Consume Product

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act) is a United States federal law enacted on July 18, 2025, which establishes the nation’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The act defines a payment stablecoin as a digital asset designed to be used as a means of payment or settlement, where the issuer is obligated to redeem it for a fixed amount of monetary value, typically a U.S. dollar, ensuring a stable value relative to a fixed benchmark. To qualify as a stablecoin under the law, these digital assets must be fully backed one-for-one by high-quality, liquid assets such as U.S. dollars or Treasuries, making them redeemable on demand.
The GENIUS Act creates a dual federal and state supervision system, allowing entities to choose between federal or state regulation, though state regulation is limited to those with a stablecoin issuance of $10 billion or less. Federal qualified payment stablecoin issuers are approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), while state-qualified issuers must be authorized by a state payment stablecoin regulator. The primary federal payment stablecoin regulator is determined by the issuer’s entity type, with the OCC overseeing federal qualified issuers. The act also establishes the Stablecoin Certification Review Committee, composed of the Treasury Secretary, the FDIC Chair, and the Federal Reserve Chair, to certify state regulatory regimes as substantially similar to the federal framework and to approve foreign regulatory regimes for international issuers.
The law aims to strengthen consumer protection, foster responsible innovation, and bolster the U.S. dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency by closing a longstanding regulatory gap in the issuance and custody of stablecoin reserves. It also seeks to mitigate financial stability and illicit finance risks, with the U.S. Department of the Treasury issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in September 2025 to solicit public comment on implementing regulations related to anti-money laundering (AML) obligations, BSA compliance, tax issues, and the balance between federal and state oversight. The Treasury had previously issued a Request for Comment in August 2025 to gather insights on detecting illicit activity involving digital assets.
Critics, including the nonprofit organization Consumer Reports, argue that the act does not provide sufficient consumer protection and allows large technology companies to engage in bank-like activities without being subject to the same stringent regulations as traditional banks. Despite this, the GENIUS Act is seen as a landmark moment for the U.S. cryptocurrency industry, potentially enabling widespread adoption of stablecoins in traditional finance and payments, and encouraging international harmonization, such as with Canada, where stablecoins are currently classified as securities or derivatives, unlike the U.S. classification as payment instruments. The act may also disrupt traditional payment systems by offering instant settlement, programmability, and lower costs, potentially reducing the $187 billion in annual merchant fees.

imagine how much worse shit would be if we were still on 1980's technology. i mean it's used against everyone (who isnt privileged) but still

"Cremation" entry in Catholic Encyclopedia: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04481c.htm

> By the fifth century of the Christian Era, owing in great part to the rapid progress of Christianity, the practice of cremation had entirely ceased.

> The Christians never burned their dead, but followed from earliest days the practice of the Semitic race and the personal example of their Divine Founder. It is recorded that in times of persecution many risked their lives to recover the bodies of martyrs for the holy rites of Christian burial. The pagans, to destroy faith in the resurrection of the body, often cast the corpses of martyred Christians into the flames, fondly believing thus to render impossible the resurrection of the body. What Christian faith has ever held in this regard is clearly put by the third-century writer Minucius Felix, in his dialogue "Octavius", refuting the assertion that cremation made this resurrection an impossibility: "Nor do we fear, as you suppose, any harm from the [mode of] sepulture, but we adhere to the old, and better, custom" ("Nec, ut creditis, ullum damnum sepulturae timemus sed veterem et meliorem consuetudinem humandi frequentamus" — P.L., III, 362).

From: https://www.beautysoancient.com/prayer-to-st-raphael-for-the-wise-choice-of-a-marriage-partner/

(Also in a trad Catholic prayer book I've seen)

> O Glorious St. Raphael, Patron and Lover of the Young, I call upon thee and plead with thee for thy help. In all confidence I open my heart to thee, to beg thy guidance and assistance in the important task of planning my future. Obtain for me through thy intercession the light of God’s grace, so that I may decide wisely concerning the person who is to be my partner through life. O Angel of Happy Meetings, lead us by the hand to find each other. May all our movements be guided by thy light and transfigured by thy joy. As thou didst lead the young Tobias to Sara and opened up for him a new life of happiness with her in holy marriage, lead me to such a one whom in thine angelic wisdom thou dost judge best suited to be united with me in marriage.

> St. Raphael, loving patron of those seeking a marriage partner, help me in this supreme decision of my life. Find for me as a helpmate in life that person whose character will reflect the traits of Jesus and Mary. May he(she) be upright, loyal, pure, sincere and noble, so that with united efforts and with chaste and unselfish love, we both may strive to perfect ourselves in soul and body, as well as the children it may please God to entrust to our care.

> St. Raphael, Angel of chaste courtship, bless our friendship and our love, that sin may have no part in it. May our mutual love bind us so closely that our future home may ever be most like the home of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Offer thy prayers to God for both of us and obtain the blessing of God upon our marriage, as thou wert the herald of blessing for the marriage of Tobias and Sara.

> St. Raphael, friend of the young, be thou my friend, for I shall always be thine. I desire to ever invoke thee in my needs. To thy special care I entrust the decision I am to make as to my future wife (husband). Direct me to the person with whom I can best cooperate in doing God’s Holy Will, with whom I can live in peace, love and harmony in this life and attain eternal joy in the next.

> Amen.

The prayer book I've seen also adds, "In honor of St. Raphael, recite one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be" (after the above prayer)