Posts

Showing posts from 2023

Renounce Your U.S. Citizenship?

Image
Recently I posted a poll asking if people had heard of the video game Don’t Tax Me Bro. I asked, because the video game reminded me of a phone call I received regarding renunciation of one’s US citizenship. A US citizen, who I assumed from his Midwest accent had grown up in Minnesota, wanted an immigration lawyer to renounce his U.S. citizenship.  He explained that people in his church had been doing this because they were tired of paying taxes. “I’m a businessman, see, and pay a lot of taxes.”  So he wanted to hire an immigration lawyer to get that done. I have to admit this was a new one for me. In my previous life as a lawmaker, I encountered people all the time that didn’t want to pay taxes—AT ALL—regardless of the benefits they receive for living in America.  If someone would like a list of those benefits in a different post just holler.. Let’s just say, I’m of the belief that freedom isn’t free.  But it is one’s right to advocate for zero taxes if they wish, an...

Lost in an Almost Translation

Image
  My translation service friends have been in my mind lately. Not sure why, maybe because a recent case required both an Arabic and French document translation.  From time to time I enjoy a chuckle from a funny interpreting experience some years ago. The matter involved an urgent need for spoken Gujarati, and no professional service was immediately available. I asked a local aide society if they could find someone who spoke Gujarati, and they heartily agreed.  When the interpreter arrived he spoke beautiful Gujarati with my client. Small problem: he couldn’t speak a word of English back to me!  Basic lesson: make sure your interpreter is fluent in BOTH languages! Lol!