There is a lot to Bitcoin. From the philosophy to the digital mechanisms, education in the new currency seems to be a never ending process. Tom Luongo from the Gold Goats and Guns podcast joins Jay once again in the Smokin Js podcast studio to discuss his time at the Bitcoin Conference from June 4-5th.

Part of the main thesis for Bitcoin is the altruistic nature of the platform intent. The philosophical underpinnings are so important to why so many don’t just use Bitcoin, but they believe in Bitcoin. This thesis is also in line with the battle between the people and entrenched power structures controlling the global marketplace. Tom takes the time to point out the use of Bitcoin as a delivery vehicle for Libertarian ideals. Ideas of freedom and sovereignty can easily be encapsulated in the concept of Bitcoin as money.

One of the Bitcoin conference panel discussions that struck Tom as beneficial and enlightening for educational purposes of Bitcoin was the panel entitled The Moral Case for Bitcoin. This discussion takes modern monetary theory and our current world dilemmas, and gives the use case for Bitcoin as a righteous tool for benevolence. I chopped up the panel discussion to highlight the words of Jimmy Song and Robert Breedlove.

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Elon musk criticized the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin specifically. I am astonished that a man capable of great self reflection failed to recognize that his secondary product, Tesla electric vehicles, maintain their charge with electricity from the same power grid.  Of course this charging action on carbon based electricity is counterbalanced by a perceived positive cost benefit.  But that requires a secondary analytical process to figure out.  Why isn’t the same secondary analytical process applied to Bitcoin?

Whenever you contemplate the “carbon impact” of any technology, you have to take an unbiased look at the secondary layers to the cost benefit analysis.

One analytical point I thought of in the comparison of an electric vehicle and Bitcoin, is the assumption of renewable energy as the driving resource.  The EV industry has plans to build into their network of charging stations, renewable energy sourcing, and lithium battery banks to store the energy in off-peak times.  These plans are often referred to in the long term elimination of carbon in the EV footprint of the world.  But this renewable sourcing consideration doesn’t reach the snap analysis of Bitcoin mining.  But it should.  Did you know 39% of the energy used by Bitcoin miners are from renewable resources?  And 75% of miners use renewables within their energy mix.

Bitcoin mining is a business.  Think about the number one variable cost within that business … it’s power!  The very nature of cost cutting and Bitcoin mining viability ensures reliance on cheap and renewable energy.  What you don’t hear in the debate about Bitcoin mining carbon affects is how efficient the miners already are at tapping cheap energy.  For example, a large portion of Bitcoin mining draws power from hydroelectric sourcing.  There is a ton of unused wasted energy from the hydroelectric process.  They simply aren’t near major power consumption centers.  Bitcoin miners are able to consume this wasted over-capacity of hydroelectric facilities.

The carbon cost benefit analysis of Bitcoin has to consider the utilitarian value of Bitcoin to humanity.  It’s ironic that the same people pushing Bitcoin down as a skeptical gamble, are the same people encouraging global migration and governmental structures.  Take a look at Nigeria.  Did you know Nigeria ranks third in Bitcoin trading volumes, only behind Russia and the United States?  Bitcoin holds the most utility for those living in a bankless society.  Or those who need to send payments across borders to family members.  In the past few years political turmoil has embattled Venezuela forcing millions to move into neighboring Columbia.  Transplants can use Bitcoin to send money back to their family members, and it is safe from confiscation of a dictatorial regime.  Not to mention the transfer cost savings of skipping the toll booth at Western Union.

Finally, I have often wondered what the basic value measurement is for Bitcoin.  Our fiat paper used to be backed by gold.  Then, before the printing press went wild, some theorized that our fiat paper money was tied to oil.  My friend Tom Luongo suggests that all the magic of the Dollar maintaining reserve currency status is in proof of guns.  What would bitcoin be tied to?  The answer seems obvious.  Wouldn’t the value of Bitcoin be an inherent measure of electricity?  As the world weans itself off carbon based electricity production, wouldn’t this exact monetary measure be the perfect currency of the future.  For all the talk about carbon tax, I wonder why our monetary overlords haven’t figured this out yet.  Ah yes, the overlord’s power comes from the management of said monetary system.  And now we can see the foundation of the carbon Bitcoin propaganda campaign.  See stupid, Bitcoin is terrible for the environment!  It can’t be a via

EP-059 Gaetz Hostage Rescue Blackmail Sex Scandal

A rising star within the Trump GOP, a retired Air Force Intelligence Officer, and the longest held United States hostage in the history of the country.  Sprinkle in a sugar daddy dating website and a convicted fraudster, and now you have a glimpse of the Matt Gaetz Hostage Rescue Blackmail Sex Scandal.

One of the most difficult tasks I encountered when working on this podcast was:  Where to start?  The chronology of events is confusing and marred by anonymous sources.  The tale quickly branches out into seemingly disconnected threads of information.  It’s hard to see the story from a high elevation to put it together, and the varied political interests involved muddy the factual playing field.

Throughout this podcast I will try to be as clear as possible what information is factual, and what information is gleaned from dubious sourcing.  One thing is for sure:  Matt Gaetz is a smarmy dude.

Joel Greenberg:

Smarmy could not begin to describe Matt Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg.  Mr. Greenberg was elected to the position of Seminole County Tax Collector in November 2016.  His campaign ran on a platform to destroy corruption inside the Seminole County government.  But before the end of his term he had been arrested and charged with numerous Federal crimes he allegedly committed while executing the public service duties of Tax Collector.

Some highlights of the accusations include:

Legal trouble started for Greenberg with his reelection campaign.  It is alleged that everyone’s favorite tax collector fraudulently represented children from the school his campaign rival worked at.  He created letters from the children that accused his opponent of sexual misconduct.  Then he created fake Twitter and Facebook profiles to support the claims in the smear campaign … allegedly.  Investigators have released that Mr. Greenberg left DNA and fingerprints on the letters, and the fake social media accounts were all created from the same IP address.  The location of the IP address was none other than Greenberg’s home.  Generally speaking, criminals don’t always have the highest IQ.  Greenberg’s charm is only matched by his intellect.

Upon closer scrutiny it is alleged that Greenberg was using the Seminole County Tax Collector’s office as a fund for personal gain.  A guy that promised to end corruption in the Seminole County government seems to have become drunk with power.  There are stories of Greenberg pulling over speeders with his tax collectors badge and open carry pistol on his hip.  It is alleged he used over $400k in public funds he embezzled from the Tax Collector’s office to buy crypto currency and sports memorabilia.  Curiously during Greenberg’s reign the Tax Collector office spent more than $1.4 million for legal fees.  A typical spend during the same timeframe is less than $30k.  Over $1 million was spent on consultants.  It is alleged these consultant entities were created after Greenberg took office, and quickly dissolved after he resigned.  Further rumors question whether these consultants were associated with Greenberg’s wedding party.  Auditors discovered one interesting purchase by the Tax Collector’s office:  In May 2017 a company purchased la

What is a Conservative Hippie? I created the term to describe myself within the social matrix of labels. It is a turn of phrase from the old political middle phrase “Fiscally Conservative and Socially Liberal.” A lot of people identify with this characterization. But a lot of people are confused and bewildered confronted with the two words put together. I wrote this piece as an answer to the number one question I have have received over the years: What is a Conservative Hippie?

With all the talk of unity and finding ways to bridge the divide between political fringe factions, I’ve always thought there was a solid foundation to start from if we could just get the divisive illusions of conflict set aside. It took me 58 episodes to create this piece defining Conservative Hippie. I hope you take the journey with me on this road of discovery as we build this Conservative Hippie community together. The middle is the majority, and we have a whole lot more in common than our bureaucratic and tech overlords would like us to believe.

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“Twisted” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Title: Shattered Paths – Aakash Gandhi

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EP-058 Crypto Currency Basics and Intermediate Training

This podcast is about the actual mechanics of crypto currency investing.  So often experts get lost in the weeds of the philosophical underpinnings of the crypto space, they forget to inform people on the steps it takes to understand the practical mechanics of investing and holding crypto coins.

I had the special honor of interviewing two crypto experts for this podcast.  First, we will speak to Sean Cover about the complex crypto currency market, and seek insights into the “what” these digitally created blockchain coins are, and why there are so many of them clogging up our intellectual bandwidth.  Second, I will bring Tiaan Wolmarans onto the show to discuss the “how” to buy, hold, and transfer crypto currency.  After this show it is my expectation that a layman should have a great understanding of the crowded crypto space, and be able to operate within it with confidence.

There is something for everyone who is interested in crypto currency within this podcast. There might be times you need to rewind and re-listen, and for some there may be times to skip ahead. This podcast is a winding road of crypto currency that travels through beginner and intermediate knowledge base information.

Why is this on the Conservative Hippie? Crypto currency isn’t going away. I see many friends talk about the crypto currency space, but only from the sidelines intimidated by the complexity and modern nature of these blockchain digital coins. Despite the wild popularity of crypto currency, it seems that experts are too submersed within the technology to give layman mechanical explanations. So I thought this would be a worthwhile journey to share with my community. The more you get comfortable with the crypto concepts the closer you are to possessing and using crypto currencies.

Wallets and Exchanges Mentioned:

Guest – Sean Cover:  Monetary Historian

Sean (Twitter:  @seancover) gives us a logical rundown on crypto currency, and its place within our current monetary system. Sean spends his time thinking about monetary concepts, and he gives excellent analogies and examples to help conceptualize the crypto landscape.

Questioning Money, an audio newsletter on Substack.

808 Insights Newsletter dedicated to the crypto currency space.

Sean created an online document after working on this podcast to collect questions about crypto currency. Fill free to use this document as a resource with any follow-up questions.

Sean mentioned Aave and Compound as crypto blockchain projects that in