Dave Wallace
@dewtell.bsky.social
I started going to Worldcons for the Business Meeting
Because we generally suck at predicting how the general rules we write down will apply to future corner cases, it's good to have an escape mechanism that can occasionally temper justice with mercy. Of course we now see how that can be abused when mercy is only for my friends and law for my enemies.
December 3, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Because we generally suck at predicting how the general rules we write down will apply to future corner cases, it's good to have an escape mechanism that can occasionally temper justice with mercy. Of course we now see how that can be abused when mercy is only for my friends and law for my enemies.
You can pass new laws allowing the imprisonment of people who do similar things in the future, but our Constitution prohibits "ex post facto" laws that retroactivly make something a crime, or increasing the punishment above what was on the books when they did the criming.
December 2, 2025 at 3:12 AM
You can pass new laws allowing the imprisonment of people who do similar things in the future, but our Constitution prohibits "ex post facto" laws that retroactivly make something a crime, or increasing the punishment above what was on the books when they did the criming.
The problem is being public about your intent encourages Trump to pardon all the ringleaders on his way out, to avoid a verdict calling his actions illegal. Do you then follow up by only prosecuting the low-level functionaries he didn't pardon?
November 29, 2025 at 2:26 AM
The problem is being public about your intent encourages Trump to pardon all the ringleaders on his way out, to avoid a verdict calling his actions illegal. Do you then follow up by only prosecuting the low-level functionaries he didn't pardon?
Well, he wasn't the only guy after them, so it still kind of works. The thing that annoyed me, though, was that they had an escape artist scene, and didn't give it to the established escape artist. That should have been her chance to shine, and instead they reduce her to being a sexy assistant.
November 24, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Well, he wasn't the only guy after them, so it still kind of works. The thing that annoyed me, though, was that they had an escape artist scene, and didn't give it to the established escape artist. That should have been her chance to shine, and instead they reduce her to being a sexy assistant.
So if you ask, for example, "where exactly was 'Crimes Against Humanity' written down in pre-existing German law?," well it wasn't as such. But murder was illegal, and conspiring to murder millions of people was obviously illegal, so that gave them a basis to proceed against the defendants. 3/n
November 13, 2025 at 10:57 PM
So if you ask, for example, "where exactly was 'Crimes Against Humanity' written down in pre-existing German law?," well it wasn't as such. But murder was illegal, and conspiring to murder millions of people was obviously illegal, so that gave them a basis to proceed against the defendants. 3/n
To be fair, the prosecutors, Jackson in particular, worked really hard to ground the charges in pre-existing German law, so that you could show the defendants had to know they were doing something illegal at the time, even if the specific charges and penalties didn't exactly line up. 2/n
November 13, 2025 at 10:47 PM
To be fair, the prosecutors, Jackson in particular, worked really hard to ground the charges in pre-existing German law, so that you could show the defendants had to know they were doing something illegal at the time, even if the specific charges and penalties didn't exactly line up. 2/n
Nuremberg was possible, in part, because Germany had unconditionally surrendered to the Allies, leaving the four occupying powers in complete control of the country. Much harder to graft it on to an existing constitutional legal system. 1/n
November 13, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Nuremberg was possible, in part, because Germany had unconditionally surrendered to the Allies, leaving the four occupying powers in complete control of the country. Much harder to graft it on to an existing constitutional legal system. 1/n
Do you know what the nature of the updates are, and whether they are Kindle only, or if there will be a new printing of the print editions?
November 11, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Do you know what the nature of the updates are, and whether they are Kindle only, or if there will be a new printing of the print editions?
Her site megelison.com/bibliography lists her original collection "Big Girl", where it first appeared, and two best of collections that reprinted "The Pill." The pmpress.org web site shows "Big Girl" as still available.
megelison.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Her site megelison.com/bibliography lists her original collection "Big Girl", where it first appeared, and two best of collections that reprinted "The Pill." The pmpress.org web site shows "Big Girl" as still available.
20 seconds to transcribe the whole thing would be around 750 WPM, which would be around 10x what the fastest pro typists could do when I took typing back in the dark ages. Plus presumably proofreading and editing time. It's good to offer alt text, but not to minimize the effort required
November 2, 2025 at 8:08 PM
20 seconds to transcribe the whole thing would be around 750 WPM, which would be around 10x what the fastest pro typists could do when I took typing back in the dark ages. Plus presumably proofreading and editing time. It's good to offer alt text, but not to minimize the effort required
I misread "AIgenerated" as "Algernated" (with an "L") on first reading and thought you were making a wry reference to "Flowers for Algernon." Self reflection with an artificially enhanced twist, or something like that. Nope, just a visual Mondegreen.
October 29, 2025 at 1:27 AM
I misread "AIgenerated" as "Algernated" (with an "L") on first reading and thought you were making a wry reference to "Flowers for Algernon." Self reflection with an artificially enhanced twist, or something like that. Nope, just a visual Mondegreen.
I'm a pretty strong introvert, but my secret, such as it is, is to ask new people about themselves and their experiences. Most people like to talk about themselves, and I can mix in some stuff about us so it doesn't feel like too much of a cross examination.
October 25, 2025 at 6:00 PM
I'm a pretty strong introvert, but my secret, such as it is, is to ask new people about themselves and their experiences. Most people like to talk about themselves, and I can mix in some stuff about us so it doesn't feel like too much of a cross examination.
Yup, they pack us in like Tetris pieces so they can serve as many people as.possible in the time available. It can be fun, though. On our last train trip, my wife and I had lunch with a woman who turned oit to be a good friend of a friend of mine from high school. That was a blast.
October 24, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Yup, they pack us in like Tetris pieces so they can serve as many people as.possible in the time available. It can be fun, though. On our last train trip, my wife and I had lunch with a woman who turned oit to be a good friend of a friend of mine from high school. That was a blast.
I'm not sure how much this distinction may affect the rest of your argument, but it seems important to keep in mind. Not a geneticist BTW, just someone who read a bit about some of these discoveries early on and thought about them. 4/n
October 22, 2025 at 4:39 PM
I'm not sure how much this distinction may affect the rest of your argument, but it seems important to keep in mind. Not a geneticist BTW, just someone who read a bit about some of these discoveries early on and thought about them. 4/n
It doesn't mean those people didn't contribute to other parts of our genetic heritage. They could easily have been a source for other chromosomes or parts of chromosomes that are represented today. We just wouldn't be able to trace them as easily, or maybe at all. 3/n
October 22, 2025 at 4:33 PM
It doesn't mean those people didn't contribute to other parts of our genetic heritage. They could easily have been a source for other chromosomes or parts of chromosomes that are represented today. We just wouldn't be able to trace them as easily, or maybe at all. 3/n
It's the men/women alive then who have living descendents along strictly single-sex lines of descent. A woman alive then who had only surviving sons, or a man who had only surviving daughters could have millions of descendents alive today but be absent from these specific gene pools. 2/n
October 22, 2025 at 4:26 PM
It's the men/women alive then who have living descendents along strictly single-sex lines of descent. A woman alive then who had only surviving sons, or a man who had only surviving daughters could have millions of descendents alive today but be absent from these specific gene pools. 2/n
One issue I immediately saw with your post: you refer to people who have surviving y chromosome or mitochondrial DNA lineages as the men/women alive then who have living descendents, and that's not true. 1/n
October 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
One issue I immediately saw with your post: you refer to people who have surviving y chromosome or mitochondrial DNA lineages as the men/women alive then who have living descendents, and that's not true. 1/n
IANAL, but I believe the SC has said no. A majority of one house of Congress might have standing; both houses acting together almost certainly would. A future Congress could change the law to give majority or minority leader of either house explicit standing to sue, to prevent future violations.
October 20, 2025 at 3:55 AM
IANAL, but I believe the SC has said no. A majority of one house of Congress might have standing; both houses acting together almost certainly would. A future Congress could change the law to give majority or minority leader of either house explicit standing to sue, to prevent future violations.
"Ever" is a long time. Political coalitions shift over time, and have tended to create a rough long term balance. But it will be quite bad for several years, and the Democratic party that emerges may look rather different. Compare the Republicans of 1860 vs. 1890.
October 15, 2025 at 4:55 PM
"Ever" is a long time. Political coalitions shift over time, and have tended to create a rough long term balance. But it will be quite bad for several years, and the Democratic party that emerges may look rather different. Compare the Republicans of 1860 vs. 1890.
It was a revelation for me to encounter a couple volumns of his essays when I was in college. The man was a brilliant essayist.
October 12, 2025 at 9:11 PM
It was a revelation for me to encounter a couple volumns of his essays when I was in college. The man was a brilliant essayist.
And if you follow the link to the real estate article, the judge turned down WF's proposed receiver for now. Still the original owner in control of whatever's happening there now. 2/n
October 8, 2025 at 8:07 AM
And if you follow the link to the real estate article, the judge turned down WF's proposed receiver for now. Still the original owner in control of whatever's happening there now. 2/n
WF is trying to foreclose (since 2024), but there's no evidence in the article that they had any involvement or foreknowledge about the raid. Filing for emergency receivership after the raid makes sense if they don't think the original owner will protect the place's value after ICE trashed it. 1/n
October 8, 2025 at 7:41 AM
WF is trying to foreclose (since 2024), but there's no evidence in the article that they had any involvement or foreknowledge about the raid. Filing for emergency receivership after the raid makes sense if they don't think the original owner will protect the place's value after ICE trashed it. 1/n
It's illegal either way, but someone here posted that the threat only applies to those who are furloughed, not those who are required to work without pay during the shutdown.
October 7, 2025 at 7:51 PM
It's illegal either way, but someone here posted that the threat only applies to those who are furloughed, not those who are required to work without pay during the shutdown.
Not sure about the native wars, but the events in Salem Village were mostly driven by idiosyncratic local issues that had other Puritans side-eying them once it became clear that things were getting out of hand. Salem Possesed is a good source on the local history.
October 7, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Not sure about the native wars, but the events in Salem Village were mostly driven by idiosyncratic local issues that had other Puritans side-eying them once it became clear that things were getting out of hand. Salem Possesed is a good source on the local history.
That sucks. I just assumed that NCMEC would see it as part of their mission to at least not have the government create more missing or exploited kids, if at all possible. Pity the Board didn't see it the same way for all kids.
October 5, 2025 at 11:50 PM
That sucks. I just assumed that NCMEC would see it as part of their mission to at least not have the government create more missing or exploited kids, if at all possible. Pity the Board didn't see it the same way for all kids.