Comments by "GH1618" (@GH-oi2jf) on "Newsthink" channel.

  1. His crime was crazy.
    1
  2. Not so smart to think he could outwit the FBI.
    1
  3. He will have a long time to ponder the correctness of his beliefs in the solitude of his cell.
    1
  4. You don’t know the meaning of “hypocrite.”
    1
  5. Ulbricht. He tried to hide his business activities, so he knew he was a criminal.
    1
  6.  @jonasty7418  — His name is Ross. So what? It was otherwise accurate and to the point. If you think society has a problem, you can choose to try to fix it, just live with it, or buck it. You do the last at your peril. It is not surprising that there should be aspects of society which are not to your liking. Society was not created for your individual benefit.
    1
  7. This is funny — participating in a criminal enterprise and complaining about being burned.
    1
  8. The Purdue matter is still being litigated.
    1
  9. It was wasted before he went to prison. He had the brains and the means to get a degree which would lead to a decent career, but he threw it away.
    1
  10. All those crooked officers did was steal something. That’s an ordinary crime. I’m sure they lost their jobs as well, probably their careers. They paid enough for their crimes.
    1
  11. The judge (a woman, in this case) does not write the laws. Ulbricht was convicted of two crimes which carry a life sentence.
    1
  12. Penn State, not Penn.
    1
  13. His activities fit the legal definition of a drug kingpin. He knew what he was doing was illegal and he could easily have looked up the possible consequences.
    1
  14. Most libertarians live within legal norms, even when they dislike the laws. Some are motivated by their ideology to operate outside of the laws they reject. Ulbricht did this on a grand scale, and in a way which was harmful to others. He was an extremist and a dangerous man. Carried to such extremes, libertarianism is nefarious.
    1
  15. The phrase “true Liberal ideology” illustrates how libertarianism is a corruption of classic liberalism, the principles upon which modern democratic societies are founded. Libertarians think their policies are derived from objective truth, hence can be reduced to an ideology. But liberalism is not ideology. Its principles are in tension, individual liberty competing with the desire for civil order and the general welfare of the people. Liberals do not claim to have “the truth.” One should always be skeptical of people who claim to know the “true” way, because that is the way of demagogues. Of course many people nowadays may call themselves “liberal” who are anything but liberal. The term has been considerably devalued by misuse.
    1
  16. The law is clear. If you are planning to get into the business, it might be prudent to first try to get the law changed rather than just count on not getting caught.
    1
  17. He was convicted on two charges which carry a life sentence. The terms run concurrently.
    1
  18. I think libertarians are unreformable, because they are “true believers.” But if he does become worthy, perhaps some future president will commute his sentence.
    1
  19. Acting on that sort of thinking is what landed Ulbricht in federal prison. If you want to make your own rules, you need to create a sovereign nation somewhere where you are either alone or the top banana. That is not easy. Perhaps you could live on a boat on the high seas, but how would you maintain it?
    1
  20. No, the founders were not libertarians. The American political system arose out of the classic liberalism of Locke and Mill, which balances individual liberty against the general welfare of the people. Libertarianism is a corruption of liberalism, in which its followers seek to justify their exploitation of the system to their own advantage at the expense of others. Ulbricht can sit in his cell day after day and contemplate how “right” he is to his heart’s content, but he is a menace to society and is rightly separated from society.
    1
  21. He got life for running an ongoing criminal enterprise, just as any crime boss would. He doesn’t get privilege merely because he doesn’t fit the familiar profile of a crime boss. That is as it should be.
    1
  22. 1. Narcotics Trafficking Conspiracy 2. Continuing Criminal Enterprise 3. Computer Hacking Conspiracy 4. Money Laundering Conspiracy Those are the words used in the indictment, which has references to the applicable sections of the criminal code.
    1
  23. The crooked agents just stole “money.” That is an ordinary crime, in no way comparable to what Ulbricht did.
    1
  24. Certainly, I disagree. No, you should not be able to buy whatever you want. More to the point, you should not be able to sell whatever you want. Libertarians are free to believe that, but they act on it at their peril.
    1
  25. His base is the Bureau of Prisons.
    1
  26. A lt of people made critical contributions. Many thousands of people were involved in the Apollo project.
    1
  27. Exactly. His defenders like to say that webhosting is not a crime, but in this case Ulbricht made some effort to keep the operation hidden. Why not transact business openly, under your own name? Because it is a criminal enterprise and Ulbricht was the kingpin. His sentence is appropriate for kingpins in criminal enterprises.
    1
  28. This illustrates the flaw in libertarian thinking. He thinks that all he is doing is providing a marketplace where free-thinking people may exercise their individual liberty to buy and sell things, and if they trade in contraband it is not his responsibility. That is not the way society sees it. Libertarians don’t give value to how society sees things when they conflict with libertarian ideals. The result in this case is that Ulbricht will have a lot of time to practice his libertarian ideals within a society of one confined to a cell.
    1
  29. Their crime was ordinary theft and corruption. Not the same at all. Their sentences were not “slaps in [sic] the wrist.” No doubt they lost their jobs and probably their careers, they may have lost their families as well.
    1
  30. Ultimately, they nailed him. All’s well that ends well.
    1
  31.  @cinnaminson0653  — There is no parole in the federal system.
    1
  32. Oppenheimer was the “father,” not the individual creator. He was excellent as the scntific leader of the laboratory.
    1
  33. Yes, he was recognized as a scientist before he became recognized as a statesman.
    1
  34. Get serious. The intelligence services have people who are not only as smart as Ulbricht, but loyal as well.
    1
  35. He chose his career freely. I don’t see where there was any coercion.
    1
  36.  @rawbacon  — We don’t actually need the information. Pay no attention to cranks.
    1
  37. The notion that this is about what he thinks is baloney. He is in prison for his acts, not his thoughts.
    1
  38. Franklin is very well known today. Her place in the history of science is secure.
    1
  39. Good plan. I bought my GM gas pickup in 2016. I drive it about 3000 miles per year. I’m sure it will last the rest of my life. I don’t want ever to buy another vehicle. I bought at the optimal year, because I have a standard transmission and do not have cylinder deactivation or stop/start.
    1
  40. Jef Raskin led the team that designed the original Mac.
    1
  41. Tesla is far from forgotten. He was well known even before a car company being named after him.
    1
  42. Better yet, just turn him in.
    1
  43. The Sacklers have been in court in recent years. It hasn’t been resolved yet.
    1
  44. Their crimes were individual. Ulbricht was the had of a large criminal enterprise. That’s the difference. Besides, the crooked officers no doubt lost their jobs and probably their careers as well. It is never meaningful to compare sentences directly except in cases where the crimes are essentially identical. There are many factors which go into sentencing.
    1
  45. Source, please.
    1
  46.  @ryanbutler4221  — Federal judges are part of the government (Judicial Branch) and are independent of the Executive Branch. They do not take instructions from the Executive Branch on how to do their jobs. That is fact, not opinion.
    1
  47. The problem libertarians have is that are fixated on how the world should work, according to libertarian ideology. The problem is, it doesn’t work that way. Most libertarians are smart enough to live according to society’s rules and just grouse about them. Some push the limits, usually on taxes, and just get into trouble with the IRS. Ulbricht went way beyond that. He thought he could create a libertarian fantasy world hidden from the real world by technology. Wrong.
    1
  48. An “illegal” website is the accurate description.
    1
  49.  @SynicalBeats  — He clearly fit the parameters of the laws under which he received the life sentences, whatever you want to call it.
    1
  50. All the crooked cops did was steal some bitcoin. Their crime was ordinary, so deserves ordinary punishment.
    1