Re: U.S. Elections 2020, epic bet: nullius vs. theymos! theymos bets YOU for charity
Happy Bitcoinday! My PGP-signed commitment to the charity bet is below, as promised.
I am a bit disappointed that I had no suggestions for an American gun rights organization that accepts anonymous Bitcoin donations. This is P&S! I expected to receive a barrage of opinions.
I am not disappointed by theymos’ suggestion of the NCLA. I played around a bit with the Giving Block thingie, and it looks like it should work just fine... Hey, American Bitcoiners, do you care about the problem of the IRS being a financial mass-surveillance agency? Make a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donation (or if you prefer, an anonymous donation) of Bitcoin to the NCLA through Tor, and let me know how it goes! No matter what your opinion of taxes, the NCLA’s case against the IRS is a fight for privacy.
My own opinion: Most racketeering gangsters will at least sort of somewhat almost leave you alone, if you pay the demanded “protection” money. From Mr. Harper’s case, it is evident that even if you pay up, the IRS will rape your privacy, and then threaten you more. And in addition to being racketeers, the IRS are typical sleazy scammers.[1]
The NCLA is also fighting the BATF over bump stocks; so, it seems that they don’t pick and choose à la carte amongst your rights.
Good enough, eddie? I can be persuasive, can I not?
Thanks for the suggestion, theymos. Your election just got interesting! ;-)
1. Separated from the NCLA stuff—because this is the Internet, and people on the Internet get confused, and I don’t want for people to be confused.
SCAM! It is as if Kafka had a lovechild with a typical scammer:
On 3 November, just remember that neither Trump nor Biden will change that—or this:
I am a bit disappointed that I had no suggestions for an American gun rights organization that accepts anonymous Bitcoin donations. This is P&S! I expected to receive a barrage of opinions.
I am not disappointed by theymos’ suggestion of the NCLA. I played around a bit with the Giving Block thingie, and it looks like it should work just fine... Hey, American Bitcoiners, do you care about the problem of the IRS being a financial mass-surveillance agency? Make a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donation (or if you prefer, an anonymous donation) of Bitcoin to the NCLA through Tor, and let me know how it goes! No matter what your opinion of taxes, the NCLA’s case against the IRS is a fight for privacy.
NCLA represents Mr. Harper before the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. Mr. Harper’s “crime”? Holding a bitcoin wallet. The lawsuit argues that the IRS has acquired the unbridled power to demand and seize Americans’ private financial information from third parties without any judicial process in defiance of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments and statutory protections.
Mr. Harper bought his first bitcoin in 2013, and ever since then, he diligently paid all applicable taxes and reported his trades related to bitcoin holdings. Throughout these years, all his transactions were facilitated through three digital virtual currency exchanges: Coinbase, Abra, and Uphold. Given that all of them had contractually promised Mr. Harper to protect his private information, he was genuinely surprised when on August 9, 2019, he received a letter from IRS informing him that the agency had obtained his financial records related to ownership of bitcoin without any particularized suspicion of wrongdoing. Mr. Harper is one of 10,000 virtual currency owners who received such a letter, according to the IRS website.
[...] The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects “the right of the people to be secure in their … papers … against unreasonable searches and seizures.” [...]
This case presents the opportunity to correct the course of constitutional privacy law.
Mr. Harper bought his first bitcoin in 2013, and ever since then, he diligently paid all applicable taxes and reported his trades related to bitcoin holdings. Throughout these years, all his transactions were facilitated through three digital virtual currency exchanges: Coinbase, Abra, and Uphold. Given that all of them had contractually promised Mr. Harper to protect his private information, he was genuinely surprised when on August 9, 2019, he received a letter from IRS informing him that the agency had obtained his financial records related to ownership of bitcoin without any particularized suspicion of wrongdoing. Mr. Harper is one of 10,000 virtual currency owners who received such a letter, according to the IRS website.
[...] The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects “the right of the people to be secure in their … papers … against unreasonable searches and seizures.” [...]
This case presents the opportunity to correct the course of constitutional privacy law.
My own opinion: Most racketeering gangsters will at least sort of somewhat almost leave you alone, if you pay the demanded “protection” money. From Mr. Harper’s case, it is evident that even if you pay up, the IRS will rape your privacy, and then threaten you more. And in addition to being racketeers, the IRS are typical sleazy scammers.[1]
The NCLA is also fighting the BATF over bump stocks; so, it seems that they don’t pick and choose à la carte amongst your rights.
Good enough, eddie? I can be persuasive, can I not?
Thanks for the suggestion, theymos. Your election just got interesting! ;-)
Code:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512
I, the person identified by the PGP key signing this message, do
hereby commit for my part to the following charity bet with theymos
(bitcointalk.org adminstrator, u=35):
My 0.01 BTC wager on even odds that Donald J. Trump will win the 2020
U.S. Presidential Election. If Trump loses the election, then subject to
the below terms, I will pay 0.01 BTC to the New Civil Liberties Alliance
via their donation page at:
https://nclalegal.org/donate-crypto/
Reference number:
db4b57d9dd5779b04988bd4520de55f44f84d76fd7d594a6ea53f49bb8ce380e
Forum thread:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5284654.0
# Terms:
0. This bet shall NOT be construed as my political or moral endorsement of
Trump in any way. For the record, I despise the man (for reasons quite
different than those of the TDS crowd). But I predict that he will win,
and I will wager accordingly.
1. If the election results are officially contested in any way, then
the bet will be resolved by waiting to see who actually takes office
for the next U.S. presidential term.
Otherwise, the loser of the bet shall pay it promptly after the election
results are announced, and the losing candidate concedes or otherwise
indicates acceptance thereof. For reference: The election is scheduled
for 2020-11-03.
2. If Trump himself is removed from the running before the end of
2020-11-03 due to death, incapacity, or any other reason, then this wager
is null and void. Note: For my part, this wager is about whether or
not Trump wins. If Biden is removed from the running, then the wager
will remain in effect.
3. If I lose the bet, then if I have technical difficulties using the
NCLA’s Giving Block widget at the aforementioned web address through
Tor with Tor Browser, then I will donate 0.01 BTC to another charity
or other good cause (to neither my nor theymos’ direct benefit),
and provide a good-faith explanation on the forum thread referenced above.
I do not anticipate such difficulties. I set this contingency based
only on my experience as a longtime Tor user. Having dealt with many
surprising Tor blocks and web app failures, especially for financial
transactions, it is my general policy always to set such contingency
plans just in case. I will NOT make any transaction without Tor for
the purposes of this bet.
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8lytJ07oJMGSY1DvWugkjCQCj/4mmQI=
=wUcs
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Hash: SHA512
I, the person identified by the PGP key signing this message, do
hereby commit for my part to the following charity bet with theymos
(bitcointalk.org adminstrator, u=35):
My 0.01 BTC wager on even odds that Donald J. Trump will win the 2020
U.S. Presidential Election. If Trump loses the election, then subject to
the below terms, I will pay 0.01 BTC to the New Civil Liberties Alliance
via their donation page at:
https://nclalegal.org/donate-crypto/
Reference number:
db4b57d9dd5779b04988bd4520de55f44f84d76fd7d594a6ea53f49bb8ce380e
Forum thread:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5284654.0
# Terms:
0. This bet shall NOT be construed as my political or moral endorsement of
Trump in any way. For the record, I despise the man (for reasons quite
different than those of the TDS crowd). But I predict that he will win,
and I will wager accordingly.
1. If the election results are officially contested in any way, then
the bet will be resolved by waiting to see who actually takes office
for the next U.S. presidential term.
Otherwise, the loser of the bet shall pay it promptly after the election
results are announced, and the losing candidate concedes or otherwise
indicates acceptance thereof. For reference: The election is scheduled
for 2020-11-03.
2. If Trump himself is removed from the running before the end of
2020-11-03 due to death, incapacity, or any other reason, then this wager
is null and void. Note: For my part, this wager is about whether or
not Trump wins. If Biden is removed from the running, then the wager
will remain in effect.
3. If I lose the bet, then if I have technical difficulties using the
NCLA’s Giving Block widget at the aforementioned web address through
Tor with Tor Browser, then I will donate 0.01 BTC to another charity
or other good cause (to neither my nor theymos’ direct benefit),
and provide a good-faith explanation on the forum thread referenced above.
I do not anticipate such difficulties. I set this contingency based
only on my experience as a longtime Tor user. Having dealt with many
surprising Tor blocks and web app failures, especially for financial
transactions, it is my general policy always to set such contingency
plans just in case. I will NOT make any transaction without Tor for
the purposes of this bet.
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iHUEARYKAB0WIQSNOMR84IlYpr/EF5vEJ5MVn575SQUCX50bdQAKCRDEJ5MVn575
SfeiAQD5/Wdak6HK5085mD7nKcq3umBVf7fkejyZRNS0tHOI/wD9ESJcssP9Tdv8
8lytJ07oJMGSY1DvWugkjCQCj/4mmQI=
=wUcs
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
1. Separated from the NCLA stuff—because this is the Internet, and people on the Internet get confused, and I don’t want for people to be confused.
SCAM! It is as if Kafka had a lovechild with a typical scammer:
On 3 November, just remember that neither Trump nor Biden will change that—or this:
Dear Americans: Please SHUT UP about your reality-TV “election” show—and don’t vote, unless/until you get a candidate on the ballot in all 50 states who will call on Congress to send up bills abolishing the Federal Reserve and its conjoined twin, the Marxist progressive income tax.