Don't be an intellectual slave. Learn to think for yourself.

I suspect Max made this word up, but at least he defines it so Voltaire would approve. #TRIVIUM

Daily Trivium: logical fallicies A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning that undermines an argument’s validity. To spot them, use the Trivium—grammar, logic, and rhetoric: Grammar: Check the argument’s structure. Are terms clear and consistent? Fallacies like equivocation misuse words (e.g., "bank" meaning riverbank vs. financial institution). Logic: Test the reasoning. Does the conclusion follow? Ad hominem attacks the person, not the argument (e.g., "Your idea’s bad because you’re unqualified"). Rhetoric: Evaluate persuasive tactics. Appeals to emotion or authority (e.g., "Trust me, I’m famous") can mask weak logic. Stay sharp—fallacies hide in sloppy reasoning! #Logic #Trivium

@Guy Swann is the best rhetorician in the Bitcoin. And I don't endorse easily. There is no second best. Rhetorician /rĕt″ə-rĭsh′ən/ noun 1. An expert in or teacher of rhetoric. 2. An eloquent speaker or writer. 3. A person given to verbal extravagance.

Uh oh...England needs to back to the tally stick.

Anyone seen how expensive this stuff is?!

Daily Trivium: Grammar Ever wonder why it’s called the Pound Sterling? It was once literally a pound of silver (240 silver pennies - purity of 92.5%). Today's value: $328

J.P. Morgan: "Bitcoin is a scam." Meanwhile: Since Jamie Diamond has been CEO, J.P Morgan has paid approximately $39B in fines and penalties. I made a list 👇 2008: $153 million Reason: Misleading investors by recommending and selling complex investment vehicles (collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs) while betting against them. 2008: $229 million Reason: Rigging the municipal bond bidding market, defrauding taxpayers in over 30 states through anticompetitive practices. 2011: $56 million Reason: Wrongful foreclosures on homes, including evicting individuals not in violation of eviction criteria. 2012: $25 billion (J.P. Morgan’s share: ~$5 billion) Reason: Part of a $25 billion settlement with five major mortgage servicers for “robo-signing” affidavits, deceptive loan modification practices, and improper foreclosure documentation. J.P. Morgan’s specific share was approximately $5 billion. 2013: $13 billion Reason: Misleading investors in the packaging, marketing, and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) by J.P. Morgan, Bear Stearns, and Washington Mutual (acquired in 2008) from 2005–2008, contributing to the financial crisis. Includes $4 billion for homeowner relief and $9 billion in fines. 2013: $920 million Reason: “London Whale” scandal involving massive trading losses due to mismanagement of derivative trades and falsifying bank records to conceal losses. 2013: $80 million Reason: Violations related to credit card practices, including unfair billing and deceptive collection practices. 2013: $4.5 billion Reason: Settlement with 21 institutional investors for losses from mortgage-backed securities sold between 2005–2008, tied to misleading information about the quality of the underlying mortgages. 2014: $2.511 billion Reason: Violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) for failing to report suspicious activity related to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Includes:$1.7 billion (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York) $350 million (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) $461 million (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, satisfied by the $1.7 billion payment). 2014: $1.346 billion Reason: Currency manipulation and collusion with other banks, involving plans to manipulate foreign exchange markets. Includes:$996 million (U.S. and U.K. regulators) $350 million (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency). 2014: $5.1 billion Reason: Settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for misleading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about $33 billion in bad mortgages sold by J.P. Morgan, Bear Stearns, and Washington Mutual. Includes $4 billion for infractions and $1.1 billion to Fannie and Freddie. 2020: $920 million Reason: Market manipulation through “spoofing” in precious metals and U.S. Treasuries markets from 2008–2016, involving fraudulent trading practices. Includes:$436.4 million in fines $311.7 million in restitution $172 million in disgorgement. 2021: $200 million Reason: Record-keeping lapses, failing to maintain proper documentation as required by regulators. 2023: $4 million Reason: Deletion of 47 million emails required for regulatory oversight, impacting at least 12 securities investigations. 2023: $290 million Reason: Settlement with victims of Jeffrey Epstein for the bank’s role in facilitating his activities by maintaining his accounts despite red flags. 2024: $348.2 million Reason: Inadequate trade surveillance program, failing to monitor billions of trades across 30 global trading venues from 2014–2023. Includes:$250 million (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) $98.2 million (Federal Reserve). 2024: $100 million (net, after credits) Reason: Failure to capture billions of dollars in trade surveillance data from 2014–2021, violating Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulations. Total penalty of $200 million, with $100 million credited from prior OCC and Federal Reserve payments. 2024: $151 million Reason: Multiple violations, including misleading disclosures, breach of fiduciary duty, prohibited joint transactions, and recommending higher-cost mutual funds over cheaper ETFs (Clone Mutual Funds) from 2020–2022. Includes:$90 million voluntary payment to 1,500 Conduit investors $10 million civil penalty $15.2 million repaid to impacted customers $45 million for undisclosed financial incentives in the Portfolio Management Program (2017–2024). 2024: $3 million Reason: Reporting inaccuracies in systemwide reporting and supervisory oversights, misreporting approximately 820,000 positions short of 77 billion shares from 2008–2024, per FINRA.

The problem with this meme is it's not your property. Read the fine print on the account. When you deposit $, it legally be omes an unsecured loan to the bank. NOT YOURS!

Its time to sell your Treasury Company stocks and buy Bitcoin again.

If you hear the phrase "The American Dream” and think of home ownership, or art certain lifestyle, you can thank the propagandist Edward Bernays. In the early 20th century, borrowing money was stigmatized in the U.S. Taking out a personal loan was seen as a sign of failure or desperation, something only the reckless or destitute did. Banks mostly lent to businesses or the ultra-wealthy, not everyday folks. After the 1907 Panic and during the post-World War I economic boom, banks saw untapped potential in lending to the growing middle class but needed to overcome public distrust and moral objections. Enter Edward Bernays, who was hired by major banks and financial institutions, like New York’s National City Bank (a precursor to Citibank), to make personal loans not just acceptable but aspirational. His campaigns in the 1920s and early 1930s used Freudian psychology to reframe debt as a tool for achieving the “American Dream.” Bernays made borrowing feel like freedom, turning banks into dream-enablers while hiding the debt trap in plain sight. His fingerprints are still on every loan or credit card ad that promises a better life.

You can learn alot the real world by playing Monopoly.

A reminder for my friends in NYC

A tale as old as time.

Political lesson number #1:

The math...@Michael Saylor $107,500 at a 21% growth for 21 years = 107,500×(1.21^21) = $5,858,715. Not $21,000,000.

Daily Trivium: Sympathy vs Empathy The difference between sympathy and empathy lies in how one relates to another person's emotions. Sympathy involves feeling compassion, sorrow, or pity for someone else's misfortune, often from a distance. It is more cognitive in nature and keeps a certain distance. On the other hand, empathy involves actively sharing in the person’s emotional experience, which requires an emotional component of really feeling what the other person is feeling. Empathy is about understanding and sharing the feelings of others, involving a deep emotional connection. While sympathy can create an uneven power dynamic and lead to isolation, empathy brings people together and makes them feel included. Empathy drives connection, while sympathy drives disconnection. Empathy is about feeling what someone else feels, while sympathy is about understanding someone else's emotions but from a greater emotional distance.

I've been responding to @Robert Reich posts since i saw he was on nostr...but i just noticed his npub is masto-ai.mostr.pub. I assume this is a bot...am i correct?

Vladimir Putin at the Eurasian Economic Forum: "Moreover, we are doing our utmost to reduce dependency on Western financial institutions and minimise the use of foreign payments instruments and services." Bitcoin fixes this.

President of Russia

Plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Forum

Vladimir Putin addressed the plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Forum, held at the BelExpo National Exhibition Centre in Minsk. The topic of ...