The technology has been around for quite a while. Commercial animal implants have been around for over a decade and are required in some jurisdictions.
Hobbyists have been implanting themselves with subdermal RFID capsules since 1998. A company got approval from the FDA in 2004 and sold it as "VeriChip" or "VeriMed" until late 2010.
There are some security, medical and political issues with the technology, but it's fairly mature.
The worst case exposure scenario to mercury from a broken CFL is about the same as the mercury exposure from eating one can of tuna fish:
"Most important in this comparison is the bar showing the dose from eating a single (6-ounce) meal of Albacore tuna (48 micrograms of mercury), which is roughly equal to the very worst CFL breakage case measured by the MDEP. " - http://1000bulbs.com/pages/mercury.html
Incorrect. You are confusing the life expectancy AT BIRTH with the life expectancy AT RETIREMENT age. Since most life expectancy improvements this century have been among the very young, the former is irrelevant to Social Security finances. Life expectancy at 65 in 1940 was 12.7 yrs for males and 14.7 years for females, while today it is 15.3 years for males and 19.6 years for females. In addition, the retirement age has already been raised to 67, so the difference is almost nonexistent for males and very small for females, not the 19 year difference you propose.
Defend yourself with deadly force? Yes, it should be.
So if you pick a fight with someone and they punch you, you should be able to shoot them? People get in fights all the time, do we really want to escalate every single one to "killing in self defense"?
If my son got shot because he started beating him and slamming his head into the pavement (a potentially lethal move) then there would be nothing to forgive.
Even assuming this testimony is true - which is a leap, Zimmerman did not go to the hospital so the damage was hardly significant let alone life threatening. At least this evidence should have been documented, which it was not.
Zimmerman broke the rules of the Neighborhood Watch set by the Sanford Police Department training that you do not approach a stranger you suspect of wrongdoing and you do not carry weapons.
corn ethanol is a net loss of energy (1.8 units used for every 1 unit produced) to make.
I'm not the biggest fan of corn ethanol, but this is a very outdated myth from a study in the early 1970s that people keep repeating. We've gotten much more efficient and corn ethanol is now 1.5 to 1.8 units produced for every 1 unit of energy put in. That's still way worse than most other biofuels, but it isn't a net energy loss.
It's also much lighter than steel, and the weight it needs to support is its own, so you would multiple the strength difference by the weight difference.
You could build it some distance off the equator and it would just bend a bit. Most efficient is at the equator though. More likely would be tethering it on a large ship.
Completely without neutrons, probably. But the term aneutronic fusion is defined as any form of fusion power that releases less than 1% of the fusion power as neutrons. Boron-proton fusion is the most famous.
That small of a slice of habitable terrain wouldn't be enough to support a functional atmosphere/weather system, an ocean, a functional biosphere...
Water would evaporate on the hot side or even on the habitable ring, then freeze into permanent glaciers on the cold side and never return. Heck, atmospheric gases might even freeze out on the cold side or boil off on the hot side.
Might support an artificially created indoor environment, but probably not a natural one.
Because most companies will only invest money into research that is virtually guaranteed to be monetized in a short enough period of time to look good on the balance sheets while the corporate officers who decide to put money into R&D remain at the companies - translating into bigger bonuses for them. Such research is generally small incremental improvements of existing designs, such as drug companies slightly tweaking an existing drug so they can extend the patent.
Actual basic research that can actually revolutionize things is by definition uncertain. Making any return on investment likewise uncertain and unattractive to companies that base their entire existence around that.
Slashdot Mirror
Most middle class people who have money invested do so through their 401k and/or IRA, which don't have capital gains taxes apply to them.
Why would a flat tax do that? There's nothing inherent about a flat tax that says that loopholes can't be added to it.
Ignoring all the taxes that aren't federal income taxes...
That's overly simplistic. Most major tax bills are proposals by the White House sent to Congress. Bush proposed his signature tax cuts. As did Reagan.
Businesses will hire if there is unserved demand. If they don't, then a competitor will.
The technology has been around for quite a while. Commercial animal implants have been around for over a decade and are required in some jurisdictions.
Hobbyists have been implanting themselves with subdermal RFID capsules since 1998. A company got approval from the FDA in 2004 and sold it as "VeriChip" or "VeriMed" until late 2010.
There are some security, medical and political issues with the technology, but it's fairly mature.
The YEARLY amount spent on missile defense with really bad results is more than the total $7 billion here.
The worst case exposure scenario to mercury from a broken CFL is about the same as the mercury exposure from eating one can of tuna fish:
"Most important in this comparison is the bar showing the dose from eating a single (6-ounce) meal of Albacore tuna (48 micrograms of mercury), which is roughly equal to the very worst CFL breakage case measured by the MDEP. " - http://1000bulbs.com/pages/mercury.html
There is no ban on incandescents.
I repeat, there is no ban on incandescents.
There are increased efficiency requirements. Some forms of incandescents can meet the new efficiency standards some can not.
The most common interpretation of the 9th Amendment is that the Federal government is limited, but that the State governments aren't.
Incorrect. You are confusing the life expectancy AT BIRTH with the life expectancy AT RETIREMENT age. Since most life expectancy improvements this century have been among the very young, the former is irrelevant to Social Security finances. Life expectancy at 65 in 1940 was 12.7 yrs for males and 14.7 years for females, while today it is 15.3 years for males and 19.6 years for females. In addition, the retirement age has already been raised to 67, so the difference is almost nonexistent for males and very small for females, not the 19 year difference you propose.
Defend yourself with deadly force? Yes, it should be. So if you pick a fight with someone and they punch you, you should be able to shoot them? People get in fights all the time, do we really want to escalate every single one to "killing in self defense"?
If my son got shot because he started beating him and slamming his head into the pavement (a potentially lethal move) then there would be nothing to forgive.
Even assuming this testimony is true - which is a leap, Zimmerman did not go to the hospital so the damage was hardly significant let alone life threatening. At least this evidence should have been documented, which it was not.
Zimmerman broke the rules of the Neighborhood Watch set by the Sanford Police Department training that you do not approach a stranger you suspect of wrongdoing and you do not carry weapons.
There are quite a number of religions and churches from the larger US mainstream churches who are willing to perform gay marriages.
corn ethanol is a net loss of energy (1.8 units used for every 1 unit produced) to make.
I'm not the biggest fan of corn ethanol, but this is a very outdated myth from a study in the early 1970s that people keep repeating. We've gotten much more efficient and corn ethanol is now 1.5 to 1.8 units produced for every 1 unit of energy put in. That's still way worse than most other biofuels, but it isn't a net energy loss.
It's also much lighter than steel, and the weight it needs to support is its own, so you would multiple the strength difference by the weight difference.
You could build it some distance off the equator and it would just bend a bit. Most efficient is at the equator though. More likely would be tethering it on a large ship.
I'm pretty sure it has been established that the tether would entirely burn up on reentry and wouldn't pose any threat to the ground.
Property tax is assessed based on the valuation of your home so there is no appreciable difference.
Completely without neutrons, probably. But the term aneutronic fusion is defined as any form of fusion power that releases less than 1% of the fusion power as neutrons. Boron-proton fusion is the most famous.
The Earth has passed through galactic arms around every 100 million years, as your link says. Life seems to have coped.
That small of a slice of habitable terrain wouldn't be enough to support a functional atmosphere/weather system, an ocean, a functional biosphere... Water would evaporate on the hot side or even on the habitable ring, then freeze into permanent glaciers on the cold side and never return. Heck, atmospheric gases might even freeze out on the cold side or boil off on the hot side. Might support an artificially created indoor environment, but probably not a natural one.
Does BD&D require leather, handcuffs and whips?
Because most companies will only invest money into research that is virtually guaranteed to be monetized in a short enough period of time to look good on the balance sheets while the corporate officers who decide to put money into R&D remain at the companies - translating into bigger bonuses for them. Such research is generally small incremental improvements of existing designs, such as drug companies slightly tweaking an existing drug so they can extend the patent. Actual basic research that can actually revolutionize things is by definition uncertain. Making any return on investment likewise uncertain and unattractive to companies that base their entire existence around that.