Another reason not to vote for Chris Christie and the Republicans.

This spans party lines, pal. Republicans have no monopoly on financial elitism.

Do you really think this is a "this team" vs. "that team" thing? Please don't be that naive. This is a people on the side of civilization and culture vs. barbarians on the side of violence and the state. One promotes in this case technological advancement, the other, as always, threats with guns and cages.

Doesn't matter who's in charge. They are all owned.

I'd shorten your comment to say "Another reason not to vote." Period.

that is stupid

Voting is stupid.

I agree that voting in national and even state elections is a waste of time for many because it ultimately does not matter. Your vote probably does matter in local politics (e.g. city council, sheriff, etc), where both the money and power are limited - usually.

Your vote doesn't matter in local politics, either. It doesn't make a difference either way. You have a greater risk of getting in an accident on the way to the booth than you do of affecting the outcome.

What does not voting actually gain you?

Far better to focus on voting for a candidate that can actually change things, and if you can't find one, look into becoming one. If you can pick up even half the disenfranchised voters you'd win by a landslide.

there isnt any candidate that can change thing when they are willing to say anything to win. The only way to win is to infiltrate both parties with your own candidates. Exactly what the powers that be did.

It spares you the risk of getting in an accident on the way to the voting booth. I'd say that's good enough reason for most people.

Yeah, they're all bought and paid for. Only way to win is to start coughing up huge sums to buy politicians yourself.

Actually, I wonder if that would work. People say politicians are bought and paid for. I believe Obama spent $1.7 billion in 2008. That's less than $6 dollars a person. Say everyone coughed up $20 every four years - that would be enough to not only buy the President, but our Senators, Representatives, and governors, as well. Not that much.

There is NO similarity between this and that asshat who killed himself after being caught stealing what wasn't his to give.

You should look into what you are talking about.

The research he was releasing was publicly funded by *my* tax dollars, yet locked away so some big corporation can make money on it (even the scientists don't see a penny).

the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

So is the road to freedom.

Ahh, good old Ad Hominems. I don't often see them in WIRED's comment section. Rather than reply in kind, I'll simply point you to "The Internet's Own Boy." If you do care to challenge your beliefs and watch it, I doubt you'll be using similar ad Hominems towards Schwartz in the future.

The Interner's Own Boy - https://www.youtube.com/wat...

He wasn't charged with stealing and he wasn't charge with copyright violations. He was charged with exceeding authorized limits, whatever that is.

Bitcoin represents a shift in how money changes hands. That terrifies some powerful people.

This smells like the same kind of bought-and-paid-for prosecution that ruined HFT programmer Sergey Aleynikov's life when Goldman Sachs decided to punish him for leaving the firm by accusing him of stealing code, a prosecution that the Manhattan DA is still pursuing even after his Federal conviction was overturned.

The FBI agent in that case didn't know HTML from a hole in the ground and was led by the nose by Goldman. Gotta wonder who is on the other end of the leash in NJ in this case.

I think the odds are pretty good that it's the bankers, again.

They are a bunch of thugs in power...plain and simple.

But it can't and won't function as a substitute for a political system.

Control of the money supply is now fundamental to the political system.

that's a flaw in the political system - we can all thank Alexander Hamilton for that mistake.

Talk about beating a dead horse....

Too bad, so sad, your authoritarian police state has been notified that it's now obsolete, and should just go ahead and start packing up the office now. One sure way to ensure your power is to make sure not to use it in ways that piss off the market. Otherwise the market will immediately plot to circumvent the leash you've designed to contain it...

-Oz

The motivation for any political system is the predation of production. If the state can't prey on production, then it ceases to exist.

Bitcoin obstructs the state's ability to prey on production.

so??? If you defund the royalists...the royalists will die. GOOD. You liberals seem to want to bring monarchy to the USA.

Modern "liberals" are modern Hobbesians. Hobbes essentially fabricated an elaborate "social contract theory" that enslaved human beings to the ruling elitists. He advocated a "divine right to rule," because, you know, it was for our own good.

Is this really what Wired's comments have boiled down to? Libertarian manchildren vomiting talking points that were tired even when alt.politics was still a thing on Usenet?

Does every generation create a certain allotment of unlikeable libertarians who spoil online communities for everyone?

Oh, I'm presenting an alternative opinion and so that spoils YOUR fun times... so sorry. My most humble apologies to you, good sir.

(funny how you attempted to speak for everyone else, but you really do only speak for yourself).

It is not an alternative opinion, it is a contrarian one. Contrarianism is what dumb people think smart people think about.

Why not? Every generation seems to create a generation of naive Marxists who either don't realize that their fantasy economic system has never resulted in anything but slavery, starvation, and mass murder, or see those things as features.

You're ahead of the libertarians by about 100 million to zero when it comes to body count.

I'm sure you think you'll get it right next time, because this time the Right People (meaning you) will be holding the whip.

We're not going to let you do that, though. Sorry.

Do you just mash together libertarian talking points that are 25 years old in random arrangements for every comment you make?

It's about ten times more contribution to the discussion than your snarky, insulting comments.

lol yah libertarians have never killed anyone...not actively and certainly not passively by allowing them too starve or not receive medical treatment due too lack of funds...YOUR WAY OF THINKING should surely govern who is prosecuted and why...for infringing upon the rights of those who faithfully believe in your ideology...which is inherently OTSSS only the strong should survive...but fuck it your right the "Ive got mine mentality" is what makes humans beings the amazing social ape that comes ever and ever closer to mastering nature...

Why not? Every generation seems to create a generation of naive Marxists.

100 million dead bodies not enough for you?

Lol, yeah because there are so, so many Marxists in the online community in 2014.

You are a Marxist your just too stupid to realize it.

Are you in Jr. High? Is this supposed to be a retort from a human adult?

The truth hurts doesn't it? Quit commenting here and go masturbate to your Chairman Mao album.

Lol, libertarian manchildren are like obese Peter Pans who can't fly, only pout real hard.

hehehe

I'm a "modern liberal" and you don't know what you're talking about. It's the conservatives that want to derail Bitcoin and other decentralized monetary systems.

Modern "liberals" and modern "conservatives" are two different flavors of fascist.

I suppose that you are right. Since fascism is traditionally defined as the furthest you can go to the right on the political spectrum, and it is a fact that both the Dems and GOP have swung farther and farther to the right since Raygun, I guess I'm not a "modern" liberal. I simply in an insane country that I don't belong in.

It may be "defined" as such by left fascists, but that's not what it is.

Fascism is about state worship.

"Right" and "left" are meaningless terms in this context (in fact, they've been meaningless terms since shortly after they were first introduced in the French Revolution).