Author: Stable Genius

I am the very model of a Stable Genius Liberal.

Bitcoin Schadenfreude

Bitcoin Schadenfreude

Just think about it: billions in value in bitcoins just waiting to be stolen by anybody. Russia and China (and other nations) have huge digital warfare operations that could target those bitcoins, either officially or extracurricularly. No matter how cryptographically safe, systems can be penetrated through hardware or personnel. And no government guarantees! I wonder who will write them insurance knowing this?

Dunning-Krugerrands. Bitcoin looks like a good idea if you know literally nothing about the history of financial regulations. Why those regulations exist and what problems they solved.

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View my latest photo on Flickr: http://flic.kr/u/RhFpf/aHsjTbz4ND water fall in prospect park

Libertarians who don’t understand liberty

Libertarians who don’t understand liberty

Suppose a gay wedding party goes into a restaurant, sits down, and prepares to order. The restaurant manager comes over and tells them that they must leave because they are gay. Angered by this bigotry, the patrons refuse to leave. Now ask yourself: What happens next? In Carney’s world, what happens is the manager calls the state on the phone and requests that they send some enforcers to the restaurant to physically restrain these people, put them in police cars and then dump them into cages we call jail cells. This is the world of liberty in which the state stays out of things, according to Carney.

The idea that property owners have a right to discriminate is pretty common among Libertarians. I’ve always thought the idea was kind of nuts. No Libertarian I know would admit to supporting a landlords right to prima-nocta on property rights grounds but almost all support the idea of store owners being able to expel people based on the owner’s bigotry.

Can we just start calling them propertarians? It is way more accurate.

I Crashed a Wall Street Secret Society

I Crashed a Wall Street Secret Society

Kappa Beta Phi was, in large part, a fear-based organization. Here were executives who had strong ideas about politics, society, and the work of their colleagues, but who would never have the courage to voice those opinions in a public setting. Their cowardice had reduced them to sniping at their perceived enemies in the form of satirical songs and sketches, among only those people who had been handpicked to share their view of the world. And the idea of a reporter making those views public had caused them to throw a mass temper tantrum.

I have heard of KBP in passing before so I already knew it existed. I had no idea their annual event was so crazy.

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View my latest photo on Flickr: http://flic.kr/u/RhFpf/aHsjSJMEjX this will be here for a while

The paranoid libertarian and his enemy, the angry liberal.

The paranoid libertarian and his enemy, the angry liberal.

A paranoid libertarian is someone who distrusts the government to an unreasonable extent. Sunstein believes that many people who oppose gun control, health care reform, and progressive taxation fit the description. For example, a paranoid libertarian might not object to modest gun licensing requirements or background checks in principle but opposes these policies because he believes that the government will deny licenses to people who deserve them, or that a licensing rule will accustom people to gun control, paving the way to confiscation of all handguns. Sunstein argues that these beliefs are unreasonable, and because they often reflect an exaggerated sense of victimization, “paranoid” (rather than merely “unreasonable”) is the right term for them.

Interesting article. I don’t really buy the argument but it is a pretty good read.

Republicans Using Fake Websites To Trick Donors Is Just The Start

Republicans Using Fake Websites To Trick Donors Is Just The Start

It turns out that the political organization has purchased over a dozen domain names of Democratic candidates up for election and set up real-looking-but-fake websites. The worst part of all – besides the blatant deception and malice for the electorate – is that fact that since it has been exposed, the NRCC has stated that they are “very proud of the program” and have promised to expand it.

This is basically fraud. You would think it would be against the law to mislead people and take their money.