prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What did the decision to base the water rates on usage reflect?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 1: Time to clean house in Paso Robles Home
Front Page » Time to clean house in Paso Robles
September 5, 2010 Opinion By JIM REED
I’d like to give you an update on the issue of our civil servants cramming hundreds of millions of dollars in spending down our throats after the people of Paso Robles voted down the water rate increase last November  The rate increase is being hung up in the courts by the City Attorney  What was supposed to be a quick issue to get in front of a judge, has been drug out as long as possible by the City Attorney 
Even if the courts throw out the current rate increase, I expect that our civil servants will just change a couple of words in the rate increase notice and force the same old plan on us again 
There is a real problem with the people we have hired to work for us in Paso Robles  It seems that decisions are made based on some agenda, even if it is contrary to citizens’ wishes 
City Councilmen Ed Steinbeck, Nick Gilman and Mayor Duane Picanco, on August 19th, voted unanimously to hire the same law firm employed by the City of Bell  You may have heard the recent news story about the City of Bell’s corrupt city representatives 
This law firm allowed the elected officials and City employees to pillage the General Fund for their own benefit, contrary to the rights and interests of the citizens  We are already paying several City employees $12,000 per month with equally ridiculous benefits and pensions  What does this say about our elected representatives?
I believe most residents are like me  We elect people we believe have our best interest in mind  Over the last few years I have seen that nothing is farther from the truth  The people we have elected have lost track of the fact that “the City” exists to protect and deliver services to the citizens  To them it is some all-important ideal they strive to cultivate and improve according to their agenda  They have forgotten that they are elected to represent the citizens 
We have an election coming up in November  We have the opportunity to elect some responsible, principled people to represent us  If we elect more people from within this system, we will get more of the same type of government  We need to look at where the new candidates stand  Will they lawfully represent the citizens of the city? Or, are they happy with the way things are being run?
We have stood together in the past and have made real significant changes in important matters that are going to affect our lives for years to come  There are several thousand citizens that made their voice heard on the water issue, more than enough votes to make a change in our city government 
Please come out and vote for a democratic representative governing body for Paso Robles instead of the tyrannical leadership that exists now 
Jim Reed is a longtime resident of Paso Robles 
Subjects: Opinion Paso Robles Paso Robles City Council Vote	Related:
<- Previous Next ->	Endless Summer Nights at Edna Valley, event photos Trial postponed for Paso Robles woman accused of forgery The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews com  (moderator@calcoastnews com Comment Guidelines )
2 whatisup says:	09/13/2010 at 9:27 pm
pasoobserver – Here is something to observe and get you going in the right direction:
California Government Code Section 65584
(a) (1) For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the
housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall
determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region
pursuant to this article  For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section
65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need
shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income
levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of
(2) While it is the intent of the Legislature that cities,
counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary
actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of
housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, it is
recognized, however, that future housing production may not equal the
regional housing need established for planning purposes 
(b) The department, in consultation with each council of
governments, shall determine each region’s existing and projected
housing need pursuant to Section 65584 01 at least two years prior to
the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588  The
appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties
without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final
regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional
housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one
year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by
Section 65588  The allocation plan prepared by a council of
governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584 04 and
65584 05 with the advice of the department 
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the due dates for
the determinations of the department or for the council of
governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be
extended by the department by not more than 60 days if the extension
will enable access to more recent critical population or housing
data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census
Bureau or the Department of Finance  If the due date for the
determination of the department or the council of governments is
extended for this reason, the department shall extend the
corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section
65588 by not more than 60 days 
(d) The regional housing needs allocation plan shall be consistent
with all of the following objectives:
(1) Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types,
tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the
region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each
jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low
(2) Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the
protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and the
encouragement of efficient development patterns 
(3) Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs
(4) Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income
category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high
share of households in that income category, as compared to the
countywide distribution of households in that category from the most
recent decennial United States census 
(e) For purposes of this section, “household income levels” are as
determined by the department as of the most recent decennial census
pursuant to the following code sections:
(1) Very low incomes as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and
(2) Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079 5 of the Health and
(3) Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health
and Safety Code 
(4) Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income
level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code 
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determinations
made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county
pursuant to this section or Section 65584 01, 65584 02, 65584 03,
65584 04, 65584 05, 65584 06, 65584 07, or 65584 08 are exempt from
the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing
with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) 
pasoobserver says:	09/13/2010 at 6:52 pm
To whatisup —- First of all, I reviewed AB 602 Assembly Bill  Thanks  I am sorry to inform you but AB 602 is not the LAW as you so stated in your blog  I contacted the Deputy Chief Council’s office in Sacramento handling AB 602 to confirm your misstatement of facts  You know,in the English language, It shouldn’t be so difficult to answer some simple questions with a “YES” or “NO” answer  Yet, you are reluctant to do so, but you go on and on with a thesis along with some rhetoric  I never talked about a court suit over the “water issue”, I asked YOU, not about waiting for a court decision  Maybe, you did with some other people  Also, I was not ranting about the wineries usage of water  My response to you on your vague question about “there are people not paying their fair share for their use of water”  I related, are you talking about the wineries? I am well aware that most of the wineries are outside the city limits using the same aquifer  You took my question out of context , nice try! You are just being a popinjay and rhetorical  Also, you didn’t answer another question about “what is the unit cost of water” in Templeton? as compared to Paso Robles 
whatisup says:	09/13/2010 at 8:54 pm
I am on a well  I am sure you are capable of doing your own homework  I also am quite sure if you really contacted the Deputy Chief Counsel’s Office you have been set straight  What I gave you is a proposed small adjustment in the wide range of laws that make up the California Housing element  I assumed you could stumble onto the facts based on what I gave you  By the way, I believe you can review the Paso Robles Housing element plan on the City’s website or at the Library  The California Housing Element Laws that all cities and counties have to follow have been in place for almost 25 years  I realize you don’t actually have a clue how to look the laws up  Either educate yourself or keep making a fool of yourself, your choice  A simple Google search of California Housing Element Laws will get you going  Good Luck!
TO WHATISUP — I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT LAW YOU ARE REFERRING TO THAT SAYS “WE” THE PEOPLE HAVE TO SUBSIDIZE NEW DEVELOPMENT? AGAIN, FOR THE THIRD TIME, YOU FAILED TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS POSED TO YOU IN MY PRIOR RESPONSES TO YOU ON SEPT 10TH &11TH  IS THERE A REASON WHY YOU DON’T WANT TO ANSWER THEM? YOU DO WHAT OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS DO SO WELL, AND THAT IS “IN ONE EAR AND OUT OF THE OTHER EAR” IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU ARE EITHER EMPLOYED BY THE CITY OR YOU HAVE OTHER DEALING WITH THE CITY, SO BE IT  IT APPEARS TO ME THAT YOU THINK THE CITY DOES EVERYTHING RIGHT  APPARENTLY, YOU PRESENT YOURSELF AS BEING VERY BIAS ON CITY DECISIONS  IT LIKE THEY CAN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG ACCORDING TO YOUR LOGIC  THEY KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR THE CITIZENS OF PASO,THAT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF ARROGANCE ALONG WITH NARCISSISM 
WHAT PEOPLE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THAT DOESN’T PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE OF WATER? ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE WINERIES USING THE SAME AQUIFER?
I BELIEVE YOU RELATED THAT YOU RESIDE IN TEMPLETON, BUT YOU OWN PROPERTY IN PASO  BY THE WAY, WHAT IS THE COST PER UNIT OF WATER USAGE IN TEMPLETON COMPARED TO PASO? OF COURSE, TEMPLETON IS IN AN UNINCORPORATED AREA (COUNTY JURISDICTION) 
WELL, I GAVE YOU SOME SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO PAY FOR THE NACIMIENTO WATER PIPELINE AND SEWER TREATMENT PLANT  ALSO, REMEMBER IT’S THE CITIZENS’ MONEY THAT IS BEING SPENT  WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, IS LET THE CITIZENS OF PASO DECIDE WITH THEIR VOTE ON HOW TO FINANCE THIS HUGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT EXPENDITURE  JUST BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE PROPOSITION 218 AND STOP CIRCUMVENTING THE LAW 
WOULD YOU OBJECT TO HAVING TO FINANCE SOME NEW BONDS ON YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL AS A ” SPECIAL TAX” OR AN ASSESSMENT TAX” TO PAY FOR THE NACIMIENTO WATER PIPELINE AND SEWER TREATMENT PLANT? A PERCENTAGE OF PASO CITIZENS FINANCE LOCAL SCHOOL BONDS ON THEIR PROPERTY TAX BILL AND DON’T HAVE ANY KIDS GOING TO SCHOOL  HOW ABOUT THAT COMPARISON FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT? WHAT SAY YOU?
I say less CapsLock, please 
whatisup says:	09/12/2010 at 11:41 pm
I have answered your questions  I have been quite detailed in my answers and I am sorry if you can’t deal with the detail  I guess it is your inconvenient truth  You do seem to like to deflect and go around in circles  Another example, now you are ranting about the wineries using the same aquaifier as the City  Let me be clear for you, I don’t like the amount of water the wineries are using  However, the wineries are in the County, not in the City and the City can’t do anything about it  They wineries are allowed to take the water they are taking even if it drops the City’s water levels in their wells  You need to complain to Sacramento  It sounds like you just don’t want to pay anything for the infrastructure because you really just don’t want it built 
Several of your observations of my opinions are bizarre considering I have stated several times I believe the Courts need to decide if Paso Robles has, or has not followed the rules as to funding the infrastucture  Obviously, as I have stated before, if the City loses the lawsuit the infrastructure will have to be paid out of the City’s General Fund until a new method of payment is voted on by the Citizens of Paso Robles  Pretty clear 
Your idea of charging based on a special assesment rather than the amount of water a property uses means that people who use little water, but live on a more expensive property will pay more than their share, based on their water usage  In addition, how do you deal with a rental unit where the renter is supposed to pay the water bill? Your idea is inherantly unfair, but my guess is it will favor you, so you don’t care if it is unfair and other people would pay part of your share  You also have decided that since I have alternative ideas to yours I must work for, or have business with the City of Paso Robles, another attempt to deflect from the issue  However, once again, I have never worked for the City or have ever done business with the City and don’t expect to ever do business with the City  I do own property in the City which is why I pay attention  Finally, it turns out there needs to be a fix to the housing element laws, the existance of which you are questioning  As I understand it the fix to the housing elemnt laws is because of some lawsuit  This should give you all the information you need to educate yourself on the California Housing Element laws that every city and county in California has to follow:
BILL ANALYSIS ————————————————————
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 602|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
———————————————————— THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 602
Author: Feuer (D), et al
Amended: 8/20/10 in Senate
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 6-3, 6/29/10
AYES: Lowenthal, DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
NOES: Huff, Ashburn, Harman
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Statute of limitations on housing element
SOURCE : California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Housing California DIGEST : This bill states the intent of the Legislature
in enacting this bill to modify the courts opinion in Urban
Habitat Program v  City of Pleasanton (2008) 164
Cal App 4th 1561, with respect to the interpretation of
Section 65009 of the Government Code, and revises and
clarifies statute of limitations and remedies for specified
housing related challenges 
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/20/10 revise the statute of
limitations and remedies for specified housing-related
ANALYSIS : The Planning and Zoning Law requires cities
and counties to prepare and adopt a general plan, including
a housing element, to guide the future growth of a
community  Following a staggered statutory schedule,
cities and counties located within the territory of a
metropolitan planning organization (MPO) must revise their
housing elements every eight years, and cities and counties
in rural non-MPO regions must revise their housing elements
every five years  These five- and eight-year periods are
known as the housing element planning period 
Before each revision, each community is assigned its fair
share of housing for each income category through the
regional housing needs assessment (RHNA) process  A
housing element must identify and analyze existing and
projected housing needs, identify adequate sites with
appropriate zoning to meet its share of the RHNA, and
ensure that regulatory systems provide opportunities for,
and do not unduly constrain, housing development  The
reviews both draft and adopted housing elements to
determine whether or not they are in substantial compliance
with the law  The Planning and Zoning Law and the Subdivision Map Act
also includes a number of sections governing zoning and
entitlements specifically related to housing, including:
? The Housing Accountability Act, which requires a city or
county to make one or more specified findings in order to
disapprove a particular housing development 
? A provision requiring cities and counties, when adopting
an ordinance which limits the number of housing units
which may be constructed on an annual basis, to make
findings as to the public health, safety, and welfare
benefits that justify reducing the housing opportunities
of the region  ? Density bonus law, which requires cities and counties to
grant a developer a density bonus, incentives, and
concessions when the developer proposes to include
specified percentages of affordable housing within a
development  ? The Least Cost Zoning Law, which requires cities and AB 602
counties to designate and zone sufficient vacant land for
residential use with appropriate standards to meet
housing needs for all income categories and to contribute
to producing housing at the lowest possible cost 
? A requirement that, when determining whether to approve a
tentative subdivision map, a city or county shall apply
only those ordinances, policies, and standards in effect
as of the date the developer’s application is deemed
Prior to a recent court decision, it was understood that
current law allowed a party to challenge the adequacy of a
city’s or county’s housing element at any time during a
planning period, provided that the challenger brought the
action “in support of or to encourage or facilitate the
development of housing that would increase the community’s
supply of [affordable] housing ” The challenging party was
required first to serve the city or county with a notice
identifying the deficiencies in the housing element  After
60 days or the date on which the city or county took final
action in response to the notice, whichever occurred first,
the challenging party had one year to file the action in
court  This process and statute of limitations also
applied to actions brought pursuant to the housing-related
statutes listed above  In 2006 Urban Habitat Program brought suit to challenge the
City of Pleasanton’s housing policies, including the city’s
annual cap on housing permits and the city’s cap on the
aggregate number of permissible housing units, both of
which Urban Habitat claimed were insufficient to allow the
city to meet its RHNA obligation  In 2008, the First
District California Court of Appeals issued an unpublished
decision in the case of Urban Habitat Program v  City of
Pleasanton allowing the case to proceed with respect to
some causes of action, but ruling that the challenge to the
housing element itself was time-barred  The court stated:
Although the statute does not specify the time within
which [a deficiency] notice must be given, it is our
conclusion that the statute must be interpreted as
containing a time limit within which this requirement
must be met? In sum, a party bringing a challenge AB 602
governed by section 65009, subdivision (d), has 90
days from the date a legislative action is taken or
approval is given to notify the local land use
authority of any claimed deficiencies in such an
action or approval  Its claim then accrues 60 days
after it gives this notice 
In other words, instead of being able to initiate a
challenge to a deficient housing element at any time during
the planning period, housing advocates and other interested
parties may now only initiate such a challenge by
submitting a deficiency notice within 90 days of the
housing element’s adoption 
1 Removes from the current list of city or county actions
which may be challenged pursuant to Government Code 65009
notice and accrual provisions those actions related to
the Housing Accountability Act, the Subdivision Map Act,
and the application of a Density Bonus ordinance to a
particular project, all of which are project-specific
actions  The bill maintains the ability to use these
notice and accrual provisions to challenge the adequacy
of a city’s or county’s density bonus ordinance
2 Extends lengthening the time in which a deficiency notice
may be served to cover all remaining city or county
actions described in this section of law, as opposed to
just housing element challenges  In other words, the
amendments apply the longer timeframe to serve the
deficiency notice to actions relating to the Least Cost
Zoning Law, annual limits on housing permits, and the
adequacy of a density bonus ordinance, in addition to
housing element law  3 Provides that an entity challenging such an action in
support of affordable housing may serve the deficiency
notice up to five years after the city’s or county’s
action  After 60 days or the date on which the city or
county takes final action in response to the notice,
whichever occurs first, the challenging party has one
year to file an action in court, except that the lawsuit AB 602
may not be filed more than five years after the city’s or
county’s action  In other words, the entity must file
the lawsuit within one year of the expiration of the
deficiency notice or within five years of the city’s or
county’s action, whichever occurs first 
4 Provides that a housing element from a prior planning
period may not be challenged if the city or county has
adopted a revised housing element for the new planning
Government Code 65755   Current law requires a court, if it
finds any portion of a general plan, including a housing
element, out of compliance with the law, to include within
its order or judgment one or more of the following remedies
for any or all types of developments or any or all
geographic segments of the city or county until the city or
county has complied with the law:
? Suspend the authority of the city or county to
issue building permits 
grant zoning changes and/or variances 
grant subdivision map approvals 
? Mandate the approval of building permits for
residential housing that meet specified criteria 
? Mandate the approval of final subdivision maps for
housing projects that meet specified criteria 
? Mandate the approval of tentative subdivision maps
for residential housing projects that meet specified
This bill clarifies that in any action or proceeding
brought pursuant to the notice and accrual provisions of
Government Code Section 65009 described above, neither the
court remedies described above nor any injunction against
the development of a housing project shall abrogate,
impair, or otherwise interfere with the full exercise of
the rights and protections granted to an applicant for a
tentative map or a vesting tentative map under specified
provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or to a developer
under a specified provision relating to development AB 602
Under current law, HCD operates a number of grant programs
to which cities and counties may apply  In many cases, the
law requires a city or county to have an HCD-approved
housing element in order to be eligible for funding  This bill provides that if a third-party challenges the
adequacy of a housing element in court and the court finds
that the housing element substantially complies with all of
the requirements of housing element law, the element shall
be deemed to be in compliance for purposes of state housing
The statutory language interpreted by the court and at
issue in this bill was added to statute by AB 998 (Waters),
Chapter 1138, Statutes of 1983, a bill sponsored by the
League of California Cities and the California Building
Industry Association  AB 998 created a short statute of
limitations period for land use decisions generally but
provided a specific exception to protect the ability to
challenge deficient housing elements  The Senate Housing
and Land Use Committee and the Senate Third Reading
analysis of the bill stated that the bill:
Specifies that for challenges in support of low- and
moderate-income housing requirements, the petitioner
shall notice local government 60 days prior to filing
action  The [one-year] statute of limitations then
begins on the first day the legislative body fails to
In the intervening 25 years prior to the Urban Habitat
ruling, housing advocates filed and successfully settled at
least ten cases in which the 60-day deficiency notice was
sent more than 90 days after adoption of the city’s or
county’s housing element  In none of these cases was the
timeliness on the advocates’ suit contested  Likewise, six
bills amended other portions of this statute during those
intervening years, and there was never any controversy
surrounding the lack of a deadline for housing advocates to
serve a deficiency notice nor any attempt to change the AB 602
statute in this regard  Current level of housing element compliance   According to
HCD’s website as of June 7, 2010, only 46 percent of cities
and counties have adopted an HCD-approved housing element
for the current planning period that began in 2005 for the
San Diego region, 2008 for the Southern California, Fresno,
Kern, and Sacramento regions, and the summer of 2009 for
the remaining areas of the state  Unlocking the private market   The purpose of housing
element law is to create opportunities for the private
housing market to function  Builders cannot build without
access to appropriately zoned land, and current land use
plans in many cities and counties in California fail to
provide sufficient opportunities to accommodate projected
population growth  The San Diego Association of
Governments’ Regional Comprehensive Plan describes this
typical California paradox in the following way:
Under current plans and policies, more than 90 percent
of [the San Diego region’s] remaining vacant land
designated for housing is planned for densities of
less than one home per acre, and most is in the rural
back country areas dependent upon scarce groundwater
supplies  And of the remaining vacant land planned for
housing in the 18 incorporated cities, only about
seven percent is planned for multifamily housing  When
taken together, the current land use plans of the 19
local jurisdictions do not accommodate the amount of
growth anticipated in our region  SANDAG’s population
forecast, which reflects the current adopted local
land use plans in the region, projects that while
population will increase by 37 percent by 2030,
housing will grow by just 30 percent  The forecast
shows that if local plans are not changed, demand for
housing will continue to outpace the supply, just as
Housing element law addresses this problem directly by
requiring cities and counties to zone land at appropriate
densities to accommodate the projected housing needs of all
income groups and to remove constraints that prevent such
sites from being developed at the allowed densities  AB 602
Cities and counties, however, are not required to build
housing because that is the role of private developers 
The law holds cities and counties accountable only for that
which they control: zoning and land use entitlements 
Without the ability to enforce housing element law, the
market’s ability to meet housing demand may well remain
locked up 
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com : No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/23/10)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (co-source)
Housing California (co-source)
Advocates for Affordable Homes in Fremont
California Coalition for Rural Housing
Community Housing Improvement Program
Community Housing Works
Eden Housing
Fair Housing of Marin
Grassroots Leadership Network of Marin
Kennedy Commission
Public Advocates, Inc
San Diego Housing Federation
Self-Help Enterprises
Sierra Club of California
American Planning Association, California Chapter
JA:nl 8/23/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
pasoobserver says:	09/11/2010 at 11:17 pm
To whatisup — Thank you for your response to my comments  However, you failed to answer some of my questions that I mentioned to you  It’s almost like dealing with some City officials  They just let the public vent at their bimonthly council meetings  In my opinion, it’s difficult to deal with narcissism and arrogance  Over the years, there has been some very good input to our elected officials on how to proceed on the Nacimiento water pipeline,but it fell on deaf ears  You wanted me to answer some of your questions,but you did not answer some of my questions  Again, are you willing to subsidize new development?,Yes?or No?, are you willing to pay for a commodity that you are not receiving? Yes?or No? and another question for you  Are you willing to pay over 300% on your water bills within the five (5) year plan that the City has proposed? Also, the water rates will be subject to later increases too  By the way, I do concur with the city’s plan of “you pay for the amount of water units you use”  (748 gal=one unit)  However, the higher water rates are not good for our senior citizens on fixed incomes and other struggling families in our community  My first suggestion years ago was desalination  The response was it was too expensive  Of course, now it is more expensive  I would suggest that our elected officials recall the existing bonds (The bonds can be recalled early)  The City council can explain to the citizens in detail with financing of new bonds at a lower interest rate as of now for the sewer plant and Nacimiento water pipeline and present their new proposal in compliance with Proposition 218  Let the citizens of Paso VOTE on the financing bonds for their approval  Most of the citizens,that I had spoken to were not happy with the way our City Council handled the Nacimiento water pipeline project  The citizens of Paso didn’t give our City Council a “BLANK CHECK” for $176 million to spend without voter approval  I would suggest that it be a “special tax” or “an assessment” be levied on our property taxes  A percentage of those bonds can be deducted on Federal Income taxes  As it is now, a” fee” on a capital funding project is not deductible  Of course, there are homeowners would not go for this suggestion due to our poor economy  My analogy mentioned above would be, you would get something back on a “special tax” or an “assessment” verses nothing on a “fee”  What say you?
whatisup says:	09/12/2010 at 9:02 am
Unfortunately the law says we have to subsidize new development in California  I don’t like it, but it is the law  I know paying using the property taxes was bandied about  The argument against it was it would mean some would be paying for water they aren’t using and others could be big water users, but pay a small special assessment on their property taxes  I think the decision that was made to base it on usage was out of fairness  It seems to me if people are using water and not paying their share of the costs it is not fair  The Senior issue is very difficult  If someone is retired for twenty years is it realistic to think prices don’t go up during the 20 years of retirement  Think what prices were in 1990 compared to today  Should Seniors never have to pay for capital improvements? Paso Robles also had very low water rates  Rates that are no longer possible given the circumstances  Desalination will happen eventually  California is out of water  If you want to pay $1,000,000 a gallon there is no more allotable water of any consequence in California  The expense will be tremendous — still have to build a desalination plant, still have to build a pipeline  I don’t know if the plant has to be built along the ocean or if the salt water could be piped over to Paso Robles  If it has to be built along the ocean, Paso Robles doesn’t own land on the ocean and, in any case, the environmentalists will keep it in courts for years as they have done so for other proposed desalination plants in Southern California  Eventually necessity will force desalination past the environmentalists, but not yet 
pasojim says:	09/13/2010 at 7:46 am
Whatisup – On one of your previous post you made the comment you haven’t heard any of the legal suggestions for the water issue, But you obviously have  That is a good thing  So we can move the discussion ahead 
Once, again this was handled incorrectly by our city custodians from the beginning  And now here we are  The public is not supporting this very expensive, very limited benefit project  As you said, until a plan is developed that the public can support, things don’t look good 
All this discussion about the water issue has only reinforced my opinion the issue hasn’t been about water, only how the plan should be paid for  Or more specifically, to what extent do we allow our elected custodians and our un-elected GOD tzar decide which laws they will follow and which laws they will ignore  When the City GOD tzar tell citizens at a council meeting if we don’t agree with the City’s plan, then we should just sue him, and when the City Attorney explains to a citizen at a City Council meeting that she does have to respond to their questions because she does NOT work for them  When the project is voted down by the citizens and the council brings it right back up, it is clear that our elected representatives are not doing their job providing direction to their employees and listening to and representing the CITIZENS 
The subject of the original post was the need to elect different representation  I think with all the conversation made on this post, as well as the post on Cal Coast about the hiring of the new legal firm you were involved in, Supports my original opinion 
Context 2: South Dakota v  Wayfair, Inc  - Harvard Law Review
Fourth Circuit Invalidates Maryland Statute Regulating Price Gouging in the Sale of Generic Drugs 
South Dakota Supreme Court Holds Unconstitutional State Law Requiring Internet Retailers Without In-State Physical Presence to Remit Sales Tax 
Judicial junk, the Court has long thought, is easier to scrap when the erroneous precedent cannot be fixed by Congress, as in constitutional cases 1× 1  See Burnet v  Coronado Oil & Gas Co , 285 U S  393, 405–10 (1932) (Brandeis, J , dissenting); Lee Epstein, William M  Landes & Adam Liptak, The Decision to Depart (or Not) from Constitutional Precedent: An Empirical Study of the Roberts Court, 90 N Y U  L  Rev  1115, 1116 (2015) (“[Justice Brandeis’s] dissenting opinion       now has the status of black letter law ”)  On the flip side, whenever a bad precedent can be corrected by Congress, stare decisis applies with “special force ”2× 2  See Patterson v  McLean Credit Union, 491 U S  164, 172–73 (1989)  The Court, following Justice Brandeis, usually articulates the rule as distinguishing between “constitutional” and “statutory” precedents  See, e g , id  But the distinction is occasionally said to be between “constitutional” and “nonconstitutional cases ” See, e g , Glidden Co  v  Zdanok, 370 U S  530, 543 (1962) (plurality opinion)  Nomenclature aside, the Court has — until now — adhered to Justice Brandeis’s key insight that the important factor is whether or not the mistake may be legislatively corrected  Last Term, in South Dakota v  Wayfair, Inc ,3× 3  138 S  Ct  2080 (2018)  the Court tinkered with this thinking in overruling an outdated dormant commerce clause precedent  Dormant commerce clause decisions technically produce constitutional holdings, but Congress may override them at will 4× 4  See Prudential Ins  Co  v  Benjamin, 328 U S  408, 421–27 (1946)  Under the usual logic of stare decisis, it should take special force to dislodge such precedents  But Wayfair applied the weakened stare decisis of constitutional cases, asserting that the Court must “address a false constitutional premise         whether or not Congress can or will act ”5× 5  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2096–97 
Emerging from Wayfair is an odd and ominous development in stare decisis doctrine  Odd, because it turns on a formal classification instead of on Congress’s practical ability to fix the problem  Ominous, because the Court’s logic leads far past the dormant commerce clause  Wayfair grants only feeble stare decisis to precedents that set a “constitutional default rule,”6× 6  Id  at 2096 (“While       Congress has the authority to change the physical presence rule, Congress cannot change the constitutional default rule ”)  meaning constitutional decisions that allow for legislative adjustment or override  This new stare decisis analysis makes other precedents setting constitutional default rules more vulnerable — including, perhaps, mainstays of criminal procedure like Miranda v  Arizona7× 7  384 U S  436 (1966)  and Mapp v  Ohio 8× 8  367 U S  643 (1961) 
Since its 1967 decision in National Bellas Hess, Inc  v  Department of Revenue,9× 9  386 U S  753 (1967)  the Court has held that, under the “dormant” or “negative” implication of the Commerce Clause,10× 10  The dormant or negative commerce clause is a judicial derivation from the Commerce Clause “prohibiting States from discriminating against or imposing excessive burdens on interstate commerce without congressional approval,” which “strikes at one of the chief evils that led to the adoption of the Constitution, namely, state tariffs and other laws that burdened interstate commerce ” Comptroller of the Treasury of Md  v  Wynne, 135 S  Ct  1787, 1794 (2015)  states may not compel remote sellers with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales taxes 11× 11  See Bellas Hess, 386 U S  at 759–60  In Quill Corp  v  North Dakota,12× 12  504 U S  298 (1992)  the Court refused to overrule the “bright-line, physical-presence requirement” of Bellas Hess, leaning heavily on stare decisis 13× 13  Id  at 317–18  Three Justices joined a concurrence explaining that their decision rested solely “on the basis of stare decisis ” Id  at 320 (Scalia, J , concurring in part and concurring in the judgment)  So the physical presence test remained the law of the land while the internet conquered the earth  Justice Kennedy had joined the Quill majority and Justice Scalia’s concurring opinion emphasizing stare decisis, but by 2015 he had second thoughts  Writing separately in Direct Marketing Ass’n v  Brohl,14× 14  135 S  Ct  1124 (2015)  Justice Kennedy acknowledged that “[t]he Internet has caused far-reaching systemic and structural changes in the economy” and therefore “Quill now harms States to a degree far greater than could have been anticipated earlier ”15× 15  Id  at 1135 (Kennedy, J , concurring)  He concluded with the wish that “[t]he legal system should find an appropriate case for this Court to reexamine Quill and Bellas Hess ”16× 16  Id 
Seldom has a concurring opinion signed by a lone Justice prompted a state to officially declare an emergency  Yet in 2016, in response to Justice Kennedy’s overture, the South Dakota legislature passed a law, S B  106, “to provide for the collection of sales taxes from certain remote sellers       and to declare an emergency ”17× 17  2016 S D  Sess  Laws ch  70 pmbl  217 (codified at S D  Codified Laws § 10-64 (2017))  It required every remote seller to collect and remit sales tax if the seller’s business in South Dakota comprised either a “gross revenue” greater than $100,000 or at least 200 “separate transactions” within one calendar year 18× 18  Id  § 1  Significantly, the law did not apply retroactively 19× 19  Id  § 5  The “emergency” declaration was necessary to give the law immediate effect, for the purpose of “permitting the most expeditious possible review of the constitutionality of this law” by the U S  Supreme Court 20× 20  Id  § 8(8)  As Justice Alito put it, the “South Dakota law [was] obviously a test case ”21× 21  Transcript of Oral Argument at 27, Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  2080 (No  17-494), https://www supremecourt gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2017/17-494_7lho pdf [https://perma cc/8HYH-VU8N] 
Expeditiously, a group of remote sellers challenged the law  After being sued by South Dakota for refusing to register for the newly required sales tax license, Wayfair, Inc , Overstock com, Inc , and Newegg, Inc  moved for summary judgment in South Dakota circuit court on the grounds that S B  106 was unconstitutional under Quill and Bellas Hess — a point South Dakota conceded, indicating that it was seeking review by the U S  Supreme Court to overturn Quill 22× 22  State v  Wayfair Inc , 2017 SD 56, ¶¶ 9–11, 901 N W 2d 754, 759–60  Accordingly, the South Dakota circuit court granted the motion for summary judgment and South Dakota appealed to the state’s highest court 23× 23  Id  ¶ 12, 901 N W 2d at 760  The South Dakota Supreme Court unanimously affirmed, recognizing that South Dakota’s “arguments on the merits” may be “persuasive” but “Quill remains the controlling precedent ”24× 24  Id  ¶ 18, 901 N W 2d at 761  See generally Recent Case, State v  Wayfair Inc , 2017 SD 56, 901 N W 2d 754 (S D  2017), 131 Harv  L  Rev  2089 (2018) 
The U S  Supreme Court vacated and remanded 25× 25  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2100  Writing for the Court one last time, Justice Kennedy26× 26  Justices Thomas, Ginsburg, Alito, and Gorsuch joined Justice Kennedy’s opinion  pilloried Quill’s physical presence rule as “arbitrary, formalistic,” “anachronistic,” and “unfair and unjust” to both states and brick-and-mortar retailers 27× 27  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2092, 2095  After all, the rationale of Quill was that remote sellers lacked a sufficiently “substantial nexus” with the state to justify imposing a duty of tax collection 28× 28  Quill Corp  v  North Dakota, 504 U S  298, 311 (1992) (quoting Complete Auto Transit, Inc  v  Brady, 430 U S  274, 279 (1977))  This was wrong even in the mail-order catalog days of 1967 and 1992, but “the Internet revolution has made [Quill’s] earlier error all the more egregious and harmful ”29× 29  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2097; see also id  at 2092  The rule deprived the states of billions of dollars, since they could not force remote sellers to collect the tax and consumers hardly ever paid it on their own 30× 30  Id  at 2088 (“[C]onsumer compliance rates are notoriously low ”)  Quill “serve[d] as a judicially created tax shelter” for remote retailers who do a great deal of business online 31× 31  Id  at 2094 
Satisfied that Bellas Hess and Quill were wrongly decided, the Court then jumped the hurdle of stare decisis  The Quill Court had feared upsetting reliance interests 32× 32  Quill, 504 U S  at 317 (“Bellas Hess       has engendered substantial reliance and has become part of the basic framework of a sizable industry ”)  Wayfair shrugged off this concern, noting that “stare decisis accommodates only ‘legitimate reliance interest[s]’”; by contrast, reliance on the physical presence rule was largely due to consumers evading their use-tax obligations 33× 33  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2098 (alteration in original) (quoting United States v  Ross, 456 U S  798, 824 (1982))  Quill had also appealed to Congress’s ultimate authority over interstate commerce as a reason to abide by a precedent, even if wrongly decided 34× 34  See Quill, 504 U S  at 318–19; id  at 320 (Scalia, J , concurring in part and concurring in the judgment) (“Congress       can change the rule of Bellas Hess by simply saying so ”)  But Wayfair denied that Congress’s ability to change the law was a proper consideration:
While it can be conceded that Congress has the authority to change the physical presence rule, Congress cannot change the constitutional default rule  It is inconsistent with the Court’s proper role to ask Congress to address a false constitutional premise of this Court’s own creation  Courts have acted as the front line of review in this limited sphere; and hence it is important that their principles be accurate and logical, whether or not Congress can or will act in response 35× 35  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2096–97 
Having dispensed with the physical presence rule, the Court remanded the case to the South Dakota courts to determine in the first instance “whether some other principle in the Court’s Commerce Clause doctrine might invalidate the Act ”36× 36  Id  at 2099  But the Court listed “several features [of South Dakota law] that appear[ed] designed to prevent discrimination against or undue burdens upon interstate commerce ” Id 
Justices Thomas and Gorsuch each filed concurring opinions  Justice Thomas wistfully likened himself to Justice White — who voted for Bellas Hess but against Quill a quarter-century later — and confessed that he “should have joined [Justice White’s dissenting] opinion ”37× 37  Id  at 2100 (Thomas, J , concurring)  Justice Thomas added that the “Court’s entire negative Commerce Clause jurisprudence” is wrong and should be abandoned 38× 38  Id  Justice Gorsuch also wrote separately to express skepticism of the Court’s dormant commerce clause jurisprudence, raising “questions for another day” of whether the doctrine “can be squared with the text of the Commerce Clause, justified by stare decisis, or defended as misbranded products of federalism or antidiscrimination imperatives flowing from Article IV’s Privileges and Immunities Clause ”39× 39  Id  at 2100–01 (Gorsuch, J , concurring) 
Chief Justice Roberts dissented 40× 40  Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan joined the Chief Justice’s dissent  Surprisingly, the dissenting Justices “agree[d] that Bellas Hess was wrongly decided, for many of the reasons given by the Court ”41× 41  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2101 (Roberts, C J , dissenting)  The dispute between the majority and the dissent turned entirely on the principles and application of stare decisis  Chief Justice Roberts argued that whether or how to reverse Quill should be left to Congress, which “has the flexibility to address these questions in a wide variety of ways” and “can focus directly on current policy concerns rather than past legal mistakes ”42× 42  Id  at 2104  He also pointed to the “baffling” burdens of compliance with the idiosyncratic tax codes of “[o]ver 10,000 jurisdictions,” particularly for small businesses, and doubted that new “software” — the majority’s proposed solution to this mess43× 43  Id  at 2098 (majority opinion) (“Eventually, software that is available at a reasonable cost may make it easier for small businesses to cope with these problems ”)  — would soon solve the problem 44× 44  Id  at 2103–04 (Roberts, C J , dissenting)  In Bellas Hess, the Court reasoned that the dormant commerce clause protects interstate business from being “entangle[d]       in a virtual welter of complicated obligations to local jurisdictions ” Nat’l Bellas Hess, Inc  v  Dep’t of Revenue, 386 U S  753, 759–60 (1967)  The dissent replied that the Court “vastly underestimate[d] the skill of contemporary man and his machines ” Id  at 766 (Fortas, J , dissenting)  The dispute in Wayfair over whether software is up to the task effectively reprised the old debate from Bellas Hess, only this time couched as part of the stare decisis inquiry’s concern for reliance interests rather than as a matter of dormant commerce clause doctrine  While Wayfair acknowledged that “[c]omplex state tax systems could have the effect of discriminating against interstate commerce,” 138 S  Ct  at 2099, the Court remarked that “[t]he physical presence rule is a poor proxy” for an inquiry into any actual burdens imposed on interstate commerce, id  at 2093 
Chief Justice Roberts emphasized that a “heightened form of stare decisis”45× 45  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2102 (Roberts, C J , dissenting)  applies when “Congress       can, if it wishes, override this Court’s decisions with contrary legislation ”46× 46  Id  at 2101 (first citing Michigan v  Bay Mills Indian Cmty , 134 S  Ct  2024, 2036 (2014) (tribal sovereign immunity); then citing Kimble v  Marvel Entm’t, LLC, 135 S  Ct  2401, 2409 (2015) (statutory interpretation); and then citing Halliburton Co  v  Erica P  John Fund, Inc , 134 S  Ct  2398, 2411 (2014) (judicially created doctrine implementing a judicially created cause of action))  In Quill, the Chief Justice noted, the Court had taken to heart that “Congress may be better qualified” and “has the ultimate power to resolve” the question47× 47  Id  at 2102 (quoting Quill Corp  v  North Dakota, 504 U S  279, 318 (1992))  while Justice Scalia had “recogniz[ed] that stare decisis has ‘special force’ in the dormant Commerce Clause context due to Congress’s ‘final say over regulation of interstate commerce ’”48× 48  Id  (quoting Quill, 504 U S  at 320 (Scalia, J , concurring in part and concurring in the judgment))  Moreover, “[i]f stare decisis applied with special force in Quill, it should be an even greater impediment” afterward since Quill effectively “tossed [the ball] into Congress’s court ”49× 49  Id  (alteration in original) (quoting Kimble, 135 S  Ct  at 2409); cf  Bay Mills, 134 S  Ct  at 2039 n 12 (“When we inform Congress that it has primary responsibility over a sphere of law, and invite Congress to consider a specific issue within that sphere, we cannot deem irrelevant how Congress responds ”)  Because the Court invited Congress to act and then “suddenly chang[ed] the ground rules, the Court may have waylaid Congress’s consideration of the issue ”50× 50  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2102–03 (Roberts, C J , dissenting) 
In Wayfair, the Court applied the flimsier form of stare decisis to a precedent that could have been overruled by Congress  It did so in the context of a dormant commerce clause case, but Wayfair’s logic extends to all constitutional default rules — that is, constitutional decisions that Congress remains free to change  Not only does Wayfair deviate from the Court’s decades-old stare decisis analysis, it also imperils other precedents that set constitutional default rules 
The Court’s reasoning in Wayfair departs from its prior stare decisis analysis  In 1932, Justice Brandeis posited that stare decisis must bend “in cases involving the Federal Constitution, where correction through legislative action is practically impossible ”51× 51  Burnet v  Coronado Oil & Gas Co , 285 U
Context 3: What is this game all about? (short version) Do you like the board game RISK®? Then chances are you’ll like QONQR  Your job is to join a faction and help your faction (team) take over the world  QONQR is an artificial intelligence that appeared on the Internet  We don’t know where it came from, or its purpose, but we know it is powerful  The Legion want to destroy QONQR because they believe it will enslave and exterminate humanity  The Swarm believe QONQR will advance the human race, and we should protect it  The Faceless don’t care, and want to steal the technology for their own uses  Pick a side, recruit your friends, and help your faction capture the towns and cities in which you live, work, and play  What is this game all about? (long version) Right now an invisible war is raging all around you  At stake: the Past, Present, and Future  A rogue Artificial Intelligence has been detected infiltrating the world’s networked infrastructure  Initial hacking of the source code has revealed incredible new technology  It is not certain whether this AI seeks to enhance or destroy humanity  It is only certain that it is here, and that is has a name: QONQR Those who first detected the presence of QONQR on the global networks have argued fiercely over its intentions  They have split into viciously rival Factions, each co-opting the known QONQR technologies for their own ends  Even now the Factions battle over the entire globe seeking to gather resources and prepare for the coming power struggle  Whether you accept it or not, the war is here  Your survival, prosperity, and even glory depend on the choices you make and the skill you demonstrate from this point forward  You will be asked to join one of three Factions  The choice should not be made lightly  Your Faction Alignment will define your place in the war over QONQR  THE LEGION unite under the shared goals of destroying QONQR and saving humanity by crushing the nascent AI before it can mature  They are led by AGENT SUNDAY, a former commander of the NSA's Turing Task Force which has been valiantly stamping out dangerous AIs for years  THE SWARM are convinced that QONQR promises an era of unprecedented technological advancement and human prosperity  Nanobot weaponry expert KIMYO NAGUMO leads this faction in the battle to defend QONQR and assemble its future tech, accelerating humanity's path into the future  THE FACELESS are a loosely organized faction of militant hackers who want QONQR's technology for their own ends, but want to prevent the unavoidable nightmare of human slavery they believe it portends  When they choose to communicate, they do so through an anonymous vigilante who goes by the name PROMETHEUS    What do I do first? Create a base, then launch  Launch nanobots until your fingers hurt  How do I create a base? On iOS there is a Base icon in the menu bar  For Windows Phone, you will find a bases button on the home screen  These take you to the Base Screen where you can see how many bases you have available to you  Once you create a base, be sure harvest often by returning to the list of your bases  You can see how full each base is by checking the fill percentage icon  Bases stop collecting once they are full  What is the point of creating bases and harvesting resources? You need bases to earn money  Bases collect rare elements over time which you can then harvest for your faction in exchange for qredits  Qredits can be used to purchase ordinance (like nanomissiles) and upgrades which will help you capture and hold battle zones more easily  What do you mean, “launch nanobots?” Nanobots are the invisible soldiers generated by your device (which has been transformed into “Scope” by advanced QONQR technology)  Nanobots fight for control of the battle zones around you   From the home screen click “Current Zone”  Once you have selected your zone, you will be able to deploy nanobots there   Initially, you are just a level 1 recruit  You are only going to get a small attack formation with a limited range   Other solders have to practice with rifles before they get tanks; you are no different  Once you prove your mettle, you’ll get access to bigger weapons  Soon you’ll be lobbing missiles hundreds of miles  How do I capture a zone? If you play for the Legion and are launching nanobots into a zone controlled by the Swarm, you will capture the zone for the Legion as soon as you have destroyed enough of the enemy that your nonbots outnumber theirs  If you are the person who causes the zone to change control to the Legion, you will be listed as the Capturer of the Zone  The Person with the most nanobots in the zone is the zone leader  What is my current zone? How do you know? Your current zone is determined by your proximity to the nearest zone center  So, while you might be inside the governmental boundaries of a city, your scope (phone) could tell you your current zone is a different city, if that city’s center is closer  So I just keep deploying? Yes, in the early levels of the game, just keep deploying and harvesting your bases  You will earn XP (experience points) proving your loyalty to your Faction 	You will level up quickly and soon have access to many more options  So all I can do is just attack? You only get assault bots to start  They are the most basic type of nanobot formation  As you level up you will get many more options, including bots that are good at defense, energy attacks, long-range deployments, formations that will buff the shields for all your faction-mates in the zone, and many more  My faction already controls this zone should I still attack? Yes, assault bots won’t attack your friends  You will increase the bot counts for that zone, which will deter opponents  Attack bots can defend your zone; they just aren’t very good at it  As you level up you will unlock defensive formations that are better for deploying if your faction already holds the zone  I’ll never knock out my enemy at this rate! In the first few levels your impact might feel minimal, but every deployment helps you gain experience  It won’t take long to level up if you keep at it  If you are unlucky enough to be in a zone where someone has already built up huge defenses, you may be in for a long fight  But remember, your scope moves with you  Go explore the world and find softer targets  Once you level up, it won’t seem like a toy gun against a battleship  You’ll get your big weapons once you prove yourself  We have already seen operatives brag about taking down 1,000,000 nanobots in just a couple days  Nothing is impossible  How do I attack a different zone? As you level up you will unlock more and stronger formations  Those new formations will have range  While at the early levels you can only attack nearby zones, as you level up your attacks will go 10-20 miles (roughly 15-30 Km) and you will eventually gain access to nanomissiles that can go hundreds of miles  What should I buy in the depot first? The smallest thing to buy is a refresh  We give you some of these as you level up so you can try them out  Refreshes will refill (or partially fill depending on the size of your tank) your bot bar or your energy bar  But after that, it depends on your goals  There is much to choose from  Do you want to be able to deploy more nanobots on every launch? Do you want to boost your offensive or defensive bots? Do you want to be able to launch missiles into towns far away? All of these things are possible  Look through the depot and see what you like  Most of the time you will need to buy an upgrade before you can buy the ordinance  For example, missiles are fairly inexpensive, but you need to buy the MX Rack Missile Launcher before you can launch them  Buy the upgrade first  What is the difference between qredits and cubes in the depot? A qredit (aka: credit, which looks like the child of a Q and € ) is the type of currency you earn in the game by harvesting your bases  Cubes (aka: power cubes) are purchased with real money in the Bank section of the Depot  We want everyone to be able to do everything in the game for free, by earning qredits, but for those who want to move a bit faster, you can purchase cubes to speed things along  Purchasing cubes is how QONQR makes money  We very much appreciate your support  Every purchase you make helps us to keep making improvements in the game  Future enhancements will enable you to earn cubes in game  Why can’t I create another base? Additional bases become available as you level up  At the start, you will get a new base every 5 levels  If you don’t have any more bases available to build, you will need to level up  If you have a base available, but aren’t allowed to use it, it is because you already have a base in that zone  You can only have one base in a zone  Get yourself to another zone, then create your base there  My bases are collecting credits at different rates  Your bases collect resources faster if your faction controls the zone  Do your best to either put your bases in zones you can control by yourself, or find zones with strong players in the same faction and put your bases there to maximize your credit collection  The game says I’m in a town that doesn’t exist  QONQR tracks almost 3 million battle zones of varying strategic value in 250 countries  Sometimes those zones include locations that haven’t existed for over 100 years  That’s pretty cool if you ask us  If you find a zone that looks like a duplicate or is just plain wrong, however, let us know on the forums under “Zone Corrections”  How do I move my current position on the map? You might need to take a car, bus, plane or train depending on which zone you are trying to get to, but if you want to move on the map, you need to move in the real world  QONQR is a location-based game, which means you play where you are  However we don't want to make you move to play, we want you to plan when you move  QONQR goes with you as you move through the daily activities in your life  Where do I find the Strategy Guide? Here: http://community qonqr com/index php?/topic/1191-the-official-qonqr-strategy-guide/ How do I win? That is for you to decide  There is still much to discover  We don’t even know if QONQR is good or evil  Why is it here? What is its purpose? Help your faction further its goals and unlock all the secrets of QONQR!
Congratulations to the Swarm on their overwhelming victory in Atlantis in May 2015 -- taking and retaining all Atlantis zones from beginning to end is hard to argue with -- most convincing -- well done Swarm!
Rumor has it that the Duggers have 20 scopes  Some families really do have a wife and ten kids    Ha Anyways     Multi scoping is generally not encouraged, usually if you mention that you do it on the forums or in groupme your not going to be a very liked person, even within your own faction  What tends to happen is if you start multiscoping then your enemies start doing it, then you get into a war where ever person has 6 phones and nobody is happy  I've seen or heard about situations like this in a lot of different locations 
Great job, faceless! It was actually an exciting Atlantis and I prefer it that way  Way to bring your A game 
You know what we need in this game? Nano-Nukes!!
Attention (insert faction here), We, the (insert faction here) are tired of the way you constantly (circle one)   A  Cube rage us B  Bully us with numbers C  Talk mean to us It hurts our feelings because (circle one)   A  We don't cube B  We don't have as many allies C  We have no sense of humor and/or no backbone Please refrain from participating in the above selected actions for above selected reasons so as the game is enjoyable for (insert faction here)  Regards, (insert name and faction here) There we go   this should streamline the entire complaint process of the forums  Copy and reuse as needed  You're welcome 
Silver, you mentioned in a blog that there are levels beyond 150, is it safe to say there is no level limit anymore or is that for us to discover? Another question, I'm not sure if I'm the only one noticing this but it seems like bot decay doesn't work against Zone Assault bots  I've hit two players I know have been inactive for well over 6 months but my attack had the same effect it did yesterday before the update  However I did notice against Deflection bots I am getting 2x the kill power  Also in response to decontaminatoR  Paid gaming isn't just something for adults  When I was 13 the best options for handheld gaming was GameBoy or GameGear and the games at the time cost anywhere between $29-$39 dollars  I had a paper route to pay for my games  So, no offense, but you can afford $0 99 for a game  You don't even need a paper route, just check under your couch cushions and I'm sure you'll find a few quarters 
I want to start by thanking Faceless  This round of Atlantis, Legion and Faceless were doubled in sized and probably spending by Swarm  I contacted some great players from the other side and put together a nonaggression pact, this pact was one of the most impressive agreements I've seen in the more than two years of playing  Hundreds of people worldwide stuck to this agreement and put past feelings behind us  It was awesome to see both sides stick so closely to each other in fighting against Swarm  I want to really thank everyone who showed honor by standing behind me and the faceless command when we suggested that, the people who really gave it a chance and then most importantly, to all the players who honored it  Faceless, thank you very much! We stood no chance of winning without you! The battle came down to literally one launch in one of three zones  I'd say that with that being said everyone fought incredibly hard, so I want to give Swarm the respect they deserve  You guys really show out and play to win  Good game, 2 against 1 is not easy, no matter how large your crew is  And Legion, we had many late, late nights, many very long days  You guys killed it this month! We didn't take home a trophy, but I would say we all have something to be proud of! The other leaders who helped me coordinate everything were awesome! So many great people kept everything moving forward 24 hours a day for the whole week  Thank you to everyone who gave it your all for the whole week even when we saw that Swarm had 4x our bots at the end of just one day  Many people would have given up, but we held in and **** near won! I've won Atlantis battles with Faceless and with Legion but I will say, nothing was as fun or incredible as this round! You guys are fantastic and I can't wait to do it all again next month! Hopefully we have more Legion and Faceless show up for the next round, but I know that even if we don't, we will figure out a way, just as warriors do  PEW! PEW! PEW!
I must start with an announcement: Camels are not the only animal in the middle east  You have overused it already  It's saddens me that anyone would still find it funny  Get a bit of originality  For anyone not wanting to read all this drivel, skip to the end (hint: Bold stuff)  At what point have I bullied anyone? When was the last aggressive or threatening message you or any of your members received from me? Never  Legion and Swarm (in the UK) have teamed up because Faceless are dominating in London  That makes sense  It's a three sided fight and if one force becomes too powerful, the other two can join forces to try and take them down  But: We are dominating in the London area while your alliance is attacking players outside of that area  Then you expect me to sit back and do nothing  You are specifically using me as an excuse for why you have teamed up but then you're attacking players outside of my reach, sometimes with Europe involved  If that is not reason enough to attack you then I'm not sure what is  You lot cube, multiscope and have multi faction accounts and still complain  I don't complain about anything you do  Play the way you want to, ill do the same  I am never rude to anyone, always polite no matter what the message is, never brag about what I do, can do or have done, never threaten anyone, try and keep in touch with the few swarm or legion who are civilised to me, listen to any message form any side and if I can help in any way, I try my best to  Formed agreements with enemy (that I didn't need to) that ended up slapping me in the face  I have even in the past taken the time to find out who some of the younger players are so I know to avoid them  When I'm in a different country I try and find who the bullies are  Those players who threaten and brag and laugh at others  Those are my targets (if they exist in those areas)  I don't see how anyone can think I'm a bully  Is it your money? Its none of your business how I spend it  Either way your numbers are way off  700 dollars a day? Did you just decide to blindly strike the number pad to come up with that figure? Best part of one of your posts is saying that the devs should worry about my welfare  What concerns you about me spending my money? Maybe I'll self harm due to overspending? I wont have enough to buy food because I bought too many cubes? I don't understand what they are supposed to worry about  I have issues? At what point did you deduce this oh mighty psychologist? Wait a minute are you my bank account manager? What do you know about how much I can or cant afford? Random guy spends money on something he enjoys  The end  Told you last time to give up on all the drama but I guess thank you for the concern  You play to make me spend more? And? What do you think that accomplishes? In fact how do you even make me spend? You don't even attack me  You sulk when I'm in the UK and when I fly out and you find out, you call in Europe to help you take an zone or two  As they say, whatever floats your boat  As for Atlantis: Please try again  I quit Atlantis when we were winning  I have on occasion involved myself after I was asked to help out but on the whole I give it a miss  The last time (months ago) was the last 10 minutes of Atlantis and Legion fought hard  We lost  I was not the only Faceless player to quit Atlantis  Quite a few of us thought it lasted too long and had too many zones to fight over  I hear the duration has been reduced  You can't honestly believe I changed my sleeping pattern for the game  I was in California for a month  I was jet lagged  My sleeping pattern was a bit off when I got back  You're not even accurate about when I deploy  Pay attention  You should know this by now: I play as and when I want, sometimes every 20 minutes and sometimes I do long stretches and sometimes I'm busy and don't deploy for hours  You wont always win, and nor will I  Try and get satisfaction form at least trying to win or putting up a good fight  About the limit on cubing  Please  I suggested that last year  Twice  Unfortunately multiscoping is allowed and so prevalent that it kind of ruins the idea  These are the facts: YOU and YOUR side threatened Faceless members who support London  One of the members threatened is actually London based  What do you expect him to do while his city is under attacked? A few of your members don't know when to keep quiet  They sent messages to us threatening specific players and telling them their zones will be dropped just because they have helped London  Basically if they help London then they get their zones wiped  And you have the cheek to call me a bully? We stood up to your members specifically because they were trying to bully  That is the reason we went strong months ago and took those big zones  How is this me bullying you? This is me answering your threats  I didn't attack those zones "just because i can", it's just because I should  Because of your threats  You can blame your members for the loss of those 2 or 3 big zones  These are the basics: You attack one of our zones  We look at the list of attackers and pick one of the players who deployed the most, find a zone of his or hers and attack it  We don't need to justify our attacks with "because there are Faceless players within 30 miles"  What, every time we attack a zone we need to send some letter explaining why? You attack us or we attack you, for any reason  That's the game  When some of you were cheating and you could not win you complained, when you cube and lose you complain, when you invite all of Europe to attack and win you still complain  I just think you like to make a fuss  Last words (for now): You think I attack zones as a means of getting attention? I get enough of it form your threads  The only attention seeker here is you with your victim attitude and pity us posts 
I've had some very angry emails today from a couple users who are upset their rival achieved the ability to switch factions freely having played for one of the factions for only 1 hour  I've been accused of doing favors, changing the rules, and various other backhanded deals  It appears it comes down reading the rules  You do not have to play for every faction for 60 days in order to earn free switching status  Here is a common scenario many players have used to achieve free switching status and avoiding playing for one faction they despise  1  Start with Swarm 2  Switch to Legion (earn Spy) play for 60 days 3  Switch back to Swarm (earn Double Agent) play for 60 days 4  Switch to Faceless (earn Mercenary) immediately switch back to Swarm or Legion Below is the complete text on the switch nanobots screen  It is the same text that has been there from Day 1 with the exception of the level 100 rules that went into place earlier this year, where you could switch as much as you want before level 100 , but those switches don't count towards the medals  This text has been part of this description since Jan 15, 2013  "Players that earn all three spy awards, may once again switch factions at any time as they could during the training levels 1 through 99 " Prior to Jan 15, the text said this  "Players that earn all three awards may be given the opportunity to switch factions more quickly in future updates (contact support for more information)" I pulled that right out of source control, which includes the entire change history  Here is the complete text from this page  http://portal qonqr    r/SwitchFaction WARNING: Defection has consequences! Self-destruct will be initiated on all your nanobots  Without the self-destruct, you would be required to battle against your former self to regain control of your zones  You will lose the capture and leadership of any zones you currently hold  Lifetime captures will be unaffected  If you are still completing the training levels and have not reached Level 100, you may switch as often as you like to find the faction that suits you best  Once you have reached Level 100 switching factions has rewards, but also has additional consequences beyond the self-destruct of all your nanobots  Defection will usually result in a demotion in rank  This is accomplished through awards with negative rank points  Those awards are: Spy - First switch to an opposing faction (-20 points) Double Agent - Return to a faction from which you had previously defected (-20 points) Mercenary - Become a member of all three factions (-20 points) Other Faction Change Details: You may not switch factions again until at least 60 days have passed since your last faction switch  Defection point penalties are applied only once per award Players that earn all three spy awards, may once again switch factions at any time as they could during the training levels 1 through 99  The decision to switch factions is one that must be made with strong determination  Nanobots cannot be reanimated once destroyed  You will retain your earned experience, level, formations, qredits, cubes, and upgrades  However, as far as your zones go, you will be starting over 
   has got to be one of the funniest moments I've seen in qonqr yet lol 
The **** change operation was a success!
As a relatively new player for faceless in a region dominated by swarm i can understand the OP  However, judging from the numbers i see here on a regular basis i think you are asking a bit much  My idea would be the opposite approach  Why not add a weapon with extremely short range, let's say like 5km that acts like a bomb and make it much stronk? That would add some serious home advantage  Or alternativley make attack formations lose power over range (exclude nanos and plasma)  Maybe something like that would allow newcomers to at least get a foothold in their homezones  It's just an idea, maybe i overlooked something?
This is by design  Some day it is possible (I said someday) we could offer skins for your scope  So we will need a uniform color scheme  You can tell the formation families based on the shape of the box  Trapezoid is attack, diamond is defense, and octagon is support  It will take some time to get comfortable with the change 
Geophysical based game  Anyways, probably not a bad idea but, considering the issues with the three platforms and the development of blue for those platforms, I doubt the resources are available for development on a new platform  Seen the blog? Its Qonqr meets wheel of fortune!
I am happy to announce that today I both completed the training and captured my first zone 
^THIS so now that qonqr has been thoroughly funded, can we have blue now? Or is that not happening still lol 
Atleast I am not legion and there for we can have this intelligent discussion rather than just compete over who has the best words XD ohhhhh someone bring the bill to legion cuz someone just served them extra double order of stir fried SNAPPPPPP If the devs wont make zone dueling for us I hope out there somewhere are those who would empty a zone and challenge one on one to a local battle  I'd like to see the transcript of deployments made / moves made as well that would be neat I think such events would be cool  I suppose if people give up on atlantis as it works now they can schedule their own tournements in empty atlantis zones   have a team clear the zone   put 1 vs 1 or teams vs teams   like fisticuffs challenges   find out what these warriors are really made of!
@Qonqrd everyone you know must face palm every time you make a post  Its embarrassing  Mega cubers or whatever you want to call them are not great for the opposing team surrounding them but are great for the game itself (money) and for the team they are part of  Multiscopers are not not great for the opposing team surrounding them and bring nothing to the game but are great for the team they are part of  Both have a negative impact on enemy teams/players but only one benefits the game itself  Both can make people want to quit out of frustration  And that's not great for the game  @OP unlimited refresh is over powered  Its frustrating to fight against a ridiculous amount of refreshes  Unfortunately i dont see anything changing unless this game gets a lot more people playing  More people might mean more money for the company from various sources  More money from various players might mean they can limit the players who spend a ton and still generate a healthy income  The main issue i see with limiting refreshes is someone multiscoping and spending money  He now has two, three, four accounts to refresh with and gets the advantage  Its tricky 
ey dun new ho to yet it uff 
Yet you complain almost everyday here, on your website, Twitter, and YouTube channel that the game needs to change because cubing has such an impact 
It was fun  Swarm had me scared at first, but it turned into kind of a bullying match between us and legion  Last hour became p obvious which way it was gonna go  Legion rly stepped up their game in the end there, respect 
We are investigating this  Here is what we know: Several of the accounts used the same password  Most of the accounts belonged to people who knew each other personally  The accounts were all switched from the same IP Addresses  The person who logged in, got into each account on the first attempt, so they knew the password for each account  What you should know: QONQR never stores passwords, not even in the logs  Passwords are hashed (one way encrypted) and can never be decrypted When you authenticate to our servers, we hash the password you gave us and compare it to the encrypted password in the database to see if they match  Access to our database in the could is restricted tightly and we are confident no one breached the system  What you should do: Don't use the same password as other people you play with  Don't share your password with anyone 
I heard all the French players fled to the UK after one German player accidentally shot a single missile into France 
Most factions now use GroupMe or Line as their means of communication, the forums are too slow as a means of communication and insecure for specific faction conversations  Think of the forums are more of a gaming information resource rather than a means of communication  Contact the top players of your faction in the leader boards of your state and they will likely point you in the right direction to chatting with your local faction  The developers are also building some sort of new chat system into the game, we don't know much about it but apparently beta testing for the chat will be happening very soon (next couple of weeks) according to their timelines 
A way to honor the dead? Nah, how bout a way to dishonor the dead 
Could just build it up and retain their capture  Remember Bizzy, staq to the heavens 
I just read this entire thread  I am now tuckered 
Does anyone know if Bot Booster has an effect on Seekers and how much dmg they do to attacking players? Also on the topic of seekers, does the amount of skeers in a battlefield have any effect on how much damage they do?
Interactive map of real-time zone captures 
You know that is something I didn't factor in there  Time  The player who can consistently and constantly launch wins against the guy who casually picks up the phone on occasion or has to work away from a cell phone for 8 hours  Good point  And yes I can't argue skill doesn't factor in, it just seems like less of a factor than other games is all 
I cant see why a closed forum, open only to registered Qonqr accounts, cant be used  **** spammers!
Gotta love synclock! I suspect linjin has a problem  Maybe the dvs should look into it 
No, Naamah   I clearly understood what you were trying to convey  I'll even go as far as to agree that what your facing now is, while fully allowed and deemed completely acceptable by the developers, unbalanced and wrong  However  the imbalance isn't in the game and isn't something that, from a business standpoint, is likely to be regulated  The game is fair  the advantages are provided to all players  It's the players themselves that throw the balance into chaos because, as you've said, not everyone can afford spending several thousand bucks a year in only one game  Truthfully, in my opinion, the moment you admitted to buying cubes yourself your complaint became silly  because I'm sure there's a player out there, who has bought NO cubes, who can make this same complaint about you that you are making about others here  I know these things because I've read them so   many   times in this forum  There was likely a time, ages ago when I was a young Massune, that I even posted a few myself  That was the purpose of my post  I was poking fun at addition of yet another cuber/bully/trash talk complaint on the forum  It wasn't directed at your personal plight so much as the idea that someone, yet again, finds it necessary to lobby for a spending cap on the only real way for this game to make money  As to your specific problem  you, like all those that have raised this topic before you, have few options to rectify the issue  Here are a few that seem to have worked for others  fight harder, recruit better, spend less time complaining and more time organizing, budget for more cubes or quit  I'd rather not see you opt for the latter  but to each their own 
I agree, we should find a way to honor the dead, but I don't think keeping their towers infinitely is necessarily the solution  The game must go on  I'm pretty sure the point of bot decay was to clear the game of inactive player bots so that new players can have a chance to rise up, not to dishonor the bots of dead players 
The following are frequently asked questions about the new server update (so far) It still says Training Complete on my iPhone  -	Download the update from iTunes It still says Training Complete on my Android  -	Sorry, Android will not be updated again until the QONQR Blue beta is released My XP per launch keeps going down -	This is XP throttling and is intended to limit the ability for people to leve1 from 1 to 100 in a single day through heavy cubing  The XP throttle was introduced with the original version of QONQR in 2012,and the throttle formula is the same for levels above 100  The throttle resets at midnight UTC every day  How do I buy the Bot Regeneration Accelerator? -	Currently the Bot Regen Accelerator can only be purchased through http://portal qonqr com  Go to the Depot and review your scope upgrades  The new QONQR Blue clients will allow for this purchase to be made in the app using your mobile billing  I don’t have a PayPal account -	For users interested in purchasing the Regen upgrade, but who do not have a PayPal account, PayPal does give you the option to checkout using your billing information without creating an account  PayPal is not allowed in my country, or I don’t have a credit or debit card -	Please contact support@QONQR com for alternate options Is Bot Regen Accelerator counted as part of the 100% scope upgrades? -	Yes, but there is a bug that does not increase scope upgrade percent when you purchase this upgrade, that will be fixed in the coming days  For all other questions, please read the 7 blog posts prior to 7/29/2015 for information on what was included in the update today 
Bye Fack, its been a pleasure being allied and against you 
The two big issues that are both killing the game slowly and keeping it from growing exponentially are cube injustice and new player ramp  The game obviously also needs to provide a consistent and growing revenue stream as well  I think Silver needs to rethink how revenue is generated if he is going to address cube injustice and new player ramp  For revenue generation I would suggest a model that doesn't give a significant combat advantages  Download and play for free from level 0-99 Pay small monthly fee to get full functionality or play for free at 50% of offensive/defensive funtionality Still buy cubes, but cubes are used for following: - Credit Boost: harvest more credits for a period of time - Range Extension: ability to use standard attack/defense formations at extended ranges - Base Share: get 100% credit attainment even in bases owned by another faction - Purchase additional ordinance - Zone Name Change - ability to customize zone names  "Breggland" - Faction Change with Bots - pay for the ability to keep up to 50% of your bots with faction change - Experience Boost: %increase in experienced gained while leveling - Other: anything that helps grow a player or provides enjoyment, but doesn't tip the battle capability of a scope  New Player Ramp/Integration into Game - Offer paid immediate ramp package: one price to become 100 with full upgrades - Like the changes in Blue - Create new zones in Metro areas that only 0-99 level can launch into, with statewide ranges Understand that catering to those who have money and like to use it for an advantage is a good business model and for those people it might be ok to offer very expensive options: - Shield generators: temporary energy shield that adds X% increase to defense or stops X% of damage - EMP's: turns Absorbs off for X minutes  Does not destroy, just turns off - Chain Lighting: Does damage across multiple players in a zone From a development standpoint I have no idea what is possible, easy or hard, but the general idea is to make the playing field more fair for the standard player while maintaining and growing a business revenue stream 
You need to come to the Northeast US  We handle our business like no other 



ground_truth: Fairness.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What did Justice Kennedy argue about Quill in Direct Marketing Ass'n v. Brohl?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 2: S  393, 406–07 (1932) (Brandeis, J , dissenting)  The Court has long since adopted his argument,52× 52  See, e g , Smith v  Allwright, 321 U S  649, 665 (1944)  as well as its corollary — that stare decisis commands “special force in the area of statutory interpretation” where “Congress remains free to alter what [the Court has] done ”53× 53  Patterson v  McLean Credit Union, 491 U S  164, 172–73 (1989)  For normative evaluations of heightened stare decisis for statutory precedents, see generally Einer Elhauge, Statutory Default Rules: How to Interpret Unclear Legislation 211–23 (2008); and William N  Eskridge, Jr , Overruling Statutory Precedents, 76 Geo  L J  1361, 1364–1409 (1988)  Justice Brandeis’s logic demands that dormant commerce clause cases, where Congress is free to act, be granted the weightier stare decisis 54× 54  Scholars have noted the curious fact that Justice Brandeis included many dormant commerce clause cases as examples of overruled constitutional precedents  See, e g , Earl M  Maltz, Commentary, Some Thoughts on the Death of Stare Decisis in Constitutional Law, 1980 Wis  L  Rev  467, 468–469, 469 n 11  One explanation for this is that Justice Brandeis sought the authority of Chief Justice Taney’s dictum that the Court’s “opinion upon the construction of the Constitution is always open to discussion” — which referred to the dormant commerce clause  See Burnet, 285 U S  at 408 n 3 (Brandeis, J , dissenting) (quoting The Passenger Cases, 48 U S  (7 How ) 283, 470 (1849) (Taney, C J , dissenting))  In Chief Justice Taney’s time, it was thought that Congress could not override the Court’s dormant commerce clause decisions, see Cooley v  Bd  of Wardens, 53 U S  (12 How ) 299, 321 (1852), so the context of Chief Justice Taney’s dictum does not conflict with Justice Brandeis’s theory of stare decisis  The Court applied this reasoning in Quill, as Chief Justice Roberts underscored 55× 55  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2102 (Roberts, C J , dissenting) 
Yet the Wayfair majority refused to consider Congress’s authority to legislate as a relevant factor for stare decisis 56× 56  Even Justice Kennedy’s earlier opinion in Direct Marketing contemplated judicially overruling Quill, conspicuously neglecting a possible legislative solution  See supra p  278  The Court even insisted that to do so “is inconsistent with the Court’s proper role,” since Quill embodied “a false constitutional premise of th[e] Court’s own creation ”57× 57  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2096 (emphasis added)  This refusal breaks from the practical Brandeisian wisdom that has guided the Court’s treatment of precedent for the better part of a century  The point is not that stare decisis should have ultimately propped up Bellas Hess yet again, as Wayfair’s dissenting Justices maintained  After all, a realistic approach that is alert to each branch’s institutional capacities might have led to the conclusion that Congress was actually ill-equipped to overrule Quill  In this vein, the Court could have sensibly pointed out that Congress is unlikely to stick its neck out with a tax hike (or a look-alike) from which only the states would benefit 58× 58  For two practical arguments to this effect, see Brian Galle, Essay, Kill Quill, Keep the Dormant Commerce Clause: History’s Lessons on Congressional Control of State Taxation, 70 Stan  L  Rev  Online 158, 160–62 (2018), https://review law stanford edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/03/70-Stan -L -Rev -Online-158-Galle pdf [https://perma cc/22YP-P4V5]; Edward A  Zelinsky, The Political Process Argument for Overruling Quill, 82 Brook  L  Rev  1177, 1191–92 (2017)  Indeed, South Dakota advanced such practical arguments in its brief 59× 59  See Petitioner’s Brief at 54, Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  2080 (No  17-494) (“Congress has little incentive to act here because it would be (or appear to be) authorizing new or greater tax collections from its constituents, while receiving none of the revenue in return ”)  More generally, the Court might have discussed the limits of the states’ influence in the federal system as a reason not to wait for congressional intervention, a topic it has debated on other occasions 60× 60  See Richard H  Pildes, Institutional Formalism and Realism in Constitutional and Public Law, 2013 Sup  Ct  Rev  1, 30–32; see also Galle, supra note 58, at 159 (“Congress is not a trustworthy guardian of state fiscal power, making continuing judicial involvement a more appealing prospect ”)  Or it could have argued that new facts on the ground — namely, the blast of e-commerce that hit like a comet after Quill — overpowered stare decisis of any force, special or plain 61× 61  Two recent studies of stare decisis highlighted the physical presence rule as exemplifying a precedent that may reasonably be overruled due to changed facts  See Bryan A  Garner et al , The Law of Judicial Precedent 364–65 (2016); Randy J  Kozel, Settled Versus Right: A Theory of Precedent 112–13 (2017)  It should be noted that the authors of The Law of Judicial Precedent classify the physical presence rule as a constitutional precedent for stare decisis purposes, thus anticipating the Court’s misstep in Wayfair  Garner et al , supra, at 354–65  Because even statutory precedents may sometimes be overruled,62× 62  See Patterson v  McLean Credit Union, 491 U S  164, 173–74 (1989) (discussing justifications for overruling statutory precedents)  Contra Lawrence C  Marshall, “Let Congress Do It”: The Case for an Absolute Rule of Statutory Stare Decisis, 88 Mich  L  Rev  177 (1989)  the Court could have killed Quill without first planting its constitutional kiss of death 63× 63  Cf  Thomas R  Lee, Stare Decisis in Historical Perspective: From the Founding Era to the Rehnquist Court, 52 Vand  L  Rev  647, 704 (1999) (“Justice Brandeis’       memorable prose has since become a mandatory part of the burial rite for any constitutional precedent ”) 
The Court resisted such arguments  Instead, Wayfair reasoned that Congress’s total ability to correct an erroneous decision counts for nothing when the Court gets the Constitution wrong  That such a theory sprouts from a case like Wayfair, which repudiated a “formalistic distinction,”64× 64  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2092  is ironic  Wayfair’s stare decisis analysis resorts to the formalism of making constitutional a “magic” word65× 65  See Transcript of Oral Argument, supra note 21, at 12  rather than asking whether Congress can step in 
Moreover, the Court’s new thinking on stare decisis threatens other constitutional default rules  Wayfair now stands for the proposition that a “constitutional default rule” — a term the Court apparently lifted from South Dakota’s reply brief on the merits66× 66  Reply Brief at 22, Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  2080 (No  17-494) (“Congress is polarized, which makes it critical       to get the constitutional default rule right ”)  — gets only weakened stare decisis  To appreciate why this holding matters, it is worth exploring the concept and scope of constitutional default rules  Contract theory describes default rules as legal rules that the parties may “contract around ”67× 67  See, e g , Ian Ayres & Robert Gertner, Filling Gaps in Incomplete Contracts: An Economic Theory of Default Rules, 99 Yale L J  87, 87 (1989)  Although “constitutional default rule” could be read broadly to include a variety of actors and contracting mechanisms,68× 68  See John Ferejohn & Barry Friedman, Toward a Political Theory of Constitutional Default Rules, 33 Fla  St  U  L  Rev  825, 826 (2006) (“When we speak of default rules in constitutional law, we typically are talking about specifications of ways the government can act (or modify its behavior) to get around a constitutional prohibition ”)  the Court’s use of the term for purposes of stare decisis may be narrowly defined as judicial precedents of constitutional law that “are ultimately subject to congressional control ”69× 69  Gillian E  Metzger, Congress, Article IV, and Interstate Relations, 120 Harv  L  Rev  1468, 1525 (2007) (describing judicially enforceable “constitutional default rules imposing obligations on the states in the name of union [that] are ultimately subject to congressional control”)  The dormant commerce clause is a paradigmatic constitutional default rule because what the Court does today Congress may undo tomorrow  Justice Scalia declared this fact “[t]he clearest sign that the negative Commerce Clause is a judicial fraud,” for “[h]ow could congressional consent lift a constitutional prohibition?”70× 70  Comptroller of the Treasury of Md  v  Wynne, 135 S  Ct  1787, 1808 (2015) (Scalia, J , dissenting)  But that’s what a constitutional default rule is  The Court has allowed Congress to overturn its dormant commerce clause cases since 1891 71× 71  See In re Rahrer, 140 U S  545, 560–62 (1891) 
Dormant commerce clause cases are not the only constitutional default rules  Professor Laurence Tribe’s treatise identifies two others 72× 72  1 Laurence H  Tribe, American Constitutional Law § 6-35 (3d ed  2000)  And in a groundbreaking article, Professor Henry Monaghan revealed “a substructure of substantive, procedural, and remedial rules” forming “a constitutional common law subject to amendment, modification, or even reversal by Congress ”73× 73  Henry P  Monaghan, The Supreme Court, 1974 Term — Foreword: Constitutional Common Law, 89 Harv  L  Rev  1, 2–3 (1975); see also Susan R  Klein, Identifying and (Re)Formulating Prophylactic Rules, Safe Harbors, and Incidental Rights in Constitutional Criminal Procedure, 99 Mich  L  Rev  1030 (2001) (further developing Monaghan’s theory in criminal procedure context)  What follows is a list of six lines of cases beyond the dormant commerce clause that may be fairly described as constitutional default rules  The first two are drawn from Tribe’s treatise while the next four are found in Monaghan’s article:
(1) State Taxation of Federal Instrumentalities: States may not tax instrumentalities of the federal government74× 74  McCulloch v  Maryland, 17 U S  (4 Wheat ) 316, 436 (1819)  — unless Congress consents 75× 75  See, e g , Helvering v  Gerhardt, 304 U S  405, 411 n 1 (1938) (“Congress may curtail an immunity which might otherwise be implied or enlarge it beyond the point where, Congress being silent, the Court would set its limits ” (citations omitted))  One court has described such judicial decisions as setting a “constitutional default rule ” United States v  Delaware, 958 F 2d 555, 560 n 9 (3d Cir  1992) (“[W]e must decide the constitutional default rule for this type of tax, fully aware that Congress could decide at any time to reverse our decision statutorily ”)  (2) Article I, Section 10 Cases: Article I, Section 10 provides that certain prohibitions on the states may be waived by Congress 76× 76  See U S  Const  art  I, § 10, cls  2–3  The Court has taken note of this when considering whether to overrule, for instance, an Import-Export Clause precedent 77× 77  See Hooven & Allison Co  v  Evatt, 324 U S  652, 668 (1945) (“In view of the fact that the Constitution gives Congress authority to consent to state taxation of imports and hence to lay down its own test for determining when the immunity ends, we see no convincing practical reason for abandoning the test which has been applied for more than a century        ”), overruled on other grounds by Limbach v  Hooven & Allison Co , 466 U S  353 (1984)  In Michelin Tire Corp  v  Wages, 423 U S  276 (1976), the Court left open the question whether “Congress may authorize, under the Import-Export Clause, an exaction that it could not directly impose under the Tax Clause ” Id  at 301 n 13  Metzger, however, argues that the Import-Export Clause is free of other clauses’ limits on congressional power  See Metzger, supra note 69, at 1500 & n 120  (3) Bivens Cases: In Bivens v  Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics,78× 78  403 U S  388 (1971)  the Court held that a violation of the Fourth Amendment gives rise to a right to sue for damages 79× 79  Id  at 397  But the Court has also held that “[s]uch a cause of action may be defeated       when       Congress has provided an alternative remedy which it explicitly declared to be a substitute for recovery directly under the Constitution and viewed as equally effective ”80× 80  Carlson v  Green, 446 U S  14, 18–19 (1980)  (4) Miranda Cases: The Miranda Court famously “encourage[d]” Congress and the states to explore alternative “procedures which are at least as effective in apprising accused persons of their right of silence and in assuring a continuous opportunity to exercise it ”81× 81  Miranda v  Arizona, 384 U S  436, 467 (1966)  In Dickerson v  United States, 530 U S  428 (2000), the Court struck down a congressional attempt to effectively abolish Miranda, holding that “Miranda announced a constitutional rule that Congress may not supersede legislatively ” Id  at 444  But Dickerson also stood by Miranda’s “invitation for legislative action” to replace Miranda with an adequate substitute  Id  at 440; see also Michael C  Dorf & Barry Friedman, Shared Constitutional Interpretation, 2000 Sup  Ct  Rev  61 (discussing legislative alternatives to Miranda)  (5) The Police Lineup Case: In United States v  Wade,82× 82  388 U S  218 (1967)  the Court created an exclusionary rule for evidence obtained from a police lineup in violation of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel but acknowledged that it could be replaced by “[l]egislative or other regulations       which eliminate the risks of abuse ”83× 83  Id  at 239  (6) The Exclusionary Rule Cases: Mapp v  Ohio made the Fourth Amendment “exclusionary rule” binding on the states,84× 84  367 U S  643, 655 (1961)  yet Congress is thought to have the power to replace it 85× 85  See Bivens v  Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed  Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U S  388, 422–24 (1971) (Burger, C J , dissenting) (inviting Congress to replace the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule); Harold J  Krent, How to Move Beyond the Exclusionary Rule: Structuring Judicial Response to Legislative Reform Efforts, 26 Pepp  L  Rev  855, 864–71 (1999) 
All of the above are arguably constitutional default rules set by the Court that remain, to one degree or another, open to congressional revision  The list could be longer or shorter, depending on which default rules the Court will view as constitutional86× 86  A shorter list could be produced by whittling away at the constitutional status of the cases identified by Monaghan  While the Court has held that Miranda is a constitutional decision, Dickerson, 530 U S  at 444, some of the other cases may be viewed as nonconstitutional  See, e g , Collins v  Virginia, 138 S  Ct  1663, 1675–80 (2018) (Thomas, J , concurring) (arguing that Mapp is “nonconstitutional,” id  at 1678 n 5); Richard H  Fallon, Jr  et al , Hart and Wechsler’s The Federal Courts and the Federal System 775–77 (7th ed  2015) (discussing whether Bivens is constitutionally required)  Conversely, a longer list might include any constitutional right that can be waived by a party  See, e g , Daniel A  Farber, Another View of the Quagmire: Unconstitutional Conditions and Contract Theory, 33 Fla  St  U  L  Rev  913, 918 (2006) (describing the Eleventh Amendment as “just a contractual default rule that the states are free to barter away”)  Such a list might also include various constitutionally inspired judicial presumptions  See, e g , Jack Goldsmith & John F  Manning, The President’s Completion Power, 115 Yale L J  2280, 2299 (2006) (describing the Chevron presumption of delegated interpretive power to administrative agencies as “a constitutionally inspired default rule”); Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, Federal Rules of Statutory Interpretation, 115 Harv  L  Rev  2085, 2097–98 (2002) (describing clear statement rules as “constitutional default rules” reversible by Congress)  Many other decisions could likely be characterized as constitutional default rules; the list above is only an initial stab  and on how it will answer open questions about congressional authority over certain constitutional provisions 87× 87  See, e g , Thomas v  Wash  Gas Light Co , 448 U S  261, 272 n 18 (1980) (plurality opinion) (leaving unresolved whether Congress may limit constitutional full faith and credit obligations); White v  Mass  Council of Constr  Emp’rs, Inc , 460 U S  204, 215 n 1 (1983) (Blackmun, J , concurring in part and dissenting in part) (leaving unresolved “whether Congress may authorize       what otherwise would be a violation” of the Privileges and Immunities Clause); 1 Tribe, supra note 72, § 6-35, at 1243–44 (arguing that Congress cannot override judicial constructions of the Privileges and Immunities Clause); Metzger, supra note 69, at 1486–89 (arguing the opposite)  But the takeaway is clear: weaker stare decisis for constitutional default rules  Pre-Wayfair, one would have thought that stare decisis applies with special force to such precedents, given congressional power to set them straight  Not anymore  Why? Because it is improper to “ask Congress to address a false constitutional premise of th[e] Court’s own creation ”88× 88  Wayfair, 138 S  Ct  at 2096  The Latin for Wayfair’s doctrine is not stare decisis, which should reflect a realistic, working relationship between the legislative and judicial branches  It is mea culpa 
In its zeal to update the Constitution for “the Cyber Age,”89× 89  Id  at 2097  the Court deleted Congress from stare decisis doctrine in constitutional cases  The Court had better options  It could have left Quill on Congress’s doorstep, as the dissent argued  Or it could have justified overruling Quill notwithstanding the special force of stare decisis  Instead, the Court reasoned that it doesn’t matter whether Congress is willing and able to do the job: a constitutional mess calls for a judicial clean-up crew  For constitutional default rules — a category of decisions embracing the dormant commerce clause and sweeping far beyond — Wayfair’s new theory of stare decisis makes the Court’s precedents less sticky and Congress less relevant 



ground_truth: Quill harmed states more than anticipated due to the Internet.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: How can you level up in the early levels?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

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Julius Francis Gomes is pursuing his Ph D  in international business from the University of Oulu  He currently works at the Oulu Business School as a Doctoral Student to research the futuristic business models for digital intensive industries  His research focuses on using business models as a mean to look in to future industries  He is interested to research business ecosystems in different contexts like cyber security, healthcare, future’s network etc  with a business model perspective  He received his M Sc  (2015) in international business from the University of Oulu  Prior to that he acquired MBA (2011) specializing in managing information systems in business applications  Previously, he has also enjoyed about three years in a top tier bank in Bangladesh as a channel innovator 
Marika Iivari is a postdoctoral researcher at the Martti Ahtisaari Institute within Oulu Business School  She defended her doctoral dissertation on business models in ecosystemic contexts  She holds M Sc  in International Business from the Ulster University, Northern Ireland  Her research interests are in the areas of open innovation, business models and strategy in the context of innovation ecosystems and smart cities, digital and ICT business ecosystems  She has been involved in several research projects around 5G and the Internet of Things, most recently in the health care sector  She is also an active member of the Business Model Community, the Open Innovation Community and the Society for Collaborative Networks 
Petri Ahokangas received his M Sc  (1992) and D Sc  (1998) degrees from the University Vaasa, Finland  He is currently Adjunct Professor (International software entrepreneurship) and Senior research fellow at Martti Ahtisaari Institute, Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, Finland  His research interests are in how innovation and technological change affect international business creation, transformation, and strategies in highly technology – intensive or software – intensive business domains  He has over 100 publications in scientific journals, books, conference proceedings, and other reports  He is actively working in several ICT-focused research consortia leading the business-related research streams 
Lauri Isotalo has received his M Sc  from Helsinki University of Technology (currently Aalto University) in 1992  He has also a postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration  At first Lauri worked in Nokia Corp  in Mobile Technology & System Marketing unit specializing in Intelligent Networks  In 1992 he joined Elisa Corp  where he has held several managerial positions in value added services business, system and process security and mobile network development  Since 2005 Lauri has also led Elisa SME teams in various international collaboration projects and acquired a deep knowledge of the cyber security of legacy telecommunication networks, ip core, access networks, user terminals and modern virtualized data center IT platforms/cloud systems  From 2014 Lauri has headed SDN&NFV development in Elisa 
Riikka Niemelä, M Sc , MHSc , is a cross-disciplinary health-tech professional who obtained her degrees in Electrical Engineering (Master of Science) and Medical technology (Master of Health Sciences) from the University of Oulu, Finland  After R&D engineering, she worked as a research assistant to research the national eHealth development of the Finnish healthcare  Thereafter, she has been researching and promoting the adaptation of connected health technologies in surgical processes of a Nordic future hospital, resulting in scientific publications  Currently, she works as a project manager in Tuttlingen, Germany – the world center of Medical Technology – to generate R&D and innovation projects in cooperation with the ICT and LifeScience companies from Oulu, Finland  Her aim is to promote the digitalization and internationalization of the both high-tech regions and to generate innovations serving the increasing demands for healthcare 
Journal of ICT, Vol  5_1, 107–128 



ground_truth: Keep deploying and harvesting your bases to earn experience points and level up quickly.