Glen -
I don't mind the irony. In fact, the old saying "fight fire with
fire" wouldn't exist if it _never_ worked.
I agree... I just couldn't leave it unstated.
What I'm interested in, since this is a list presumably about
_complexity_,
I thought it was about coffee on friday mornings?
is the (piecewise) linearity of the proposal. No comments are made
about the unintended consequences of getting any of these people
elected. Sure, I want to vote for candidates who support campaign
finance reform... but would I want my donation to fund Sarah Palin's
campaign if she promised to support it? ... No
Yes, the problem of "single issue" voting which I think is identical to
"single-variable optimization" seems obvious to some of us, yet maybe
not to the masses?
. I have the same problem with the claims that the libertarians can
team up with the progressives on some issues. You can tell a lot
about a person by looking at their friends.
"Politics makes strange bedfellows". Does that qualify for "wouldn't
exist if it never worked!" ?
It seems to me the inherent problem is not the particular issues, nor
the funding. The problem is the myopic focus... the "single
issue"-ness of most current politics. And that involves everything
from "if it bleeds it leads" to line item vetos to minimum standard
sentences. It goes way way beyond campaign finance or even lobbying
in general.
It doesn't seem to me like "out linear the linear" works the same way
"fight fire with fire" works.
Well said.
p.s. However I approve of almost everything Lessig supports... so,
donating your money here is probably a good thing. But not because of
this particular issue. Rather because the people behind it have a
decent _cloud_ of vectors. Change the people and you change the
nature of the organization.
I respect that way of thinking.
- Steve
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