Fairweather

j_b = sexual chocolate What evidence are you looking for? The record is clear regarding the disparate treatment given by the press regarding Hillary's book deal versus Newt's. I have no problem with the $$ amount! That is apparently what the free market will bear. I realize this concept is foreign to you j_b.

Shit! I hate earthquakes. I thought Alpine K just found out where I lived and had begun his attack.

Doh! You are a relentless angry white liberal AK; stalking me from thread to thread...appearing out of nowhere like a bad dream, countering my every point with hollow drivel. Hillary is evil. Gang of four (or was it seven?) type shit. But I'll admit, if she were my wife, my johnson be seeking the semi-cuboidal tissues of other women as well. I can't blame Bill for that one! Oh yeh! Go buy some real skis ass-wipe!

Herr Erich, ...zen perhaps du should climb zeeees, my Tyrolean friend....

Sir Hillary reminds me of Harvey Manning. "I've had my big adventures! Now, lets lock everyone else out and force them to look at the great pictures I took yore...in this book I am selling for only $29.95!"

Good post. Remember the sanctions heaped on Gingrich when he accepted a book advance? Where is the media outrage re Hillary? .....More evidence of liberal media bias. Hillary=Winnie Mandella

I hear you like to turn the stool upside down and impale your anus on one of the legs. Then you try to get old men to buy you drinks and give you tokens in exchange for handjobs.

Well AK.... I hear that in addition to being very angry, you've cut down more trees than George Bush, John Ashcroft, and Gail Norton combined! Not only that, but I have it from a reliable source that you are (quite) a bit overweight and... you are not a very good skier. Civilized debate? ...I'll give you civilized debate motherfuckerererer.

Bush is an idiot, a fascist. He's appointed an attorney general who is a member of the Nazi party and the KKK. Bush is not capable of doing anything good. Like I said earlier Bush sucks dead donkey dicks Fairweather you're a pretty angry guy from some of the stuff you write. AK, You write "Bush sucks dead donkey dicks" and then tell me I write "angry stuff". Are you for real? At least Mattp can articulate his position without the childish banter you throw about. I wasn't aware Ashcroft was both a NAZI and KKK member! Can you please send the documentation? I find it extaordinary that this story has escaped me. I gotta listen to NPR more often!

....don't forget the "Unabomber" matt! I believe he had a copy of "Earth in the Balance" in his shack. We could both dig up a litany of killers on both sides of the political spectrum, here in our country and around the world. However, you were the one who put forth the premise that liberals were just a little "smug" but otherwise harmless. I never claimed that extreme right-wingers were a benign lot. And I believe it was that magazine photo (Rolling Stone?) with the naked Dixie Chicks on the cover....they have dozens of words like "traitor" and "treason" printed on their bodies...It was the dixie Chicks themselves claiming their free speech rights were being stifled. I'll say again; the free market can decide what is free speech ala Jesse Jackson, or whomever. As long as it isn't the government denying us that right, I'm OK with it.

I'll accept that there is a separation: a) Liberals. Patriotic Americans with whom I (mostly) disagree. b) Leftists. Now, Catbird, would you agree with the inverse?

....but it's OK to lump radicals and conservatives?

Seems to me that those on the radical left are the very ones name calling (ie:"baby killer","shrub" "bush is a terrorist", etc), screaming (ie: blocking roads, throwing bottles at cops) and torching things (ie: ski resorts in CO, SUV's in car lots, research labs at UW and elsewhere, "Street of dreams" homes.) Do you really stand by that one Matt?

You hit the proverbial nail on the head with that statement Dwayner! They're angry. They're white. And they're liberal. GW in 2004! Condoleeza Rice in 2008!

Looks to me like the tree has taken a hit from a small lightning bolt.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Matt in person. Great guy. His trip reports here inspire me. He climbs like I wish I could...and a lot more often! But that doesn't mean I have to agree with him re politics....although I suspect there is much more common ground than you'd think.

Yes mattp. But there is a big difference between private citizens shouting down each other and governmental attempts squelch free speech. I was under the impression that this is what you implied in your "free to criticize the government/constitutional" statement. Maybe we're talking past eachother here. Perhaps you can demonstrate where government ie: the Bush administration has restricted free speech? ...actually, the only example that I can think of is the Campaign Finance Reform Act (bi-partisan) which will soon be squashed in the supreme court.

Mattp, where did you get the idea that I don't support criticizing the government? Hell, I was doing it for 7 of Clinton's 8 years! I think you're trying to create a shift in this debate. Hollywood stars have a right to rant all they want. Some of them may even want to speak out in favor of our government's policies...if their unions will let them. Trask has a right to speak with his wallet, although I think he and I will miss a lot of good movies if we take this stand to the nth degree. Free speech works all ways. Even for talk radio, wouldn't you say?

Who else but our own dear Fairweather would utter such a sentiment. A paen to his uncle Joe. Catshit, If it were a sentiment, I would not have ended the sentence with a question mark. Just a thought-provoking post.....and I can see, as usual, you liberal-knee-jerked it. On another note, I do find it interesting that when conservatives exercise their free speech with boycots (ie: Dixi Chicks, Danny Glover/MCI) they are acused by the left of "attacking the free speech rights" of said groups or individuals. Hmmmm. Smells like liberal hypocrisy to me.

Maybe Mcarthy was right about Hollywood???

Thomas Friedman, not known as a conservative by any stretch, recently wrote an op-ed about this very subject. In it, he admits we were "misled" to a certain degree but that the greater good was served. I'll try to dig this editorial up later. Sure GW and Co overstated their case. I would do the same thing if I had allies and world opinion standing in the way of what I knew to be a valid cause. Since when do all of you think you're entitled to the whole story?? 1) We can now pull troops out of Saudi Arabia since Iraq is no longer a threat. Wasn't our presence there the "stated cause" Al-Queda used to justify the 9/11 murders? (And yet these terrorists killers continue their blood-thirsty attacks) 2) We have sent a message to the Arab world in the strongest possible terms; "Get your shit together yourselves, or we'll do it for you". 3) Saddam's reign of terror was justification enough to go in. Before you spout off about this one, lets not forget how the UN bungled Rwanda, and let the Serbs slaughter the people of Srebrinica--a UN daclared "safe haven"-- while they stood aside and watched. The UN is inept. In some cases, only power/force will achieve the greater good. 4) The weapons were there to one degreee or another. Where they are now is still up for debate. And to answer your question Kurt; I wasn't attempting to "change the subject". Mattp asked for thoughts re Senator Byrd. The good senator is a cause-celeb' these days for the anti war left. But before they look to him for their revised morality, they should look at his whole morality. Quoting Byrd as the "conscience of the senate" (as many on the left now do) is akin to a right winger quoting Trent Lott re the future of race relations in America. While both are repentant, they have forfeited their right to preach morality to the rest of us forever. Ditto, Bill Clinton and Bill Bennett.

Mattp, I'm not sure Senator Byrd is "all there" these days. If you've listened to some of his more recent ramblings on the senate floor, you know what I'm talking about. There is much speculation re his mental fitness. And let's not forget his past KKK membership and recent use of the "N" word!

Anyone have any thoughts on which route is best for a one day late May/early June climb of Sloan Peak? Bedal Creek or Sloan Peak Trail/Sloan Glacier? Seems like the glacier should be in fair shape at this time of year, so I'm kind of leaning toward Sloan Peak Trail, but I've heard finding the creek crossing can suck up valuable time. Also thinking about a one day of Overcoat Peak-snowfinger or South Arete. Any info on this trip? (Alpine Lakes )

I think we will see the idea of dissolving (or at least restructuring) the UN move from the fringes to the mainstream in short order. I certainly don't want to see this behemoth gain any more power than it already has.

Looks like the UN knew some things they weren't interested in sharing with the world prior to the war. When this piece is combined with other recent stories, it seems that the "oil-for-food" program was nothing more than a cash-cow for Saddam and corrupt UN bureaucrats. Makes me wonder what bribes were paid to the UN by Castro to gain Cuba its current appointment to the Human Rights Commission. The UN is a joke. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/saddam_bribery030520.html