billeisele

Or is it? Some believe that the SC is working to stop judges from legislating from the bench and curbing administrative agencies from exercising power that they do not legally have. Those are two parts of the unelected bureaucracy that can, or have made, decisions that have a significant impact of the citizens. Specific to the two references: the SC referred gun restrictions in four states back to judges for reconsideration making it clear that the original decisions are unconstitutional, and WVirginia vs EPA on coal plant operation. One purpose of the SC is to serve as a legal check on power ambitious government. That is what they are doing, or so it seems. It will be interesting to watch what other items are addressed. Next opportunities may be the CDC and Federal Reserve.

CEO compensation is out of balance. There are many reasons for it, some are: - some believe that they use it as a way to keep score as to who is the biggest and baddest, in some ways it's the old "my wiener is bigger than yours" game One thing that's easy to see is the actual pay but then there are the benefits, many of which are hidden and unknown to most. One basis for pay is a "review of comparable peers", the problem with that is they are all playing the same game and pay spirals upward. But employee compensation can be adjusted based on other factors generally aimed at keeping it as low as possible while still operating the business. On benefits some I've seen are: access to corporate houses, private planes, tax preparation, club memberships, private drivers, clothing allowance, dry cleaning, cars, and buying services. One of the bravest things I witnessed was an employee response when a (female) VP was admonishing the staff for not being dedicated enough, not available enough after hours and weekends, and not committed enough to department goals. The guy said something like, "XYZ, I'm legally blind, can't drive and my family needs me, we struggle. When I work extra hours then finally get home I still have to cut the grass, sweep, shop for groceries, prepare meals, help the kids with homework and help my wife. My day is full without working extra hours. When you get home your pantry is full because you have someone that buys groceries for you. Your laundry is done because you can afford dry cleaning and have a maid. Your house is clean because you have a house cleaning service. Your adopted kid is taken care of because you have someone to take care of that. Your pool is clean and ready to go. So when you work 10-12 hours when you get home your day is over. You get to relax by the pool with a drink. When I work 10 hours I still have 2-4 hours of work before I can relax. Sometimes I never get to relax. When I get to work I try to not think about my personal issues and dedicate myself to the work. These type conversations make it very difficult be dedicated. I don't begrudge you for what you have but please understand that our lives are quite different." WOW, the blind guy with the most to lose said what all of us were thinking. She was fired, not for this but for lying to the Ex team and the Board. I've said that if they fired an Executive they could replace that position at half the salary. It would still be a huge salary and there would be many qualified applicants.

Yep, I've been clear that any politician that behaves badly should be thrown out regardless of party affiliation. I've also stated that there are plenty of bad actors on both sides of the fence. Our state just elected a Republican candidate for State School Superintendent in a runoff with a 64% - 36% vote. The runoff winner had many fewer votes in the primary (23% - 31%) than the opponent. News came out about bad behavior of the opponent and the voters reacted.

The fun continues. A South Carolina state representative on the ballot for the Democratic primary runoff on June 28 for the U.S. Senate has been heard in leaked audio strategizing on how to utilize Democrat “sleepers” to run as Republicans in local elections, as well as requesting drug money from a state prison inmate. State Rep. Krystle Matthews was verified as the person speaking with Perry Correctional Institution inmate David Solomon Ballard. Matthews assumed state office in 2018 as a representative of District 117. “We need some secret sleepers,” she is heard saying. “Like, you need, we need them to run as the other side, even though they for our side, and we need them to win,” the Senate primary candidate said. “We need people to run as Republicans in these local elections.” After discussing how sleepers could “change the dynamics in South Carolina,” Matthews goes on to complain about raising money for her campaign, stating that she doesn’t care if she obtains “dope money.” Matthews also said there needs to be people who can take yard signs down at night while people are sleeping.

Appointment vs election is an ongoing discussion. It works well when the appointee makes a good decision, otherwise not. Just like a school principal, it's primarily a management position. Some cops and teachers can handle it but most can't. A good manager can work wonders but there are plenty of bad ones.

Bill - if that one old Ex VP coal plant guy had not insisted on the change to the size of the building it may have been too expensive. The nuke VP was sure that the design would work and there was no need to make any changes. He was 30 years younger with much less experience. The NRC requires the utility to have a nuke certified person at the Ex level. The pictures of the old steam generator being removed were epic, the coal guy stood there quiet and humble with a big smile on his face. It's a 900 MW plant, still rockin' along.

The VC Summer plant is near me and has been operating for about 38 years with no significant problems. There have been a few typical issues on the non-nuclear side. One major item was the premature failure of the steam generator. A Westinghouse design flaw. In the original design it was intended to be a lifelong item, one that would never fail. The design had it contained in an area where it could not be replaced. Lucikly an old coal fired plant guy kept insisting that the building be widened saying that nothing ever lasts forever. When this one failed they knocked out the end wall, slipped it out with inches to spare and installed the new one. Nuclear waste storage has become a non-issue. For many years utility companies paid huge money to the feds to develop a US permanent repository at Yucca mountain. It was never built and the utilities sued to get money back. They solved it with a dry cask system for storage on site. Simple, relatively inexpensive, and it works, and NRC approved. Then along comes the failure of the Westinghouse AP 1000 project is SC. Tons of details but the fundamental issue was Westinghouse failed to do their part. Plenty of other problems but that was the core issue that caused the project to fail. GA Power continued on with their project at Vogtle. The budget has almost doubled. Started in 2012 with a 2016/2017 completion date. The first unit has completed hot testing, nuclear fuel is onsite and it may start generating in 6-8 months. The second unit is expected about 1 year after that. The, current, major issue is paperwork. They are 3-6 months behind in creating thousands of pages of documentation. This is where one Westinghouse failure gets spotlighted. They were never able to create blueprints fast enough to keep the VC project going and there were errors in the prints. The guys in the field can't build what won't physically fit. When pipes from one module don't match up to pipes in the adjacent module, that's a problem. The field guys would send in the changes and it would take weeks/months to get the revised drawing completed and approved by NRC. Yes it's expensive. I think that a ton of resources should be pointed at SMR's. Either they will work, be safe and more economical or they won't, let's get that answer. If they work that can solve or reduce many of the transmission/substation problems. We'll see what happens in the long run with the economics and all other factors on generation options, the power grid and everything else around this issue. It would be nice if politics would stay out of the way and not be a complicating factor.

Makes no sense. Two days prior he posted about a fun family trip to Asheville. Sad for sure. Always enjoyed our conversations.

Well... since you asked so nicely. And we agree that fulfillment in hunting is more than with paper punching. I'll leave my reply for you to tromp on in the Biden thread.

Joe - what I said was, "Agree. I sure hope that he (Trump) gets out of the way. It seems that his level of involvement is more than but similar to Obama. Both should step away like other Presidents have done." I agreed with your post #2290 talking about Trumps ongoing involvement with politics. In the 2nd Amendment thread you asked me to reply. You said, "... let's circle back to the Biden thread where inquiring minds are waiting to be enlightened in the many ways that Obama has been an equal pain in the nations collective ass to Donald J. Trump. You made the assertion so let's have some 'splainin' please." The splainin is: 1) "inquiring minds aren't really waiting to be enlightened", it's more like they are wanting more stuff to "comment" on. I would use the term "argue" but we are doing so well lately. :) 2) Then, "... the many ways that Obama has been an equal pain in the nations collective ass to Donald J. Trump." Lucky for me that I didn't say that because it is clearly incorrect. I said, "It seems that his (Trump) level of involvement is more than but similar to Obama." Terms like "seem" indicate an opinion, then "more than" says that Trump has done more, and "but similar" meaning that they both mingled in government after leaving office. You used the term "equal pain." There's no doubt that Trump has been and continues to be, more of a pain than any prior President. However, in the first year after leaving office Obama inserted himself in politics criticizing Trump on the DACA program, commented on GOP efforts on Obamacare, made numerous paid speeches, and campaigned for Democratic candidates. People pointed that out suggested he act like others that left office. There's the 'splainin.' Be gentle please. Time to go. Wifey has been gone for 2 weeks, and I have 1.5 hours to get the place converted from bachelor pad back to normal.

I'd enjoyed an elk hunting adventure. Not the ole knees could handle the mountainous walking. There are plenty of folks that enjoy targeting shooting and other recreational aspects of firing a gun. They do it for official competitions, for fun with friends, to clank metal targets, to test and hone their paper punching abilities, to vaporize clay targets, possibly just to hear the noise and many other reasons. Based on the amount of ammo being purchased, reloading occurring, and what is observed at the firing ranges I don't see the "nice thing to hold and stroke" for entertainment changing.

Agree. What I said was backwoods justice. The typical meaning of "street justice or backwoods justice" is citizens taking the law into their own hands and causing some type harm to the person that they perceive deserves it. There is plenty wrong with that and it doesn't meet the legal definition of justice. I was only pointing out that it occurs.

The State has a highly accredited lab that does all kinds of things. Richland County has a similar lab. Don't know how hard it is to make the drugs, that may be a show stopper. One would think that other options have been considered.

A family member of the slain store clerk that was trying to support his family would be a good candidate. We don't do the Greek chariot thing. We either: shoot them and throw them in one of the many backwoods rivers, take them offshore fishing, stab them, throw them overboard and let the sharks dine, or take them to the swamp, wound them and leave. Then there was the drug dealing DZO that cheated a customer, was shot and buried with lime on top. There's still a degree of backwoods justice still going on.

I've asked Kallend - our most avid anti-gun whiner - that exact question weeks ago, still no answer. I've previously provided suggestions and agreed with others that have made them. I'm not a fan of the wild west rules we have here in SC. As an example, IMO, the process to obtain and retain a CWP is much too weak. Equally worrisome is the list of states that have reciprocal agreements with SC, that tends to show that they are all lax. My answer on CA is - the laws are probably having some impact on reducing gun crimes but not sure how that would be measured. I hope they are because they are making it quite difficult for law abiding citizens to obtain and enjoy a firearm. From an article in Cal Matters by Dan Walters (no clue if this is a reliable source): I'm doubting this quote, not sure how this could be confirmed. "California has the nation’s most restrictive gun laws but they have failed to stem the increase in gun ownership, the availability of illegal guns by criminals or gun violence." This has some truth but also seems like some saber rattling. "...underscores the folly of believing that “gun violence” can be meaningfully reduced by trying to choke off the supply of firearms – any more than the prohibition of liquor or the war on drugs succeeded. The state’s gun laws have hassled law-abiding hunters and gun hobbyists and some are in danger of being declared unconstitutional. However, Californians already own more than 20 million rifles, shotguns and handguns and are buying hundreds of thousands more each year. Nor have these laws prevented the lawless from obtaining weapons via theft, smuggling from other states or the illicit manufacture of untraceable “ghost guns.” Indeed, state restrictions have made the black market even more lucrative, mirroring the side effects of Prohibition and the decades-long drug war."

Thanks for the clarification. All good issues. I might be able to find some answers from a local source. One, weak, explanation is they converted an existing "death chamber facility" to a firing squad place. I'm guessing that space was used for lethal injection, not too large. Cost was ~$54k. 1 actual bullet vs. 3 bullets. Both methods allow a volunteer to rationalize that they only participated. 3 bullets ensure that it's effective, no misses. On that point...why not have the rifles mounted in a frame and triggers activated by a machine. This story is constantly in the local news. I suspect a reporter will dig into this further and we'll get more info. How they pick the volunteers will be interesting.

Bad guys with guns in the State with the most restrictive gun laws. Apparently they aren't working. Sacramento - 6 dead, a dozen wounded, multiple guns used, 5+ shooters, 100+ rounds fired, two blocks from the state capitol, gang violence, multiple gun laws violated, one shooter was prohibited from owning a gun but had a full auto. Good news is there have been some arrests.

Joe - I don't understand the last sentence. As for, will the squad be allowed and how they do it, we'll find out soon enough.

There's an execution scheduled April 29 for a murder committed in 1999. The guy was given the choice of the E-Chair or F-Squad. He's required to choose at least 14 days before the scheduled execution, that date is this week. When lethal injection drugs became unavailable his law team successfully argued that having only one option, the E-Chair, for death was not acceptable. Lawmakers then reauthorized the F-Squad. The team then argued cruel and unusual punishment. What they are really arguing is that the punishment doesn't fit the crime, it should have been life in prison. That was denied by the State Supreme Court. The team is appealing to the US Supreme Ct. The procedure is: hooded prisoner strapped to a metal chair, target placed over the heart, and 3 volunteer prison workers firing from 15' away through a rectangular opening. Seems that the real issue is lack of lethal injection drugs. There must be some cost, difficulty, patent or other reason the State doesn't just make the drugs.

Bill - This is just ridiculous. You regularly and incorrectly assume things that are not true. I'm merely commenting on the facts being uncovered. To deny them is your choice.

Agree. I sure hope that he gets out of the way. It seems that his level of involvement is more than but similar to Obama. Both should step away like other Presidents have done.

Bill - at some point people need to realize that saying Trump is/was a bigger jerk/slimeball/crook or any other term is not a defense for someone else being a criminal and influence peddler. Even in a simple case of speeding the judge will laugh when one says, "Your honor, the other guy was speeding the same or more than I was", and will slam the gavel while stating that is not a viable defense. Speeding is speeding.

Jakee - if you don't have that basic information then you aren't paying any attention.

Good morning. That would be interesting. Even within the pickup truck group there is a huge range. The range on full size and heavy duty trucks is 4,000 - 8,600. https://vehq.com/truck-curb-weight/ The small trucks would be somewhat lighter. The Ford F-150 is one of the most popular. It weighs 4000 - 5000. They have done a ton of work to lighten the trucks and improve the engines to hep met CAFE standards. My 2012 gets 18 mpg with the V-6 eco boost engine. The GMC 1500 with the V-8 gets 12-13, with the 3.0 diesel it gets 26-29.

Do you normally take a specifically stated set of parameters and alter it to create an argument? The post was clearly talking about vehicles of the same SIZE. But thanks for letting us know that a F450 would squash a Miata, a fact that no one, except you, could have possibly known.