Rethinking Voter Intimidation Laws

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Saturday July 13, 2013 · 6:30 AM PDT

2013/07/13 · 06:30

Like many people, I struggle to understand the political issues that we're facing. However, while day-to-day issues are problematic, I'm more concerned with long-term meta issues. That is to say, I'm more worried about the problems with the system that generates the problems we get distracted with on a daily basis. When I think about these issues, I keep in mind an idea that mathematicians, physicists, software engineers and others have realized time and time again: the simpler and more elegant the solution, the more likely it is to be correct (or for the software engineers: the more likely it is to make a problem tractable).

While thinking about this, I also started thinking about voter intimidation laws and realized they contain a solution that is simple, elegant, and probably impossible to implement. Nonetheless, I think the simplicity of the idea might appeal.

Poll

13 votes Show Results

Should we extend voter intimidation laws to include votes cast by our elected representatives?

13 votes Vote Now!

Should we extend voter intimidation laws to include votes cast by our elected representatives?

Yes

9 votes

3 votes

Unsure

1 vote

These are the men voting for the next pope

Ovid

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Monday February 25, 2013 · 2:36 PM PST

2013/02/25 · 14:36

I went and started digging on the backgrounds of the men who will vote for the next Pope. It's pretty horrifying, particularly in light of the Catholic child abuse scandal. While many of the Cardinals seem like decent people, some of them are absolutely horrifying and the large number of men who've protected pedophiles is disgraceful. I've tried to be fair in choosing some to call out, but virtually no one who has an interest in this matter could call me fair. I'm likely either too harsh or too lenient. I've elected to leave out some of the controversies and focus on the more serious ones. The fact that there are this many disgraceful men choosing the next Pope is heartbreaking.

Note that I've only listed clear controversies. Some have contraversies that were harder to verify and others have probably skeletons that are hard to dig up. I've also skipped some mention of Cardinals who support controversial figures.

It's important to note that there are some very, very decent men in the Catholic Church. In particular, I should point out Cardinal Wuerl, whose famous "zero tolerance" policy for child abuse and stance on putting victims first should be applauded. Don't let this list lead you to believe that all Catholic priests are criminals. Instead, ask yourself "why does the church tolerate this sort of behavior?"

Ovid

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Friday July 27, 2012 · 12:44 PM PDT

2012/07/27 · 12:44

Many are already betting on Obama winning reelection, regardless of whether or not they like him.

The only interesting Republican aspirant was John Huntsman, Jr. The former US ambassador to China, Huntsman was vilified by fellow Republicans for cooperating with the enemy — Obama, not China. Something's gone really wrong when people view our president as more of a threat than China. Huntsman sealed his fate by admitting that he trusted scientists on evolution and global warming.

So we got left with Romney. Really, the Republicans didn't have a choice. Despite the fanaticism of his supporters Ron Paul was never going to win the nomination. Gingrich is too volatile, Santorum too offensive even for Republicans, Bachman is batshit crazy and everyone else was pretty much a sideshow. By rejecting the only viable candidate, the Republicans had to make do with what they had and they didn't have much. They're still pretty pissed off about it.

Ovid

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Thursday May 17, 2012 · 2:03 PM PDT

2012/05/17 · 14:03

Imagine, if you will, the following situation.

A young man, born in South America, moves to the US as a child, acquires US citizenship, invests in a successful company, and later moves to Asia. After living in Asia for several years, this successful young man invests in a number of business opportunities in the US, South America, and Asia. Despite being foreign-born, because he acquired US citizenship, he's required to file his tax returns every year and dutifully does so. Then Form 8938 came into effect and he has a problem. Now he's required to report on his foreign financial assets and businesses outside the US aren't happy about this. Foreign businesses are already avoiding the US due to the PATRIOT act, but now they're not happy about having American partners with invasive tax filing requirements due to the new form 8938.

Thus, our young man has a problem. He can lose potential business deals due to foreign companies with no presence in the US not wanting their financial details reported to the US, or the young man can decide to retain his original citizenship and give up his US citizenship and continue his business without any problems.

And that's exactly what Eduardo Saverin did in September of 2011.

Poll

108 votes Show Results

Is Eduardo Saverin a traitor?

108 votes Vote Now!

Is Eduardo Saverin a traitor?

Yes

24 votes

78 votes

Not sure

6 votes

More Americans giving up citizenship than is being reported

Ovid

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Monday March 19, 2012 · 1:32 PM PDT

2012/03/19 · 13:32

In the relatively unknown world of US expatriate politics, there's a bit of a firestorm going on right now. Right now, the IRS is on a witch hunt to track down Americans living abroad and force them to pay their back taxes. Many people didn't even realize they were Americans and Congressman Tierney, someone who I otherwise like, is trying to drive many expats into bankruptcy (in his defense, I doubt he realizes what he's done, but he's remained silent on this issue). It's gotten so bizarre that the IRS is now claiming that every foreign financial institution in the world has to report to the US. We're getting stripped of our Social Security and Medicaid benefits (even if we've paid for them) and getting hell from the IRS in return. It's gotten to the point where a record number of Americans living abroad renounced their citizenship in 2011.

But it turns out those numbers are wrong. They are seriously underreporting the number of Americans giving up their citizenship.

Ovid

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Sunday April 10, 2011 · 9:44 PM PDT

2011/04/10 · 21:44

There's been quite a bit of discussion about the rise of China and the EEA in world politics and many simply assume China will be the dominant superpower in the 21st century, though I've seen claims that India will take that role. The general assumption seems to be that the 20th century belonged to the US but that its power is waning. Is it? While this could be cyclical in nature, there are several signs that the US is finally losing her ability to dominate the world. This isn't a hypothetical "we'll lose influence later". US influence appears to be eroding now, but is it coming to an end?

Poll

41 votes Show Results

Do you think we're witnessing the end of US world domination?

41 votes Vote Now!

Do you think we're witnessing the end of US world domination?

Yes

33 votes

4 votes

Unsure

4 votes

PINOs: Patriots In Name Only

Ovid

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Friday April 08, 2011 · 2:19 AM PDT

2011/04/08 · 02:19

One thing I think Republicans are good at and Democrats are bad at is picking a theme and sticking to it. No matter your feelings for Republicans, they're damned good at talking about family values (which cheating on their spouses), railing against homosexuals (while visiting glory holes), and talking about fiscal responsibility (this, from the "taxcut and spend" party).

So Democrats should start picking up themes and have some good talking points to drive home over and over, just to make sure that those who didn't get the message the first time start paying attention. For example, a few days ago I pointed out that the US requires truth in advertising but not the news. Couple that with a repeated assault on Fox lies and you can start gaining traction.

But it was this Daily Kos diary which made me think of a new angle: Republicans are PINOs, Patriots In Name Only.

Ovid

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Monday April 04, 2011 · 9:59 PM PDT

2011/04/04 · 21:59

In my Reality of European Economics post, it was pointed out that:

We must have something going for us because so many people from so many countries want to come here.

Since I write a blog about how to move to another country, I do a lot of research on emigration and stumble across variants of this all the time. And frankly, it's a damned good point, but it's largely born of not knowing all of the factors involved. Read More

The Reality of European Economics

Ovid

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Sunday April 03, 2011 · 9:09 PM PDT

2011/04/03 · 21:09

Please note that what follows contains many sweeping generalizations about both the US and Europe. However, I feel comfortable that it accurately reflects opinions on both sides of the Atlantic.

I think I am finally getting a handle on explaining European attitudes on economics. When I read about, say, South American economics, I constantly hear "capitalism versus socialism". So much of the debate about how to manage South American economies is described in terms of these abstract ideals rather than concrete proposals. I'm not saying they don't have concrete proposals; I'm saying that their comments which make it to this side of the pond are heavy on ideology.

I haven't lived in the US for years, but when I did I don't recall that I heard European economic discussions being continuously framed that way and now that I live here, while political parties often organize around an economic philosophy, the actual day-to-day economic decisions seem to be organized around a different, practical thought, but one which is all but dead in the US. More on that in a moment.

Ovid

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Tuesday March 29, 2011 · 1:14 PM PDT

2011/03/29 · 13:14

I was born and mostly raised in the US. That being said, I now live in Europe, I proposed to a French woman in Portugal and married her in Tower Bridge in London, our daughter was recently born in Amsterdam, my father lives in Germany, my mother and one sister in the US, a sister and two brothers in the UK, one of my best friends is a Nigerian living in Sweden and my immediate work colleagues are British, Dutch and Icelandic. If I thus seem to value humanity in general rather than the US in particular, I can only hope you'll understand that my viewpoint is a touch atypical.

I've lived most of my life in the US and could never understand people who say "America, love it or leave it". It is, clearly, one of the most unamerican things you can say since what they're really saying is "you may not disagree; you must love America the same way I do". Of course, most people who would say such a thing would struggle to grasp the irony.

Now when I lived in the US, I was very politically active. I helped build the Portland Memorial Peace Park, I legally officiated at 17 gay weddings in Portland, Oregon (back when it was briefly allowed in 20004), I vote (still), I have marched, attended meetings, and frankly, got burned out (I don't list those activities to brag, but to forestall the constant "you were too lazy to try and change things" accusations that I get). Aside from a political awakening in the 60s, Americans just don't seem inclined to fix things. So I left. You can, too.

Ovid

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Sunday March 27, 2011 · 12:55 AM PDT

2011/03/27 · 00:55

As an American living in Europe, I have to say that watching the US news is like watching your beloved Aunt Agatha slowly go insane. What's worse is watching it with my wife. She's French and though we have similar political views, because her background is as a French political advisor in Paris and my political background can best be summed up as "whining", we often have different views on how to approach problems. She's very much in the "what are we able to get done" camp as opposed to my "what should we get done" attitude. So when the subject of US politics comes up, particularly given her legal background (she has a Masters Degree in French law), she has a particular talent for asking questions which make me squirm.

Case in point: given the recent brouhaha regarding a law requiring truth in Canadian news, my wife asked me why the US didn't require news to be honest (she has been repeatedly shocked by some of the blatant lies that Fox News puts forward). I tried to explain about our First Amendment and why, sadly, Fox News used this to win a court case giving them the right to lie on air, and I also tried to explain how the US used to have a "Fairness doctrine" which at least required air time for opposing views, thus mitigating the problem somewhat.

Then she hit me with the question that her legal mind would naturally conjure up: don't you have truth in advertising laws?

Blink.

Um, er, uh, yeah. The FTC Website lists three legal requirements for advertising:

Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and
Advertisements cannot be unfair.

Do you have any idea how embarrassing this was? I was sitting there trying to explain to my lovely French wife why the US requires advertising to be honest, but not the news. I couldn't. No amount of sophistry or twisting my mind around this problem could allow me to get around the core issue that if news is allowed to lie and advertising isn't, something is seriously wrong in the US.

How The New York Post Lies To You

Ovid

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday February 18, 2009 · 1:51 AM PST

2009/02/18 · 01:51

You know what the great thing about a newspaper editorial is? They're usually unsigned. You can tell the most bold-faced lies in them and no one can point the finger. Maybe your friends will ask why your newspaper says such things and you can shrug it off. That's how what I call the "non-lies" of the New York Post get published. Nobody has to take responsibility -- a common theme of the last eight years.

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Rethinking Voter Intimidation Laws

These are the men voting for the next pope

Romney continues his political free fall

Is Facebook cofounder a traitor for giving up US citizenship?

More Americans giving up citizenship than is being reported

The End of US Global Dominance?

PINOs: Patriots In Name Only

Why do people come to the US?

The Reality of European Economics

America, Love it AND Leave it

Truth in Advertising and the News

How The New York Post Lies To You