7 ms·

Startup idea: a weekly email newsletter containing a list of bills your representatives in congress voted on (or introduced/co-sponsored), along with some "like

by rgarcia 15y ago

Startup idea: a weekly email newsletter containing a list of bills your representatives in congress voted on (or introduced/co-sponsored), along with some "like" and "dislike" buttons. Home page maintains a prominent list of representatives most "disliked" by their constituents. This whole SOPA debacle has convinced me more than ever that the feedback loop between constituents and representatives is absolutely terrible. This would be an attempt to solve the problem (via public humiliation).

ryanwaggoner 15y ago
This is really interesting. This is at least the first half of that: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/megavote/ http://www.congress.org/congressorg/megavote/
- ecocentrik 15y ago
  I was going to sign up for Megavote but it only lets you track 5 issues from a list of talking points including "Civil Rights"? edit: I didn't mean to be insensitive. minority rights including gay marriage and women's rights are defiantly important and heavily debated civil rights issues. The blanket term "Civil Rights" just dosen't seem to be used to describe those issues very often these days.
  - jbooth 15y ago
    At the state level, there's been a rash of legislation the last 2 years that's putatively aimed at curbing "voter fraud", but has the practical effect of disenfranchising black people and college kids.
    - rgraham 15y ago
      Got a citation or two for that claim?
      - phillmv 15y ago
        Iunno, defunding ACORN, anyone?
      - jbooth 15y ago
        Here's a couple quick ones for WI and OH, there's more in a few other states: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/wisconsin-voter-id-law-imposes-unconstitutional-burden-aclu-says-in-suit.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/wisconsin-voter-id-... http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/most_restrictive_voter_id_law_in_the_country_loses_support_of_republican_secretary_of_state.php http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/most_restr...
    - CWuestefeld 15y ago
      On the other hand, consider voter fraud cases like this [1][2]. I'm not in favor of putting too many burdens on the right to vote, and I'm honestly not sure where the balance lies: it's not clear how much fraud does occur, and it's not clear to me how much people are burdened by laws requiring ID (I suspect both are edge cases, but how do they compare in magnitude; what about the risk presented by each?). I just think it's necessary to keep in mind that there really is another side to the story. [1] http://troyrecord.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/doc4abec354140b7343461158.txt?viewmode=fullstory http://troyrecord.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/doc4abec35414... [2] http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/286557/yes-virginia-there-really-voter-fraud-hans-von-spakovsky http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/286557/yes-virginia-the...
      - jbooth 15y ago
        It seems like there's more republican state legislatures trying to pass voter fraud laws than there are actual documented cases of voter fraud in the last 2 years. That's a hell of a statistic. Of course, there are people's jobs at stake here.
  - bmm6o 15y ago
    Gay marriage?
    - angersock 15y ago
      You know, it would seem that that sector gets a whole lot of coverage while much more egregious and dangerous threats to liberty are happening. It's unfortunate, because such things make great smokescreens while at the same time being so polarizing (wrongfully so) that they blot out more other grave matters and attract crazies that impede genuine progress in gender policy. EDIT: fixed some bad grammar.
      - defen 15y ago
        You'd almost think it was a CIA/FBI plot to split off the intelligentsia from the working class.
cheald 15y ago
Having started someone along these lines, you would need a human element in between the raw data and the emails, translating each bill's name and purpose into human-speak. They are so shrouded in legalese that it's extraordinarily difficult to parse out the intent of many of them, and "bad" parts seem to be very difficult to locate at a casual glance. Even reading over the text of SOPA, it isn't immediately obvious to the layperson why it's a bad bill. The way it reads obscures the truly odious parts of the bill. Were it not for analysis and coverage done by third parties, you and I would probably read SOPA and say "Yup, that's a good idea, upvote". You'd need a full-time staff of lawyers translating this stuff for the rest of us to make something like that worthwhile/
- sunchild 15y ago
  Actually, many law firms publish this kind of content on their own sites all the time. You could probably arrange to aggregate their content if you properly attribute it.
  - cheald 15y ago
    If you have any sample links, I would be extremely grateful. I got two days into the project and realized that even if I could get this data to people, they wouldn't be able to understand it. Any remedy to that would be massively appreciated.
    - sunchild 15y ago
      You'll still have some legwork to do, since every firm publishes them on their own sites, and you'd need their permission to republish them. Here's an example: http://www.pillsburylaw.com/index.cfm?pageid=32&itemid=40233 http://www.pillsburylaw.com/index.cfm?pageid=32&itemid=4... Here's a site that aggregates this kind of content: http://www.jdsupra.com/ http://www.jdsupra.com/
- rgarcia 15y ago
  Gamification! Add a "wtf?" or "what does it mean?" option. Clicks on this would create/increase a community bounty on an objective, concise summary of the bill's impact.
yummyfajitas 15y ago
Like/Dislike: H.R.3997 - Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide earnings assistance and tax relief to members of the uniformed services, volunteer firefighters, and Peace Corps volunteers, and for other purposes. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h3997/show http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h3997/show How many people getting the newsletter would actually realize that "other purposes" refers to a $700 billion bank bailout? (This is the bill the Republicans killed, shortly before caving in and passing another bill a week later.)
- waterlesscloud 15y ago
  I never knew it was called the H.E.A.R.T. act. Classic congress there.
- Dwatson783 15y ago
  There should never be "and for other purposes" slapped onto the title of a bill. Disgraceful.
  - philwelch 15y ago
    In the state of Washington, it's actually unconstitutional for any state bill, referendum, or voter initiative to have more than one topic. Our state courts have thrown out laws for this reason.
    - borism 15y ago
      this bill is not a Bill, it's a patch - collection of changes to other bills.
      - ichc-werker 15y ago
        Congress needs to learn about atomic commits!
        15y ago
jterce 15y ago
That's very similar to the angle I'm taking with http://repwatch.us/ http://repwatch.us/ Still in development.
- binarysolo 15y ago
  Commented for bookmarking in case I miss your emails -- good luck!
TheEzEzz 15y ago
It would be nice if there were an app with it, that I could pull out when I was at the voting booth. The app would recognize my location, bring up the candidates I was voting on, and show me which ones I have liked and disliked.
camiller 15y ago
govtrack.us and it's sister site popvox.com. On govtrack I have trackers set up for my senators and the representative from my district, some general trackers, and some trackers for specific bills. I get a daily update (but weekly is an option) of activity related to my trackers. Popvox lets you approve/disapprove of bills. Govtrack SOPA page: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261 Popvox SOPA page https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hr3261 https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hr3261
mkramlich 15y ago
Startup idea++: devise a way to eliminate the need for Congress, period. Challenge is to strike balance between letting all citizens vote directly on law-making, while preventing fraud and allowing quality viable legal craftwork to occur. Corruption could still occur, but instead of only having to buy the votes of a 51-60%+ of a mere 500-ish Congressmen, one would have to buy the votes of 51%+ of 300 million US citizens.
- bugmenot 15y ago
  Right, because when one political party has already figured out how to buy the votes of 47% of the country, there's no chance they'll ever figure out how to get four more points.
rwmj 15y ago
(For UK readers) I get a daily summary of what my MP has been up to in Parliament c/o http://www.theyworkforyou.com http://www.theyworkforyou.com It's both very interesting, and quite depressing because I live in such a safe seat that the guy has never even bothered to visit our town right before election time, so I doubt he gives a damn about what constituents think the rest of the time.

by rgarcia 15y ago

ryanwaggoner 15y ago

This is really interesting. This is at least the first half of that: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/megavote/ http://www.congress.org/congressorg/megavote/

ecocentrik 15y ago
I was going to sign up for Megavote but it only lets you track 5 issues from a list of talking points including "Civil Rights"? edit: I didn't mean to be insensitive. minority rights including gay marriage and women's rights are defiantly important and heavily debated civil rights issues. The blanket term "Civil Rights" just dosen't seem to be used to describe those issues very often these days.
- jbooth 15y ago
  At the state level, there's been a rash of legislation the last 2 years that's putatively aimed at curbing "voter fraud", but has the practical effect of disenfranchising black people and college kids.
  - rgraham 15y ago
    Got a citation or two for that claim?
    - phillmv 15y ago
      Iunno, defunding ACORN, anyone?
    - jbooth 15y ago
      Here's a couple quick ones for WI and OH, there's more in a few other states: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/wisconsin-voter-id-law-imposes-unconstitutional-burden-aclu-says-in-suit.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/wisconsin-voter-id-... http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/most_restrictive_voter_id_law_in_the_country_loses_support_of_republican_secretary_of_state.php http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/most_restr...
  - CWuestefeld 15y ago
    On the other hand, consider voter fraud cases like this [1][2]. I'm not in favor of putting too many burdens on the right to vote, and I'm honestly not sure where the balance lies: it's not clear how much fraud does occur, and it's not clear to me how much people are burdened by laws requiring ID (I suspect both are edge cases, but how do they compare in magnitude; what about the risk presented by each?). I just think it's necessary to keep in mind that there really is another side to the story. [1] http://troyrecord.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/doc4abec354140b7343461158.txt?viewmode=fullstory http://troyrecord.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/doc4abec35414... [2] http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/286557/yes-virginia-there-really-voter-fraud-hans-von-spakovsky http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/286557/yes-virginia-the...
    - jbooth 15y ago
      It seems like there's more republican state legislatures trying to pass voter fraud laws than there are actual documented cases of voter fraud in the last 2 years. That's a hell of a statistic. Of course, there are people's jobs at stake here.
- bmm6o 15y ago
  Gay marriage?
  - angersock 15y ago
    You know, it would seem that that sector gets a whole lot of coverage while much more egregious and dangerous threats to liberty are happening. It's unfortunate, because such things make great smokescreens while at the same time being so polarizing (wrongfully so) that they blot out more other grave matters and attract crazies that impede genuine progress in gender policy. EDIT: fixed some bad grammar.
    - defen 15y ago
      You'd almost think it was a CIA/FBI plot to split off the intelligentsia from the working class.

cheald 15y ago

Having started someone along these lines, you would need a human element in between the raw data and the emails, translating each bill's name and purpose into human-speak. They are so shrouded in legalese that it's extraordinarily difficult to parse out the intent of many of them, and "bad" parts seem to be very difficult to locate at a casual glance. Even reading over the text of SOPA, it isn't immediately obvious to the layperson why it's a bad bill. The way it reads obscures the truly odious parts of the bill. Were it not for analysis and coverage done by third parties, you and I would probably read SOPA and say "Yup, that's a good idea, upvote". You'd need a full-time staff of lawyers translating this stuff for the rest of us to make something like that worthwhile/

sunchild 15y ago
Actually, many law firms publish this kind of content on their own sites all the time. You could probably arrange to aggregate their content if you properly attribute it.
- cheald 15y ago
  If you have any sample links, I would be extremely grateful. I got two days into the project and realized that even if I could get this data to people, they wouldn't be able to understand it. Any remedy to that would be massively appreciated.
  - sunchild 15y ago
    You'll still have some legwork to do, since every firm publishes them on their own sites, and you'd need their permission to republish them. Here's an example: http://www.pillsburylaw.com/index.cfm?pageid=32&itemid=40233 http://www.pillsburylaw.com/index.cfm?pageid=32&itemid=4... Here's a site that aggregates this kind of content: http://www.jdsupra.com/ http://www.jdsupra.com/
rgarcia 15y ago
Gamification! Add a "wtf?" or "what does it mean?" option. Clicks on this would create/increase a community bounty on an objective, concise summary of the bill's impact.

yummyfajitas 15y ago

Like/Dislike: H.R.3997 - Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide earnings assistance and tax relief to members of the uniformed services, volunteer firefighters, and Peace Corps volunteers, and for other purposes. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h3997/show http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h3997/show How many people getting the newsletter would actually realize that "other purposes" refers to a $700 billion bank bailout? (This is the bill the Republicans killed, shortly before caving in and passing another bill a week later.)

waterlesscloud 15y ago
I never knew it was called the H.E.A.R.T. act. Classic congress there.
Dwatson783 15y ago
There should never be "and for other purposes" slapped onto the title of a bill. Disgraceful.
- philwelch 15y ago
  In the state of Washington, it's actually unconstitutional for any state bill, referendum, or voter initiative to have more than one topic. Our state courts have thrown out laws for this reason.
  - borism 15y ago
    this bill is not a Bill, it's a patch - collection of changes to other bills.
    - ichc-werker 15y ago
      Congress needs to learn about atomic commits!
      - 15y ago

jterce 15y ago

That's very similar to the angle I'm taking with http://repwatch.us/ http://repwatch.us/ Still in development.

binarysolo 15y ago
Commented for bookmarking in case I miss your emails -- good luck!

TheEzEzz 15y ago

It would be nice if there were an app with it, that I could pull out when I was at the voting booth. The app would recognize my location, bring up the candidates I was voting on, and show me which ones I have liked and disliked.

camiller 15y ago

govtrack.us and it's sister site popvox.com. On govtrack I have trackers set up for my senators and the representative from my district, some general trackers, and some trackers for specific bills. I get a daily update (but weekly is an option) of activity related to my trackers. Popvox lets you approve/disapprove of bills. Govtrack SOPA page: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261 Popvox SOPA page https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hr3261 https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hr3261

mkramlich 15y ago

Startup idea++: devise a way to eliminate the need for Congress, period. Challenge is to strike balance between letting all citizens vote directly on law-making, while preventing fraud and allowing quality viable legal craftwork to occur. Corruption could still occur, but instead of only having to buy the votes of a 51-60%+ of a mere 500-ish Congressmen, one would have to buy the votes of 51%+ of 300 million US citizens.

bugmenot 15y ago
Right, because when one political party has already figured out how to buy the votes of 47% of the country, there's no chance they'll ever figure out how to get four more points.

rwmj 15y ago

(For UK readers) I get a daily summary of what my MP has been up to in Parliament c/o http://www.theyworkforyou.com http://www.theyworkforyou.com It's both very interesting, and quite depressing because I live in such a safe seat that the guy has never even bothered to visit our town right before election time, so I doubt he gives a damn about what constituents think the rest of the time.