“He who controls the presses controls the press“.

We’ve seen the digital equivalent of this escalate pretty rapidly this year, with all the major digital “presses” limiting who has access to their services by “de-platforming” purveyors of “hate” (i.e. right-wing conservatives). And now the censorious, totalitarian tactic is being extended even further: “He who controls the money presses controls the money”. More and more individuals & organisations (ie right-wing conservatives) are being denied access to payment processing platforms. Financial blacklisting. If this latest escalation in the culture war doesn’t scare you – it really really should.

I’ve considered investing in Bitcoin quite a few times in 2018 – though “investing” isn’t the right word. I’m not doing it as an investment primarily but as a means of circumnavigating the new threat of financial tyrants. I’ve done my research and there’s certainly a long list of pros & cons. But I’ve decided  2019 is the year I take the plunge. The catalyst? This discussion between Dave Rubin and Jordan Peterson explains it. [Hint – it involves some of my recurring themes: freedom of speech, liberty, democracy … in the very literal sense of the word].