Fairweather

Here's a good piece that got a lot of attention in the region: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/connelly/article/Thanks-for-Saving-Washington-s-Wild-Places-1368131.php As for my numbers: I'm using the NPS's own stats. The vast majority of motorists who drive across Wa/Rainy Pass are east<-->west commuters--not park visitors. In any event, the area they traverse is part of the Ross Lake National Rec Area, not the national park. Why would they be counted as visitors? The hikers and climbers you refer to certainly are counted in the total.

The rangers at NCNP seem especially prone to this mindset. Maybe its time this underutilized park was returned to the people and withdrawn from the national park system? (Not a suggestion, just a thought for now.) It should be obvious that park rangers are following orders from above. I suggest you take the time to get to know some of the NCNP rangers before you make comments like this. Why is it incumbent on me to establish personal relationships with NCNP rangers before I convey an informed opinion about their actions and behavior? Especially when our friends in Marblemount have a well-established (and deserved) reputation for inflexibility or outright contempt for the people they serve? I'm thinking specifically about the ranger who forced two of the posters here to march back to Marblemount to get properly permitted rather than issuing them an available permit on the spot. Or, more recently, the ranger who chopped the rappel bolts on Forbidden Peak just before a fatal accident. NPS rangers do, in fact, have a great deal of latitude when it comes to enforcement of rules. And while my suggestion that the 1968 NCNP Act be rescinded was deliberately provocative, I think it's important to look at the reasons that the proposed expansion of the park has fallen flat. Access. (Or, more accurately, shrinking access.) Here are some facts: Olympic NP 2011 visitation: 2,966,502 Mount Rainier NP 2011 visitation: 1,038,229 North Cascades NP 2011 visitation: 19,534 That's right, only nineteen thousand visitors. With numbers like this, I would think the rangers at NCNP would be going out of their way to encourage visitation to this public park by protecting the environment in a way that still facilitates its use. Depending on the year, this is the seventh least-visited park in the system--and the least visited park in the lower 48. This is what makes it special, yes, but gimme a break. The rangers at NCNP need to lighten up or they're going to erode support for the very thing they strive to protect.

The rangers at NCNP seem especially prone to this mindset. Maybe its time this underutilized park was returned to the people and withdrawn from the national park system? (Not a suggestion, just a thought for now.)

I got through a labral separation about five years ago with PT and no surgery. According to my ortho, these are hard to see on an MRI, so he wanted to do an "exploratory" surgical trip into the joint before the big event. I declined and went with PT. At its worst, I was unable to lift my arm to 90 degrees. Even putting deodorant on was a task. Took about three months of weekly sessions. The strengthening exercises actually made the pain worse at first, but the payoff eventually came. How did I injure it? Crossfit. Repeatedly hanging from a single, totally relaxed and extended arm while resting at the top of an inverted PVC/Rope ladder is not something I would recommend for shoulder health. Eventually, I felt something "move" inside the joint. Good luck with surgery. Every case is different.

isn't this why the founders choose to make us a republic instead? Indeed. "Well, what have we got doctor, a monarchy or a republic?" "A republic, madam, if you can keep it." At least that's the apocryphal tale about what Franklin said to a passerby after emerging from the Constitutional Congress. Whenever I think of that quote, I'm usually reminded of this one: "When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. -Thomas Jefferson. I think that the public discovered that it could vote itself money sometime between 1862 and 1913 and the republic seems to have held up pretty well since then, so right-wing hatemongers like myself should probably bear that in mind before playing chicken little over the ACA (nevermind Wickard vs Filburn, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc) - but I think for the first time I've started to feel like I should give "The Anti-Federalist Papers" a look and see if they anticipated any of the more grotesque abuses of Federal power that have been the bathwater we've had to tolerate in exchange for the Constitutional baby....like paramilitary law enforcement kicking in doors and shotgunning black-labs for the sake of confiscating some stale bong-resin, a gajillion dollars worth of subsidies being snarfed down by the corn-ethanol lobby, etc, etc, etc, etc. That's one of the best thoughts I've heard, and I'm due for my first complete read of the Anti-Federalsit as well. Not sure that a guy who couldn't be bothered to even show up for the convention should be looked to for answers 225 years later, but he is a paradox that I come to appreciate more and more with each passing year. Just a trivia question that I don't know the answer to: The Supreme Court has actually cited The Federalist more than 200 times in its rulings; has it has ever reached into the Anti for guidance?

I agree with everything you say here, but I think it's important to understand both sides. I suspect that most (not all) of the feelings you describe are the same emotions many private-sector employees and business owners feel when something like Obamacare is imposed on them. There are, in fact, a lot of private sector wage-earners who have or will lose benefits, hours, or even their livelihoods over this legislation. Food for thought. No intent to disrespect you here. In fact, the work you do is exactly the reason I pay my taxes. I hope this nonsense is over with soon.

[video:youtube]PFkAAvDkj9k

The Butlerian Jihad is almost upon us.

I live in the new WA 10th District, and my Congressman is Denny Heck. Seems like an OK guy for a D, although I would have preferred to remain in the 6th where Derek Kilmer took over for Norm Dicks. Heck did respond to my email re Syria and assured me he was "inclined" to vote no--had the vote actually taken place. Hopefully, we'll never know.

2001 and 2006 Patriot Act roll call. Looks like almost everyone's autograph is on the ballz: http://educate-yourself.org/cn/patriotact20012006senatevote.shtml 2008 FISA Amendment Act: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/hr6304

My worry with this NSA shit is not, necessarily, that they're doing it; rather, it's that no one seems to care that they're doing it. At the risk of sounding like a Luddite, I am becoming less enamored with some aspects of technology with each passing year. My impression of FISA was that it was very limited in scope and was focused on authorizing the monitoring of data (or even conversations) where at least one party was overseas. This is not the case now--don't know if it ever was. Feel free to blame Bush for opening the door that Obama has eagerly stepped through. I recently had a conversation with a family member who proclaimed, "if data mining can save three thousand lives or prevent another terrorist attack then it's worth giving up a little privacy." I don't think so. This "meta-data" will almost inevitably be used for political purposes--if not by Obama, then by the next clown we elect--and this represents a threat to our democracy. Hell, the CIA/NSA/FBI can't even prevent an attack when the Russkies provide names and addresses (the Boston bombers), why should we think our government can make sense out of our digital crumbs? But then again, we probably shouldn't expect too much concern over privacy from Americans who are busy putting their entire lives on FaceBook and texting pictures of their genitals to the latest significant other. As for the Republicans shutting down part of the government, well, I've already made my opinion pretty clear. Obamacare will be a fucking disaster, but the people spoke twice (once through their representatives, and again in the 2012 election), and it even passed the judicial smell test. If I had a Republican Representative I could write to, I'd tell him to knock this shit off--and get rid of that total moron tool orange nasal-tone crybaby House speaker.

Prole, aren't you the expert when it comes to "Wedge" issues?

This one is more chilling: [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLodCejCoYE

In fact, every single action you mention above had legislative approval and was voted on in Congress. You can accuse Bush of practicing populism, opportunism, or even lying to game the system. But Obama often acts like he is "above" the system--especially with regard to Syria and the NSA scandal.

Even GW never had the audacity to think he could bypass Congress to start a war--or to spy on US citizens' internal communications. Also, Ivan, I think your memory is failing you regarding No Child Left Behind. I recall a collaboration between Ted Kennedy and GW led to its overwhelming passage.

Not to worry, I hear the LMA has stationed its militia members throughout the Icicle to ensure that the area remains open to locals and stays as beautiful and free as ever as this crisis plays itself out.

I damn near agree with this. I'm not entirely clear on the reason why the employer mandate got a delay, but it sure plays poorly. As to the train wreck, I agree too. If the law is in fact a disaster, than it will need to be amended or repealed. If in fact the American people like it, as we are told they may, than perhaps it is not a disaster worthy of shutting down the government. Shutting down the govt over this is the epitome of arrogance. If ACA works, then the Dems and Obama get all of the credit. But if it doesn't, then I can't see how any of these Ds deserve to stay in office. If this crop of Republicans is the only alternative, well, that's scary too.

Yea, those are bad. I went to school with a guy named Justin Case. Now that's a cool name. Sadly, Justin was not "Seattle-based"-which probably explains his mediocre grades, and his inability to properly display any narcissistic traits or passive-aggressive behavior.

Not surprising that those on the left will grant a pass to their leader's autocratic behavior with obfuscation and a straight face. Then again, this is the same president who was ready to start lobbing cruise missiles on Syria even as he ignored congress--and the law. In the end, he read the writing on the wall--and for this he gets props. If only the Rs would get their heads straight too. Still, you've gotta admit Obama's got some "issues" with the rules. Republicans? Shit, I suspect he holds near-equal contempt for Congressional Democrats.

Who in the fuck names their kid Kiliii Fish?

If the Republicans do have one good gripe it's that Obama has given a one-year delay to big business and not to individuals. If the law is the law, I'm not sure how Obama is allowed to do this. In any event, the Rs are too dumb to just step out of the way and let this train-wreck of a law play out. Wait until the uninsured have to pay that IRS fine. Wait until the insured see their benefits start to evaporate. Wait until unions pull their support (already happening)...

The Republicans are probably finished as a party, IMO. And they have been since Romney lost. Despite the abomination that Obamacare will almost certainly turn out to be, it passed Congress by a single vote, was signed by a president who was subsequently reelected, was upheld by the Supreme Court (Roberts, no less!), and is now the law. If the R's were smart--and they're not--they would have passed on this fight and defunded the government in two weeks when the borrowing limit is once again reached. Now that's a legitimate issue. Bring on the Libertarians; the R's are in the ICU.

Shhhhh!

Thanks! I'll check it out for future dates; this was my first trip to Colorado. I was amazed at the amount of mining/industry along the I-70 mountain passes. Near Loveland Pass it looks like they're taking the top off an entire mountain, and just east of Copper Mountain lies one the largest settlement pond/cofferdams I've ever seen. Anyway, I talked to a guy who skis Elbert in the wintertime. It's a good avalanche-free climb and descent. Pretty tame for a skier of your skills, but I'll bet it would be a great lung trainer for Alaska.

The NPS "climbing programs" at Rainier and Denali come to mind--although the ranger efforts at the latter seem to offer climbers at least limited value for their money. On the USFS side, I'd point you to the pay-to-play fiasco down at Mount St. Helens. The arbitrary 100 climber-per-day limit has created an artificial demand for the climb that would otherwise not exist, and the fees go to support some bogus "Mount St. Helens Institute." The scheme is already similar for the Enchantments and popular areas throughout the West. Mount Whitney comes to mind. The "Volcano Pass" that the FS tried to implement has been a failure that I believe the program no longer exists. (If it does, I guess I'm a scofflaw.) And then, of course, there is the famous "Fee Demonstration Program" that continues on to this day--even as more and more public access is strangled off with each passing year. The tragedy is that the alliance between climbers and conservationists--who worked hand-in-hand to create MRNP in 1899, Olympic in 1938, NCNP in 1968, and to pass the Wilderness Act in 1964--no longer exists. And the USFS, fresh off 100+ years of Pinchot's "multiple use" fantasy, now justifies its existence by treating recreation as its new commodity. The environmental "concerns" of orgs like the NCCC and LMA are simply a convenient lever the USFS can use to artificially intensify demand and then regulate for $$.