Re: Gavin will visit the Council on Foreign Relations

I've accepted an invitation to do a question and answer session at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington, DC on Thursday, February 6, 2014.

Congratulations on being invited to speak at the CFR, it's an honor and a milestone for the bitcoin community.

Really? How so, exactly?

Is it because they are a powerful bunch? The Mafia is also a powerful group of people; if they invited Gavin to speak, would you consider that an "honor and a milestone for the bitcoin community"?

Or is it because you believe they are nice, honest people?

Please don't be so naive. Many of these think tanks you all despise actually do quality work, you don't need to agree with their politics to see that. Read a copy of Foreign Affairs sometime and you'll see that the analysis is professional and comprehensive, whatever the policy recommendations happen to be.

It's an honor for Gavin to represent bitcoin at the CFR because it shows that some of the nation's top researchers take bitcoin seriously. Why else would they bother inviting him? Only the uneducated believe in conspiracy theories.

Let's not forget that "think tank" can refer to almost any social-political research institution.

Only the thoroughly educated believe their government.