"Real federalism was pretty much dead before the War of 1812 anyway so why maintain the facade of empowered states"

First, it's not really "dead", but very much weakened. Second, and most important, the reason WHY we should maintain "empowered" states is for the various reasons it was set up in the first place. We are not a homogenous nation. We are spread over a huge area, of various races, faiths, cultures and economic interests and yet we haven't torn ourselves apart (came close in the 1860s).

The stronger the Federal government becomes, the more likely the US will balkanize. Want to maintain the union? Limit the powers of the Federal government and let the states dictate more of what is in there interests. Example:

Gay Marriage. States should be allowed to ban gay marriage but be forced to recognize it when performed in states which allow it. You keep those who find it in conflict with their faith happy and provide a solution to those who are homosexual who wish to wed.

What happens over time is that America will change -- SLOWLY and once gay marriage becomes as accepted to the extent that an amendment to the Constitution can pass, you've now created a "right" which was accepted by a supra majority of the states/peoples without putting stress on the Union by it being perceived as being shoved down our throats.

It was DESIGNED to work slow as the swings and dramatic changes of both whim and passions would destabilize a government. And when a population is as heterogeneous as we are -- it would just add more sparks to the fuel of succession.

There WAS a VHS "game" that came out that matched the plot of Caves of Steel back in the 80s... It actually wasn't that bad. That's about as close as you're going to get to film/video right now.

They should be called HBOO (with a little dot in each "O").

Good thing it's Asimov and not George R R Martin...

Hari Seldon would have been killed by a classmate before he ever developed psychohistory.

They have the "ability" to cheat. Being "able" to do something does not make it a "right".

"This kind of lobbying would have a lot less influence if we repealed the 17th amendment (direct election of senators)."

Absolutely agree! It "breaks" the reason WHY we have a bicameral legislature in the first place.

So you can print to your kodak diconix battery operated ink-jet printer, of course!

Heh... break out the soldering iron and put a relay between the battery contacts. We'll teach that pesky router!

"The device itself is about as reliable as other consumer level networking gear -- meaning you need to power cycle it now and then to make it start working again. It has a remote web admin interface, with no way to remotely reboot it. You have to physically touch the thing to power cycle it."

Way-back-when, I had an old x-10 serial controller and a power outlet adapter. I wrote a script that would check for gateway connectivity and if it failed it would power cycle the DSL modem and router. We were having issues with line quality during the summer (lead based wire to the home) that presented as a problem similar to what you describe. it worked and made sure my connection came back up automagically within 10 mins of going down.

Wasn't this the basic plot of Serenity? They tried to make some type of "peace" drug and ended turning the population that didn't outright die in to "Reavers"?

He's a mad man with an evil mind!

Nope. It was Electra woman and Dyna girl. And maybe Wunderbug.

Dementia can wreak havoc on someone's ability to do stuff. Cues like "smell" would certainly help someone who isn't too far down the dementia path.

"And yet it *IS* conservative groups that are opposing net neutrality. So there's something wrong with your reasoning."

No. There's something wrong with yours. I *DONT* want to see any tiered services. Net neutrality would prevent this. Yet I'm apposed to it. Because I'm against a bloated central government trying to do control a very heterogeneous population (culturally and economically) over a wide geographic area. What works in NYC probably wont in Baker, CA. Let local governments and the market place deal with stuff like this.

The larger our Federal government becomes the more likely we are to see a balkanization of the US. Geez -- we've already fought this battle once and sacrificed what? 3/4 of a million of our kids to preserve the union? 10 years ago the idea of a balkanization would have made me laugh. Yet now there are rumblings that cannot be ignored.

"that's why they do it."

Could it be that there is a record of horrible public school performance over the last few decades that is prompting this "school choice" movement? To allow those locked in to poorly performing public schools a shot at a better performing school? And maybe NOT trying to turn schools in to a business?

I'm sorry, conservatives are not evil. Libertarians are not evil. Liberals are not evil. Jeez. I can have opinions that are different than yours without you being EVIL and trying to control my life -- AND vise-verse.