When your morals can be bought, you are not a patriot.
You are a sellout.
Greetings and salutations, my fellow plebs.
My name is Walker and this is The Bitcoin Podcast.
The Bitcoin time chain is 847655 and the value of one Bitcoin is still one Bitcoin.
Today's episode is Bitcoin Out Loud, where I read you a Bitcoin or Bitcoin-adjacent piece of writing, Out Loud.
Today, I'm reading Orange Man Good, selling out on the campaign trail, by Lola Leeds for Bitcoin Magazine.
After the read, I'm going to give you a few additional thoughts on this and address some of the negative feedback I'm quite sure I'll get for reading this piece.
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Without further ado, let's get into this Bitcoin out loud read.
Orange Man Good, selling out on the campaign trail, by Lola Leeds.
Bitcoiners should not be so quick to jump at politicians' campaign promises. The vast majority of them are left unfulfilled after elections are done and administration begins.
After 20 years of forever wars, growing social decline, and exacerbating economic demise, it seems that we are still immune to learning that politicians lie.
Practically, the US is still in the same place it was in 2004, fueling raging conflicts across the Middle East.
The Treasury is still over-leveraged to both its ears. The stock and housing markets again lie on the brink of implosion.
Homelessness continues to rise, jobs are still scarce, and still nobody really knows how to pay for anything.
If there is a point to be made about US politics, it's that it doesn't matter whether the man in alleged charge of the country is an army-dodging goon that can't figure out how to use binoculars,
a progressive in t-shirts campaigning for unity and peace while bombing the life out of Somalians with automated drone warfare, or a literal dementia patient.
Voting for Trump may temporarily muffle the echo haunting that empty space between your ears as you convince yourself to at least have done something to fulfill your imaginary patriotic duties,
but it can't change the moral corruption inherent to US politics, and it sure won't change anything for Bitcoin.
Most politicians run from responsibility like a fat kid from a diet plan, and electing an overweight billionaire won't lessen the White House's appetite for cake.
Overall, Trump's campaign promises are the same as yesteryear's, of which he kept roughly 23%, according to Politifact.
Some of his failures can be attributed to the fact that it takes more than a president to just say things to pass actual legislation, while others seem to have been outright delusional from the get-go in attempts to garner votes.
Trump built around 40 miles of his infamous US-Mexico border wall, and no, Mexico did not pay for it, likely because it's not so easy to make a foreign country do something to its own disadvantage,
even when you're holding the office of the most powerful man in the world.
Even before COVID, Trump did not increase economic growth by 4% per year, likely because you can't just grab the US economy by the pussy to bully it into submission like that terrific guy, Jeffrey Epstein, who is a lot of fun to be with.
While Trump sure is an ace in the hole of polemics of grandeur, voting is not a substitute for thinking.
There was no increase in local manufacturing, no creation of an infrastructure fund, no ban on lobbying for White House and congressional officials,
no movement on deducting health care premiums from taxes, no repeal of Obamacare, and no defunding of the Education Department.
There were no cuts to the number of tax brackets, no repealing of the alternative minimum tax, no elimination of the carried interest tax break, no voluntary release of his tax returns while holding office, and federal debt went up, not down.
There was no expansion of the right to carry in all 50 states, no increase in US Army soldiers, no rebuilding of the Marine Corps, no renegotiation of the Iran deal, and no special prosecutor appointed to investigate Hillary Clinton.
Lie to me harder, daddy. Trump did not deport all undocumented immigrants, did not deport all Syrian refugees, did not reinstate waterboarding, could not keep his Muslim ban in place, and did not triple ICE enforcement.
He did not adopt the penny plan cutting spending by 1% per year, but he did pressure others to increase NATO funding, limit legal immigration, enact a travel ban, and kept Guantanamo Bay open.
Trump promises infamous torture site notorious for wrongful imprisonments and the producing of false information, which has cost the US $500 million since 2001, in addition to yearly operational costs estimated at $150 million, excluding costs for black budget operations.
Now Trump promises to declassify September 11 files and files on JFK, which he seemed to have no interest in declassifying the first time around, but is not so quick to declassify the files on Jeffrey Epstein, likely due to his own implications in the Epstein scandal, which of course is only guilt by association.
The most notable of Trump's achievements may yet be his enactment of Operation Warp Speed and the moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership to accelerate the development of now widely known as more than questionable COVID-19 vaccines, enforced speedy clinical trials, and the tracking of injection schedules for US Americans,
and resulted in several controversial COVID vaccine promotion statements, calling it one of the greatest achievements of mankind, while fairly anticipating that some of the vaccines produced would not be safe or effective, but at least he quoted Star Trek.
Trump's relocation of official government buildings to disputed territories only exacerbated the conflict between Israel and Palestine, which is estimated to cost the US around $38 billion between 2018 and 2028.
Under the memorandums of understanding, excluding an agreed upon $500 million per year for the development of missile systems and a few billion here and there in aid packages amid ongoing conflicts, like the one passed in 2023 totaling payments of $14 billion.
At the same time, the US continues to sell bonds to Israel despite its shrinking economy, the terms of which we can only assume to be so embarrassing that the SEC has not published a prospectus on Israeli bonds since 2018.
When it comes to the Middle East, it really doesn't seem to matter who US voters would like to see elected, as it's the same crap in a different color shitbag on both sides of the aisle. However, Trump did bomb the shit out of Iraq and Syria in attempts to make good on his promises of eliminating ISIS by continuing Obama's operation inherent resolve
and killing thousands of civilians in the process, which cost the US $13.6 million per day. The only thing looser than a US president's pockets when it comes to spending war money may be the mouth of presidential candidates in election years.
While many who appreciate Bitcoin as a tool for financial freedom have found the technology precisely because of its resistance to political meddling and their discontent with current fiscal policies, don't mind them campaigning for potential presidents elect so long as their words chanted may lift themselves out of their agonizing
irrelevancy. Raising the question whether we're practically capable of using our brains for anything other than decoration, all it seems to take to support yet another senile
of a senile reticent at the helm of our so-called democracy is a promise to free Ross, which Trump could have done if he'd actually believed in freeing Ross while serving the term of his past presidency, which instead he chose to use to plot the assassination of Julian Assange for those suffering from short term memory.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin proponents cheer on Trump's vows to protect the right to own Bitcoin under federal regulations, which we don't need in the first place as the right to own property and the right to free speech governing the distribution of free software are already enshrined in the US Constitution, but who needs constitutional law.
Trump's pledges to keep Senator Warren away from us have found widespread recognition, which we can very much do ourselves as for one, the majority of Senator Warren's anti Bitcoin proposals remain borderline unconstitutional and could easily be fought in court and two, nobody in US politics takes her seriously anymore anyway.
Thank you very much. Trump's last straw to appeal to Bitcoin voters then is his alleged stance against CBD sees to which the House already passed the CBDC anti surveillance act.
But lucky for him, it seems that we don't actually pay attention to politics unless they're preached by convicted felons living in a golf resort, claiming to want all the remaining Bitcoin mining to be made in the USA.
Further demonstrates his complete lack of understanding of the Bitcoin network, as well as his utter disregard for its security, as freedom money can only exist through decentralized mining infrastructure.
If we want to avoid the Bitcoin network itself being used as a CBDC abstraction through transaction whitelisting implementing controlled purchases and location based restrictions, such as the wonderful OFAC sanctions list, it must remain decentralized for those incapable of reading between the lines.
By promising to make all Bitcoin mining made in the USA, Trump actually advocates to make the Bitcoin network less secure and less usable.
It's undeniable that Bitcoin will get more exposure with the endorsement of a president.
But let's not forget the Trump's favorite offspring, Donald Trump Jr., who is currently eyeing top positions in the Trump administration, already gave us a taste of what a Trump pro Bitcoin administration may actually look like just last month.
With Jr. interviewed the famous BitBoy, where the duo called people spending their Bitcoin stupid, and dabbled in tokenizing identities on the blockchain, which should make us think in conjunction with Trump's apparent lack of enforcement against digital IDs.
While it is true that Bitcoin can take an increasingly influential stance in elections, we rather seem to be interested in using our potential to alternate between retarded takes in blue or red that all end up coming out as purple anyway, as opposed to using our newly gained
and respected mandate to withhold our endorsement and boycott the babbling polemics of fossilized opportunists, only to continue to be governed out of a funeral home in the making.
The logical thinking does not seem to stop Bitcoin advocates from bragging about raising Trump bucks, declaring him the top choice, and distributing lanyards across his rallies, as his PACs plot to appeal to an army of perpetual basement dwellers grasping at their first chance at national relevancy,
which must be a breath of real fresh air after spending the past 30 years having lunch alone. When your morals can be bought, you are not a patriot, you are a sellout.
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Alright, I hope you guys enjoyed that read. Lola is a true Bitcoiner and if you're not familiar with her work, I highly recommend you follow her and check it out. You can find all her links for Noster and X in the show notes.
Now, I would like to make one thing abundantly clear for any smoothbrained individuals who just listened to me read this piece and now think that I must be pro Biden.
I am not pro Biden. I think he is a dementia ridden joke and it's an absolute disgrace that a geriatric pants shitting clown like Joe Biden is our president. We clear on that?
Good. I am also not pro Trump nor am I pro RFK. I'm not pro any politician. I am a single issue voter and that issue is Bitcoin.
I am consistently critical of Democrats and Republicans alike. Although to be fair, I am probably more often critical of Democrats because they tend to be more vocal about their stupidity and corruption, whereas Republicans are just a little bit better at hiding behind feigned patriotism as they authorize spending of billions of dollars to fund more foreign forever wars.
In the LDR, there is no red, there is no blue, there is the state and there is you. All that said, let me be clear, I think it is great that Trump has become vocally pro Bitcoin in recent months.
And thanks clearly to the efforts of Bitcoiners, it's honestly amazing to see this massive shift in the Overton window going on in front of our eyes right now.
The positive public response to Trump's statements are sending a message to anti Bitcoin politicians like Elizabeth Warren and many others that being anti Bitcoin is a great way to lose your job.
Additionally, it's clear that Trump's positive position on Bitcoin and RFK juniors positive position on Bitcoin since early last year stand in stark contrast to the Biden administration's position on Bitcoin.
And I say administration because we all know Biden has no fucking clue what's going on. He's too busy shitting his pants and getting lost on stage looking for his next scoop of ice cream or head to sniff.
I am not here to tell you what to think because I don't care what you think. That's your fucking business. I'm here to encourage you to doubt and think for yourself.
If you don't doubt, you're not thinking at all. Politicians are politicians and they will promise you the moon will be converted to a Bitcoin mining facility if it'll help them get elected.
If Trump is elected, I genuinely hope he keeps his promise to free Ross because Ross deserves to be free.
It's weird that Trump didn't do it last time when he was president for four years, but whatever, maybe times have changed.
And I also hope Trump drops all charges against Julian Assange and apologizes for the Trump DOJ charging Assange, a journalist under the Espionage Act.
I hope he admits Operation Warp Speed was a massive mistake. I hope he does a lot of things, but I'm also not holding my breath.
Trump's talk is cheap and as a bit coiner, I don't trust, I verify. I believe in proof of work and until I see the proof of Trump's work, I'm going to continue doubting him.
As I said before, you're free to think and do whatever you want. Donate money to Trump, campaign for him, vote for him, lather him with bronzer and blow dry his hair if it floats your boat.
I don't give a fuck and I support your right to freely choose how to speak, spend your money and live your life however you see fit.
But it's worth remembering that Bitcoin doesn't need Trump to succeed or any politician. Bitcoin is already succeeding.
We're winning this fight and that's why politicians are now falling over backwards, trying to win over bit coiners.
They want your money and they want your vote. And to be clear, I think that's a good thing. They should.
But that doesn't mean you need to blindly simp for someone just because they said a few cheap words that you liked.
And again, for the smooth brains, I'm not anti-Trump. I'm just going to continue to be critical and doubtful of anyone who wants my vote.
I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican. I'm not even a libertarian. I'm a bit coiner.
Remember, America is a great country not because of its politicians, but because of its people.
America is great in spite of its kleptocratic elected officials.
What gives me hope for the future is not our current class of geriatric kleptocratic politicians becoming fair weather Bitcoin supporters in an election year.
It's the fact that there are generations of younger, smarter, more fucking radical bit coiners building parallel systems around the world.
And as they become obscenely wealthy over the next decade or two as Bitcoin reprises the entire world, some may also decide to try their hand at politics.
And they'll do it for the right reason because they genuinely want to make the world a better place for their children.
Bitcoiners grow stronger by the day. We will be the most powerful monetary, cultural and political force on the fucking planet in the decades to come.
I have hope for the future because I know Bitcoiners who make me hopeful. I'll leave you with this.
Be honest with yourself. Practice what you preach. And remember to always doubt.
To be doubtful is to be curious. To be doubtful is to think.
Dubito ergo cogito cogito ergo sum. I doubt therefore I think. I think therefore I am.
Don't let anyone tell you what to think. You have a brain. Use it and think for your fucking self.
And that's a wrap on this Bitcoin Out Loud episode of The Bitcoin Podcast.
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You can find me on Noster by going to primal.net slash Walker. And if you want to follow the Bitcoin podcast on Twitter, go to atTitcoinpodcast and at Walker America.
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Bitcoin is scarce. There will only ever be 21 million, but Bitcoin podcasts are abundant.
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Until next time, stay free.