Hacker News: jwkpiano1

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "St Lucie Nuclear Reactor Unit 1 manually shutdown, 3 control rods drop into core"

jwkpiano1 — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:17:09 +0000

None of this contradicts the point I was making, which is that the OP implied that’s what the term meant, and it simply isn’t.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "St Lucie Nuclear Reactor Unit 1 manually shutdown, 3 control rods drop into core"

jwkpiano1 — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 17:17:24 +0000

In case you weren’t aware, the “safety control rod ax man” thing is aprocryphal and almost certainly not reflective of the origins of the term.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "Where things stand with the Department of War"

jwkpiano1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 20:01:27 +0000

Let me state this very simply: executive agencies have only the power granted to them by Congress. So yes, all actions taken by an executive agencies are bound by the law. Anything else is ultra vires and of no effect.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "Where things stand with the Department of War"

jwkpiano1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:15:09 +0000

That’s not what the law is. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/111

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "Where things stand with the Department of War"

jwkpiano1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:13:03 +0000

Executive orders aren’t laws. This is: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/111.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "Where things stand with the Department of War"

jwkpiano1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:12:38 +0000

This isn’t how this works. Laws don’t change just because the executive decides it’s going to ignore them. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/111

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "Where things stand with the Department of War"

jwkpiano1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:07:50 +0000

The executive doesn’t pass laws. Congress created the Department of Defense. Only Congress can rename it. The executive being elected is irrelevant to this point. The Constitution actually matters.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "Where things stand with the Department of War"

jwkpiano1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:06:49 +0000

You are. Congress could stop this right now if they wanted. That they aren’t is of course a problem, but that’s very different than saying the system of checks and balances doesn’t exist. The latter is giving the executive power it doesn’t have.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "Where things stand with the Department of War"

jwkpiano1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 02:33:34 +0000

The problem with this argument is that the _original_ Department of War is now called the Department of the Army, which existed alongside the Department of the Navy. Besides, it’s a moot point unless Congress actually changes the name.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "Where things stand with the Department of War"

jwkpiano1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 02:24:18 +0000

It very much still exists, and statements like this are what’s called “obeying in advance.” Don’t do it.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "You can't refuse to be scanned by ICE's facial recognition app, DHS document say"

jwkpiano1 — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 23:45:22 +0000

This is indeed happening, but note that PC is not required for a Terry stop, only reasonable suspicion, which is a lower bar.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "GSA Eliminates 18F"

jwkpiano1 — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 23:01:43 +0000

We sure as shit are or there will be civil conflict. Period.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "DOGE's only public ledger is riddled with mistakes"

jwkpiano1 — Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:23:00 +0000

That’s for _Congress_ to decide, not the executive. That’s the issue here.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "U.K. demand for a back door to Apple data threatens Americans, lawmakers say"

jwkpiano1 — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 20:48:28 +0000

Indeed, California has 52 times the representation but about 80 times the people. That disconnect is why the cap on the size of the House needs to be lifted.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "The FAA’s Hiring Scandal"

jwkpiano1 — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 16:06:41 +0000

He has zero experience running a large organization. The Secretary of Defense, while a political appointee, also requires some ability to manage a large organization, which again, he doesn’t have. And suggesting that we didn’t get the desired outcomes from another qualified candidate doesn’t mean we should switch to literally unqualified candidates. Take your partisan hat off for a few minutes and think about what qualities are necessary in a SecDef, and think about whether Hegseth meets them or not.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "The FAA’s Hiring Scandal"

jwkpiano1 — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 16:01:57 +0000

Dude, none of that has _anything_ to do with being able to run a huge organization. Nothing. It’s undeniable that Hegseth, even if you ignore all of the white supremacist shit, is completely unqualified to run a large organization. Noting other folks that aren’t super qualified doesn’t change that one bit, and it’s insulting to others’ intelligence to suggest it does.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "LA Times Flips Anti-RFK Jr. Op-Ed into Pro-Kennedy Propaganda"

jwkpiano1 — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 04:28:04 +0000

He’s made that pretty clear to us Angelenos too.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "The origin of the cargo cult metaphor"

jwkpiano1 — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:10:40 +0000

I’m sorry you’re offended by people trying to be nice to others by avoiding language they don’t appreciate. I promise nobody is gonna force you to do the same.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "The origin of the cargo cult metaphor"

jwkpiano1 — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:03:39 +0000

It’s funny how you think you’re not doing the exact same thing you’re accusing others of doing: policing language.

New comment by jwkpiano1 in "The origin of the cargo cult metaphor"

jwkpiano1 — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 14:38:31 +0000

Come on. You can’t honestly tell me that “folks” or “y’all” are signs of language policing. I think many Southerners would vehemently disagree with you.