Then why do you insist on perfection from the LENR crowd but give tons of leeway to the hot fusion crowd? It is raising the bar for one side while lowering it for the other.
I said it makes sense to give hot fusion to private hands. Let Rossi get a queue of private customers a mile long. Not a penny of tax from my pocket. Not until the process has the same quality of scientific scrutiny as the Tokamaks do.
(Note: I addressed JohnnyB because I mention links he has provided in previous posts.)
Let's see.
1. Hot fusion is known to work. Every day, everyone who is not visually impaired can see a huge hot fusion reactor up in the sky. The challenge is not to "prove" a well-known physical process, but to contain it so that it can be used as a viable energy source on earth.
2. Cold fusion has not been convincingly demonstrated, not by bona fide scientists, and certainly not by Rossi. If we are to believe that Rossi somehow stumbled upon cold fusion in his garage (and was able to recognize the process despite his lack of any scientific training), the process would be simple enough that we'd see it spontaneously occurring. A lightning strike would be sufficient to initiate the process. We have yet to see cold fusion occur under natural conditions.
3. If Rossi had a genuine process, it would be a simple matter to allow independent investigators demonstrate it without Rossi being anywhere near the demonstration. There are really only a few measurements that need to be made to demonstrate actual cold fusion. Independent investigators put a measured amount of defined (with regard to isotopic composition, etc.) starting material in. They initiate the reaction, carefully measuring all inputs/outputs of the device. They analyze the ending material and show that its isotopic composition is consistent with that expected if cold fusion were taking place. The compositions of the input and output materials should closely match the theoretical equations that anyone with a basic knowledge of chemistry and a paper and pencil can generate.
The failure of Rossi to perform any such analysis, much less to allow his eCat out of his sight in order for such tests to be done independently, is convincing evidence that such tests cannot be made. And the only reason for such tests to be impossible is that the eCat consists of nothing more than shipping containers and some other supplies picked up in various places and cobbled together to look impressive. And, even at that, Rossi doesn't do such a great job. At least some of the conmen in the past (thanks to JohnnyB for linking their stories) showed a bit of artistic flair when constructive their sham devices.