This is the only tangible, actionable reason to vote, imo 
Discussion
Makes sense if you don’t live in america
Except he’s the same guy who has called for the death sentence for drug dealers so it’s pretty astonishing that single fact doesn’t cross him off the list for basically everybody. Doesn’t matter whether he could ever do that or not, just saying it is psychotic.
It’s irrelevant. First he can’t do it, second he’s terrible on like 1000 different policies and economic decisions, but all other options are identical. Kamala is somehow even *far* worse than the general crap bag that Trump is.
Which is why voting generally doesn’t matter and why nothing meaningful will change. Which is why I said THIS is the only actionable reason to vote. I’m explicitly excluding everything else, because it’s all moot and anyone who says there’s some meaningful difference is just playing the stupid left/right whataboutism game and has lost sight of simple reality.
It’s all a sham, neither candidate will do anything but continue the awful trajectory we have been on in multiple different ways, BUT only in one case can I possibly give some sort of help to a very specific person. If it saves Ross from dying in prison, then all the rest is bullshit anyway. Anyone claiming otherwise is selling something, imo.
You could have said "I'm retarded" in only 2 words and I would have finished reading that version
That’s weird I emptied it to my own Lightning node so it should be fine. Maybe nostr:npub1getal6ykt05fsz5nqu4uld09nfj3y3qxmv8crys4aeut53unfvlqr80nfm is having a delay on invoice notifications/status?
I’ll update it back to my btcpay and keep track of things there. Thanks for letting me know it’s still having trouble
if you believe this,
you're kinda an idiot.
You got a better plan to get him out?
the state is violence.
if you want to stop the violence you undermine the state.
not simp for politicians making bullshit promises.
they are going to be MORE violent, not less.
Of course, which is exactly why the above is the only thing that would matter. I’m not simping for anyone, literally every other policy and promise and bullshit spawn of both candidates is completely worthless or just flat out awful. I’ve said as such an endless number of times. Which I would be why this is the ONLY item in the entire list that has any direct and measurable effect whatsoever. All the rest is the same game it’s always been.
You're ignoring the part where Trump says he would make himself dictator. I'm not willing to risk that just for the sake of one man. That's a strange type of logic for me. Better to put pressure on Harris and embarrass her. She needs people to like her.
And honestly, the only people who see Trump and Harris as the same are people who've already figured out that they won't be affected by either of their policies. So it's okay for them to focus on a single issue.
You cannot seriously believe the whole "im gonna be a dictator" nonsense. Like seriously, I don't believe you fell for that, you MUST be smarter than that.
He was literally being sarcastic about how the MSM has done nothing but call his Hitler and a dictator for 8 years. In other words, he was literally picking on how retarded and dishonest the MSM is... which was hilariously confirmed by the fact that the left repeats his joke every single day. It's like an idiot badge for the news.
Trump is a moron but it makes us look even dumber when we believe the utter bullshit that comes out of literal campaign ads.
Yet, we should believe a post on social media. 😏 Past actions foreshadow future actions. Not words.
Either way, let's agree to disagree on this one.
I dont' believe it, I simply think its more likely than 0%, which every other path and option is obviously 0%.
I at least hope you admit (if only to yourself) that the dictator thing is total bullshit and also exactly why he has such great support. Because the media lies so heavily that it makes people defend him (something that even i have to do because the left is so insane).
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Sure we can agree to disagree, but i don't know what we are disagreeing on unless it's that you don't care about Ross, as it's literally the single issue I posted about with the explicit exclusion of all other issues.
Spoiler alert: he doesn't. Better to talk philosophy than to do anything practical.
I appreciate your enlightened take, but believe what exactly? That Trump will free him (that I don’t actually know, but I do know Kamala won’t, it’s about the possibility), or are you suggesting voting on one issue like this is stupid, or are you claiming that Ross shouldn’t be free?
Lots of possibilities here and I’d love to find out which one makes me an idiot.
That Trump will free him.
or in fact gives a one solitary shit one way or the other, which he doesn't.
Doesn’t matter whether he cares. It’s whether he will be embarrassed or look cowardly for not doing it. At this point he has positioned himself strongly enough that I think he will do it purely to protect his ego. It makes him look like a fool if he doesn’t.
If you think the possibility is zero, then I think you just have political blinders on same as anyone stuck in the left/right game. A very rudimentary look at how he behaves and how much he cares about his image suggests otherwise.
It affects his image basically zero if a tiny group of people feel like he's been disingenuous.
There's a strange cognitive dissonance that happens. Look at his shit-coining.
He can talk to Bitcoiners and because he says, I will do this thing, everybody applauds and supports him.
And on the backside, he's shitcoins. And everybody says, oh well, it can't be helped and excuses him.
The moral of the story is, once they have your vote, it is extremely difficult to say, oh, I made a mistake and speak out loudly against the person that you've already supported.
Like I said, literally everything else is bullshit, continuing to bring it up like it matters means you clearly don’t see the point. Who fucking cares that he’s bad on everything, it ALL is.
Also what does my vote get him that he doesn’t get already, you’ve also made the mistake of thinking I gave anything of consequence. Your last paragraph is directly contradictory to the rest of your position. My vote won’t make any difference to the broader direction of the country or growth of the state.
Which is literally the entire context of my original point.
I don't really get out of its contradictory to anything. I'm not talking about MY vote because I'm not fucking voting for these assholes.
Pretty sure it's *your position that's contradictory by saying that it's worth voting for this one issue, but it actually doesn't matter at all because it's already rigged anyway.
Whereas I'm just observing that socially people have problems not supporting a candidate that they've already voted for.
Which is why they make promises that they have absolutely no intention on carrying through. To get certain demographics on board.
You are literally saying that I’m losing something and “can’t take it back” if I give my vote.
Who cares if it’s meaningless anyway? I don’t care about any of it, it’s pure noise and mountains of lies. But in this case there is a single direct item that could occur, easy to verify, and that he has repeated on many occasions and continues to reinforce. There’s a small chance it could occur.
I literally care about nothing else and bringing any of it up is irrelevant
I believe Ross' chance at freedom is greater than 0% if Trump wins.
If Trump loses, Ross' chance remains 0% with Kamala.
Good enough for me to vote. It's a rigged, bs system, but it's the absolute least I can do.
PS: you're calling his mother an idiot. She knows it's not a guarantee, but she believes Trump will free her son.
you got that backwards friend
Agree. First time I'm voting since Ron Paul.
Voting is your action. Anything beyond that is not tangible 😓
That’s not the point I’m getting at. I’m saying that everyrhing else is bullshit and empty claims of “I’ll make this better” and “the other candidate did this!” It’s a giant theater of nonsense. I’m saying that pardoning Ross Ulbricht is a specific, direct action that Trump seems set on doing, and Kamala absolutely will not do.
I literally don’t care about any of the other empty promises, because there is nothing concrete to hold anyone to anyway. This however, is a direct action to help a single person who doesn’t deserve the horrible injustice he received.
Gotcha, (tangible + actionable) = trump. Not directed at the voter … 🫡🫡🫡
This is a worthy 1 topic voter issue. I would also say that if you are a 1 topic voter this time around, it could be to vote against censorship and that would also be a vote for Trump.
I have no confidence that Trump will be against censorship in the necessarily objective way it needs to be. I highly suspect it’ll be based on political lines.
Very much like how Republicans instantly supported the banning of TikTok the second cHiNa became the concern.
I don't think you vote for Trump the person, but the set of policies and people around him, and those who would apply a different set of pressures.
I think it’s FAR more likely he’ll support free speech for those reasons (not due to any deep understanding or ethical principle necessarily) than the Regime.
IMO, Trump vote is a no-brainer — there’s just nothing really to lose compared to the Regime.
I will not be voting for any policy reason because I don’t believe any of it, imo.
My point is that the ONLY reason that would even be meaningful is regarding Ross
Sometimes I think something along those lines -- it's all kayfabe, just one giant uniparty, and I wouldn’t be entirely shocked if that turned out to be the case.
But 2017-2020 happened, and we weren’t at war, there was no Regime-sponsored censorship and no one was requiring pharmaceutical blood compliance to attend a restaurant.
Just don’t see how there’s anything to lose by voting against that, even if it turns out it’s in fact bullshit.
How did all the pardons he promised during his last campaign turn out again?
It’s a promise which obviously has the potential to be bullshit. But it seems less likely than not. He did pardon numerous people that he said he would, and more specifically he has repeated this one on numerous occasions to the point that it would make him look really stupid if he didn’t do it.
I think he will do it simply to protect his ego and image. That’s what the bet would be on. And regardless, what would be the alternative? The same shit that would’ve happened anyway. It’s not like any other issue in any way shape or form will matter. But in the case of Ross, it’s literally “maybe he will do it,” or nothing will happen, which is exactly what will happen in literally every other option or path available.
Yeah. I wasn’t going to vote originally but if it’s a sliver of a possibility that he will make good on this. It’s worth it… and if he makes himself out to be a liar then it’s back to feeling like my votes irrelevant 😂😂
His cult will never admit he has a fault and everyone else already hates him. There is no face to save anymore.
This is precisely what makes Trump so dangerous. The Dem fanbois are capable of turning on their leaders at least, even if their threshold for doing it is far too high.
I have literally less than zero faith that the left will turn on the govt, they've gone so ASTOUNDINGLY in the opposite direction that I cannot even begin to entertain that. Even the left leaning people in my personal life frighten me the degree of "do EVERYTHING the state says and if you don't you should be imprisoned" that they thoughtlessly and immediately adopted.
The Trump supporters have completely lost the plot and miss *entirely* that everything that happened in 2020 was not only explicitly done under Trump, but that he has continuously endorsed and even BRAGGED about that shitshow. They won't admit the absurd failures that he has overseen because all they see is that he is some sort of hero because the MSM hates him, and that's apparently enough to exclaim that everything he does is perfect.
not so -- most people voting for Trump are doing it eyes open, routinely criticize his horrendous handling of covid and his doing zero against the deep state the first time.
There are *some* zealots, of course, but it is not nearly as symmetrical as you present.
He had 4 years to do it. He pardoned random rapper instead.
He didn’t even know about Ross at that time. It was during the past couple of years he was made aware of it.
Now if he had promised to pardon him multiple times and didn’t, I would never suggest he wasn’t full of shit on the second round.
If nothing else this would be a good way for him to needle Chuck Schumer, which is a good incentive for someone like Trump
He could have saved him on his last term, couln't he? Why now and not then? #freeRoss anyway
nostr:note194aqk5mnw8xm9dahpzwp8fz5h0k0vrpkqygwdhaqyxxv9cav2aeqqaepad
12 years...? Damn.
Idiotic. I was starting to have respect for you and your opinions... all lost.
You think there is a reason to vote other than the tiny chance that Ross might be free?
Also, I'm not even slightly concerned about what you think of my opinions.
Here's my harsh take - "Free Ross" is emotion based psychological manipulation preformed by state actors to trigger action through an empathetic response. I'd love to see Ross free, but ultimately that outcome is inconsequential to the bigger fight and it wouldn't even address the structure which imprisoned him in the first place.
Think about how many lives will be destroyed through war, money printing, deficit spending, harmful policies, etc. Just because someone is a Bitcoin hero doesn't mean the chance of their freedom overrides all of those realities.
Trump is better than Kamala but not by much and neither are my leaders. Vote for the lesser of two evils if you want evil, act for good if you want change. Bitcoiners understand this better than most, I don't get the simping.
I think you may not know what simping is.
I agree with all the rest. It's likely BS. Like i said in other conversation, i give it a 50/50 chance... maybe less.
Bitcoiners simping for Trump is what I'm reffering to.
I'd simp for Ross any day.
well I'm not simping for Trump if you are implying that. Never have.
I'm not. I agree with you Guy! There are others though...
My original response was more aimed at the other person you were first talking to
Gotcha, I thought you were responding to my original post.
No, classic Amythest moment. I have a hard time following which thread I'm in sometimes.
To vote or not to vote is a very contentious issue in Bitcoin circles. We are all very opinionated. Do you have any good Bitcoin audible episodes on the issue?
hmm that could be a good episode actually...
but as far as bitcoin related issues this is one of the episodes where i covered my view of what has been happening recently. it was just after Bitcoin2024.
I'll check it out!
Also, I tried to zap you but got a no route error with wallet of satoshi and my own node. Thank you for all your great work!
"Think about how many lives will be destroyed through war, money printing, deficit spending, harmful policies, etc. Just because someone is a Bitcoin hero doesn't mean the chance of their freedom overrides all of those realities."
I dont believe any of his nonsense about bitcoin, he clearly has no idea what he's talking about. Again, all of this is irrelevant. Hwo will any of this be any different. If anyone thinks there vote will make a difference here, they have deluded themselves.
Which is again, why the explicit context of my post is that none of that matters, because there is no way at all to change any of that. Its like saying we can "manage the cancer" instead of remove it. It's just gonna keep growing.
ie. not relevant, and voting on any other issue is pointless.
The Bitcoin hero I'm referring to is still Ross BTW. Trump is clueless. 78 year old grandpa, total statist, he will never get it.
If we want to free Ross, we should go do it. My two sats.
And you shouldn't care about me or my thoughts. Funny how easily and clearly others posted their logic against your misguided position. I still respect your opinion and appreciate you. Best of luck. XOXO
Well i answered them and gave my reasoning for why no other issue matters. If you had something to add I could explain, and its funny how so dominated by the political frame everyone is that they think this means I'm voting (for Trump presumably), which I've also never said.
The comment was explicitly: "literally nothing about voting matters or will make a tangible difference except possibly this single issue."
then people come in acting like they are teaching me something and bring up100 irrelevant things they either heard in political ads or read in a Rothbard piece that they only first found this year.
You're not speaking to me in this particular comment, but I figured I'd chime in anyways. There are definitely plenty of reasons to vote for him. Freeing Ross is a good idea, but ultimately it doesn't impact us as individuals, whereas the other policies that Trump is promoting very heavily can impact us. It really does just come down to, do you want more of the last four years of absolute clownery or do you want us to at least try to return to the state of the economy military border and governmental values that we had starting in 2016?
The choice is pretty clear. We can't survive another four years of what we just went through. On top of that, Kamalo will be 10 times worse as an individual, considering the fact that she's a hardcore communist. If you choose not to vote for Trump, then you're effectively giving more room to Kamala. I know that the lesser of two evils mentality absolutely sucks, but it's the truth, unfortunately. Kamala stands very contrary to the values of Bitcoin and of freedom. That alone should be enough reason to not vote for her and to vote for Trump instead.
Again, at the end of the day, freeing Ross is a great idea, but it's not the issue that should make or break a candidate for anybody.
You write notes I write checks. nostr:npub1h8nk2346qezka5cpm8jjh3yl5j88pf4ly2ptu7s6uu55wcfqy0wq36rpev how about we raise some more satoshis for Ross and his mom...
That's an awesome idea actually!
I should do a month of zaps for Ross after i switch off from Helene relief. Thanks for the suggestion actually 🙏🏻
Maybe a principled person would do this as a final act of clemency.
But DJT is NOT a principled person and there's no way he's going to let the Dems paint him as soft on crime.
For what, the support of a maybe 10k bitcoiners and libertarians?
Not realistic.
One of them
I'm more in the "none of it matters as much as they want us to think" boat.
Trump & Co have created their own Crypto - this is a MASSIVE red flag. He doesn’t give a crap!
On practically every other issue both candidates are total dogshit. This is why i don't care about any of them.
I always just "waste" my vote by running libertarian it doesn't matter in Texas anyway cuz Republicans always win
I never voted for a Democrat and Republicans lost the plot back in the bush years and they've completely lost their minds with Trump
Maybe we need a new political party based on 21st century realities - the Sovereign Individual did say industrial age politics would be rendered meaningless.
To be honest, this guy is changing sides always. I would not trust him at all, verify if we can, but for now we can't. Trust in ourselves and our families. 💜
I don't disagree entirely, but the decision is clear. You either get a really crappy economy, along with open borders, weak military, and DEI policies...
Or we get some form of economic prosperity, secure borders, strong military, and more traditional American and family values.
Personally, I wanted Vivek Ramaswamy, but I'd rather Trump over Kamala. That's for sure. Anyone who chooses to abstain from voting is responsible for giving it to Kamala. I understand that the "lesser of two evils" mentality is not ideal. I chose not to vote in 2016 for that very reason. However, it's the truth, as unfortunate as it may be. Thankfully, we dodged a bullet with Hillary. I never would have been able to have lived that down if she made it, nor would I have been able to have forgiven myself for the damage that would have caused.
I agree that it is a good reason to vote, but how is it the only real reason to do so? I mean, we have a totally incompetent and malignant regime in power right now, and we had a better situation overall before, back when he was in power.
Is this your gut feeling? Or do you have data, that support, that changes from Trump were the reason for making america better? Like data that can be verified.
Were you living here from 2016-2019? It was blatantly obvious.
So this means you have no data to show your point. Since many decisions have only effects after some time changes from 1016-19 are most likely from the former government. But I understand, that not everyone can or want to understand this.
It's blatantly obvious, as I said. I'm not going to waste my time pulling hard data (which you can find on your time), since I know you're inevitably going to argue either way.
If Kamala wins, enjoy your communistic, dystopian nightmare because you'll be partly responsible for it.
I see you live in distopia anyway. You know anything about communism? Kamala is defnitly no communist. But probably you got this message anyways from your messias trump. Much fun in your world. I prefer living reality.
DERP.
Why support Trump for this? RFK also said the same thing. You compared these two in a podcast and you know one is saying what needs to be said and the other is articulate. I'm not following why based people are falling for this. The dude wanted Assange assassinated and could have pardoned him, Ross, or Snowden, but didn't.
Great effort to stand against the naive views as someone can be seen as a good person only for posting a one liner he himself probably already forgot about.
I did support RKF, made a whole episode about it. But he is in no position to help Ross
It seems no one can read my post. I’m literally saying there is nothing else on the table in any way that has any meaningful impact, but that if there is a chance that he frees Ross, it’s the only thing that should be considered and the only thing that would make a measurable difference for at least one person.
There is never a tangible reason to perpetuate a violence monopoly, imo.
Why are you saying this in a reply to someone pretending Trump is good, without addressing the Trump part?
Are you retarded enough to think Trump will suddenly deliver on promises in his second term after you already saw his first term?
I almost gave a fuck about Ross at one point but I'm seeing through the bullshit at this stage.
I was manipulated into caring because I'm terrified of dying in prison myself and I felt a duty to stand with the community standing up for someone since I will need people to stand up for me.
But you have no fucking point. There is no reason to give so much of a fuck about this guy. I will be locked up for fighting against the COVID bioweapon and I see no signs any of you people will give a fuck, and you're not even talking about legalizing all drugs and retroactively releasing all drug dealers, you're just focusing on Ross because he has money and/or connections that got him help from the deep state making his name a rally cry for fake libertarians.
Thanks to the amount of spam about Ross from people who don't talk about the bigger picture, I've gone from almost giving a fuck about Ross to hoping he dies in prison. It hurts being manipulated to care about others who will let me and my loved ones die with no remorse, so after waking up to the manipulation, there's a backlash effect and I go from not caring to feeling rage and hatred.
Just leave. By staying you're supporting the bombing of the middle east.
I’m sorry but that’s an absurd statement. My govt does not represent me. If it did then literally every person on earth would be a thieving murderer and there would be exactly zero plots of land where you could live morally.
Thats an entirely statist mind frame. Stop thinking that you are your govt.
No government care