In a bizarre twist, US Vice President JD Vance’s bestselling memoir about the dangers of addiction has been used to smuggle drugs into an Ohio prison, prompting a wave of stunned and amused reactions online. What was meant to be a raw account of working-class struggle, family turmoil, and the grip of narcotics culture somehow became a delivery system for the very thing it warns against. And the irony, as the internet quickly noted, practically wrote itself. A Memoir About Addiction Turns Into Contraband According to reports, Federal authorities revealed that a copy of Vance’s 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy was sprayed with narcotics and mailed to an inmate at the Grafton Correctional Institution in 2019. The book was disguised as an Amazon package, part of a broader drug-trafficking scheme that has now led to a lengthy sentence for the man behind it. On 18 November, a federal judge handed 30-year-old Austin Siebert of Maumee an 11-year and 8-month prison term for preparing and mailing the drug-soaked memoir, along with a GRE handbook and a treated sheet of paper. His plan unravelled after investigators captured him in a recorded phone call with the inmate, discussing the shipment. In the call, when the inmate asked, ‘Is it Hillbilly?’ Siebert briefly blanked before remembering which book he had used a moment that now reads like dark comedy in hindsight. An Ironical Moment for Vance’s Memoir The bizarre element of the case is the stark contrast between Vance’s message and Siebert’s method. Hillbilly Elegy, which explores the destructive impact of narcotics on Vance’s family and community, became a symbol of the opioid crisis and its ripple effects. Meanwhile, that same book, drenched in chemicals, was now serving as an entry point for illegal substances behind bars. Online reactions quickly labelled the situation ‘ironic’ and ‘unreal,’ as users pointed out that few objects could be more unintentionally symbolic than a drug-saturated memoir on addiction. The Memoir That Became a Cultural Flashpoint Before becoming accidental contraband, Hillbilly Elegy had already lived many lives. After its 2016 release, the memoir made Vance a national figure. He first conceived the idea while studying at Yale Law School, grappling with why upward mobility felt so out of reach for many people from backgrounds like his. The book blended personal narrative with broader reflections on political and cultural change in working-class communities in Kentucky and Ohio. After Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, it became required reading for voters and commentators trying to decode the country’s shifting political identity. Ron Howard adapted it into a 2020 film, and the memoir returned to the top of Amazon’s charts when Trump announced Vance as his vice presidential candidate. This latest chapter adds a strange footnote to the book’s legacy. According to reports, court documents show that Siebert used multiple treated items, including the memoir, hoping to slip drugs into the prison system through pages soaked in narcotics. Hence, considering the available information, there has been no indication by the authorities that it was a deliberate choice by those involved in this activity. For now, it seems like it was an accidental moment that has turned into an interesting, ironic story.
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/jd-vances-memoir-addiction-becomes-drug-smuggling-tool-ohio-prison-ironical-internet-reacts-1758171
Tag Archives: unintentionally
“Did she earn her astrophysics degree from E or Hulu?”: Netizens react after Khloe Kardashian says Kim doubts moon landing because of her
Khloe Kardashian has revealed that she doesn’t believe in the 1969 moon landing. She added that she is the reason why her sister, Kim Kardashian, also called the moon landing ‘fake’ in a recent interview. Ad In an episode of The Kardashians, released on October 30, Kim said that she doesn’t believe in the moon landing. In an interview with PEOPLE, published on November 18, Khloe Kardashian opened up about her beliefs on the topic as well. She said: “I don’t believe in the moon landing. That’s very controversial. And I feel bad because I think I riled Kim up about it, and I’ve gotten her into a lot of trouble! I don’t think it happened. I think me and my brother, we’ve fed her a lot of information. I don’t know, I feel bad about that, but I’m going to die on this hill!” Ad Khloe added that there are more conspiracy theories she can talk about, but added that she doesn’t expect the government to admit them. She said: “I don’t expect the government to admit the moon landing was faked, because then if they admit that didn’t happen. I mean, there’s a long list of things you can look into, and some are too scary to talk about publicly because you don’t want anyone getting mad at you.” Ad Fans online have reacted to this statement from Khloe Kardashian, as one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote: “Did she earn her astrophysics degree from E or Hulu.” Langab Nation @LangabNation1st @PopCrave Did she earn her astrophysics degree from E or Hulu. Ad Another wrote, Maxwell O @Areyoucapable @PopCrave It mostly shows how conspiratorial thinking has become part of pop culture and how celebrities can unintentionally fuel misinformation simply by saying they don’t believe something historically verified. Ad Another commented, 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢 | 💕 @fantasizemafia @PopCrave the whole family has collective IQ of 70 Ad Users continued to take digs at Khloe and Kim, as one user tweeted, Maxwell O @Areyoucapable @PopCrave Khloé’s opinion is her own, but it doesn’t change the fact that there’s overwhelming scientific, photographic, and physical evidence the moon landing happened. A celebrity doubting it doesn’t equal proof. Ad Another wrote, Joelyn Jane @Joelyn45205201 @PopCrave Why Kardashian sisters are obsessed with moon landing? First Kim K now Khole K !! Ad Another commented, MM @cornu123copia @PopCrave God spare us the Kardashians pontificating on matters of science and technology, none of whom have been to university. Ad Also Read: “Now our sons get to grow up together”: Khloe Kardashian opens up about how Kylie Jenner supported her after Tristan Thompson breakup Kim Kardashian labeled moon landing ‘fake’ days before Khloe Kardashian backed her on the conspiracy theory On the October 30 episode of The Kardashians, Kim Kardashian was speaking to her All Fair’s co-star Sarah Paulson about the moon landing. She told Paulson: Ad “I’m sending you, so far, a million articles with both Buzz Aldrin and . the other one [Neil Armstrong]. This girl says, ‘What was the scariest moment?’ And [Aldrin] goes, ‘There was no scary moment, cause it didn’t happen. It could’ve been scary, but it wasn’t, cause it didn’t happen.’ Kim claimed that Aldrin sometimes slips up in interviews, leading her to believe that the moon landing didn’t happen. She added: Ad “I don’t think we did. I think it was fake. I’ve seen a few videos [of] Buzz Aldrin talking about how it didn’t happen. He says it all the time now, in interviews.” Explaining her theory further, Kim said: “Why does Buzz Aldrin say it didn’t happen? There’s no gravity on the moon why is the flag blowing? The shoes that they have in the museum that they wore on the moon [have] a different [foot]print than the photos. Why are there no stars?” Ad Meanwhile, many experts have spoken up to debunk Kim and Khloe Kardashian’s theories since then. Buzz Aldrin, who stepped on the moon with Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, has also shared his memories in multiple interviews in recent months. Also Read: Kris Jenner opens up about being “control freak,” claims Dr. Amen’s Rule of 12 helps her calm down × Feedback Why did you not like this content? Clickbait / Misleading Factually Incorrect Hateful or Abusive Baseless Opinion Too Many Ads Other Was this article helpful? Thank You for feedback Edited by Aditya Singh.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-did-earn-astrophysics-degree-e-hulu-netizens-react-khloe-kardashian-says-kim-doubts-moon-landing
Stablecoins Emerge as a New Force in Monetary Policy, Fed Official Says
**Fintech: Digital Dollars and the Changing Landscape of Interest Rate Equilibrium**
A new concern has emerged within the Federal Reserve: digital dollars may be quietly rewriting the rules of interest rate equilibrium. Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran believes that the growing use of stablecoins—digital tokens backed one-to-one by traditional reserves—could gradually drag down the economy’s neutral interest rate, known as “R-star.” This is the theoretical rate where monetary policy neither speeds up nor slows down economic growth.
### Liquidity Surge From Digital Money
Speaking in New York on Friday, Miran described a scenario in which expanding stablecoin circulation adds fresh liquidity to the financial system. Each token issued is backed by a pool of safe assets such as cash and Treasury bills, effectively increasing the amount of loanable funds in the economy.
“When you inject that kind of capital supply into markets, the long-run balance between savings and investment starts to shift,” he noted. “That equilibrium change naturally pulls R-star lower.”
In simpler terms, the Fed governor argues that the more stablecoins there are, the more downward pressure builds on interest rates. This structural shift could require the central bank to operate with a permanently lower policy rate to avoid economic strain.
### A Call for Aggressive Rate Cuts
Miran, appointed by President Donald Trump, has repeatedly pushed for faster rate reductions. He insists that the Fed’s current policy stance is too tight for an economy operating below its neutral threshold.
His argument connects recent changes in trade, tariffs, and immigration policy to a decline in the underlying rate of equilibrium. “If the central bank doesn’t adjust,” he has warned, “it risks unintentionally tightening into weakness.”
To address this, Miran has proposed a sequence of half-point cuts to realign borrowing costs with the lower R-star he envisions.
### Stablecoins’ Expanding Role in U.S. Finance
Under recent U.S. legislation, stablecoin issuers must back tokens entirely with cash and Treasury securities. That linkage, Miran explained, amplifies Treasury demand as digital assets proliferate.
While the stablecoin sector remains small relative to the broader bond market, its expansion could subtly influence both liquidity conditions and the Fed’s long-term rate-setting process.
For now, stablecoins constitute only a fraction of the overall money supply, but in Miran’s view, they represent a structural change that the Federal Reserve can no longer afford to overlook.
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