Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Taxes Ruled Unconstitutional

Loudoun County, Bob Marshall, and the handful of other defendants have won the court fight against regional taxation authority.  The decision stated that it was an unconstitutional delegation of taxing power to an entity which is not a local government, and therefore all taxes imposed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) are null and void.  Opinion (22 pages) available at the Virginia Supreme Court website.

And there was much rejoicing.

Clinton ad

Hillary is running an ad calling on her "experience" theme.

I think it really does beg the question, though, as to whether, when
that call comes, you really want her to be the one taking that call.
Even if you grant that a few years as a senator and some surrogate
terms as spouse-of-executive count as experience, do you really trust
the answer she would give when she picked up the phone for whatever
domestic or international emergency was going on?

Global weather trauma

Although the BBC is a news outlet, not a peer-reviewed journal, and even though they are not particularly known for the quality of their scientific analysis, and even though I know that they label their articles to catch people's attention, I was still surprised by the adreneline-filled headline Climate Set for Sudden Shifts. The article goes on to mention that there are a number of changes that may occur on earth, some of which "could occur this century." Ok, so not exactly something to stay glued to your radio waiting for the announcement. I have no incentive for any sudden, unstudied solution. For instance, sudden loss of ice in Greenland and Antarctica aren't supposed to come up for another 300 years. Plenty of time to fill sandbags around New York City or come up with another idea.

The article claims to be summarizing the information in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. One problem right off the bat for this article is that the solution recommended involves using computer models as an early warning system. Presumably, this also means that their results came from such a computer model. In other words, someone should take their ideas of how the data trends work together and create a system that shows these ideas. Which sounds an awful lot like a self-fulfilling prophesy. Models are inherently simplified. (See without further amplification Models Key to Climate Forecast, and ask yourself (1) if these are just the things they think they have to account for, how much are they missing? and (2) how do they select which approximations to allow?)

For instance, see Ocean Thermostat Can Save Coral. In this article, we are informed that the ocean regulates itself in such a way that surface temperature variations are absorbed and dissipated before long term damage can be done to tropical corals except in very localized situations, essentially meaning that coral bleaching is not a threat.

In closing and for further recommended reading, I finished recently Michael Crichton's State of Fear. While sometimes Crichton's works border on the silly, this book took a serious look at climate change. Stylistically, the book seemed more modeled on ancient Greek dialogs than the modern novel (although Crichton certainly did include enough plot to keep it moving). Through the course of the characters' interactions, he developed a decent skeptical argument regarding how little we know, how little we can prove, and how arrogant it is to assume that a few government regulations can fix things, and how that assumption is key to understanding why a political generation with no Soviet Union to fear need a new problem that only the government can solve.

Pivo 2

Sometimes something is so innovative and intriguing that I can't help forwarding it. Such is the case with the following car, which, although lacking muscle, ground clearance, carrying capacity, or any of the other things I normally comment favorably on, is too odd and innovative to let pass. Without further, ado, the

Pivo 2

Pivo 2 represents the other end of Nissan’s passion for cars, which can be characterised as friendly, innovative and design-led. It represents a commitment to finding new, innovative and bold solutions for future generations of motorists.

Pivo 2 is a zero-emissions vehicle propelled by four small 3D disc motors in each wheel and powered by advanced Super-Thin Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries. The driver can always face the direction of travel as the cabin rotates 360 degrees and each wheel has 90 degrees of movement, meaning parking manoeuvres can be executed easily.

Entrance to the cabin is via a single, front-mounted door which also houses the major controls. Operation is made possible thanks to “X by Wire” technology, meaning that the steering and other mechanical linkages are replaced by electronic signals to operate Pivo 2’s drive systems.

(From Car Scoop.)

Why I won't support Mitt Romney

The Boston Globe: Romney Retreats on Gun Control

Although less talked about than his about-faces on abortion and gay rights, Romney's gun record is yet another example of convenient timing for changing views right before running for President.

Ask yourself, "what does it take for a Republican to get elected governor in Massachusetts?" For comparison, there are Democratic supermajorities in the legislature (137-19 House, 35-5 Senate)...

Infant food alergies overstated

I don't mean to come across as insensitive to allergies which actually do exist and are serious, but...

Mothers who fear their babies suffer from food allergies are largely wrong.

Wine Review: Barefoot Merlot (2006?)

We had a bottle of Barefoot Merlot (California) recently. The first problem was when I picked up the bottle, started thinking about what I might say about it, and looked in vain for the vintage. There was a "Copyright 2003" label on the bottle, but that doesn't mean anything regarding when the grapes were picked.

The flavor was cranberry and earth, the weight a medium heavy, and there was no complexity to the finish. Overall, it was good but monochromatic. We had it with a hearty but not spicy beef meal, and it held up; it seems it would be a good picnic wine to accompany a moderately heavy meat meal where you want a solid but not exotic wine.

How To Succeed in the Practice of Law, part II

From the movie Amistad, regarding the 1839 incident where the "human cargo" took over a slave ship and the subsequent court cases, culminating in the 1841 Supreme Court decision in the matter, the following (irreverent) exchange gets to the heart of things, namely, doing what you can to meet your client's goals, and getting paid to do it.

Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman) : If the court awards them to Spain, they'll be taken to Cuba and executed. If the two lieutenants prevail, they're most likely to sell them to Spain. . . And they'll be executed. If Montes and Ruiz are successful in their campaign ---

Roger Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey) : I'm a little confused. What are they worth to you?

Lewis Tappan (Stellan Skarsgård) : We're discussing the case, not its expense.

Baldwin : Oh, of course. Well, the case is much simpler than you think, Mr. Tappan. It's like anything, land, livestock, heirlooms, what have you.

Tappan : Livestock.

Baldwin : Yes. Consider: the only way one may sell or purchase slaves is if they are born slaves, as on the plantation. I'm right, aren't I?

Joadson : Yes.

Baldwin : So, are they?

Tappan : Are they?

Baldwin : Yes. Born slaves, as on a plantation.

Joadson : No, we're not certain, but we very much doubt it.

Baldwin : Let's say they are, and if they are, then they are possessions, and no more deserving of a criminal trial than a bookcase or a plow.

Then we can all go home, can't we? On the other hand, let's say they aren't slaves. If they aren't slaves, then they were illegally acquired, weren't they? Forget mutiny, piracy, murder and all the rest. Those are subsequent, irrelevant occurrences.

Ignore everything but the preeminent issue at hand. The wrongful transfer of stolen goods. Either way, we win.

Tappan : Sir, this war must be waged on the battlefield of righteousness.

Baldwin : The what ?

Tappan : It would be against everything I stand for to let this deteriorate. . . Into an exercise in the vagaries of legal minutia.

Baldwin : Well, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm talking about the heart of the matter.

Tappan : As am I. It is our destiny. . . as abolitionists and as Christians to save these people. These are people, Mr. Baldwin. Not livestock. Did Christ hire a lawyer to get him off on technicalities? He went to the cross nobly. You know why? To make a statement. To make a statement, as must we.

Baldwin : But Christ lost. You, I think----

Tappan : No, sir,he did not.

Baldwin : Or, at least you, Mr. Joadson, want to win, don't you?

Joadson : Yes.

Baldwin : I certainly do. Hell, sometimes I don't get paid unless I do. Which brings us back to the earlier question of worth. In order to do a better job than the attorney who represented the son of God, I'll require two and a half dollars a day.

For the Celtophiles

"English Literature, Scottish Author" classification dropped by U.S. Library of Congress in favor of "Scottish Literature" after international uproar.

End of a Friday

You know you have been working too long at a stretch when you have a moment of panic because you can't figure out how to save a document you have been working on, then realize that the document is a physical piece of paper, so of course there isn't a "save" button or feature.

I'm going home now.

Standards of Care, Virginia style

"Due care in a lumber camp might be gross negligence at Johns Hopkins. "

--Fox v. Mason, 139 Va. 667, 671 (1924) (Holt, J.).

Advice for relativistic travellers

If you ever find yourself in a situation where there are intertwined versions of the time-space continuum, and you need to straighten out the fabric of the universe, this simple test should help you figure out which version you want:

Find out which version there is a TV show about, and stick with that one.

(Seriously, how many times have you seen time-space breaches in a sci-fi show, and "our" crew convinces the "alternate" crew to "restore" "our" reality, even though "their" version is just as real to them as "ours" is to us. On the other hand, I suppose if a show needed to make a quick staffing change, say the Captain decided to pull a Natasha Yar, and the producers wanted to change the flavor of the show mid-season they could use such a device. Once the writer strike is resolved, of course...)

Emperor Palpatine on how to succeed in the practice of law

"I am compensated for my services, else I would not render them."

--Ian McDiarmid as Jaggers, Great Expectations (Masterpiece Theater)

Networking link

For the introvert in us all, those wanting to improve their working-the-room skills, or otherwise those that want a leg up on getting to know people en masse, see http://www.effectivenetworking.com/WILL.html.

Update to Saudi rape case

Article here

The king of Saudi Arabia has reportedly pardoned the gang rape victim who has been in the news of late (or at least the female rape victim) amidst complaints by Saudi conservatives that he is compromising religious stances and giving in to western pressure.

My original post here