“Among all earthly goods, the chief good is that men bear testimony to the virtue of a man.” - Aristotle
Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, descendant of King Louis XIV 🔥
"The destructive violence unleashed against our legacy and our history are part of the revolutionary and totalitarian process which resulted in the deaths of Louis XVI (the French sovereign who provided extraordinary assistance to the US) and tens of millions of other people. What this process is intended to achieve is to erase the past so that a "new man" may emerge. Humanity is not merely the sum of its biological components : it is also the recipient of what has been accomplished by previous generations and of our travels on a spiritual journey. We need our saints and heroes so that they may inspire us to lead authentically human existences. It cannot be in vain that the Fourth Commandment in the Decalogue asks us to honor our parents, respect what we have received from our forefathers and love our nation. This is why, in grateful prayer, I wish to include all of those who within families schools institutions of higher learning and elsewhere in our society work so hard to transmit the Western culture and civilization which takes their roots in our Greco-Roman and Christian heritage. Only irresponsible barbarians can have as an objective the rejection of this invaluable treasure which is so critical to the betterment of our humanity."
#truth
Post from Phoenix Wallet on X on 4/26/24:
“On May 3rd, 2024, @PhoenixWallet will be removed from US app stores.
Users from the US should empty their wallet:
- Settings > Close channels (Android)
- Settings > Drain wallet (iOS)
We highly recommend *not force-closing* channels, as on-chain fees could be significant.”
#Bitcoin on!
Keep calm and HODL #Bitcoin.
Everyone seems to be overreacting to the Samourai arrests, the FBI PSA, and Phoenix leaving the US. Here's my attempt to break it down.
Samourai
You have to unpack all of the different elements. Could this be a state attack on self-custody and privacy? Maybe. Probably not.
There are a few components here that need to be evaluated on their own.
1⃣ Samourai was a self-custodial wallet
2⃣ Samourai was a mixer
3⃣ Samourai was providing normal people with privacy
4⃣ Samourai were knowingly marketing the service to criminals and flaunting that fact
Reading the charges, it seems like #4 is pretty cut and dry for this case. Their getting arrested for #4, doesn't automatically mean #1, #2, #3 are under siege as well. If Samourai was a taco stand laundering money and bragging about it, I'm sure they would be taken down too.
They may be accused of running a money transmitter now, but that may or may not stick. We'll find out in the trial.
All that said, we should always be vigilant to attempts to erode privacy and the ability to self-custody. It just does not seem that this fight is *that* fight.
FBI PSA
Seems pretty normal that the FBI would advise people to use compliant services, and the entire announcement seems to revolve around potential disruptions due to Samourai being taken down, and potentially others in the future. Given they took action, they have to post some bulletin about it.
Remember that when people lose funds or have funds stolen from them, they do go to the FBI for help. From their point of view, the best thing for people to do is use compliant services where they can potentially help.
The announcement concludes saying that services that purposely break the law will be investigated - so again we go back to #4 above. This is nothing new, and self-custody is not being criminalized.
Phoenix Leaving
As nostr:npub1sg6plzptd64u62a878hep2kev88swjh3tw00gjsfl8f237lmu63q0uf63m said, it's feels completely unnecessary. Phoenix obviously is not a MSB and they are not doing anything illegal. In my view, their exit from the US app stores is a complete overreaction.
Keep Calm
Could "they" come after wallets, developers, mixers, nodes, LSPs, sidechains, eCash, VPNs, encryption, etc? It's totally possible. But if you're not breaking the law, you have nothing to worry about.
To my knowledge, there is still rule of law in the US, property rights are still protected, and privacy is enshrined in the Bill of Rights (nostr:npub1trr5r2nrpsk6xkjk5a7p6pfcryyt6yzsflwjmz6r7uj7lfkjxxtq78hdpu).
It would be very difficult to change the law or stretch it to incriminate these things because it's all just information and software, which is speech. Some will try. But as they are trying, #Bitcoin is becoming more and more mainstream and integral to the world's financial system.
#Bitcoin is freedom technology and it will continue on.
Go outside this weekend and think about why you're here.
Thank you for your calming words,#[3] ! I needed that. Been feeling discouraged this week with all the negative news. Appreciate the perspective very much. Bitcoin on!
God first, for sure!
I can’t stand the corruption of Western so called democracies.
I love our history of rule of law based on Christian values. We have lost the north star.
We need God
We need #bitcoin
The story goes that the Rockefellers purposely positioned the statue of Atlas opposite Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York, symbolizing secular man's burden without divine assistance. In response, the Archbishop, likely Cardinal Hayes, erected a statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, effortlessly holding the world, representing divine aid.
(post and photo from Sachin Jose) 
Privacy is normal and good. Privacy is not a crime. Criminalizing privacy in the name of protecting citizens from money laundering is not in the common good because it takes away a fundamental human right to privacy. Tyrannical governments behave this way. nostr:note1mc36qeww634g6gqt937l50mhals4nszda3uaq07mg34a22cxym5qcealw0
If you believe faith and reason both come from God, then faith and reason will not contradict themselves.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ intuition is that there can never be a conflict between faith and reason, between religion and science. Truth is unified. I love this conclusion.
#truth
#faith
#reason
#religion
#science
Unlimited fiat, only 21 million #bitcoin
Comment and image credit - Bitcoin Magazine 
You, oh God, are my fortress.
3.125
#bitcoin
Open debate is not a threat to real democracy.
#freedom
#truth
“There's never been a more important time to know who you are and what you stand for.” - by #[1]
Most people today are empty vessels.
They have no strict or well-defined moral code to guide them.
Without a clear idea about who they are or what they value - they are extremely vulnerable to having their mind hijacked.
That's why someone like Andrew Tate can come along and a few months later this app is full of Tate wannabes renting supercars in Dubai and flaunting money earned from OnlyFans.
It's also why a government can make people terrified to leave their homes one day, and happy to protest in droves the next day.
Wasn't it weird how a rally for the opposition party was a superspreader event, but a protest for the establishment cause was deemed essential?
Without a strong set of values through which to filter reality, people are easily fooled.
And ultimately it means their quality of life is determined by whoever is best able to get their message in front of them.
Back when people went to church every Sunday, what they were really doing was downloading a shared operating system.
A shared set of assumptions about how people behave, which lubricated cooperation and helped maintain functioning societies.
But what happens when everyone is running around with different operating systems?
What happens when a culture is seeded with contradictory ideas:
- Some think private property is evil
- Others think taxation is theft
- Some think that "pimpin hoes" is the ideal way to live
- Others believe in building a strong nuclear family
It's a recipe for societal discord.
But the pendulum swings back and forth.
And we've probably already reached peak relativism.
If you look closely, you'll see a revival of religion as the pendulum heads back the other way.
People want a well-defined moral code to guide them.
Some recognize that religions and ancient philosophies contain wisdom that survived thousands of years for a reason.
Many have realized that it's hard to live well when you're inventing a moral code on the fly.
As a father, my most important job is to give my son clear guiding principles for living well.
He will not grow up to be an empty vessel vulnerable to unhelpful life philosophies.
I will provide him with a strong moral code and timeless principles to successfully navigate the world.
To do that, I've been forced to audit my own values and beliefs to make sure they are worth passing on.
And I now believe this is one of the most valuable exercises anyone could do.
Do your beliefs help you navigate this world in a way that ultimately makes you healthy, happy, and prosperous?
Are the people whose gave you these beliefs living well?
What do you truly value in the first place?
We're heading into strange times with the rise of AI and robotics, the failure of the fiat monetary system, and perhaps even the destruction of the nation state as we know it.
Taking the time to answer these questions can be the difference between living well, and being buffeted about by the gale-force winds of change. 
Thank you to my 100 followers! Honored to be here on #nostr where I can exercise freedom of speech with all of you and not be cancelled. 
Many USA universities have been infiltrated, but others not and that gives me hope that all is not lost and the pendulum might be swinging back towards truly free markets and #bitcoin.