Fairweather

There is a great campground at Buck/Ranger Creek between the airstrip and the White River. All you need is a Forest Pass. They have pit toilets and fire rings. Light on rules.

Don't fall for this shit, Bill. Like JayB said above, what you're seeing here is nothing more than state union employees putting their own interests (in the form of extraordinary pay and benefits) above those of the poor. Behold the "caring" nature of Democrats.

...and, after all Rob, it's really just about making them suffer, right? Libtard logic = dead end.

Yes, Feck, the wealthy (and middle class) who shelled out the $4 million you didn't have...

You mean the wealthy who are already footing a grossly disproportionate share of the total tax take? You mean the wealthy whose business ventures (and yes, lifestyles) provide jobs for millions of Americans? Your class-envy bullshit leads to nowhere but social upheaval. How 'bout the bottom 46% of wage-earners start contributing something to the federal tax pie? Or at least shut up about what a supposedly shitty--albeit free--deal they're getting.

You're in denial. The Democrats voted for it, Obama signed it. Nobody "forced" them to do anything. Are you retarded? The republicans who voted for the bill demanded the offsets as the price of their votes and the cash had to come from somewhere; no democrat wanted to cut those programs nor would they have if not for those crossover republicans. Do I hear you and republicans screaming for similar offsets to pay for any extension of W's giveaway to the rich? I'm sure some wealthy folks will end up on foodstamps if those unpaid for tax cuts aren't extended. Are you a moron? Democrats had all the House votes they needed on this bill--and with Olympia Snow helping them in the Senate earlier, they even had a filibuster-proof majority over there. Trying to blame Republicans for enabling the public union sector handout that the Democrats just foisted on the American taxpayer is more than a bit disingenuous. Then for your messiah to stand in front of the cameras and claim it was all "paid for" with the closure of corporate tax loopholes, well, I think you need to pull your head out of your ideology.

You're in denial. The Democrats voted for it, Obama signed it. Nobody "forced" them to do anything.

they're

Here you go j_b. Behold the depths to which your public-sector union stooges, lying president, and shape-shifting House Speaker will plumb. From a source I know you'll appreciate: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kati-haycock/cutting-food-stamps-to-sa_b_674770.html "Though many in the education community are celebrating last week's Senate vote for the so-called Edujobs bill, I can't find any joy in it. In fact, I am shaken and ashamed because, to pay for it, the Senate snatched $11.9 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That's right: They cut food stamps. For the first time ever, this move would gouge the monthly benefits that low-income families receive. Beginning in 2014, America's poorest families will--if the House concurs during a special session this week--see $59 disappear from their food stamp benefits every single month. The families and individuals who depend on food stamps are our nation's most vulnerable. They tend to be the young, the old, the black, and the brown. They now total more than 40 million Americans. And despite cold, inside-the-Beltway rationalizations that food prices have not risen as steeply as had been anticipated--and that this cut will "just" return benefits to pre-2009 levels--I challenge any who support it to feed their own children on $4.50 a day. That's the average per-person benefit now, before the Senate cut takes effect. It is no wonder, then, that experts predict the passage of this bill will put more families back in lines at soup kitchens and food banks. That's why so many social justice and faith-based groups are expressing strong opposition to the proposed cuts. Politicians know that there are less ruthless ways to pay for this than by slashing food stamps. Oil and gas and other corporate subsidies, for example, could withstand the blow far better than the poorest people in this nation. But families who rely on public support don't wield much political influence. After all, when you don't have enough money to buy your children dinner, it's hard to find room in your budget for a lobbyist or a fat campaign contribution. Most shockingly of all, the education community--particularly those who assert that it's all but impossible to teach impoverished children who come to school hungry or overwhelmed by family stress--is cheering the passage of this bill with its hateful trade-off. We'd all do well to remember this proposal and those who supported it the next time teacher union bosses assert that they are fighting for what's best for our nation's poor kids."

Don't bother with this one. He's like Kevbone--on methamphetamine.

I've climbed it as late as early October. You shouldn't have any problems--especially this year. The lower Blue will be bare ice and easy cramponing. The only issue might be the bergschrund at Crystal Pass, but I don't imagine it will be too bad.

I can't stand Sarah Palin--or the misogynistic tirades you and your kleenex-swapping buddy TTK launched against her. Chris Christie is my man for President.

Great first post! That crevasse picture is spooky great.

Welcome home, j_b.

Gotta love the way j_b condemns government on one hand as corrupted "corporate shills" when it doesn't toe his line, but then turns and sings its praises when it becomes large, intrusive, and oppressive. Sure makes you wonder which side of freedom j_b and his most recent defender here are camped on.

Trip: Stone Ponds Traverse - Date: 7/31/2010 Trip Report: This cross-country route is described in the Olympic Climber's Guide and lies between Upper Lena Lake and Lake of the Angels. Pope and I stashed bikes at the Putvin trailhead, drove back to Lena parking lot, and hiked to Upper Lena Lake in the late morning hours. The amount of snow still at/above 4700 feet in the Olympics this year is shocking. Upper Lena is still 95% frozen/snow covered, and the traverse along the ridge is about the same. Deerheart Lake is starting to thaw, but the Stone Ponds are still buried in snow completely. The climb to St Peter's Gate is all snow and nice step kicking was done w/o crampons. Lake of the Angels itself is thawed, but the lake shore and basin are still 100% snow covered. The meadow below is a bog. Saw a big black bear on the way out the Putvin trail and ended this day trip with a nice bike ride down the Hamma Hamma Road to the car. Mt Stone The pond at the head of Boulder Creek Reloading Looking up toward ST Peter's Gate Classic Olympic mystery fog Cruiser from St Peter's Gate Gear Notes: Ice axe Solid Boots

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Ok. That was funny.

And yet you can still afford to smoke pot every day...

Fair enough. Now, suppose you had used the money of investors to start a much larger business--investors who expected a return. And suppose that acquiescing to the demands of your now-organized employees meant that your ability to borrow from these investors for future projects was severely diminished. Exactly how would that serve the interests of the employees for whom you care so deeply? The notion of a rate of return for an investor as the highest moral value is one of the roots of the problem we're talking about, isn't it? The sort of venture you're describing doesn't place any great value on the interests of its employees in the first place. Not at all. I think the interests of the wage earner, the profiteer, and the landlord should all be valued equally. It's leftists like j_b who entertain the fantasy that the system will continue to work if this balance is tilted dramatically toward the worker. Shareholders are people too.

Sounds like you have no answer to my question so you're turning to a personal attack.

Fair enough. Now, suppose you had used the money of investors to start a much larger business--investors who expected a return. And suppose that acquiescing to the demands of your now-organized employees meant that your ability to borrow from these investors for future projects was severely diminished. Exactly how would that serve the interests of the employees for whom you care so deeply?

Endorsing a genocide on the basis that the victims are Muslim (as FW did) is indisputably islamophobic. "Endorsing?" Not at all. But it's understandable that innocents are killed when Islamists stage hit-and-run attacks and then hide behind their own women and children. Placing a missile battery on top of an occupied apartment building in Beirut and then crying about its subsequent destruction by the IDF is an example that comes to mind, but Rob's sad picture is probably a product of the aforementioned tactic. Newsflash: we kill innocents too. Probably did it today. Somewhere in Northwestern Pakistan.