Amid the current maelstrom of war, disease and politics, you might have not been paying much attention to bitcoin, the electronic form of money favored by radical libertarians and drug dealers. Yet it is possible that when the history of these days comes to be written, bitcoin's story will loom large.

Unnoticed except by the tech-obsessed, the technology behind bitcoin may be slowly giving birth to a brave new world, with eventual implications well beyond money.

So argues Bitcoin: The Future of Money?, a new book by Dominic Frisby, a columnist for MoneyWeek magazine published in Britain.

Frisby makes the case that it is just possible that bitcoin and its rivals - known as altcoins - and the "blockchain" technology that lies behind them have the potential to spark a radical decentralization of society itself. They could change the way governments finance themselves, make banks redundant and transform the ways companies are run.

If he is right, then the founder of bitcoin will take his place alongside the great inventors. So who is he?

I want to wish you the Merriest of Christmases today, Wednesday December 25, but according to the song, the First Day of Christmas is the day after Christmas, December 26.

Ancient Christians celebrated "The Holidays," as our militant secularists insist on referring to them now, starting with the day after the birth of Jesus and ending on January 6th with the visit of the Magi in Matthew 2:11 known as the Epiphany. Start with 12/26 and end with 1/6 and you get: the Twelve Days of Christmas.

You may be really tired of hearing Christmas songs by now, including this one, yet you may still be wondering what the heck partridges in a pear tree and eight maids a-milking have to do with the birth of the founder of Christianity.

So I thought we might take a break from Serious Thoughts About World Events, and take a look at the song's origin, meaning, and myth.

We are pleased to announce a new special feature of To The Point available to all TTP members:  The To The Point Business Network.

There is already the TTP Social Network where TTPers can share their opinions and plan social activities with each other.  But what about sharing business expertise and opportunities with each other?

There is so much business experience, knowledge, and creativity possessed by TTPers.  So we have decided to synergize it.  These are troubling economic times.  But synergized TTPers can help each other overcome them - and even flourish during them.

Whatever your business talents and abilities are, whatever your economic situation, you'll find fellow TTPers willing to share their thoughts and ideas with you, willing to help - just as you can help them. 

The link to the To The Point Business Network is in the left side bar of the TTP home page, just below the Main Menu categories. 

So join and sign up now, and start making 2010 a business success story for you and your family.  Many thanks to TTP general manager Miko, and Marco "The Wizard" Gilligan, for making this possible!

The Supreme Court's decision on Monday (10/06) to let rulings by lower court judges stand that redefine marriage is both tragic and indefensible.

By refusing to rule if the States can define marriage, the Supreme Court is abdicating its duty to uphold the Constitution. The fact that the Supreme Court Justices, without providing any explanation whatsoever, have permitted lower courts to strike down so many state marriage laws is astonishing.
 
This is judicial activism at its worst. The Constitution entrusts state legislatures, elected by the People, to define marriage consistent with the values and mores of their citizens.  Unelected judges should not be imposing their policy preferences to subvert the considered judgments of democratically elected legislatures.
 
The Supreme Court is, de facto, applying an extremely broad interpretation to the 14^th Amendment without saying a word - an action that is likely to have far-reaching consequences.

It is beyond dispute that when the 14^th Amendment was adopted 146 years ago, as a necessary post-Civil War era reform, it was not imagined to also mandate same-sex marriage -- but that is what the Supreme Court is implying. The Court is making the preposterous assumption that the People of the United States somehow silently redefined marriage in 1868 when they ratified the 14^th Amendment.