Roger Ver and Jon Matonis pushed aside now that Bitcoin is becoming mainstream

[Matthew N. Wright]

It seems he was fighting for freedom against mice by using M-80's

He did time for that?

"What are ya in for, kid?"

"Litterin'."

"What are ya in for, kid?"

"Liberating mice."

[Frozenlock]

It seems he was fighting for freedom against mice by using M-80's

He did time for that?

Eh, kids these days have it easy. They don't even commit real crimes and they go to prison.
In my time someone had to be really bad for that!

*Shakes fist angrily*

[marcus_of_augustus]

For an inherent change in government, you need political innovation - that's not Bitcoin.

Sorry to break this to you: Bitcoin is The Rebellion. It's as political as it gets.

Well it is slightly more subtle than that. Bitcoin has become "The Rebellion" by default because inside The Matrix all monies are highly politicised, and bitcoin is basically just a dumb machine following pre-determined rules. It is precisely because it is almost perfectly apolitical that it is controversial, but only because it has been introduced at time when all monies are politicised.

In another era, or cultural environment of competing currencies, e.g during the Scottish free banking or formation of Hong Kong, etc it may have been looked upon entirely differently but not as a political instrument.

It is the ethical equivalent of some tribesman pointing to the newly introduced money stones of Yap and cursing them, "Damn things, they will cause havoc, mayhem and hellfire to rain down on all of us!!"

[benjamindees]

(The Bitcoin Foundation is) cultivating elitism, which requires all their resources.

It would seem so.

Please keep in mind that nothing anyone involved in Bitcoin does from here on out is truly private.  People are watching.  They don't have to be rocket scientists to recognize the promise of Bitcoin.  And they aren't all idiots who can be blinded to the consequences by sterilized talking heads.  Honesty and openness is the best policy.

[tvbcof]

The hard-core Libertarians in the ecosystem have served their purpose in getting things bootstraped.  Now it's time to move forward and start making this thing pay off, and these guys scare people and limit the solution in mainsteam-land where the real money is to be found.

I'm all for putting the most wholesome and friendly a face on Bitcoin as possible and that seems to be what the Bitcoin Foundation is all about.  They are doing admirably at this, and moving the whack-jobs out the back door is illustrative.  Hurrah for them.

My feeling is that Bitcoin proper has one foot in the grave already in terms of achieving any worthwhile political or social goals, and there is very little chance that the next foot won't follow.  At this point I mostly want to see a run-up in valuations so I can cash out at with the highest take possible.

[Severian]

At this point I mostly want to see a run-up in valuations so I can cash out at with the highest take possible.

It might be awhile. If you get impatient, PM me and I'll take them off your trembling hands.

[tvbcof]

At this point I mostly want to see a run-up in valuations so I can cash out at with the highest take possible.

It might be awhile. If you get impatient, PM me and I'll take them off your trembling hands.

I'm looking for about 1BTC/kilo of physical gold.  PM me when you wish to go for it.  I'll know how to tell gold from tungsten by the way.

[BTC Books]

It seems he was fighting for freedom against mice by using M-80's

He did time for that?

"What are ya in for, kid?"

"Litterin'."

"What are ya in for, kid?"

"Liberating mice."

* sigh *

Nobody got the Alice's Restaurant reference, huh?

Excuse me now - I need to go pick out a nice urn...

[Severian]

I'm looking for about 1BTC/kilo of physical gold. 

I'm playing a longer game. I'll PM you in 7 years when I'm looking to unload a city block. You send first.

[Severian]

* sigh *

Nobody got the Alice's Restaurant reference, huh?

Excuse me now - I need to go pick out a nice urn...

Sorry. I was sitting on the group w bench.

[tvbcof]

I'm looking for about 1BTC/kilo of physical gold. 

I'm playing a longer game. I'll PM you in 7 years when I'm looking to unload a city block. You send first.

I see no conceivable reason to liquidate completely whether the value approaches near zero or near infinity.  If I walk among the living in 7 years and there remains a functional legal system under which private ownership of property is feasible, I would probably wish to have a city block.  Maybe we'll chat again then.

[Severian]

If I walk among the living in 7 years and there remains a functional legal system under which private ownership of property is feasible, I would probably wish to have a city block. 

I'll lend you one of mine and you can see how you like it first. Tungsten refineries will also be in high demand, word to the wise.

[lonelyminer (Peter Šurda)]

But Bitcoin is not a political revolution.

Translation: you do not want it to be a political revolution.

But it's not you who decides that. It's the Bitcoin users that decide that.

[John Self]

This is a dumb thread. These people deserve credit, yes, but why do they need to be famous?
Why not worship any number of the people who have developed and sponsored bitcoin over the years?

They probably are rich on their investment, so I'm not sparing any sympathy.

[marcus_of_augustus]

This is a dumb thread. These people deserve credit, yes, but why do they need to be famous?
Why not worship any number of the people who have developed and sponsored bitcoin over the years?

famous? worship? ... umm, did you read the dumb OP? You seem to have pleasantly missed the point entirely and blundered on in.

FYI:
It is simply about who, if anybody, gets posted as go to people for press on bitcoin.org website.

[Trader Steve]

BTW, I consider Roger Ver's criminal conviction a badge of honor that demonstrates the evil and violence of the State towards peaceful, mutually voluntary relations. He paid a high price and has my highest respect.

It seems he was fighting for freedom against mice by using M-80's


The
 San Francisco ATF office announced that Roger Ver, 22, of
 San Jose, California was sentenced on May 3, 2002, to 10 months
 in jail, 3 years probation and a $2000 fine for dealing in explosives
 without a license, storing explosives in a manner not in conformity
 with regulations and for mailing injurious articles. Ver was sentenced
 in US District Court, Northern District of California, as a result
 of a plea agreement entered into by Mr. Ver that culminated a
 2-year investigation.

Mr.
Ver was selling pest control devices through Ebay, the online
 auction service. On the site, Ver offered and sold the "Pest
 Control 2000" devices as legal M-80's. In addition, Mr. Ver
 stored the devices in an apartment that he was renting. As noted
 previously, Federal Explosive regulations require all explosives
 to be stored in a magazine, and prohibit storage of explosives
 in a residence or dwelling, and also mandates separation from
 inhabited buildings, public roads, and passenger railways.

John
 A. Torres, Special Agent in Charge of ATF's San Francisco Field
 Office said "Mr. Ver placed numerous people, including the
 residents of the apartment building, in potential harm from accidental
 detonation of these devices. I am pleased this matter is adjudicated
 and Mr. Ver is no longer in this business."

The
 case was initiated independently by both ATF and the Santa Clara,
 California, Police Department in April 1999, after ATF received
 word from the San Jose Police Department that Mr. Ver offered
 these items for sale on a web site called "Roger's Page of
 Terror".

Exactly. This is another State-invented, victimless crime.

[justusranvier]

Roger Ver was a political prisoner.

http://dailyanarchist.com/2012/11/12/bitcoin-venture-capitalist-roger-vers-journey-to-anarchism/

Up to this point everything I had learned seemed idealogical and somewhat abstract, but I felt the need to point out these truths to others. To help spread the ideas of liberty at the age of twenty, in the year 2000, I became a Libertarian candidate for California State Assembly. I vowed that if I were elected I would not accept any salary considering the money would necessarily have been taken from others by force in the form of taxation. I also promised to cut as many taxes and repeal as many laws as I could.

As part of the election process I was invited to participate in a debate at San Jose State University against the Republican and Democrat candidates. In the debate, I argued that taxation is theft, the war on drugs is immoral, and that the ATF are “a bunch of jack booted thugs and murderers” in memoriam to the people they slaughtered in Waco, Texas. Unbeknownst to me at the time there were several plain clothed ATF agents in the audience who became very upset with the things I was saying. They began looking into my background in the attempt to find dirt on me. I had already started a successful online business selling various computer components. In addition to computer parts, I, along with dozens of other resellers across the country, including Cabelas, were selling a product called a “Pest Control Report 2000.” It was basically a firecracker used by farmers to scare deer and birds away from their corn fields. While everyone else, including the manufacturer, were simply asked to stop selling them I became the only person in the nation to be prosecuted.

The reasoning for the prosecution became crystal clear after a meeting with the US prosecuting attorney and the under cover ATF agents from the debate. In the meeting, my attorney told the prosecutor that selling store bought firecrackers on Ebay isn’t a big deal and that we can pay a fine and do some community service to be done with everything. When the prosecutor agreed that that sounded reasonable one of the ATF agents pounded his hand on the table and shouted “…but you didn’t hear the things that he said!” This summed up very clearly that they were angry about the things that I had said, not the things that I had done.

After being told by the US attorney that I would be sent to jail for seven or eight years if I took my case to trial I signed a plea agreement. At the sentencing the judge asked me if anyone threatened or coerced me in any way to sign the plea agreement. When I said “yes, absolutely,” the judge’s eyes became very wide and he asked “what do you mean?” I explained that the US attorney told me that he would send me to jail for seven or eight years if I didn’t sign the plea agreement. The judge responded that that was not what he was asking about, so I replied that I must not understand what it means to be threatened or coerced. The judge then proceeded to lecture me extensively on politics. He carried on about why government is so important and how “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society” and that government is wonderful in general. He summed up his lecture by telling me that “I don’t want you to think that your political views have anything to do with why you are here today” and then sentenced me to serve ten months in federal prison.

After my release from Lompoc Federal Penitentiary I had to deal with three years of lies, insults, threats, and general harassment by the US Federal probation department. I moved to Japan on the very day my probation finished.

[hugolp]

Roger Ver was a political prisoner.

http://dailyanarchist.com/2012/11/12/bitcoin-venture-capitalist-roger-vers-journey-to-anarchism/

Up to this point everything I had learned seemed idealogical and somewhat abstract, but I felt the need to point out these truths to others. To help spread the ideas of liberty at the age of twenty, in the year 2000, I became a Libertarian candidate for California State Assembly. I vowed that if I were elected I would not accept any salary considering the money would necessarily have been taken from others by force in the form of taxation. I also promised to cut as many taxes and repeal as many laws as I could.

As part of the election process I was invited to participate in a debate at San Jose State University against the Republican and Democrat candidates. In the debate, I argued that taxation is theft, the war on drugs is immoral, and that the ATF are “a bunch of jack booted thugs and murderers” in memoriam to the people they slaughtered in Waco, Texas. Unbeknownst to me at the time there were several plain clothed ATF agents in the audience who became very upset with the things I was saying. They began looking into my background in the attempt to find dirt on me. I had already started a successful online business selling various computer components. In addition to computer parts, I, along with dozens of other resellers across the country, including Cabelas, were selling a product called a “Pest Control Report 2000.” It was basically a firecracker used by farmers to scare deer and birds away from their corn fields. While everyone else, including the manufacturer, were simply asked to stop selling them I became the only person in the nation to be prosecuted.

The reasoning for the prosecution became crystal clear after a meeting with the US prosecuting attorney and the under cover ATF agents from the debate. In the meeting, my attorney told the prosecutor that selling store bought firecrackers on Ebay isn’t a big deal and that we can pay a fine and do some community service to be done with everything. When the prosecutor agreed that that sounded reasonable one of the ATF agents pounded his hand on the table and shouted “…but you didn’t hear the things that he said!” This summed up very clearly that they were angry about the things that I had said, not the things that I had done.

After being told by the US attorney that I would be sent to jail for seven or eight years if I took my case to trial I signed a plea agreement. At the sentencing the judge asked me if anyone threatened or coerced me in any way to sign the plea agreement. When I said “yes, absolutely,” the judge’s eyes became very wide and he asked “what do you mean?” I explained that the US attorney told me that he would send me to jail for seven or eight years if I didn’t sign the plea agreement. The judge responded that that was not what he was asking about, so I replied that I must not understand what it means to be threatened or coerced. The judge then proceeded to lecture me extensively on politics. He carried on about why government is so important and how “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society” and that government is wonderful in general. He summed up his lecture by telling me that “I don’t want you to think that your political views have anything to do with why you are here today” and then sentenced me to serve ten months in federal prison.

After my release from Lompoc Federal Penitentiary I had to deal with three years of lies, insults, threats, and general harassment by the US Federal probation department. I moved to Japan on the very day my probation finished.

He said that we were a bunch of jack booted thugs... Lets act like a bunch of thugs to prove him wrong!

Yeah...

[thoughtcourier]

For anyone who doesn't know me,  I'm Roger Ver.

Since discovering Bitcoin in late 2010,  it has consumed every moment of my life.

My company, Memorydealers.com was the first semi-mainstream business to accept Bitcoin as payment.

I'm directly responsible for

1. National radio advertisements on more than 100 stations for over two years. @ $2,800 / month http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pV9ptoCMyc
2. A Bitcoin Bilboard for over 2 years.  @ $1,200 / month
3. Bitcoinstore.com
4. The Bitcoin Bet  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfydIbhduu0
5. I was the first and only outside investor in Bitinstant.com, Blockchain.info, BuyBitcoin.co.kr and several others.
6. I was part of the seed investment round for  Coinlab.com, Bitpay.com, Kraken.com and several others.
7. I donated over $100,000 USD worth of Bitcoins to the Bitcoin foundation to help get it started. (value at the time of the payment)
8. I've also donated more bitcoins than I can count to various charities, organizations, and groups who's goals I support.

The reason  I have done all of the above is because of the philosophy I hold.
I think that all human interactions should be on a voluntary basis.
I'm opposed to using violence or threats to solve social problems.
I see Bitcoin, combined with the internet, as the best tool the world has ever seen for minimizing the amount of violence in our society.


What I'm advocating isn't extreme.
The governmental systems we have today,  that murder hundreds of millions of innocents,  drop nuclear bombs, enforce sanctions,  extort money under the threat of violence, control capital flow,  debase currencies,  and retard the overall rate of economic growth,  causing everyone to be poorer than they otherwise would have been, is extreme.

Whether or not I end up listed on the press page,  with every waking moment, I will continue to promote Bitcoin and the voluntary world it will help to bring us closer to.

My philosophy aside,  I do think it is clear that I'm great at promoting Bitcoin:

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2297014298001/should-bitcoin-be-regulated/

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/the-ups-and-downs-of/5037b5b402a76066bd0000da



I also think that the following people should also be added to the press page:

Jon Matonis
Erik Voorhees
Jeff Berwick
 

Bitcoin is about inclusion,  not exclusion.

I had a look at Roger's interview on Fox business, and I do not think his views are too extreme. I think he reacted with great aplomb to the inane talk of the professor. I would have probably laughed at him and talked shit about the dollar "game". I imagine Roger would have done this too when he was younger. If I had a criticism, it would be that his political views are somewhat interjected into his responses. They could be shorter if he focused on the features of Bitcoin.

I don't see any reason why he can't be on the page except that the other interviewees are better. Can/did anyone link to their interviews?

Also, my opinion doesn't really matter as I am not in charge of anything.

[tvbcof]

.... In addition, Mr. Ver
 stored the devices in an apartment that he was renting. As noted
 previously, Federal Explosive regulations require all explosives
 to be stored in a magazine, and prohibit storage of explosives
 in a residence or dwelling, and also mandates separation from
 inhabited buildings, public roads, and passenger railways.
...

Exactly. This is another State-invented, victimless crime.

I've not studied the case as it is unimportant to me, but...

If that is true, it is what I would consider probably criminally negligent behavior in most circumstances.  Storing any sort if incendiary or explosive devices in quantity is serious business and putting the lives and property of others in danger is very wrong.  Unfortunately is is completely appropriate that some of my tax dollars get burnt up in an effort to protect society against people who lack common sense and will subject others to undesired risk without their knowledge.