worthless overnight.
California, even in our real world is notorious for its water insecurity, and real-world Californians don’t have to worry about their existing water supplies being irradiated. In New Vegas, Chief Hanlon remarks that:

Back west, you don't see too many of these. Lakes, I mean. Natural or man-made. Any kind, really. We neglected the dams or pumped all the water out a long time ago. Owens, Isabella, the San Luis. Drained the aquifers of everything they had. Just a lot of mud and dust now. It's a different feeling, watching the sun come up over the water. Takes some getting used to.

This would suggest that the NCR is facing a massive water shortage due it its unsustainable use of its water reserves. Only the Hoover Dam can really prevent a major crisis.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, the NCR gaining control of New Vegas would present a heavy burden on its already overstretched resources. But the truth is, it has kind of backed itself into a corner by even attempting to annex the region in the first place.
If it were to pull out of the region and accept the independence of New Vegas, then that would break the lure of invincibility that it has acquired though out the American South-West. Under Kimball’s leadership, numerous settlements both in Mojave and elsewhere have been annexed into the NCR against their will. If all of them, inspired by New Vegas’s success were to revolt into regain their own independence, then it would spell disaster for the NCR, as it would have to divide its forces even further to quell said rebellions.
Secondly, while Mr. House and presumably the Courier are willing to export water and electricity to the NCR, they are nonetheless going to charge heavy prices for it, and in caps, which would further deflate the value of the NCR dollar.
If the Legion were to take the dam and New Vegas, then they obviously wouldn’t been keen on supplying their enemy with water or power.
What’s more, while the NCR might still be able to defeat the Legion in a long-protracted war, due to the latter’s own internal problems, in the meantime, it would still have to defend against the Legion’s invasion.
This might actually come with some benefits, as everybody in the NCR would be united against their common enemy, and tribes and settlements on its frontiers who might have otherwise been hostile to the NCR might become supportive after learning more about the Legion, seeing the former as the lesser evil at least.
However, the amount of money and lives it would have to invest in its defence would be very difficult to source, especially without the increased tax revenues it could receive from New Vegas and from traders in the region.
While the NCR is intended to resemble the US in the 20th-21st centuries, in practice I think it better resembles the US prior to the Civil War. At that time, it was more common for a person to identify with their state first and foremost and their country second rather than the other way around.
The same holds true in the NCR – the five states that make up the union are constantly prioritising their own interests, even when this is to detriment of the nation as a whole. There are also internal disputes between them, with the Hub and Shady Sands competing with one another for economic dominance.
With the perfect storm of a famine, a currency crisis, a shortage of water, a revolt of the frontier territories and a protracted war with the remnants of the Legion, escalated internal disputes could well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
So, what changes would the NCR have to implement to prevent collapse? The first thing it would need to do is break up the trade monopolies that have developed. If they are split up into smaller companies and forced to compete with one another than their ability to interfere with the NCR’s political process would go away along with a lot of the corruption the NCR is plagued with.
Another thing it would have to do is adopt a much more sustainable policy towards its water resources, discouraging waste amongst its citizens and banning business practices which allow water to go to waste.
Any further expansion should take place in the much less arid north, towards Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, providing more water and arable land. Further wars should be avoided wherever possible.
The country would have to reform to become more centralised, diminishing the influence of the individual states and preventing further division of the country.
Unfortunately, I don’t see these reforms being implemented quickly enough to prevent collapse.
But then, why is New Vegas better off becoming independent? Because it presents an opportunity to create something entirely new, and better, rather than trying to recreate the very society under whose watch the world ended, and not even doing a very good job of that.

I'm an ex-police detective and I've just uploaded a Youtube video on this case. Here are my findings: So we go to the rural community of Mountaingate in Redding, in California. On the second of November in two thousand and sixteen. Sherri was a stay at home mom to her two children, four-year-old Tyler and two-year-old Violet. She and her husband Keith were described as a fairytale couple, and he worked at not far away, at Bestbuy.
It was a crisp cool day when Sherri and her husband went about their normal business. There was nothing out of the ordinary as Keith went to work. When he came home, he called out for his wife. But there was no-one there. He went outside, still not unduly worried, but there was no sign. He pulled out his mobile phone and opened the find my phone app, which showed Sherri’s phone to be about a mile away, near their mailbox. He jumped into Sherri’s car to go and find his family, but strangely, there was nobody there. He was getting worried by now, so he rang the children’s nursery to see what time his wife had picked up the kids. He was taken aback when they said that the children were still there. So where was Sheri? Keith asked his mother to pick up his kids, and then scouted around the area and pinged Sherri’s phone. He found it lying in the grass, with strands of her blonde hair wrapped around the headphones. Keith took two photos of Sherri’s phone in situ on the ground before calling nine one one. Her pink running jacket was also found nearby. He came to the conclusion that his wife had been abducted while out jogging that morning. Sherri was five foot three, about one hundred and five pounds and she was thirty-four years old. The story hit the news in a big way as Keith made good use of the media to bring attention to his wife’s case. People described Sheri as supermom. Someone who would never have voluntarily left her children. Police deputies made a public appeal, saying they considered Sherri to be at risk, due to the circumstances of her disappearance.
Sherri had been previously married, so a call-on was made to her ex-husband, who was out of state. He said they hadn’t spoken in years. They made enquiries with nearby hotels and motels to see if there were sightings there. But police would also have looked at the evidence that Keith presented to them. The placement of Sherri’s phone just didn’t seem right. The headphones seemed neatly wrapped around it and as for the hair? Wouldn’t that have just blown away? It’s almost like someone set the scene, wrapping a few hairs around it for good measure. Police used tracker dogs and they didn’t pick up any scent around the area where the phone was found. Officers told the media they were keeping an open mind.
An emotional Keith made several media interviews and started a go fund me page to fund finding his wife and it raised just under fifty thousand dollars. Keith took a lie detector test and passed. A man named Cameron Gamble got involved in the investigation. He professed to be an expert ransom consultant. But Cameron was later said to be a bit sketchy and labelled a fame-seeker and an opportunist. Apparently, he facilitated a mystery donor, who was a famous wealthy entrepreneur, who initially offered fifty thousand dollars reverse ransom for Sherri’s safe return. This had nothing to do with Sheri’s family or the police. The ransom was then doubled to a hundred thousand dollars before the offer was pulled the day before Sherri was found.
Three weeks after her disappearance on Thanksgiving Day, November 24 Sherri was dumped on the side of County Road 17 near Interstate 5 in Yolo County, about a hundred and fifty miles south of where she was kidnapped. After running to the back of the church to find it closed, she then ran back to the road and flagged down a truck driver, who called the police. She was bruised and battered and burned by a branding iron. Her hair had been cut and she was very underweight. According to her husband, the bridge of her nose had been broken. He also said that she’d been thrown from her abductor’s vehicle with a chain around her waist attached to her wrists and a bag over her head. Sheri was admitted to hospital and later told police that two Hispanic women armed with a handgun had abducted her while she was out jogging, bundled her into their car, beaten her and held her captive in a basement before one of them finally left her on the side of the road.
She was emaciated and had a quarter-inch-thick chain around her waist and host clamps on her wrists. She had bruises in various stages of healing indicating she had been physically assaulted multiple times over a period of time," according to a police news release. The best description Sherri could give of them was that one of her captors was between twenty and thirty years old, and had long curly hair, pierced ears, thin eyebrows and a thick Spanish accent, while the other was between forty and fifty years old, with thick eyebrows and straight black hair with some grey. You can see more details and the police sketch on my Youtube video here: https://youtu.be/wIfm2eYzH8U
Sherri's description of the alleged abductors was vague. She said they were either wearing masks or had blindfolded her the whole time. She said that over the three weeks she was gone she was beaten, starved and kept in chains at all times. According to Sherri, the day she was released, she heard the two women arguing, and then a gunshot rang out. One of the women came in and took her in her car and dumped her on County Road. Police said that Sherri had been ‘cooperative and courageous’ while being interviewed.
Police seized her clothes and noted that they were different to those which she disappeared in three weeks previously. They found two sets of DNA on her clothes, one belonging to a male and one belonging to a female. She would have had to have either been in very close contact with another male for his DNA to still be on the clothes, or he would have had to have had close contact with the clothes before she wore them. But Sherri had said she’d seen only two women the entire time. Now, I know people have said this is vague but to be fair, we don’t know exactly what she said to the police so we can’t really discount a male being involved behind the scenes without knowing more.
All we know is that the DNA found did not belong to Sherri’s husband and when police checked their records they didn’t find any matches on the system. Sherri became a virtual recluse after she went home, rarely being seen outside. But after the huge flurry of media attention, people had a lot of questions and weren’t as keen on letting it lie. Inconsistencies arose as investigators tried to corroborate her story — including a cut on her foot that she claimed her attackers gave her, but which wasn’t found when she was hospitalized after turning up. A motive for her kidnapping is unclear since no ransom was demanded and Sherri was not known to be involved with drugs or crime. But during press conferences, police refused to be drawn and wouldn’t give details of what evidence, if any, they had gained. But they did say that they could find no motive as to why she was taken or indeed if this was a random or planned abduction.
Rumours began circulating with regards the case. Police said that before her disappearance, Sherri had a texting relationship with another man from Michigan. This had gone on for months and they had planned to meet before Sherri disappeared. His contact was saved under a woman’s name on Sherri’s phone and her husband was said to know nothing of this until much later on. However, he was spoken to and cleared of any involvement in Sherri’s case by the police.
Brandin Weese, who was a classmate of both Sherri and her husband, said that he “personally never had any reason to doubt her credibility,” but added that he “definitely understands why there are some sceptics.”
It’s said that When Sherri turned up on the side of the road in the town of Mountain Gale, she had been “branded,” with a threatening message on her right shoulder, though it was unclear what the image was that had been burned into her skin, or why for that matter. It could have been because she was earmarked for human trafficking but no image has been released to the public. According to the Daily Mail police said:
'The Sheriff's Office continues to examine the brand and its possible meaning, but details of the brand remain confidential as part of the on-going investigation.’ It’s said her husband Keith applied for victim relief funds two days after Sherri’s disappearance. People pointed to the fact that the couple raised nearly fifty thousand pounds on GoFundMe.
Having said that, it could be fear which has made Sherri’s account seem vague. Perhaps she bargained with her captors, saying that she would not identify them if they let her go. That the branding and cut hair was a way of robbing her identity. She could have been through a lot worse and we would never know. She may have thought that she would never see her family again, and that’s a terrifying thought.
So where is Sherri Papini now? Well, she recently made a comment to the press maintaining her story and she said she hoped those responsible for her abduction would be caught.
Her new comments came after a tipster allegedly contacted the County Sheriff's Office claiming that Sherri was with him the whole time she was missing. A law enforcement source told the New York Post that the man had called them a few months ago. But to be fair, it’s quite common to get a lot of crank calls when a case is in the media as much as this one.

• Her husband previously said in a statement.

“Rumors, assumptions, lies, and hate have been both exhausting and disgusting. Those people should be ashamed of their malicious, sub-human behaviour. We are not going to allow those people to take away our spirit, love, or rejoice in our girl found alive and home where she belongs. I understand people want the story, pictures, proof that this was not some sort of hoax, plan to gain money, or some fabricated race war. I do not see a purpose in addressing each preposterous lie. Instead, may I give you a glimpse of the mixture of horror and elation that was my experience of reuniting with the love of my life and mother of our children.”
Since her return, Papini has been living a quiet existence at her family home on the outskirts of Shasta Lake; a small town of ten thousand people in Northern California.
In the years since the incident, the Papini family have done their best to stay out of the limelight. I guess they just want to get on with their lives, whatever happened. What do you think about this case? Do you believe that it really was a case of kidnapping, or was the whole thing a crazy hoax? One thing’s for sure, there are more questions than answers, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be resolved any time soon. If you'd like to see the video of this transcript and some police insights then here's the link : https://youtu.be/wIfm2eYzH8U

(Note: be warned, kind of long background info here, but I think it’s needed)
As far as interesting lives, few can beat Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel. Born February 28, 1906 in Brooklyn, New York, Siegel came from a poor Jewish family. Before he was even twenty, he’d established a profitable protection racket and a lengthy rap sheet, including armed robbery, rape, and murder. Siegel had connections—he was childhood friends with Al Capone and familiar with many of the well known New York City mobsters of the day—and he also had a taste for violence. Soon, he’d established a small mob specializing in hits for the numerous bootleg gangs of the time with Meyer Lansky, a fellow mobster. His violence and short temper led some to say he was “crazy as a bedbug,” giving him his famous nickname ‘Bugsy,’ which he even more famously despised.
Siegel was making money, which he was happy to flaunt, but he wanted more. He carried out several hits for Charles “Lucky” Luciano, and eventually formed Murder Inc. with his associates, establishing himself as a skilled hitman for the National Crime Syndicate, an organization of mob families. But Siegel was already making enemies, and several assassination attempts were made on his life, some of which came very close to being successful. So, it was time to move out west.
In California, Siegel helped establish gambling rackets, drug trade routes, and prostitution rings. His star was rising outside of the Underworld too, and in addition to the numerous politicians and police on his payroll, he befriended stars like Cary Grant and Clark Gable. Incredibly, while in Italy with a socialite in 1938, he met Hermann Goering and Joseph Goebbels, whom he immediately disliked and offered to kill. The offer was declined by his lady friend. Yet Siegel was not always looked upon fondly by the upper echelons of Hollywood; he borrowed exorbitantly from celebrities, knowing he would never be asked to pay it back, and began to develop extensive plans to extort movie studios. After several trials and acquittals for failed and successful hits, it was time to leave California.
Siegel’s next stop was Las Vegas where, in 1945, he purchased and developed the Flamingo Hotel & Casino, the first luxury hotel on the Vegas strip. As you might imagine, that was expensive, and over the course of its construction, costs were equivalent to over $61 million in today’s money each year. Siegel’s checks were bouncing, and many of the locals felt threatened by him. Mob bosses were beginning to lose patience with Siegel too, and he was refusing to report on business, claiming he was running the California Syndicate himself. For now, they left him alone—he'd been valuable in the past, after all.
The Flamingo Hotel was a dismal failure, and people—very powerful people—were starting to get tired of waiting for the promised money to materialize. By 1947, it was gradually turning around—with the help of Meyer Lansky, now in Vegas—but for most, it was too little too late.
Death:
On June 20, 1947, Siegel was gunned down in the Beverly Hills home of his sometimes-girlfriend Virginia Hill. He was 41. Somewhat suspiciously, Hill had taken an unscheduled flight to Paris the day (or by some sources, week) before. As Siegel sat reading the newspaper with associate Allen Smiley, an unknown assailant fired with a .30 caliber military M1 carbine through the window, striking Siegel many times (NSFW). Two shots hit his head, with one passing through his right cheek and the other his nose. Though he was not hit directly through the eye (NSFW), a bullet-in-the-eye death became a popular trope in Mafia media, including in the Godfather, where a character based on Siegel is murdered in the same manner.
The death was covered extensively in the media, which portrayed Vegas as a bastion of sin and mafia activity. As early as the day after Siegel’s death (or, as some sources have it, during Siegel’s death), however, more personal things were changing: Lansky walked into the Flamingo and took over operations.
Theories:
The mob is famously tight-lipped, and Siegel’s death was no exception. Despite the extensive speculation, no precise motive has ever been confirmed. There was a massive police investigation, but in a case like this, that doesn’t mean much, nor does the media coverage. The media in particular salivated over the potential for splashy crime stories, and the circumstances of this case have been complicated by contemporary coverage. Several days after Siegel’s death, for example, one newspaper ran the headline “BUGSY'S BLONDE EX-WIFE GIVES CLUES TO HIS KILLERS,” while another read “BUGSY'S EX NO AID IN HUNT.” As far as the most popular theories:
A Mob hit: A mob hit seems like the most obvious cause, and it's a theory that’s been popularized by several novels and the 1991 movie Bugsy. It would certainly make sense; it was the mob’s money Siegel had been spending wildly on his unsuccessful hotel after all, and he’d been growing uncooperative. Of the proposed hitmen, the most often mentioned are Frankie Carbo (Ralph Natale, former Philadelphia boss and Mob squealer, claimed Carbo as the true killer) and Eddie Cannizarro, both Syndicate hitmen. But even here, there are several proposed reasons for the hit. As some have it, mob money from the Flamingo’s funding was going missing and Siegel was skimming off the already meager profits. Skimming could have been forgiven, if the Flamingo was a success. It was not. After a meeting of the Syndicate’s “Board of Directors,” it was allegedly decided that Siegel would die, with Lansky reluctantly agreeing. Others believe that a hit might have been ordered whether Siegel was skimming or not; the Flamingo was simply too expensive. As one historian put it, “Bugsy was a dreamer. And he was dreaming with other people’s money.”
Yet many have also argued against this theory. According to one of Siegel’s emissaries in Vegas, for example, no one would have dared to order a hit on Siegel. He and Lansky were close until the end of their lives, and Lansky would never have agreed to it. And if Lansky would not agree, then Charles “Lucky” Luciano, who was “the head of everything,” would never have agreed either. And as others have argued, the method of execution (NSFW) didn’t match with typical mob methods; firing a weapon from outside a house increased the risk of missing as well as the risk of being seen. The preferred method was a clean shot to the back of the head. According to some, the oft-referenced money problems of the Flamingo also wasn’t an issue. At the time, Lansky was paying back any investor who wanted out, and the gradual uptick in its profits was quickening by the day. Personally, I don’t think the financial uptick invalidates the theory. If the hotel was starting to make more money, then that might be all the more reason to get rid of the difficult-to-manage Siegel and take over.
Wire Business: At the time of his death, Siegel was embroiled in a dispute with Jack Dragna, dubbed the Capone of Los Angeles. Siegel and Dragna had had an uneasy partnership in previous years, but Dragna, far less powerful than Siegel and the New York gangs, resented the income and respect Siegel commanded. This came to a head when a racing wire service (a way of cheating on bets) between the two of them soured. Siegel wanted control for himself, and ordered Dragna to turn it over or be killed, to which Dragna agreed. After Siegel’s death, control was returned to Dragna. He had a motive, but his story would only have been one among many for a man as ruthless as Siegel, which, in a way, complicates things further—there’s a real possibility that the culprit in Siegel’s murder was someone never even considered. His list of enemies was long, varied, and probably mostly unknown. Yet another man who had reason to want Siegel dead, for example, was his bodyguard and muscle Mickey Cohen. A Cleveland gangster, Cohen was given control of the Syndicate’s West Coast gambling operations. If Siegel still lived, he would never have gotten it. Interestingly, he, like Al Capone before him, was eventually felled by tax evasion.
Virginia and/or brother: The same emissary of Siegel who shot down the mob hit theory believed that Virginia Hill’s brother had carried out the murder. The brother, a marine stationed at Camp Pendleton named Bob or Bill, had seen Siegel and Virginia fighting outside the Flamingo as well as the bruises Siegel had left on her and threatened to kill him. Another of Virginia’s brothers, Chuck, was also at the Beverly Hills house when Siegel was murdered.
Virginia herself has also been the subject of suspicion. Nicknamed the “Queen of the Mob,” Hill worked, among other powerful jobs, as a cash courier, laundering money and stolen goods as well as blackmailing high-ranking men through sexual liaisons. Her relationship with Siegel was tempestuous at best, and she may have been embezzling from the Flamingo. She’s also been accused of two-timing with rival mob operations, though this is unconfirmed. Eventually fleeing to Europe permanently, Hill died of an overdose in 1966, though some have alleged that she was actually murdered after she, completely broke, attempted to leverage her intimate knowledge of the Mob.
Rival Mobs: Unfortunately, I can’t find much concrete information about this theory (note: story of my life researching these posts haha), but some believe that rival mob operatives wanted Siegel gone. He was a powerful—and very public—figure, which made him something of an obvious target in the cut-throat world of Mafia politics.
Moe Sedway: This is a relatively new theory, emerging after Robbie Sedway was interviewed for LA Magazine after his mother’s death. Here, he alleged that Siegel’s murder was ordered by his mother Bee, the wife of powerful mobster—and childhood friend of Siegel’s—Moe Sedway. According to Bee, who wrote and scrapped a book proposal called Bugsy's Little Lunatic (Siegel’s nickname for her), Siegel had threatened her husband, who was the Flamingo’s numbers man, and therefore watching Siegel—who, remember, had been accused of skimming—closely. So Bee contacted Mathew “Moose” Pandza, a truck driver whom Bee married after Moe’s death. Moose, the perfect killer, since he had no connection to the Mob, then shot Siegel to death. The problem with this theory, however, is that Bee is the only source; as she herself said, anyone who could contradict her was dead. She also squandered most of the fortune left to her by Moe over the course of her life, and died almost penniless.
All of the above: Some believe that almost all the suspects were involved. Usually, it goes something like this: “Virginia supplied the location and received some reward. Cohen knew Bugsy's schedule for the evening, but happened to not be watching him that night…Dragna ordered the hit, with the approval of Lansky and Luciano.” It’s unlikely, but it certainly has its believers, if only for the convenience of it.
Final Thoughts & Questions:
This case is interesting to me because of the sheer number of suspects. In the end, a mob hit seems the simplest and most likely explanation. But there were so many people with means, motive, and opportunity. So:

• Why was Siegel killed and who killed him? The Syndicate, rival mobs, Virginia Hall, her brother, Mickey Cohen, Jack Dragna, Mathew Pandza (as ordered by Moe and/or Bee Sedway), several of the suspects, or someone else entirely?

Sources:
https://www.lamag.com/longform/mobster-murder-moll-secret/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/lasvegas-bugsy/
https://themobmuseum.org/blog/killed-benjamin-bugsy-siegel/
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Bugsy_Siegel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugsy_Siegel
https://themobmuseum.org/blog/virginia-hill-queen-of-the-mob-was-no-ones-pushove
To many, Siegel’s legacy exceeds his mob connections, and in some ways, even his death; without him, many believe, there would be no Vegas. So if you take anything away from this write-up, let it be this: The Blue Man group’s Vegas residency is Bugsy Siegel’s fault.

First-time traders are getting a free financial education on YouTube, but not everyone is as they seem:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/02/13/inside-murky-world-investment-advice-youtube/
Alternative link to article: https://archive.vn/qLxkd
edit - added full article text
Kayla Kilbride decided to teach herself how to trade during a dinner at her family home in Los Angeles last November. Her sisters had been showing her their smartphones, displaying recent winnings on the trading app Robinhood and the conversation around the table kept turning to stocks.
Unemployed and in the midst of the pandemic, the 24-year-old quickly became hooked, waking up at 4.30am to study the markets before they opened, watch YouTube tutorials and simulating trades for six hours a day, four days a week.
“When I first heard the words bullish and bearish I had to Google them,” Kilbride says. “YouTube has been the most educational platform for me, which is so funny. I never thought I'd ever say that.”
Kilbride is one of hundreds of thousands of young people bored and stuck at home turning to YouTube to learn the tricks of the trade. Apps like Robinhood, WeBull, ThinkorSwim and eToro have allowed anyone to buy and sell shares and financial instruments, but many have no idea what they are doing. Top trading channels have up to half a million subscribers each, and live streams of traders studying their screens are watched by thousands at a time.
Some are drawn by clips that attract clicks with colourful thumbnail images showing the presenter surrounded by dollar emojis and green arrows pointing up. Titles like “How one 19-year-old took his brokerage account to $187,000 (£135,000) in two months”, “How I made $1,000 in 25 minutes, and “This stock is about to explode!” promise stories of traders having fun and making fortunes at the same time.
One teenage YouTuber known as Biaheza regularly posts about the money he makes on trading apps Robinhood and WeBull to his 725,000 subscribers.
In one, he lets a stray cat decide whether he should buy $10,000 worth of Tesla puts or calls - leveraged options betting against and for the stock respectively - by placing the words “puts” and “calls” on a piece of paper placed under two dishes. The cat picked puts, Tesla shares went down, and Biaheza made $1,000.
This week, the 19-year-old shared a video in which he borrowed $70,000 from Robinhood to place on Tesla, eventually making himself $5,000.
Reddit, a very different social network, has been put at the centre of the GameStop bonanza that rattled markets last month. But YouTube also lit up with videos explaining or promoting the phenomenon. One of the heroes of the saga was Roaring Kitty, a YouTuber who also worked as a financial advisor. A Massachusetts securities regulator is now investigating whether the trader, real name Keith Gill, broke securities rules by advising which stocks to buy. Arguably YouTube's broadcasts have more power over the market than forums because they hit the web as a finished product that cannot be altered, allowing one skilled presenter to broadcast to many.
Tom Sosnoff, who sold his brokerage ThinkorSwim to TD Ameritrade for $606m in 2009, has since become a hit on YouTube with his Tasty Trades channel becoming a stop-off for more risky investment strategies.
Tasty Trades is focused on grey area instruments, like leverage, options and futures. Financial experts warn that these are challenging, high risk and can be low reward. Sosnoff, says the interest in alternative trading is a reaction to the tedium of traditional financial TV.
“There was a demand for intelligent, challenging financial content, because to me, Bloomberg and CNBC and places like that were full of stuff that anybody can watch, but it wasn't intellectually challenging,” he says. “Who cares what somebody else thinks? Who cares what the news is? I'm not looking for somebody to repeat the news to me. I'm looking for somebody to explain to me how the markets work and how can I make this actionable.”
Kilbride, who now trades just one hour a day after finding a job, says YouTube creates more good than harm. When she decided to move from fake trades to real money she started small and, after one big loss, is now up around 20pc from a starting point of $500. But not everyone will take her measured approach.
“I think overall it's probably good for markets that more people are educating themselves and that you don’t need a fancy Ivy League degree to do it,” says Vincent Deluard, a macro strategist for the brokerage StoneX and Professor of finance at Saint Mary's College in California. “Information should be public.”
"The people who fall for the YouTube videos with the man standing by a fancy red car will lose money, that is just the way markets work."
Clem Chambers, chief executive of stocks, shares and cryptocurrency website ADVFN, says people are falling for “conspiracy theories” on YouTube that promise thousands of dollars. “They’re all rubbish,” he says.
Chambers, who has 30 years of trading experience, says he recognises a similar pattern as during the dotcom boom, which he says scared an entire generation off investing.
“It is a tragedy because investing in the stock market is one of the few ways a normal guy can become wealthy,” he says. “But there's a whole group of people that try to ensnare the beginner. There's a whole gauntlet of people that will strip the unwary of their money.”
eToro, a social trading app which is available in the UK, warns on its website that 67pc of retail trader accounts lose money. Even amateurs with a level head are likely to make 3pc gains at most. Those pushing between 5 and 10pc would be destined for some of the best firms in the world, not YouTube.
YouTube traders can still generate revenue from their streams even if they make a loss trading. Those with more than 10,000 views are eligible to receive a cut of YouTube's targeted advertising revenue. Many sell merchandise and some receive compensation for promoting trading apps.
“The problem is when you have got videos saying how to spot ‘hot stock’,” says Susannah Streeter, senior markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “It’s almost like it has become a game and people are treating the market like it is a form of entertainment, not a strategy.”
Ironically, Streeter says the vast amount of videos and user commentary on YouTube is helping the industry the presenters are trying to disrupt. “I would expect that hedge funds are analysing the YouTube videos that are being posted, as they are watching social media posts,” she says. With algorithms that take into account what is trending on Twitter, it should come as little surprise.
"YouTube is completely unregulated. When you get official investment advice published by a broker then the person publishing the advice is a licensed individual who is certainly culpable for the statements that they make.” says Kevin Mak, a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, “And that's not really the case for YouTube broadcasters.”
YouTube says it doesn’t allow “get rich quick” schemes but did not return the Telegraph’s inquiries into what it was doing to curb "pump-and-dump" schemes where an investor hypes to stock to sell at the peak.
As regulators will attest, it is incredibly hard to prove market manipulation. Many of the accounts that appear to be spamming comment sections with the names of certain stocks are pseudonymous. The Federal Trade Commission says it is keeping an eye on influencers who promote gambling, and British politicians have called on a ban of celebrities from Love Island and Geordie Shore promoting unregulated foreign exchange trading.
Vocal critics of the disruptors fear speaking out after a social media pile-on for anyone who dared to fault them. Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen left Twitter after his children received threats amid the GameStop backlash. Short-seller Andrew Left, whose company Citron was one of the hedge funds to spark the battle with small-time traders, said in a YouTube video last month that his company - once the anti-establishment - would no longer publish short-selling research.
Professor Joel Hasbrouck, Stern School of Business, New York University, says he occasionally finds teachings of value on YouTube, although these are few and far between.
“For better or for worse, YouTube is a repository of popular wisdom, experience and folklore,” he says. “It appeals to our affiliation tendencies. We're told that maybe if we all pull together on this one we can bend the market to our advantage,” he says.
This coordination would be prosecuted by British and US officials if it were arranged by two large banks and caught on trading room chat transcripts, he says. But don’t expect this Wild West to be tamed anytime soon.
“In this instance the players are small and dispersed,” he says, “and the coordination is loose and casual, so regulation seems unlikely.”

Once again, the Calvary comes to the rescue. Americans can now heave a sigh of relief after months of having to watch their fate hang in the balance as both Democrats and Republicans sparred over stimulus. After foot-dragging and name-calling for several months, Congress decided to approve a $600 stimulus package. However, the incoming Biden administration has promised an additional $1,400 making the total of $2000 in stimulus to be received by Americans.
As expected, some of that money would find its way into the stock market. The explosion of retail trading made possible by apps such as Robinhood and Etoro has meant that more people can trade in stocks for zero or little commission. Flush with cash from the government, people are trying to the stock market to increase their money.
Based on the prevailing macro-economic conditions, financial valuation, and social trends, we have compiled a list of stocks you should be spending your $2000 stimmy on.
DraftKings
As more states become amiable towards online gambling, one of the stocks which would benefit from expected legislation would be DraftKings. The expanding legalization of digital sports betting is an emerging trend. The November election results showed voters in several states largely approved ballot measures that legalized sports betting and other gaming expansion measures.
On the revenue side, DraftKings saw a 98% year-over-year surge to $132.8 million in the latest quarter, reported on Nov. 13. In the quarter, the company raised its full-year 2020 revenue range to $540 million-$560 million, which equates to 25%-30% annual revenue growth.
DraftKings also introduced 2021 revenue guidance of $750 million to $850 million, which equates to 45% year-over-year growth using the midpoints. The resumption of major sports such as the NBA, MLB, and the NHL in the third quarter, as well as the start of the NFL season, has generated tremendous customer engagement and revenue which implies that this stock would definitely see some significant upside.
Square
2020 was a very good year for Square. The company’s share price soared above 250% last year and was one of the pandemic winners in the market. Given the company’s fundamentals, Square's stock price will repeat the type of growth it saw in 2020. The services that Square provides -- particularly its Cash App, which allows people to send and receive money without physical contact -- have become more necessary during these times of social distancing and working from home. Revenue for the Cash App was up a whopping 574% year over year in the third quarter.
The company is also invested in bitcoin having out in seed capital in acquiring bitcoin. With bitcoin estimated to cross the $40,000 mark and possibly running as far as $146,000, this would shore up the company’s reserves.
GM
One reason why investors have been wary of the EV sector is the mounting debt and huge cash burn. This has made investors question the profitability of stocks in the electric vehicle space. With more EV stocks coming through the market through SPACS, investors are already mulling the idea that this may be a bubble. However, one company that many believe to have potential in the EV space is GM. Apart from having the infrastructure necessary to build cars, the company is can leverage its brand to ensure loyalty from customers. In addition, while other EV stocks such as Tesla and NIO may be fully stretched, share prices of General Motors are cheap, plus the company is been raking in profits.
In November, GM announced it plans to invest $27 billion in EV and autonomous vehicles through 2025. GM also plans to release 30 EV models globally by 2025. For comparison, Tesla currently has exactly four EV models. Earlier this week, the company signed a deal with Microsoft for its autonomous vehicles. GM continues to execute well on its Core and Future businesses and remains one of the best-positioned companies in our coverage over the long run. The stock is a good buy for the long haul.
AMD
As the digitalization of the world continues at an astronomic pace, microchips would continue to play a more prominent role. Already, there is a shortage of chips worldwide which means demand and prices would surge. One company poised to benefit from this growing demand is AMD. The company has managed to chip away at Intel's CPU dominance thanks to its superior product line, which is based on a smaller manufacturing node, allowing it to deliver better computing performance and reduce power consumption. The use of chips would continue to grow as more people are drawn to cryptocurrency mining, online gaming, and data center storage. AMD was one of the biggest winners in2020, and the trend is expected to continue well into this year. It is also one stock that may not be affected by the rotation into value as microchips would continue to be in demand.
TSM
Taiwan Semiconductor is a dedicated foundry that manufactures semiconductors for other companies. It aims to lead in both semiconductor technology and manufacturing, providing an open collaboration platform to build enduring trust with its customers.
The core strategy of Taiwan Semiconductor is its flexible business model. TSM does not need to design its own chips and prove its performance against the competitors; it only has to provide the technology and base for producers looking to make the best and fastest chips suited to their products' needs. By maintaining high-quality manufacturing processes and offering a collaborative platform to its customers, Taiwan Semiconductor ensures that it caters to producers across the spectrum even as technology rapidly evolves.
The company has experienced strong growth: From 2015 to 2019, net revenue increased by a solid 26.9%, while net income increased 12.7%. However, as smart technology has become ever more central to lives the company's growth has begun to heat up. In Q3 2020, the company boosted its net revenue by 21.6% year over year, while net income increased by 35.9%.
ETSY
Etsy provides an online e-commerce platform where creators of arts and crafts, vintage items, and other unique goods go to sell their products. Etsy has something that many high-growth companies don't -- a profitable business model. It boasts a trailing-12-month operating margin of 16%, making this unique online marketplace a buy today even at its premium valuation. It has outmaneuvered eBay (EBAY), avoided the Amazon (AMZN) crush, and dodged competition from Overstock.com (OSTK) and Wayfair (W).
When it reported third-quarter results on Oct. 28, Etsy reported a 128% leap in revenue to $451 million, well above Wall Street estimates of $412.7 million. Adjusted earnings came in at 70 cents, vs. estimates of 57 cents. In addition, gross merchandise sales jumped 119% to $2.6 billion.
Sunpower
Interest in renewable energy sources has soared immensely and continues to rise with each passing day. Two key forces are behind this surge: Increased awareness and urgency to address climate change, and falling costs of generation using renewables. Among renewable sources, solar energy looks most promising, due to its more predictable generation pattern. Solar's share in electricity generation is expected to rise from roughly 3% currently to more than 20% by 2050. SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) is one stock poised to benefit from these trends.
With a huge government push, California leads the way in solar adoption. Still, only 9% of homes in California have solar installations, representing a huge untapped market. In the new homes segment, SunPower has headway, having already worked with 18 of the top 20 builders in California. The company captures more than half of California's new homes market.
Its low-cost model positions it well to compete on pricing. The company can leverage its vast customer base to sell its storage products. Moreover, its leading position in the commercial and California's new homes market provide SunPower an edge over others in these segments.
PLUG
Plug power provides hydrogen fuel cell turnkey solutions to electric mobility and stationary power markets. The company continues innovating end-to-end hydrogen fuel solutions by harnessing its unique capabilities and is the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen in North America.
Though the company has not posted any profit, many hedge funds are bullish on the stock, with analysts having high recommendations. The company’s $1.5bn deal with South Korean conglomerate SK Group into American hydrogen company has certainly drawn a lot of attention, with many investors gauging the company’s profitability.
Plug Power’s core business is providing fuel cell-powered forklifts for commercial customers. However, it has expanded to hydrogen production following its acquisition of two hydrogen companies.
These acquisitions expand the plug’s addressable market which has already exceeded $30 billion. The resulting vertical integration of the acquisitions makes Plug Power an even stronger company as can now provide the hydrogen that powers its vehicles.
This definitely allows Plug to leverage on its already existing customer base which includes some of the best companies in the country. Plug Power raised its 2024 guidance to $1.2 billion in revenue and $200 million in operating income. Shares of PLUG have risen by 111% in the last month.
Tesla
Returning to the green-energy theme, Tesla is one stock that has significant upside. The company is positioned to benefit from the clean energy drive of the Biden administration. Apart from that, Tesla is the leader in its sector and continues to increase its delivery numbers. Tesla is now the most valuable auto company in the world. It has recently surpassed Facebook (FB) by market capitalization. The stock has recently received upgrades from analysts and if the EV market continues to evolve, Tesla would continue to be in the pole position, which gives it significant market share and of course revenue.
GrowGeneration Corp.
For those looking at balance sheets and income statements, GrowGeneration Corp is one highly profitable marijuana stock to watch in 2021. The company has the largest chain of specialty hydroponic and organic garden centers in the U.S. with 36 storefront locations. In essence, the company supplies products necessary for growing cannabis and works closely with major marijuana companies in the U.S. market.
Shares of Grow Generation returned a whopping 880.98% in 2020, posting the fastest-growing quarterly results in the industry. It is expected that the company would continue its momentum this year. The shares of the company have so far risen by 20% this year.
Additionally, the company continued strategic acquisition and expansion plans in the quarter, giving GrowGen more growth potential for 2021. It was easily one of the best performing cannabis stocks for 2020. In essence, GRWG stock showed greater market stability than other pot stocks in the U.S. in 2020.
Thanks for reading!
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Over the course of 34 days in the spring of 2018, three unsettling crimes played out in the city of Bakersfield, California. The families of the three victims realized their children all knew each other and ran in the same circles, and they began to suspect that all three crimes were connected. But what began as a crusade for justice among grieving parents took a shocking turn when investigators discovered that the so-called Bakersfield 3 were embroiled in a criminal underworld of black-market weapons smuggling, the Hells Angels, unspecified ties to drug cartels, torture and kidnapping, and a convicted felon nicknamed “The Boogeyman of Bakersfield.”
This is a genuinely bizarre case, and while I’ve never written up a case for this sub before, I’ve been following this story closely for the past couple years. The last time it was mentioned on here over a year ago, but there have been some huge recent developments in the last year that I thought deserved as comprehensive a telling as possible. And despite all that, it's nowhere near resolved. So without further ado...
Part 1: Missing
On March 23,2018, Micah Holsonbake, 34, went missing in East Bakersfield near the intersection of Flower Street and Mount Vernon Avenue. Micah was a clean-cut dad who worked in finance, a former high school debater who loved karaoke despite not being any good at it. He was presumed endangered missing until August 22, 2018, when teenagers swimming near a local park found an arm in the Kern River that was identified as his. The rest of his body has never been found.
On April 18, 2018, James Kulstad, 38, was murdered on a quiet block in Southwest Bakersfield. A father of two daughters, James was a serial entrepreneur described as the type of man who “could sell a dollar bill on the side of the road for a million dollars if he could just get 5 minutes with you.” His brother Ryan heard the gunshots from the next street over, but didn’t see the shooter, and he claims he held James as he died in his arms.
On April 25, 2018, Baylee Parrent-Despot, 20, disappeared from Rosedale, the upper-middle-class neighborhood in Northwest Bakersfield where she’d grown up. Baylee described herself as a “flower child” who had been born in the wrong generation. After facing a number of serious challenges, she was struggling to get her life back on track, and was said to be pregnant and trying to leave her boyfriend when she went missing. She has never been heard from again.
Local media christened Micah, James, and Baylee the “Bakersfield 3” after the victims’ families discovered that all three victims knew one another. In the wake of the links between all three disappearances coming to light, Micah’s father told a local news reporter, “Just to be blunt, something happened to Micah… and a month later something happened to Baylee, and I think it’s because she knew what happened to Micah.” And in between them, there was James Kulstad, who ran in the same drug-fueled circles as Baylee and had helped Micah move just weeks before they both were killed. Bakersfield is a city of half a million people, but on a social level, it can feel as insular as any small town — you’re rarely more than one or two degrees removed from anyone you meet — and even in a city where everyone seems to know everyone, it’s hard to buy three friends all going missing within the space of a month by sheer coincidence. But as time went on with few official developments in the investigation, it seemed like people largely lost interest in the case by late 2019.
Then, in 2020, the Kern County District Attorney’s office charged three people with a total of 34 different charges, ranging from first degree murder, torture, kidnapping, assault with a firearm, and illegal manufacturing of assault weapons. Two of the defendants were already in custody — and the third may not even be alive.
Part 2: Some Local Context
By every metric, Bakersfield is just a flat-out terrible place to live. It’s my hometown, I left for a reason, and the reason is that it sucks. Kern County suffers from a slew of serious socioeconomic and public health problems, the largest of which is probably related to economic and income inequality. A fifth of the population is under the poverty line, and crime rates are sky-high, especially drug-related ones. Opioid abuse is rampant, though it still falls second to methamphetamine, the most widespread drug in the area. There’s a significant issue with white supremacist gang violence. When I was 16, my 70-year-old next-door neighbor got stabbed in a biker gang fight at a tattoo parlor by a Hells Angel called “Delano Mike.” A high school chemistry teacher was literally arrested for trying to make meth in his classroom three months before Breaking Bad even premiered. This is a region with a lot of serious problems that go deeper than any one symptom, but suffice it to say, there’s a reason I moved away as soon as I tuned 18.
The other thing you need to know is that despite being one of the most conservative cities in California, there’s a widespread distrust of law enforcement outside of the police and courts themselves — and, frankly, for good reason. Corruption in the justice system is widespread, and basically a local tradition dating back to the tenure of longtime district attorney Ed Jagels, perhaps best known for ramming through 36 false convictions of ritual child abuse at the height of the satanic panic. (34 were eventually overtured, and the other two people convicted died in prison and never saw justice.) Jagels’ history of prosecutorial misconduct is also the subject of Mean Justice, a 600-page doorstopper by Pulitzer-winning author Edward Humes about the wrongful conviction of Pat Dunn, who is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife despite a wealth of evidence that would suggest his innocence. In 2002, Jagels’ protege, an assistant district attorney named Steve Tauzer, was murdered by a former Bakersfield police deputy, Chris Hillis, after Hillis allegedly learned that Tauzer had a sexual relationship with Hillis’ 22-year-old son, an addict in recovery; facing first-degree murder charges, he pled out to manslaughter and received a 12-year prison sentence.
In 2015, The Guardian published an in-depth exposé about how widespread corruption within the local law enforcement community led to Kern County having the highest rate of police killings in the country: the deadliest cops per capita. And over the past several years, the Kern County law enforcement community has been mired in a police corruption scandal in which members of the BPD abused asset forfeiture laws to illegally seize guns, drugs, and money from suspects, which they in turn trafficked for personal gain. All this is to say that Bakersfield cops and prosecutors have not engendered much public trust outside of their own communities. In a city with high rates of violent crime, law enforcement has consistently put its own interests above public safety, justice, or victims’ rights. That's just something to keep in mind while reading.
Part 3: Down the Rabbit Hole
Micah
In the weeks and months prior to Micah Holsonbake’s disappearance, his family could tell that something was troubling him. Lance and Cheryl Holsonbake both recalled their son behaving erratically in the days before he vanished. But none of it seemed to make any sense coming from someone like Micah, whose family described him as intelligent and hard-working. He had a comfortable upbringing in Rosedale and worked his way into a lucrative career as a financial advisor despite only one year of college. In the photo his family circulated following his disappearance, he wore the suit and tie and placid smile of someone posing for a corporate headshot. But Micah was going through a dark time following a rocky separation from his wife and family, and had been struggling with a painkiller addiction for the past two years. The year before, he’d been laid off from his job after going on disability leave due to depression.
According to court documents, Micah owed drug-related debts to members of the Hells Angels as well as “the cartel.” One friend of Micah’s told police his life seemed to be headed in a downward spiral after he lost the ability to see his son, and often got in fights with others at bars. In one witness statement, an unidentified woman told police of a prior incident when she and Holsonbake were kidnapped at gunpoint and driven to an orchard in west Bakersfield. Holsonbake bolted from the vehicle as it was moving, she told police. That account was corroborated by a friend of Holsonbake's who told police that he said he had been kidnapped at gunpoint. He told his parents that he feared for his life, frequently thought he was being followed in his car, and rambled about various people he believed were out to get him, but they mostly wrote it off.
James
Micah had been hanging around with James Kulstad for some time before he disappeared. It’s not clear when they first met, but it appears they become friendly through the drug scene. Like Micah, James first became addicted to prescription painkillers after being hit by a car, before progressing to fentanyl patches and eventually heroin. He’d been a single father to his daughters Camryn and August. His obituary characterized him as a free-wheeling surfer who held a patent for an action sports product and earned the nickname “Joe Vegas” for his love of gambling and table games. Camryn, now 19, says she and James had an especially close relationship after her mother died when Camryn was an infant, and James often warned her against getting involved with drugs and partying in a clear-headed way, which made it even harder to watch him spiral downward in the years before his death. “I felt like I lost him before I even lost him, but I worked so hard,” she told a reporter. “I was working so hard on everything I could do to make him get better… I was hanging onto hope and whoever killed him took that away from me. I don’t have that anymore, I don’t have hope.”
In the wake of her father’s death, Camryn says that a number of stories and rumors about his life surfaced, further complicating her grief. “Some of the stories I’ve heard is that he was a really bad person these last 3 years,” she said in 2019. On the night of his murder, James reportedly drove to an acquaintance’s home in Southwest Bakersfield where his brother Ryan Kulstad was hanging out. Ryan claims that the homeowner allegedly owed money to James and told Ryan that if James came over to his house, he’d “call his boys and they’d come over there strapped,” which Ryan says he didn’t interpret as a serious threat. Ryan and James reportedly argued about this on the phone, and James showed up at the house a couple hours later. Ryan says he had just returned from driving someone else home and noticed a driver in a silver sedan behaving suspiciously as he returned to the house. Moments later, Ryan and his unidentified male passenger heard gunshots on the next block: an unknown gunman opened fire on James from another car, causing him to crash into a parked trailer. The same silver sedan was seen speeding away from the scene.
The owner of the home where this all took place was Dr. Sukhjeet Bajwa, who at the time was a chiropractor with a local practice. Bajwa lived in a quiet subdivision in Southwest Bakersfield. It was an unlikely setting for a drive-by, and according to initial news reports, police were at a loss for the motive behind the killing, or what James was even doing in the neighborhood at all. Then things began to unravel: Bajwa, it turned out, had been arrested twice in 2016 and 2017 after driving while impaired, and in addition to liquid heroin, Xanax, and hydrocodone, police also found two unregistered, loaded guns in his car, an AR-15 and a .22LR semi-automatic rifle with a fake silencer attached. All of this was detailed in a disciplinary complaint filed by the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and after Bajwa’s name began repeatedly surfacing in connection with the shooting, a rumor began to circulate about a black-market gun and drug trafficking ring in which Bajwa was supposedly a central figure.
It was the type of conspiracy theory most people instinctively write off as too bizarre to be credible. But it must have rung a bell to Lance Holsonbake. Before Micah’s disappearance, he told his father that he was “putting together guns for people,” according to a 2019 interview. Lance said he reacted in disbelief to this confession, because the idea that Micah would risk his career by getting involved in illegal gun manufacturing just didn’t make sense. “If you’re this afraid, just stop,” Lance recalls telling him. “And he’d say, ‘I can’t do that I can’t do that.’ He was afraid he did that they would hurt his family.” He wrote it off as paranoia exaggerated by his son’s drug use, and didn’t know how much of it was real and how much was in Micah’s mind. According to Lance, Bakersfield police initially suggested that Micah had left town of his own volition after getting mixed up in criminal activity and, from what I can tell, didn’t make much of an effort to investigate. Though the family says he was last seen on March 23, 2018, Bakersfield police claimed he wasn’t reported missing until April 4, and it appears they waited until April 13, when he’d been missing for almost a month, before BPD made its first public statement regarding his disappearance. After James was murdered a few days later, the Holsonbake and Kulstad families grew increasingly frustrated with the apparent lack of interest in investigating either case, and told the media later that as they began digging into the circumstances surrounding both cases, one name kept coming up with everyone they talked to: Baylee Despot. And within a week, Baylee Despot had also gone missing in Bakersfield.
Baylee
Baylee Parrent-Despot was 20 years old when she was reported missing in April 2018, and the families say that it was her disappearance that finally motivated the police and local news to start investigating the links between all three cases, for reasons that seem obvious to anyone who has ever seen the media react to a pretty white 20-year-old going missing. Her sister, Katelyn Parrent, describes her as “a girl that’s grown up in a good neighborhood, raised by good parents, had a good childhood, could’ve had everything she ever wanted,” much like James and Micah. And beneath the surface, she was as troubled as either of the men: after graduating high school, she’d run off to Vegas to marry her boyfriend, but their rocky relationship turned into an abusive marriage that ended just a year later in 2017. In the aftermath, she wrecked her car, lost her job, and in her mother’s words, “Her life just spiraled out of control.”
In July 2017, Baylee was arrested for disorderly conduct in front of her friend Micah Holsonbake’s house. This came as a surprise to her sister, who had at one point been friendly with Micah herself — she didn’t realize he and Baylee even knew each other. But even though he was 14 years Baylee’s senior, Katelyn remembered him as a clean-cut guy who worked at a bank, and their mother, Jane Parrent, says Micah helped her get a restraining order against an abusive ex-boyfriend. They didn’t see any cause for concern. Still, Baylee’s life continued to spiral out of control. The following month, she was drugged and gang-raped at an acquaintance’s apartment complex. She disappeared for days at a time and resurfaced with “horrible stories” or pleading phone calls begging to be picked up. On one occasion, Katelyn remembers, “She had none of her belongings, no shoes… A couple nights after that there were two vehicles that came to pick her up and we could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t want to go, but if she didn’t go, we didn’t know what would happen.”
Matthew
Not long after that incident, Baylee had a new boyfriend. Matthew Queen was 43 years old, a convicted felon, and an all-around bad dude. Not much is known about his background, with one major exception: in the early 2000s, he plead guilty to one count of making a false statement to a federal firearms dealer after he used a false address, but his real name, to purchase $11,000 in guns from dealers in Indiana. Many of those guns were later recovered at crime scenes in Detroit and Chicago. If you want an idea of what type of criminal mastermind we’re dealing with here, I recommend reading just the final ruling on that case from the 7th Circuit court of appeals:

“We reject Queen's argument that gun buyers may lie about a street address so long as they live within the state where the gun is sold . . . Queen in fact had once lived in an apartment at 2072 Egret Court, but he did not live at this address when he completed the forms and bought the guns because he was evicted on December 18, 2000, for nonpayment of rent."

Great. Sounds like a great guy.
Lest you assume Matthew Queen might have hypothetically seen the error of his ways and cleaned up his act after this early foray into gunrunning, he absolutely did not. In December 2017, just a couple weeks into Matthew and Baylee’s relationship, they were arrested after police found four unmarked, unregistered, loaded assault rifles in Matthew’s car during a traffic stop. Neither he or Baylee said a word to the police, but while Matthew (who, as a convicted felon, was prohibited from carrying any guns or ammunition at all) was charged with several felonies, while Baylee pled no contest to a lesser misdemeanor and received three years probation. Later that month, she moved in with Matthew, his mother, and his estranged wife. Baylee’s family saw and heard even less from her. And in April, a month after Micah’s disappearance and just one day after she and Matthew attended a court date for the weapons charges, Baylee went missing. Her mother believed she was pregnant with Matthew’s child and was trying to leave him at the time. Matthew told police that she had connections through her father's side of the family with a Mexican drug cartel and believed they had something to do with her disappearance.
Local interest in the case reached an even greater frenzy after Micah’s severed arm was found in the Kern River in Hart Park on the east side of town, not far from from where he was last seen. It was positively identified in late December 2018. By this point, the family of the Bakersfield 3's investigation had amassed around 10,000 followers on Facebook and another 5,000 in a private group, and the story was a fixture on local news. Another curveball came around this time too, when a former friend of Baylee’s named Sara Wedemeyer, 21, filed a restraining order against Baylee’s mother, Jane Parrent. As it was reported, Sara had moved in with Matthew mere weeks after Baylee disappeared, and she was four months pregnant with his child when she attempted to take out legal action against Mrs. Parrent, whom she claimed was harassing her and her “fiancé” by hanging up missing person fliers in their neighborhood. The restraining order wasn't granted, but Queen allegedly began making disturbing social media posts about Baylee, Micah, and the Parrent family, with Mrs. Parrent as the primary target. And in mid-2019, the investigation seemed to grind to a halt.
Part 4: New Developments
On May 27, 2020, roughly two years after the first developments in the Bakersfield 3 case, the Kern County District Attorney held at a press conference to announce they believe Baylee Despot and Matthew Queen “deliberately and with premeditation" murdered Micah Holsonbake. Despot and Queen, along with a third man, Matthew Vandecasteele, were charged with the alleged kidnapping, torture, and first degree murder, as well as unlawful manufacturing of assault weapons, conspiracy relating to the murder and torture plot, and a slew of other assault and gun charges (34 in total). Queen and Vandacasteele were both in custody at the time the charges against them were filed, but even though Baylee still has not been seen or heard from since 2018, the DA’s office issued a warrant for her arrest, leading some to speculate she may still be alive.
According to court records, Matthew Queen allegedly believed that Micah Holsonbake had stolen a .44-caliber revolver from him. He and Baylee Despot kidnapped Micah, zip-tied him to a chair in Matthew Vandecasteele’s garage, and attempted to torture him in order to extract information from him. A blood stain in the garage matched Holsonbake’s DNA. Vandecasteele told police that he didn’t see or hear Micah on the night he was killed, but knew that the other two had brought him there to question him. After several hours, Baylee allegedly returned to the apartment seeming “flustered” and changed her clothes in a back bedroom. Before they left, “Queen told Vandecasteele that he had cleaned everything up and it was OK to go inside the garage.” The next day, Queen returned to Vandecasteele’s apartment and said he “needed help disposing of something” in a large black storage container in the trunk of his car. Vandecasteele claims he refused to help with disposing of the body, but according police reports, his Google history during that period of time included searches for “lye chemical formula,” “lye for sale” and “how long does it take to dissolve a human body,” as well as browsing for lye on the Home Depot and Lowe’s websites.
Queen, Despot, and Vandacasteele allegedly manufactured and sold AR-15s from gun build kits. Other witness testimony released by the courts described various kidnappings that witnesses allege Queen, known as “the boogeyman of Bakersfield,” committed. In one incident, Queen allegedly handcuffed one victim to a chair and put an electric dog collar around his neck because he believed the man had stolen a gun part from him. Another witness said that Queen and Vandacasteele showed up armed at his hotel room after the witness told Baylee where he was staying, and that he believed they intended to kill him because he’d been arrested “with a large quantity of narcotics that he was fronted or given without paying for them and the people who had gave him the narcotics could have been upset.” (According to the police report, surveillance footage from the hotel corroborates this account.)
It’s also believed that he made anonymous calls to the police tip line to misdirect the investigation away from himself: one such caller referred to Baylee as a “sugar momma,” a phrase which Queen reportedly used to describe her when he spoke to investigators in August 2019, and he also used the same pseudonym on the tip line that he did on social media. When police questioned him around this time, he denied being part of a criminal enterprise and claimed he could barely pay his bills. Then, while out on bail for unrelated gun charges in January 2019, Queen allegedly kidnapped another man at gunpoint and forced him to walk into the Kern River while Queen accused him of snitching to the cops. He’s been in custody since July of 2019 due to this kidnapping.
Part 5: No Body, No Crime
So where is Baylee Despot?
According to official statements from law enforcement, no one knows. After the warrant was issued for her arrest, a wave of speculation followed that she had faked her own death or fled to Mexico with the help of unspecified “cartel connections.” That story seems less and less likely as more details have emerged from court documents. Vandecasteele told the police that Despot was “falling apart mentally” after murdering Micah. He and Queen both suspected that she was cooperating with police on an investigation relating to the illegal weapons charges, called her a “snitch” in one interview, and told investigators he believed Queen “made her disappear.” In one interview, a female witness said Queen kidnapped her at gunpoint, took her to an orchard, and held an AR-15 to her head while he questioned her about whether Baylee was faithful to him.
When police questioned him about Baylee’s disappearance in July 2019, he said was depressed and off her medications, and she had said she wanted to die. When the investigator told Queen there had been allegations of domestic violence involving him and Baylee, some of which resulted in bruises, Queen said he never laid a hand on anyone. He told the detective she was clumsy. Despite all of this, Jane Parrent says that police have told her that they don’t consider Matthew Queen a person of interest in Baylee’s disappearance, and that there is "no known physical evidence that definitively confirms her possible death." She is now offering her own personally-funded $1000 reward for information about her daughter’s location.
The rest of Micah Holsonbake’s body has not been recovered, though according to court documents, investigators believe Queen may have buried him in the hills near Taft, a rural area about 45 minutes west of Bakersfield.
There have been no developments in the investigation of James Kulstad’s murder since 2018. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Bakersfield Police Department at (661) 327-7111, or the Kern Secret Witness program at (661) 322-4040. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest in this case.
Ultimately, what really frustrates me about this case is that even after this avalanche of charges, so many questions remain unresolved, and not just what happened and who did it, but why. If the investigation concluded that James Kulstad’s death was unrelated to the disappearances of Baylee and Micah, who ordered his murder, and what was the reason? To what extent was the chiropractor involved with Queen and Vandecasteele’s trafficking racket? Was Sara Wedemeyer involved with Baylee’s disappearance, and if not, how’d she end up living with Matthew and expecting his child just two months after her “friend” went missing? Why did Sara and Matthew harass Baylee’s mother for months after the disappearance?
More than anything, I’m still lost as to Baylee Despot’s motivation for any of this. Did she just find herself in too deep with no way out? Did she actively make the choice to become a gunrunner? Did Matthew, looking to settle a grudge against Micah, seek out a relationship with Baylee with the intention of using her to get to him? Did he kill her because she was cooperating with the cops, because she attempted to leave him, or because he was just a sociopath who felt she was no longer useful?
Or is there a chance that law enforcement knows more than they’ve let on? When investigators told Mrs. Parrent that Matthew isn’t a suspect in her disappearance, was that an indication that she may, in fact, be alive?
Probably not. But at this point, anything is possible.
Sources:

1. Baylee’s page on The Charley Project: https://charleyproject.org/case/baylee-cheyanne-despot
2. First news story about Micah Holsonbake’s disappearance, 4/13/20: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/breaking/man-reported-missing-april-has-medical-condition-family-says/article_8af62936-3f73-11e8-a82e-4b2ef30f031f.html
3. “Baylee Parrent-Despot reported missing for more than a month,” 6/8/18: https://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/baylee-parrent-despot-reported-missing-for-more-than-a-month
4. “The Bakersfield 3: Reward offered in Baylee Despot case,” 9/18/18: https://www.kget.com/news/the-bakersfield-3-reward-offered-in-baylee-despot-case/
5. “Bakersfield 3 mothers recall their last contact with children,” news article dated 10/24/18 https://www.bakersfield.com/news/momma-loves-you-bakersfield-mothers-recall-their-last-contact-with/article_418f70a8-d7e0-11e8-ac3c-67a7fc8df3d1.html
6. “BPD: Missing man in Bakersfield 3 believed to have been killed, and his death shares similarities with disappearance of missing woman,” 10/20/18: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/breaking/bpd-missing-man-in-bakersfield-believed-to-have-been-killed/article_fbeb8eb4-04b8-11e9-bb07-17e07813288b.html
7. “Mother of missing woman fights harassment claims stemming from her daughter’s disappearance,” 12/18/18: https://www.kget.com/news/mother-of-missing-woman-fights-harassment-claims-stemming-from-her-daughters-disappearance/
8. “Micah Holsonbake dead; DNA test confirms arm found in river his,” 12/20/18: https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bpd-believes-a-man-missing-since-march-was-murdered
9. “Stories behind the Bakersfield 3,” 12/20/18: https://www.kget.com/news/homicide-news/stories-behind-the-bakersfield-3/1669785945/
10. Ryan Kulstad appearance on Dr. Phil, 1/14/19: https://www.drphil.com/videos/a-young-man-describes-what-led-up-to-him-holding-his-older-brother-in-his-arms-as-he-died/
11. “A closer look at the Bakersfield 3: Where is Baylee Despot?,” 3/5/19: https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/domestic-violence/a-closer-look-at-the-bakersfield-3-where-is-baylee-despot/
12. “A closer look at the Bakersfield 3: Who killed James Kulstad?” 3/6/19: https://www.kget.com/news/a-closer-look-at-the-bakersfield-3-who-killed-james-kulstad/
13. “A closer look at the Bakersfield 3: What happened to Micah Holsonbake?” 3/7/19: https://www.kget.com/news/a-closer-look-at-the-bakersfield-3-what-happened-to-micah-holsonbake/
14. “One year later, mothers of Bakersfield 3 continue their search for answers,” 3/23/19: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/one-year-later-mothers-of-bakersfield-3-continue-their-search-for-answers/article_528a7650-4cfc-11e9-886c-23d55ec3c32d.html
15. “One year since death of James Kulstad, one of the 'Bakersfield 3’,” 4/8/19: https://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/one-year-since-death-of-james-kulstad-one-of-the-bakersfield-3
16. “Mother of missing Baylee Despot speaks out on arrest of kidnapping suspect Matthew Queen,” 7/15/19: https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/mother-of-missing-baylee-despot-speaks-out-on-arrest-of-kidnapping-suspect-matthew-queen/
17. “Investigating the mysteries of what happened to the Bakersfield 3,” 11/3/19: https://www.turnto23.com/news/crime/investigating-the-mysteries-of-what-happened-to-the-bakersfield-3
18. “Defendant in alleged kidnapping waives right to preliminary hearing,” 11/9/19: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/defendant-in-alleged-kidnapping-waives-right-to-preliminary-hearing/article_b5a3274c-00c4-11ea-a1e9-635cd4a35c9e.html
19. “More charges filed against accused kidnapper Matthew Queen,” 1/1/20: https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/more-charges-filed-against-kidnapping-suspect-matthew-queen/
20. Press release announcing charges filed against Queen, Despot, and Vandacasteele: https://www.kerncounty.com/home/showpublisheddocument?id=4595
21. “Matthew Queen makes a court appearance in connection to 'Bakersfield 3' case,” 6/12/20: https://www.turnto23.com/news/crime/matthew-queen-make-a-court-appearance-in-connection-to-bakersfield-3-case
22. “‘Bakersfield 3’ member Micah Holsonbake believed killed by Matthew Queen over alleged stolen gun, defendant says in court documents,” 6/18/20: https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/bakersfield-3-member-micah-holsonbake-was-killed-by-matthew-queen-over-alleged-stolen-gun-defendant-says-in-court-documents/
23. “Documents suggest Micah Holsonbake was afraid of suspect Matthew Queen; suggest Queen attempted to mislead investigation,” 6/17/20: https://www.turnto23.com/news/crime/documents-suggest-micah-holsonbake-was-afraid-of-suspect-matthew-queen-suggest-queen-attempted-to-mislead-investigation
24. “Documents detail depth of investigation into suspected murder of Bakersfield 3 member,” 6/19/20: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/documents-detail-depth-of-investigation-into-suspected-murder-of-bakersfield-3-membearticle_ac1fb9a4-b278-11ea-962b-6b8ee0b03647.html
25. “Bakersfield 3 update: Matthew Queen appears in court, pleas not guilty to all charges,” 6/11/20: https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bakersfield-3-update-matthew-queen-appears-in-court-pleas-not-guilty-to-all-charges
26. “‘Bakersfield 3’ member Micah Holsonbake was afraid of murder suspect Matthew Queen, became increasingly paranoid before he disappeared, documents say,” 6/17/20
27. Appellate court decision against Matthew Queen: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/408/337/509670/
28. Obituary of James Kulstad: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bakersfield/obituary.aspx?n=james-john-kulstad&pid=188771330&fhid=6140

Best Run in terms of anything
Ingrid Bergman: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Gaslight, Spellbound, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Notorious, June Night, Adam Had Four Sons, Rage in Heaven, Saratoga Trunk, Swedes in America, Arch of Triumph, American Creed, Under Capricorn, and Joan of Arc.
Olivia De Havilland: The Snake Pit, Santa Fe Trail, Their Boots On, The Heiress, To Each His Own, In This Our Life, My Love Came Back, The Strawberry Blonde, The Male Animal, The Well Groomed Bride, Hold Back the Dawn, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Devotion, The Dark Mirror, Princess O'Rourke, and Government Girl.
Judy Garland: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, Strike Up the Band, Little Nellie Kelly, Meet Me in St. Louis, Presenting Lily Mars, For Me and My Gal, Thousands Cheer, Girl Crazy, Babes on Broadway, Life Begins for Andy Hardy, Ziegfeld Girl, In the Good Old Summertime, The Pirate, Words and Music, Easter Parade, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, and Ziegfeld Follies.
Gene Tierney: Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake, Heaven Can Wait, Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, Dragonwyck, The Razor’s Edge, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Tobacco Road, The Return of Frank James, Hudson's Bay, The Shanghai Gesture, A Bell for Adano, China Girl, Sundown, Belle Starr, Thunder Birds, Rings on Her Fingers, The Iron Curtain, and That Wonderful Urge.
Bette Davis: In This Our Life, Thank Your Lucky Stars, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Little Foxes, The Letter, Now, Voyager, Beyond the Forest, Winter Meeting, June Bride, A Stolen Life, Deception, Hollywood Canteen, Old Acquaintance, Mr. Skeffington, Shining Victory, The Bride Came C.O.D., Watch on the Rhine, All This, and Heaven Too, and The Corn Is Green.
Joan Crawford: When Ladies Meet, Possessed, Mildred Pierce, Hollywood Canteen, Humoresque, Flamingo Road, It's a Great Feeling, Daisy Kenyon, Reunion in France, They All Kissed the Bride, Strange Cargo, Susan and God, Above Suspicion, and A Woman's Face.
Carole Lombard: They Knew What They Wanted, To Be or Not to Be, Vigil in the Night, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Agnes Moorehead: Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Dark Passage, Journey into Fear, The Big Street, The Youngest Profession, Government Girl, Jane Eyre, Dragon Seed, Since You Went Away, The Seventh Cross, Mrs. Parkington, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Tomorrow, the World!, Keep Your Powder Dry, Her Highness and the Bellboy, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Moment, Summer Holiday, The Woman in White, The Stratton Story, Station West, The Great Sinner, and Without Honor.
Shirley Temple: A Kiss for Corliss, Fort Apache, Adventure in Baltimore, The Story of Seabiscuit, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Since You Went Away, Kiss and Tell, I'll Be Seeing You, Honeymoon, Kathleen, Young People, Miss Annie Rooney, The Blue Bird, and That Hagen Girl.
Ava Gardner: The Killers, The Hucksters, Singapore, One Touch of Venus, The Bribe,The Great Sinner, Major Barbara, East Side, West Side, Reunion in France, Fancy Answers, H. M. Pulham, Esq., Shadow of the Thin Man, Babes on Broadway, This Time for Keeps, Joe Smith, American, We Do It Because, Sunday Punch, Kid Glove Killer, Calling Dr. Gillespie, Mighty Lak a Goat, Du Barry Was a Lady, Hitler's Madman, Ghosts on the Loose, Two Girls and a Sailor, Lost Angel, Young Ideas, Swing Fever, Maisie Goes to Reno, 3 Men in White, She Went to the Races, Blonde Fever, and Whistle Stop.
Katharine Hepburn: The Philadelphia Story, Song of Love, Adam's Rib, Undercurrent, Without Love, State of the Union, The Sea of Grass, Stage Door Canteen, Dragon Seed, Woman of the Year, and Keeper of the Flame.
Maureen O Hara: Dance, Girl, Dance, How Green Was My Valley, The Black Swan, The Spanish Main, Miracle on 34th Street, Sinbad the Sailor, A Bill of Divorcement, They Met in Argentina, To the Shores of Tripoli, Ten Gentlemen from West Point, Immortal Sergeant, This Land Is Mine, The Fallen Sparrow, Buffalo Bill, Sentimental Journey, Do You Love Me, The Homestretch, The Foxes of Harrow, Forever Amber, The Forbidden Street, Father Was a Fullback, Sitting Pretty, and A Woman's Secret.
Lauren Bacall: The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo, Confidential Agent, and Confidential Agent.
Vivien Leigh: Caesar and Cleopatra, Anna Karenina, 21 Days, Waterloo Bridge, and That Hamilton Woman.
Greer Garson: Mrs. Miniver, The Valley of Decision, Desire Me, That Forsyte Woman, The Miracle of Sound, Pride and Prejudice, Random Harvest, Blossoms in the Dust, Madame Curie, The Youngest Profession, When Ladies Meet, Adventure, Mrs. Parkington, and Julia Misbehaves.
Claudette Colbert: The Palm Beach Story, Since You Went Away, Bride for Sale, Sleep, My Love, Without Reservations, Family Honeymoon, Arise, My Love, Boom Town, Remember the Day, Skylark, No Time for Love, Practically Yours, So Proudly We Hail!, Guest Wife, Tomorrow Is Forever, The Secret Heart, and The Egg and I.
Lana Turner: Johnny Eager, Honky Tonk, Ziegfeld Girl, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Somewhere I’ll Find You, Week-End at the Waldorf, Green Dolphin Street, Homecoming, The Three Musketeers, The Youngest Profession, Keep Your Powder Dry, We Who Are Young, Cass Timberlane, Slightly Dangerous, and Marriage Is a Private Affair.
Rita Hayworth: Gilda, Cover Girl, Blondie on a Budget, Tales of Manhattan, You Were Never Lovelier, The Lady from Shanghai, The Strawberry Blonde, You'll Never Get Rich, The Loves of Carmen, Affectionately Yours, My Gal Sal, Susan and God, Down to Earth, Tonight and Every Night, Blood and Sand, Angels Over Broadway, The Lady in Question, Music in My Heart, and Blondie on a Budget.
Joan Fontaine: Rebecca, Suspicion, The Constant Nymph, Jane Eyre, The Affairs of Susan, Ivy, Letter from an Unknown Woman, This Above All, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Emperor Waltz, From This Day Forward, You Gotta Stay Happy, and Frenchman's Creek.
Jennifer Jones: The Song of Bernadette, Since You Went Away, Love Letters, Duel in the Sun, Madame Bovary, We Were Strangers, Portrait of Jennie, and Cluny Brown.
Hedy Lamarr: Comrade X, Come Live With Me, H.M. Pulham, Esq., Samson and Delilah, Tortilla Flat, Dishonored Lady, Ziegfeld Girl, Boom Town, Crossroads, The Strange Woman, White Cargo, Experiment Perilous, The Conspirators, Let's Live a Little, I Take This Woman, and The Heavenly Body.
Ginger Rogers: The Barkleys of Broadway, Tender Comrade, Kitty Foyle, Tom, Dick and Harry, I'll Be Seeing You, Roxie Hart, The Major and the Minor, Lucky Partners, Primrose Path, Week-End at the Waldorf, Once Upon a Honeymoon, Lady in the Dark, Magnificent Doll, Heartbeat, and It Had to Be You.
Barbara Stanwyck: East Side, West Side, Hollywood Canteen, Ball of Fire, The Lady Eve, Sorry, Wrong Number, Double Indemnity, Meet John Doe, You Belong to Me, Remember the Night, The Gay Sisters, The Great Man's Lady, Flesh and Fantasy, Lady of Burlesque, California, My Reputation, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, The Bride Wore Boots, Christmas in Connecticut, Cry Wolf, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, Variety Girl, The Other Love, The Lady Gambles, and B.F.'s Daughter.
Veronica Lake: Sullivan’s Travels, This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, I Married a Witch, So Proudly We Hail, Bring on the Girls, Miss Susie Slagle’s, The Blue Dahlia, I Wanted Wings, Forty Little Mothers, The Hour Before the Dawn, Ramrod, Hold That Blonde, Duffy's Tavern, Miss Susie Slagle's, Out of This World, Slattery's Hurricane, The Sainted Sisters, Isn't It Romantic?, Star Spangled Rhythm, and Saigon.
Setsuko Hara: Late Spring, Toyuki, Hebihimesama, Totsugu hi made, Onna no machi, Futari no sekai, Shimai no Yakusoku, Anî no hânayomê, Ôinaru kanô, Kêkkon no seitaî, A Story of Leadership, Kibô no aozora, Seishun no kiryû, Wakai sensei, Midori no daichi, Haha no chizu, Hawai Mare Oki Kaisen, Hawai Maree oki kaisen, Ahen senso, Bôrô no kesshitai, Toward the Decisive Battle in the Sky, Searing Wind, Suicide Troops of the Watchtower, Ikari no umi, Young Eagles, Shôri no hi made, Kita no san-nin, Koi no fuunjî, Midori no kokkyô, Reijin, Midori no kokkyô, No Regrets for Our Youth, Yuwaku, Kakedashi jidai, A Ball at the Anjo House, Onnadake no yoru, Sanbon yubi no otoko, Toki no teizo: zengohen, Fujisancho, Taifuken no onna, Kofuku no genkai, President and a female clerk, Tonosama Hotel, Ojôsan kanpai, Aoi sanmyaku, and Zoku aoi sanmyaku.
Betty Grable: Down Argentine Way, Mother Wore Tights,When My Baby Smiles at Me, The Dolly Sisters, Pin Up Girl, Springtime in the Rockies, Coney Island, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Tin Pan Alley, Sweet Rosie O'Grady, A Yank in the R.A.F., Footlight Serenade, I Wake Up Screaming, Song of the Islands, Diamond Horseshoe, Do You Love Me, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, Four Jills in a Jeep, Moon Over Miami, and Hollywood Bound.
Deborah Kerr: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, Contraband, Penn of Pennsylvania, A Battle for a Bottle, Love on the Dole, Major Barbara, Major Barbara, Edward, My Son, Hatter's Castle, The Day Will Dawn, If Winter Comes, Perfect Strangers, and I See a Dark Stranger.
Donna Reed: Shadow of the Thin Man, Calling Dr. Gillespie, It's a Wonderful Life, Convicted Woman, The Get-Away, Babes on Broadway, The Courtship of Andy Hardy, The Bugle Sounds, Mokey, Apache Trail, Eyes in the Night, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case, The Human Comedy, The Man from Down Under, Thousands Cheer, See Here, Private Hargrove, Green Dolphin Street, Chicago Deadline, Beyond Glory, The Picture of Dorian Gray, They Were Expendable, Faithful in My Fashion, and Gentle Annie.
Kim Hunter: A Matter of Life and Death, When Strangers Marry, You Came Along, The Seventh Victim, Tender Comrade, and A Canterbury Tale.
Alida Valli: The Third Man, Piccolo mondo antico, The Paradine Case, The Miracle of the Bells, We the Living, T'amerò sempre, I pagliacci, Apparizione, The Song of Life, The Two Orphans, The First Woman Who Passes, Light in the Darkness, The Secret Lover, Manon Lescaut, The Last Enemy, Red Tavern, Beyond Love, Schoolgirl Diary, Invisible Chains, Stasera niente di nuovo, The Za-Bum Circus, Life Begins Anew, and Eugenia Grandet.
Anne Baxter: 20 Mule Team, The Magnificent Ambersons, Five Graves to Cairo, The Razor's Edge, Yellow Sky, The Great Profile, Swamp Water, Charley's Aunt, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, The Fighting Sullivans, The North Star, Smoky, The Purple Heart, The Eve of St. Mark, Guest in the House, You're My Everything, The Walls of Jericho, Homecoming, The Luck of the Irish, Blaze of Noon, Angel on My Shoulder, and A Royal Scandal.
Teresa Wright: The Little Foxes, Mrs.. Miniver, Enchantment, Shadow of a Doubt, The Best Years of Our Lives, Pursued, The Trouble with Women, The Pride of the Yankees, The Little Foxes, Casanova Brown, and The Imperfect Lady.
Mary Astor: The Maltese Falcon, The Palm Beach Story, The Great Lie, Act of Violence, Meet Me in St. Louis, Fiesta, East Side, West Side, Young Ideas, Blonde Fever, Turnabout, Brigham Young, Across the Pacific, Claudia and David, Little Women, Any Number Can Play, Desert Fury, and Cynthia.
Ann Sheridan: They Drive by Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Kings Row, Nora Prentiss, I Was a Male War Bride, Honeymoon for Three, One More Tomorrow, City for Conquest, Torrid Zone, Castle on the Hudson, It All Came True, Navy Blues, George Washington Slept Here, Wings for the Eagle, Juke Girl, Silver River, The Unfaithful, Edge of Darkness, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Cinderella Jones, Shine On, Harvest Moon, and Good Sam.
Ida Lupino: They Drive by Night, Devotion, In Our Time, The Sea Wolf, High Sierra, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Out of the Fog, Life Begins at Eight-Thirty, Moontide, Ladies in Retirement, Hollywood Canteen, Forever and a Day, The Hard Way, Pillow to Post, Road House, The Man I Love, Escape Me Never, Deep Valley, Not Wanted, Never Fear, and Lust for Gold.
Joan Bennett: Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The House Across the Bay, The Man I Married, The Son of Monte Cristo, Green Hell, She Knew All the Answers, Wild Geese Calling, The Reckless Moment, Secret Beyond the Door, Hollow Triumph, The Woman on the Beach, Margin for Error, Twin Beds, Confirm or Deny, The Wife Takes a Flyer, Colonel Effingham's Raid, The Macomber Affair, Girl Trouble, and Nob Hill.
Tallulah Bankhead: A Royal Scandal, Stage Door Canteen, and Lifeboat.
Jane Greer: Out of the Past, Pan-Americana, Two O'Clock Courage, Sinbad the Sailor, George White's Scandals, The Falcon's Alibi, Dick Tracy, The Bamboo Blonde, Station West, Sunset Pass, They Won't Believe Me, and The Big Steal.
Margaret O'Brien: Jane Eyre, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Unfinished Dance, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Lost Angel, Three Wise Fools, Big City, Little Women, Tenth Avenue Angel, The Secret Garden, Music for Millions, Bad Bascomb, Journey for Margaret, You, John Jones!, and The Canterville Ghost.
Lucille Ball: Without Love, Ziegfeld Follies, Dance, Girl, Dance, The Big Street, Du Barry Was a Lady, The Marines Fly High, You Can't Fool Your Wife, A Girl, a Guy and a Gob, Too Many Girls,Thousands Cheer, Seven Days' Leave, Easy Living, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, Look Who's Laughing, Valley of the Sun, Lured, Easy to Wed, Two Smart People, Her Husband's Affairs, Sorrowful Jones, The Dark Corner, Lover Come Back, Best Foot Forward, and Meet the People.
Cyd Charisse: Ziegfeld Follies, Escort Girl, Something to Shout About, Thousands Cheer, Mission to Moscow, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, In Our Time, Three Wise Fools, Fiesta, The Unfinished Dance, On an Island with You, and The Kissing Bandit.
Susan Hayward: The Lost Moment, Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman, My Foolish Heart, Adam Had Four Sons, Sis Hopkins, They Won't Believe Me, Canyon Passage, And Now Tomorrow, Deadline at Dawn, Hit Parade of 1943, Star Spangled Rhythm, A Letter from Bataan, Young and Willing, Tulsa, The Saxon Charm, House of Strangers, Tap Roots, Among the Living, Reap the Wild Wind, The Forest Rangers, Jack London, The Fighting Seabees, and The Hairy Ape.
June Allyson: The Secret Heart, Music for Millions, Best Foot Forward, Meet the People, Two Girls and a Sailor, Girl Crazy, All Girl Revue, Her Highness and the Bellboy, The Three Musketeers, Good News, The Stratton Story, Words and Music, High Barbaree, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Sailor Takes a Wife, Two Sisters from Boston, and The Bride Goes Wild.
Susan Peters: Young Ideas, Tish, Santa Fe Trail, The Big Shot, Random Harvest, Keep Your Powder Dry, Song of Russia, Assignment in Brittany, The Sign of the Ram, Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant, Andy Hardy's Double Life, A New Romance of Celluloid: Personalities, Sockaroo, River's End, Meet John Doe, The Strawberry Blonde, Scattergood Pulls the Strings, Three Sons o' Guns, Young America Flies, Money and the Woman, and The Man Who Talked Too Much.
Betty Hutton: Duffy's Tavern, Hollywood Victory Caravan, Dream Girl, Red, Hot and Blue, Star Spangled Rhythm, One for the Book, Happy Go Lucky, Strictly G.I., Skirmish on the Home Front, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Cross My Heart, The Perils of Pauline, The Stork Club,Here Come the Waves, And the Angels Sing, Incendiary Blonde, The Fleet's In, and Let's Face It.
Celeste Holm: Road House, Gentleman's Agreement, Come to the Stable, The Snake Pit, Everybody Does It, Chicken Every Sunday, A Letter to Three Wives, Three Little Girls in Blue, and Carnival in Costa Rica.
Celia Johnson: In Which We Serve, Brief Encounter, This Happy Breed, Dear Octopus, and A Letter from Home.
Jane Wyman: Brother Rat and a Baby, Bad Men of Missouri, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Weekend, An Angel from Texas, Flight Angels, Gambling on the High Seas, My Love Came Back, Tugboat Annie Sails Again, Honeymoon for Three, You're in the Army Now, The Body Disappears, Larceny, Inc., My Favorite Spy, Footlight Serenade, Princess O'Rourke, Make Your Own Bed, The Doughgirls, Crime by Night, One More Tomorrow, Night and Day, The Yearling, Magic Town, Cheyenne, A Kiss in the Dark, and The Lady Takes a Sailor.
Angela Lansbury: National Velvet, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gaslight, The Harvey Girls, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami, If Winter Comes, The Hoodlum Saint, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Red Danube, The Three Musketeers, Tenth Avenue Angel, State of the Union, and Samson and Delilah
Jean Simmons: Hamlet, Kiss the Bride Goodbye, Give Us the Moon, Black Narcissus, The Way to the Stars, Great Expectations, Caesar and Cleopatra, Meet Sexton Blake, Mr. Emmanuel, Sports Day, Adam and Evelyne, The Blue Lagoon, The Woman in the Hall, Uncle Silas, and Hungry Hill.
Jane Darwell: The Grapes of Wrath, My Darling Clementine,Untamed, Brigham Young, Private Nurse, Chad Hanna, Thieves Fall Out, Youth Will Be Served, The Devil and Daniel Webster, All Through the Night, It Happened in Flatbush, Young America, On the Sunny Side, Men of Texas, Small Town Deb, Music in Manhattan, Captain Tugboat Annie, Three Wise Fools, The Dark Horse, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, She's a Sweetheart, I Live in Grosvenor Square, The Ox-Bow Incident, Gildersleeve's Bad Day, Tender Comrade, The Great Gildersleeve, The Impatient Years, Reckless Age, Stage Door Canteen, Government Girl, Train to Alcatraz, 3 Godfathers, Red Canyon, Keeper of the Bees, The Red Stallion, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, and Highways by Night.
Jeanne Crain: A Letter to Three Wives, Centennial Summer, Pinky, Leave Her to Heaven, In the Meantime, Darling, Margie, State Fair, Apartment for Peggy, The Gang's All Here, Home in Indiana, The Fan, You Were Meant for Me, and Winged Victory.
Linda Darnell: My Darling Clementine, Chad Hanna, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, A Letter to Three Wives, Unfaithfully Yours, Forever Amber, The Mark of Zorro, Star Dust, Rise and Shine, Blood and Sand, It Happened Tomorrow, The Song of Bernadette, City Without Men, Sweet and Low-Down, Summer Storm, Buffalo Bill, The Great John L., Hangover Square, The Walls of Jericho, Anna and the King of Siam, Centennial Summer, Fallen Angel, Everybody Does It, and Slattery's Hurricane.
Alice Faye: Fallen Angel, The Gang's All Here, Hello, Frisco, Hello, Tin Pan Alley, Four Jills in a Jeep, The Great American Broadcast, That Night in Rio, Little Old New York, Lillian Russell, and Week-End in Havana.
Deanna Durbin: Christmas Holiday, Lady on a Train, For the Love of Mary, Something in the Wind, Up in Central Park, Because of Him, I'll Be Yours, Can't Help Singing, The Amazing Mrs. Holliday, It Started with Eve, Nice Girl?, It's a Date, Hers to Hold, His Butler's Sister, and Spring Parade.
It’s Gene Tierney or Rita Hayworth for me

So I bought a car for my mom 2 years ago using a loan with my bank. The vehicle is registered under my name only. I am on her insurance policy. She is the primary holder. She got into an accident recently and took the car to the mechanic for repairs. She received the insurance claim check and chose to spend the money on something else instead of getting my car out. I get a call a month later from the bank telling me about the situation (I was unaware of what was going on and assumed everything was being handled). They tell me that the mechanic is processing a lien on my car and its going to get repossessed if I dont work it out with the mechanic. The mechanic is asking for a total of 5,400 which includes 1950 in storage fees for 30 days. I only have about a fifth of that. Shes only willing to take the 3 grand then the rest in payments and she wants a decision by the 21st. I do not have 3 grand. I tried to apply for many loans and have been denied. Im wondering what my options are at this point. Do I let the bank repossess it? Is the car worth getting out? Will bankruptcy be my best option? I still owe 17,000 on the vehicle and I have over 6,000 in credit card debt that I've accumulated this year due to the first covid lockdown. I've heard of surrendering a vehicle but not sure how that would work and I would think I'd still have to pay the mechanic to do that.
I tried to keep this as short and straight to point as possible. If there's any questions I will gladly answer them. Any help is very much appreciated. I am 27 and made the wrong decision by trusting my mom and I dont want to make another bad decision. Thanks ahead of time.
EDIT: Here are some more details to clear up any confusion in my post.
•My mom has a gambling addiction and it has become worse. She's homeless now and spends all her time at the casino. I realize now that I'm an idiot for buying her a car when I was aware of her gambling habit, but at the time I was convinced that everything would be fine. She has been making payments on time but even if she couldn't make the payments, I would take care of it because I could afford it. That was my thought process at the time when I bought the car but it never occurred to me that she could pocket insurance money if an accident happened. She had me thinking everything was fine and she was gonna get the car from the mechanic but I had to find out the truth a month later from the bank.
•I dont know why I wasnt contacted by the mechanic or insurance. I dont know why it took a month for the bank to call.
•I spoke to the insurance company to ask why the check wasn't issued out to me or the mechanic and I was told that legally, since my moms the primary holder, she can request the check be sent to her under her name even though its only my name on the registration.
•The mechanic filed the lien about a week ago
•The car is worth 12 - 13k right now. The bank has the title.
• I am located in California

So I was going through my files and found this list of stocks and “predictions” that I was investing in back in 2007. I think i had planned to post it but never did. I am not sure what the 2 or 3 prices are but I am adding the current 2020 price at the end. This is all unedited other than the current price add. If I put N/A I can’t find current price and don’t really have time to research what happened to the company. If someone else wants to I will edit it later. I also didn’t factor in any splits, dividends or anything.
“My 2007 portfolio (original Purchase price and market close as of 12/28/2007)
The Blackstone Group L.P. -BX ..........22.40..........21.94..........20.27 (2020 $60.42) I don't normally buy recommendations I see in magazines. By that time the stock has normally reached its potential. I think that Blackstone may be a safe bet due to crashing of almost every major company. This selection was pretty much a dart thrown blindfolded.
CombinatoRx, Inc. - CRXX ..........7.63..........4.41..........1.33 (2020 N/A) With America's obsessions with pills to cure everything and anything and our demand for better health coverage, I think medical stocks will see a rise this year.
Starbucks Corporation - SBUX ..........20.21..........20.13..........59.39 (2020 $98.82) I actually build Starbucks retail centers for a living. I built a ton of them in Southern California during 2006-2007. When they stop building the stock will go up. Even with a crashing economy. Why? Because even though other shops may sell coffee for less or people may be out of money, the rich love Starbucks and those who will be hurt by the economy will need a cheap "pick-me-up". So instead of the $2000 plasma TV, they will buy the 4 dollar coffee. Of course, all of this rest on the hope that they will STOP building more. Because that is what is killing their profit margin.
Ford Motor Company - F ..........6.72..........6.70..........13.36 (2020 $9.24) I like underdogs. I think Ford still has potential it just needs a kick in the head. I think they will shape up and realize that America no longer desires gas guzzling SUV. Or the "eco-friendly" hype will fade and people will start buying gas guzzlers again. Either way, Ford has been losing for a long time. They only have two choices now, go bankrupt or get their act together and excel.
Flextronics International Ltd. - FLEX ..........11.04.........12.12..........6.82 (2020 $16.71) This one relates to magazines picks. Money magazine picked Pemco Aviation Group, Inc. - PAGI - as a winner back in early 2007. I took a look at the stock and saw that they were already running on high times. Did some research and found one of their competitors, FLEX, which hadn't had a winning stride in awhile. Pemco has since tanked. Flex has held it's ground and is slowly going up.
Ferro Corporation - FOE ..........21.58.........21.17..........7.05 (2020 $14.56) Over a ten year period of past performance, I felt that now was the time for Ferro to regain its formal potential. It's a nice game of wait and see.
General Electric Company - GE ..........35.80(37.21).........37.34..........21.50 (2020 $10.15) All you ever hear about these days is the success of GE. With our obsession with alternative energy and GE's willingness to explore, I can't see how they can lose.
Insite Vision, Inc. - ISV ..........1.44........0.88..........0.32 (2020 N/A) This is my million dollar stock. I'm counting on it skyrocketing around 2009. That or bankrupting tomorrow.
Sun Microsystems, Inc. - JAVA ..........6.28..........18.21 (2020 N/A) I will probably be selling Sun Micro very soon. It has done well for me. I need to research some more on it.
Northgate Minerals Corporation - NXG ......... 3.08(3.23).........3.08..........3.49 (2020 N/A) All other companies in this sector seemed to be rising. Except Northgate. I don't really understand why, but I am hoping it gets with the program soon. I'd like to sell this one soon. I don't see much long term potential in it.
Origin Agritech Ltd. - SEED ..........7.20..........7.17..........1.75 (2020 $9.55) I just found this stock recently and am hoping it may be a short affair that I can get out of on the top. According to research, it seems they like to pick up every other year. 2008 will be that year.
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. - TROW .......... 46.61.........60.18..........76.29 (2020 $145.50) We are all becoming more investment savvy. And with the destruction of social security we are seeing more people relying on their own means to retire. This is one of the trusted companies that doesn't seem to be engaged in any scandals nor mortage woes. But it is also at the peak. Gonna be time to get out soon.
American Express Company - AXP ..........63.04.........50.84..........67.45 (2020 $119.93) American Express is one of those companies that doesn't rely so much on APR but more on annual charges. With all of the debt woes and defaults on credit cards and mortgages more people will flow to their cards. They also have more financial savvy customers who can and will pay their bills on time.
Boston Scientific Corp. - BSX ........... 16.15.........11.72..........7.35 (2020 $33.65) Pharma stocks will be king in 2008. And every four years this stock rises. 2008 is the fourth year.
Citigroup Inc. - C ..........33.96 ............29.29..........46.46 (2020 $55.47) Don't buy them now. They have a LOOOOOOONG way to go to the bottom. But once they hit, I think this company has the greatest potential to get through the muck and mess to rise again. I'll be there waiting when the time comes. Late 2008/early 2009.
DepoMed, Inc. - DEPO .......... 4.30 .......... 3.26..........5.45 (2020 N/A) Over a ten year period this stock has its perks and its lows. The perks have been low and the lows have been lowest. I am counting on the next 5 years to be extra perky and full of higher lows.
Genentech, Inc. - DNA .......... 76.97 .......... 67.51..........??? (2020 $94.97) This one is a tough call. It's an expensive pharma stock that seems to be at its peak. But they seem to understand success and what makes it. Can they continue the success rate in 2008? I hope so.
International Paper Company - IP ..........32.55..........32.55..........47.69 (2020 price $49.85) The past three years have been awful for International Paper. Good news for us is that this company is cheap to buy. And of ten years they actually do pretty good. Here's hoping.
Pfizer Inc. - PFE ..........22.90 ..........22.90..........31.08 (2020 $39.47) Once again, the worst years have been the recent ones. Everything changes and the weak will rise again. This one will be a soon purcahse.
Sprint Nextel Corp - S ..........13.16..........13.16..........7.10 (2020 N/A) No one likes Sprint/Nextel right now. They suck. They stink. But they want to be at top. They want it more than the others do. And I'm sure they will do whatever it takes to get to the top. It won't be soon, but eventually, they are gonna hit the top spot. And I'll be selling like hot cakes when they do.
So that's my prediction for 2008. I would love any advice, news or comments you can send my way. Remember, the stockmarket is a gamble. I'm not always right. But I'm not always wrong either. You just got to do your research and hope for the best. It sure beats paying some other guy to do it for me.”
Looking back at this, I sold everything in the housing market crash, not because of the crash but because I desperately needed the money as my business I had started went under and I was going to lose my house. I didn’t have a lot invested as I was still new to it at the time. I remember T Row I could barely afford.
I invested no where near $20,000 but I am curious about an accurate value of what a $1,000 in each stock would now be worth. A quick spreadsheet not accounting for compound interest, dividends, or splits with $1,000 in each stock above I would currently be sitting on $25,990.
I thought some people might find my naive speculation entertaining.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/288358708742717440/772203828330102784/image0.png
(Above is the link to fallow along with my theory crafting)
About a month prior to the launch of "Beast of the East" which added Texas, Oklahoma, and finally northern Colorado. In additon it added more lore and interest to the legion as well as flavor for the Navajo tribe which I just recently played (Highly recommended, though, don't go for Asymmetric warfare's guerilla tree (which I did), do the decimation one or even conventional if you wanna be spicy. You'll want the defense).
I decided, after creating the home of the Navajo, I should indeed look to other nations to be added, as well as what those nations could possibly be. So, lets check out the update tree:
Update 4.0: Tandi's Legacy
Named after the effective founder of the NCR, this is set to be an update primarily dealing with Fallout 1 / Fallout 2's California as well as the canon majors and updated North-Californian /Oregonian tribes in Arroyo and likely the nation's nearby neighbors as shown in fallout 2. Additionally, the NCR is set to have, "New Election & Crisis system", likely hinting at issues the nation was dealing with during and around the time of New Vegas including the issues of the barons shown, kind of already, in a much less drastic form that needs this major update.
The second half however is the brotherhood of steel, which finally is to receive the maximum content as well as create what seems to be a special GUI / decisions about the other brotherhoods throughout the United States. This is in addition to the Brotherhood's home of Lost Hills getting a total redesign and update of its national focus trees which will likely add much more content for the Brotherhood's homeland. San Fran as well is likely to get an update, as the ever beloved Shi are too getting a new fancy focus tree in addition to their new portrait they where given in the previous update.
Finally, was the, at least confusing to me, addition of: "Explore crime and Commerce within the Big circle", which seems to be implying that their is going to be a major update to the city-states of Vegas, Vault City, and New Reno...I assume, involving gambling and crime? Maybe some extra techs only they can get? Or, maybe, even interactions between them.
Things I would want to see, or would be interesting: Note, "An Expansion Through the whole of California", it seems heavily implied especially by the Big circle update that this means more then just those listed there. Some ideas I have are as fallows:

1. An actual Enclave in New Reno, especially after the dev for the Enclave reborn mod is now in the team.
2. The Navada Bandits get some love / national focus trees. These would be the Jackals, the Vipers, Kronos' clique on Area 51, and probably the Yakuza territories since their boss is also into the mainline mod.
3. Other Oregon tribes, particularly the Rib breakers for instance.

​
Update 5.0: End of Civilisation (which is either a spelt wrong version of Civilization or is a place that they are adding?)
This, is the Montana and northern map update of your dreams, one which deals in a lot of Steam and religious doctrine. First off, major reworks all around, from Heaven's Gate, to Old Country, and the Bonedancers. As well as totally new National focus trees for Timberline, and the Littlefoot tribe.
Next is some, more interesting lore tid bits relating to the 'best ending for the Great Khans' a migration to the region pushed by the powers at be in Vegas. This is story of journeys in continued in the apparent unique flavor Old Country, a nation of ghouls from Vault 100, maybe journeys into what was once USA occupied Canada?
New arrivals would be the Montana Brotherhood, and more Native American Flavor in the Inuit tribe / nation. Finally is this mysteriously named: CPF, which I have money betting on it being a police force trying to put order back into the region, but I don't know if that is correct since CPF could mean a lot of different things.
Things I would like to see:

1. If the update is a total expansion to the Northwest, does that mean there is going to be national focus trees for the minor religious nations South of Heaven's gate? Murtagh for example, would it be given a focus tree?
2. The Art above is, very odd, even for Fallout standards, Most likely its supposed to represent a Ghoul host likely under the Old Country. BUT, if I might speculate, their color reminds me a lot of the Scorched from Fallout 76. It would be odd to see them in Montana but they would be a interesting nation for sure given the Scorch's lore is, very weird and spooky even by Fallout standards.

​
Update 6.0 A New Tide
OH SWEET MOMA, is this going to get all of the Caribbean?! It seems so given its highlights INCLUDE all the major islands (Cuba, Bahamas, Haiti) but the more here could be both hyping, and misleading depending on the context.
For example it could be that the entirety of update is just the island nations listed and as well as some flavor regions around them. But besides that, the hype can come from that of the major added feature, "Witness a Mighty Bastion of the Old World", unless they are taking from their new lore which they will have to add since the Caribbean's have never been even mentioned in lore as far as I can remember. BUT, it could mean in addition to Caribbean, and the mention of Crocodile Mutants make me think one thing.
Florida, a region that was explored only in a mod for Fallout 4, and has been an interesting thought for regions since fallout 4's completion years ago. Though, I wouldn't hold your breath, because Florida is likely to be a very complex place especially in its proximity to the Eastern Brotherhood.
Other then that, Its mainly a touchup nation, for what is likely the northern Bandit wall in the far south, as well as a possibility of The Housten Rockets getting a naval ambition? Again, this is where we have little to go off of.
Things? : Simply put, this is where I am stopping this post, if interest is high for more discusion, upvote this massive essay and walkthrough. Thank you all for you time and reading!

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TL;DR I'm long and holding for a buyout, MVIS is solid, day to day share price doesn't matter, and make your own decisions with your money.
Firstly let me send out tremendous gratitude to geo, sweet, and s2upid as well as each and every info-hound that keeps this board churning. Microvision has presented me with an already life changing financial opportunity with prospects of much greater gains mostly because of all of your passion, so if there is a party at geo's, I will gladly contribute a bottle of something extra top shelf! I have lurked on this board since August of 2020 and have been ultimately stirred to speak about a few things on my mind. If my flair etc or posting location is wrong, apologies as this is literally my first time posting to reddit, and this post, like myself, is LONG.
When MVIS was brought to my attention mid summer, the share price was hovering around the dollar compliance level and I snagged some just on a lark. As the board communicated more and more information I gained confidence, expanded my position, and here is why. While Microvision's fundamental sales numbers and revenue were quite paltry (don't kill me for saying so please), a sale of the company should result in a return greater than the PPS (Price Per Share) around time of announcement. Simple logic dictates that if a company commits a hostile takeover, the shareholders will refuse to sell at the current price, dramatically driving it higher, and trade halting when said company reaches 5% ownership ensures that the shareholders have ample time to react. If a company wants to acquire, it is done with full knowledge that it has to either be agreed upon BY THE SHAREHOLDERS or through hostile action. If you are offered $1 PPS for your $0.99 shares, the obvious response is "Hell no, I want more." Everyone involved in the sale knows this, so as long as the company follows through with the sale we make money. How much? I can't say, welcome to the stock market.
Speaking of the market, CalPERS (California Public Employees Retirement System) and multiple ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds: think mutual funds but they trade all day not just at close) have invested SIGNIFICANTLY, ie. millions of shares, in this company. CalPERS is a financially conservative and successful investment mechanism responsible for keeping all of California's government retirees paid and ETFs are orchestrated by people whose very occupations and reputations ride upon success. These are major indicators that economic professionals have analyzed this company thoroughly and found investing likely profitable. Personal due diligence is important, but FUDs (a term for people who spread Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt to attempt to manipulate the PPS) are starting to sound like flat earthers and moon landing deniers when arguable giants are in deep.
As far as how things will really end, I want to spin my own theory. I believe that last year when CH (Craig Hallum, an investment banking agency highly acclaimed for organizing sales and acquisitions) and the board approached major players for the sale, they asked for at least 5 billion dollars (just my guess, purely off of PPS and acquisitions historically) and were denied. The companies did not value AR (augmented reality ie. Hololens 2 luv u s2upid) and the portfolio as highly as MVIS did. HOWEVER, these people are both in possession of untold insider information about the direction of their companies' future plans and able to appreciate the level of skill and engineering in the Microvision team. I believe a tier 1 company, possibly Apple, sent Sumit on a mission to create industry leading automotive LiDAR following the initial negotiations with a sort of unofficial deal in place. CH and the board represent OUR financial interests and are in violation of their responsibilities if they don't attempt to make optimal decisions really at every turn, so why would a company with no skin in the LiDAR game suddenly commit millions of dollars plus share dilution on an entirely new, untested product line? Because LiDAR sits right in the MVIS wheelhouse (compact, high performance electromagnetic signal emission, detection, and interpretation hardware) and someone asked them reeeeeeeaaaaal nice like. Regardless of the validity of any theory, the board of directors is responsible for generating the best return to investors, and since that has facilitated share dilution through issuing new stock for capital, we can assume it is conducted in a controlled fashion to maximize OUR return. So if you believe in the board like me then stay in the game and relax. If you don't believe Sumit and the Bois, I don't even know why you're reading this.
Now while I brag about my nards of silicon, knuckles tatted "hold fast," and stance ready to weather any shorty hurricane, I confess to relentlessly check the share price throughout the day. Gotta know the volume, the pre-market, aftermarket, even look once or twice at those shiny charts people post that I can't read. Really just wanted to say that if you're like me I get it, it's exciting being up so much from initial investment and wanting that Christmas in April to come early. I've invested as much as I am comfortable at $1.50ish cost basis (the average price you paid for your shares) and believe that there is a sort of gentlemen's agreement about the sale price of the company already set for multiple billions. I believe this sentiment is shared by the major investing groups out there and is why the share price is hovering around $7.00: people are questioning what the multiplier will be. As the market cap (total traded cash value of the company [shares in existence x current share price]) goes above a billion dollars, most big investors are seeing MVIS as more of a gamble than they want to take. I predict the share price to bounce between $6 and $8 for a while, at least until the next big news drops or the sale hits. Side note, fingers crossed on the big Yahoo! financial prediction of 200+ million in sales this year! In the end, I'm a faceless internet dweller so make thine own decisions!
Concluding this amateur analysis I feel the need to express a concern for this board. While I believe wholeheartedly in the sale of Microvision for staggering results and our mutual profitability, I must vocalize my concerns about how people on here default when dealing with contrary opinions. When new people (or legit FUDs, can't always tell) express skepticism about our beloved Mavis the responses are shockingly aggressive and cause me to worry about an echo chamber effect, despite the reasons I have expounded upon and hundreds more in favor of a big payday sale. Probably overstepping my bounds and simultaneously a lost cause arguing for elevating decorum on the internet, but I digress. Guess I'm just saying we should be gracious winners? I say give 'em the classic Hank Hill well done steak treatment, "We ask them politely, yet firmly, to leave." Lastly I just want to say once again thanks to everyone, and if anyone has shared these feelings before, sorry to repeat them so verbosely.
Good, better, and best of luck to all LONGS