Bitcoin and cryptocurrency

aim9xray said:
By that exact reasoning, I should have my own B61-13.

Explain why or why not.
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There's a long way from bearable arms to thermonuclear devices.

But how about this: any class of weapon used by any internal policing system within the United States is available to the citizens. If the cops think they need AR-15's - and they do - then the citizens get to have them. If you agree with that... then you *do* get to own your very own nuclear devices, because Representative Eric Swalwell has suggested the use of nuclear weapons on American cities that harbor citizens who don't turn in their AR-15's.

In any event, you *can* have your own nuke. When I visited Los Alamos some years ago, I stopped at a motel across the street from a junkyard... a junkyard that had a rusty old B43 haphazardly welded to an I-beam out front as sort of a gate guard. I want an M388 personally.
 
Orionblamblam said:
There's a long way from bearable arms to thermonuclear devices.
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Not in your thesis statement.

We'll try again. I am allowed to have my own MRAP with breaching gear to penetrate my local Police Station at my whim and then use my AR-15 as I so please?
 
aim9xray said:
Not in your thesis statement.
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See below...
aim9xray said:
We'll try again. I am allowed to have my own MRAP with breaching gear...
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Yes? Pretty sure you are.

aim9xray said:
to penetrate my local Police Station at my whim
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Doing *that* would probably be illegal.

aim9xray said:
and then use my AR-15 as I so please?
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Also potentially illegal.

You are currently allowed to own a Fiat. I suspect the law would take a dim view of you using it to mow down a bunch of kids... or cops. Same with an AR-15, AK-47, Tommygun, revolver, flamethrower. But the fact that you might use your Fiat improperly doesn't mean other people are barred the use of Fiats. Same applies to arms.

The current understanding via the USSC is that citizens are allowed to keep and bear arms that are in common use. The only bannable weapons are those that are *not* in common use and which are "particularly dangerous." Weapons that are "dangerous" *and* in common use may not be banned. One might argue that nukes might be excessively dangerous, but they're certainly not in common use. Therefore a ban on them is *currently* not unconstitutional.


1. Bruen’s step one “plain text” analysis is based on the text. It is not an empirical inquiry.
2. The Court should once again make clear that the right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment is not a second-class right.
3. The “common use” inquiry focuses on whether an arm is commonly possessed by American citizens.
4. The relative “dangerousness” of a weapon is irrelevant if the weapon is commonly possessed for lawful purposes.
5. “Corpus linguistics” analysis remains unfruitful in the Second Amendment context.
6. All American citizens are among “the people.”

The AR-15 is the most common firearm in the United States, as often admitted even by gun grabbers. Bans on them are unConstitutional and unAmerican.
 
Well then. I'm going to keep my JagdTiger and JagdPanther carefully hidden in the woods.
 
Orionblamblam said:
The AR-15 is the most common firearm in the United States, as often admitted even by gun grabbers. Bans on them are unConstitutional and unAmerican.
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Apparently so is my right to not be randomly killed by a nutcase (person off of their meds) wielding one. So, you are saying my right to not be shot by an AR-15 is: "unConstitutional and unAmerican."

Sorry, not sorry. My life is not yours to offhandedly and inconsiderately risk in order to allow you to shoot up the gubment when they deign to notice and come for you because your homestead has been declared as a Bent Spear site.
 
aim9xray said:
Apparently so is my right to not be randomly killed by a nutcase (person off of their meds) wielding one.
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So you need to ban cars, knives, clubs, fists, rocks, poisons, ropes, bricks, feet, hatchets...

aim9xray said:
My life is not yours to offhandedly and inconsiderately risk ...
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My rights are not yours to take because yer askeered of a statistical extreme unlikelihood.
 
Orionblamblam said:
My rights are not yours to take because yer askeered of a statistical extreme unlikelihood.
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"askeered"? Why no, podner. You can't keep trouble from visitin', but you don't have to offer it a chair.
 
aim9xray said:
"askeered"? Why no, podner. You can't keep trouble from visitin', but you don't have to offer it a chair.
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So, here's my solution: when a crazy guy off his meds, or indeed Joe Biden (but then, I repeat myself), shows up at your house... don't give him your gun. Problem solved. Because allowing people to exercise their rights does not mean you give them *anything.* That's not how it works in the US: the Constitution is about *negative* rights: things the government is not allowed to do to you or take from you. It's not a document that says what the government is to *give* you.

You're allowed to speak, but the government isn't mandated to give you a bullhorn. You're allowed to keep and bear arms, but the government isn't to hand out M1911's. You're allowed to feed yourself and get health care, but the government isn't to give you food or free health care. It simply cannot *prevent* you from seeking these things.

So, no, Don't "offer a chair" to trouble. Keep your own chair.
 
I'm not afraid of death, friend. I just don't want to be there when it happens. G'nite.
 
aim9xray said:
I'm not afraid of death, friend. I just don't want to be there when it happens.
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Not really sure how you're gonna pull that little trick off. I suppose getting brain damaged and being comatose might apply... when the body finally dies, ya ain't there.

Having some difficulty reconciling that with Bitcoin, however.
 
Meanwhile, the so-called crypto industry is suffering from the delusion that >all< the bad players have been found. With that, no more scams - ever. And all physical bank robberies will cease...
 
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I stayed away from the whole crytpo things. Not only bad players but it's way too volatile yet at least some players overpromising the merit of it.
 
Meanwhile, "unsophisticated investors" who had money in FTX are waiting for some portion of their funds to be recovered. And the scam artists continue to promote the idea that now that the owners of the top two crypto exchanges have been convicted, all the "bad actors" are now gone. That's like saying: 'Now that we caught these guys, crypto is now 100% scam-free.'

An observation to those who think cryptocurrency is a good idea. Making a better interest rate is like drawing bees to honey. A number of people will always fall for that. Anyone holding 'the only crypto coin that matters' - Bitcoin - saw its value go up. But check its value history. If I have $100 in my pocket right now, I can be assured it will be worth $100 throughout the year. You can still lose money with Bitcoin.
 
Here we go again...

Australian cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Lee has been charged for his alleged role in a $US1.89 billion ($2.85 billion) fraud scheme alongside two others.

The US Department of Justice has announced the charges against Mr Lee, 35, alongside US nationals Rodney Butron and Brenda Chunga for allegedly co-founding HyperFund, also known as HyperTech, HyperCapital, HyperVerse and HyperNation.

The trio is charged with defrauding investors for allegedly falsely representing that investors would receive substantial returns paid from cryptocurrency mining operations, which did not exist.
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The fallout of another Crypto based Ponzi Scheme...

When South African alleged conman Johann Steynberg was led away in handcuffs after being tracked down by police in the Brazilian city of Goiânia two years ago, many of his investors – including thousands of Australians – thought their nightmare was over.

Built like a front rower for the Springboks, Steynberg, 40, was arrested under Interpol warrants for allegedly heading up the world’s largest cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, Mirror Trading International.

Mirror Trading International – also known as MTI or MTI Club – pledged to deliver high returns to investors by pooling tens of thousands of bitcoin.
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Bitcoin to bust: World’s biggest Ponzi scheme could cause more heartache for Australians
 
It's true that there have been some unsavory characters and scams in the industry, which can make investing in crypto seem risky.
 
ChloeG said:
It's true that there have been some unsavory characters and scams in the industry, which can make investing in crypto seem risky.
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Cryptocurrency is fake. It has no intrinsic value. It's nothing more than 'I can give you 5 or 8 or 10 percent.' It's built on marketing credit. Only credit. The other goal is for persons unknown to take over the banking industry by engaging in a scheme to create an alternate (non) money supply. Then, when people sell some "coin" to make money, that's OK? If I have a hundred dollar bill in my pocket, it will still be worth one hundred dollars at the end of the year. It won't be traded like a stock and lose value.
 
ChloeG said:
It's true that there have been some unsavory characters and scams in the industry, which can make investing in crypto seem risky.
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You have superfluous "some", "can", and "seem" in your sentence there, but otherwise I mostly concur with your statement, apart from the fundamental fallacy that solving tricky algorithms that serve no other purpose than conjuring the digital equivalent of The Emperor's New Clothes actually creates value. But then again, this comes from the same bro crowd that worships at the altar of the simulation hypothesis...
 
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edwest4 said:
If I have a hundred dollar bill in my pocket, it will still be worth one hundred dollars at the end of the year. It won't be traded like a stock and lose value.
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Of course it will lose value. After a year its intrinsic value will be $98 or whatever the economic conditions dictate. Fiat currency only loses value with time.

To try to maintain or increase its intrinsic value you'll have to invest it, which is basically the same game as cryptocurrency. Will your investment go up or down?
 
Kiltonge said:
Of course it will lose value. After a year its intrinsic value will be $98 or whatever the economic conditions dictate. Fiat currency only loses value with time.

To try to maintain or increase its intrinsic value you'll have to invest it, which is basically the same game as cryptocurrency. Will your investment go up or down?
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I'll invest in something tangible. I'll never pay real money to get nothing; a line of code.
 
@edwest4 My employer pays me Euros, every month, but I rarely exchange coins or bills these days. Most of my transactions are by debit card, some by credit card.
In that sense, my 'real' money is a line of code.
 
Arjen said:
@edwest4 My employer pays me Euros, every month, but I rarely exchange coins or bills these days. Most of my transactions are by debit card, some by credit card.
In that sense, my 'real' money is a line of code.
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It doesn't matter to me. The bank my employer uses wants him to stop writing checks. They want more profit. Investors in Coin only want profit and control of the money supply.
 
Arjen said:
@edwest4 My employer pays me Euros, every month, but I rarely exchange coins or bills these days. Most of my transactions are by debit card, some by credit card.
In that sense, my 'real' money is a line of code.
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True, but typically, First World (yeah, I said it) (inter)national government backed currencies like the US Dollar or the Euro do not have a tendency to suddenly and spectacularly self-implode/immolate. Welcome to the crypto casino though - some codes are apparently better than others...
 
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Arjen said:
@edwest4 My employer pays me Euros, every month, but I rarely exchange coins or bills these days. Most of my transactions are by debit card, some by credit card.
In that sense, my 'real' money is a line of code.
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As are NFTs, the lesser brethren of cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, in the Emperor's New Clothes(TM) digital factories...
 
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Ultimately, how much faith do you have in (crypto) currency at least retaining its value? The ups and downs of bitcoin don't fill me with much trust, but then, neither does the soon to be defunct, supremely tangible Zimbabwean dollar.

Whether it exists as a wheelbarrow filled with lucre, or just as an entry in secure databases is beside the point. Do you TRUST the entity that backs a (crypto) currency?
 
Arjen said:
Ultimately, how much faith do you have in (crypto) currency at least retaining its value? The ups and downs of bitcoin don't fill me with much trust, but then, neither does the soon to be defunct, supremely tangible Zimbabwean dollar.

Whether it exists as a wheelbarrow filled with lucre, or just as an entry in secure databases is beside the point. Do you TRUST the entity that backs a (crypto) currency?
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Some I might, most I wouldn't. But that's admittedly a uniquely personal choice. And with respect to the Zimbabwean dollar, that's why I included the first World qualifier ;)...
 
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In the anonymous internet world, trust can only be earned by real entities. Fake entities with their own coin can take your money and can disappear the next day. That's the non-beauty of cryptocurrency. The Future of Bank Robbery. Just look at FTX. And Binance. I read an article at a cryptocurrency news site that suggested that now that these bad actors have been caught, no more bad events will occur. That is foolish.
 
Attorneys for people who lost money when FTX went under are calling them "unsophisticated investors." Why? They did not read the fine print? How about this? ONCE WE GET YOUR MONEY IT BECOMES OUR MONEY.

Sam Bankman-Fried was sitting on billions. He blew it. Why would anyone, I mean ANYONE,. bother with cryptocurrency? Because you want 10%? That's stupid. Keep your money in a real bank. At least there it's FDIC insured.
 

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