Intent

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[pullquote]The constitution means now what it did long ago.[/pullquote]

I don’t much care for the term “original intent”. The constitution has a meaning and that meaning does not change over time. Time does pass and things do change, but if there was intent at the beginning then that intent can hardly change when the ones who intended are gone.

There is exactly one way to change the meaning of the constitution, and that is through Amendments. Anything else is interpretation, which is good and absolutely necessary to the functioning of society, but it does not supplant the intent. Unfortunately, many today believe that interpretation does supplant intent either from their own ignorance or the ignorance of their teachers. Don’t believe it.

The constitution means now what it did … Continue reading →

Fukushima Cooling Proposal (re-write)

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I’ll just summarize the gist of my cooling idea: Combined evap and recirc as poor man’s external primary/secondary loop.  At this point, this proposal is only viable if the current filtration process fails either in part or in whole.

[ UPDATE: It has failed again

“At the Fukushima plant, meanwhile, recovery efforts have been slow and perilous. A circulation system that would allow the plant’s reactors to re-use cooling water — which officials have called an important step toward resolving the crisis — was started up Monday but shut down just 1.5 hours later.

The system was designed to reduce the amount of contaminated runoff from the reactors, which are being kept cool with water. Tokyo Electric officials have said that 110,000 tons of … Continue reading →

2011: Year of the Open Source Meltdown

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Increasingly, the development model for Open Source software seems to be (excuse me) “Hope & Force”.  Perhaps you have read of my discontent with PulseAudio due to their unrealistic and abusive treatment of users, and now FireFox is also telling users to blow goats.

Asa Dotzler, director of Firefox, has made it clear he doesn’t consider the enterprise users worth supporting.

In several comments added to a follow-up post by Kaply, Dotzler did not mince words.

“Enterprise has never been (and I’ll argue, shouldn’t be) a focus of ours,” Dotzler said. “I can’t imagine why we’d focus at all on the kinds of environments you care so much about.”

Later Thursday, Dotzler essentially said it was a return-on-investment decision.

… Continue reading →

Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge is a Trojan Horse

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The more I think about this, the more I vehemently dislike this pledge idea.  Stop talking, and just fight.

[pullquote]We already had a pledge and the Republicans sold us down the river.  This is just more of Lucy and the football.[/pullquote]

There are several honest Republicans pushing this idea, but it’s still rotten.  This is marketed as an offense to be used against Democrats, but in fact, it is a defense to shield Republicans from the base.  This is establishment Republicans trying to convince us that the way to win in Washington is to help them convince their democrat friends to vote with the Republicans.

That is the wrong answer.  This is just more of Lucy and the football.  We do not need to expend a single … Continue reading →

Republicans Failed on Pledge, Want Another Pledge

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Republicans are now fertilizing their own Astroturf with a mixture of the remains of the last pledge and some fresh manure for flavor.  The problem is that it would only make things worse, for reasons that are pretty obvious.

Here’s the pitch:

———————–

THE PLEDGE

I pledge to urge my Senators and Member of the House of Representatives to oppose any debt limit increase unless all three of the following conditions have been met:

  • Cut – Substantial cuts in spending that will reduce the deficit next year and thereafter.
  • Cap – Enforceable spending caps that will put federal spending on a path to a balanced budget.
  • Balance – Congressional passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — but only if it includes both a spending … Continue reading →

    • Fukushima Cooling Proposal

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    I’m no expert, but it may make sense to evaporate rather than purify our way toward a reduced bulk of heavily contaminated water.

    TEPCO set up a water-purifying rig and had planned to replace the filters about once a month, based on expected radiation levels.  About a week ago, they fired it up and five hours later, they shut it down with filters at 110% of the limit.  Perhaps purifying the water is not an appropriate measure right now.

    Here’s an overview of my proposal: Take hot water from containment and flash it with a mild vacuum. Draw off the fairly clean steam, and condense it elsewhere. Return the remainder to containment. This reduces the bulk of heavily contaminated water while slightly increasing its concentration. … Continue reading →

    Obama's Sophisticated Military/Political Strategy

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    Unfortunately, the target is “generic Republican”, and the timeframe is next year’s election. This miserable campaign speech masquerading as a military announcement is a signal to his base and to the rest of the world that the only enemy he will commit to fight is Republicans. Assad? Fine. Taliban? Fine. Ahmadinejad? You kidding? He’ll call me names in the UN! No, no, no, let me be clear. We’re outta here.

    Moron Democrats have no concept of honor or victory. They are seized with, possessed by, a retarded concept of balance wherein we should never win but always tie, there is no right and wrong, and good news should be met with the punishment of those who achieved it.
    I don’t know who will run Afghanistan next, but … Continue reading →

    Fukushima Confusion

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    Sounds like a prelude to dropping more bad news. Hard to tell if this is spin or whitewash.

    The Yomiuri Shimbun

    DATE, Fukushima–Many residents in Date and Minami-Soma, both in Fukushima Prefecture, have been confused by a newly announced government plan to designate specific points from which residents would be advised to leave if the annual accumulated radiation there exceeds 20 millisieverts.

     

    The article goes on to describe a system wherein people beyond the existing evacuation zones may or may not be told that they should evacuate but don’t have to, depending upon whether or not the radiation rises in their area.  Yeah, I don’t get it either.

    Off the top of my head, the possibilities for radiation rising later include:

    … Continue reading →

    Respect for Huma

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    I am disappointed in some of the comments I see about Huma Abedin, wife of disgraced classless jerk Anthony Weiner.

    Anthony Weiner mixed up his personal and professional lives, and did so in a really offensive way. The original actions are outrageous, and his subsequent actions even more so.

    Huma on the other hand, has done nothing of the sort. I’d like to know how taking cheap shots at her at this point is anything other than yet another example of attacking a pretty woman with whom one disagrees.  She’s pretty and there’s a media firestorm in her house, so I understand the interest.  But not the vitriol.

    She seems to be the only person on the democrat side who hasn’t made a hash of this.  There was … Continue reading →