Jim

that's more a testament to their complete lack of interest in the subject than anything - i have had a good number of crazy-eyed politically active n' pissed off conservative kids (and jesus christ, what monsterous factory produces those kind of high-powered mutants?) over the years who have sussed me out for what i am and been bitter n' bitchy about it the last few months of the semester. meh. it's all philosophy goobly-talk - there is a collective sense of "impartial" or "unbiased" but it has no objective reality - for life to be anything more than just soap-box intellectualism you gotta take a side and run w/ it. i'm off for beacon in the drizzle - dog bless the 3 day weekend... Probably to aid climb, which, in my objective opinion, is wacko.

pretty sure sarah palin needs no help in that regard i'm all for civility in politcs, but jesus christ, not calling a true asshole an asshole just muddies the water... Pearls from Bachman. Derision is an appropriate response to such nonsense. ''Normalization (of gayness) through desensitization. Very effective way to do this with a bunch of second graders, is take a picture of 'The Lion King' for instance, and a teacher might say, 'Do you know that the music for this movie was written by a gay man?' The message is: I'm better at what I do, because I'm gay.'' ''If we took away the minimum wage — if conceivably it was gone — we could potentially virtually wipe out unemployment completely because we would be able to offer jobs at whatever level.'' ''And what a bizarre time we're in, when a judge will say to little children that you can't say the pledge of allegiance, but you must learn that homosexuality is normal and you should try it.'' "Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn't even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.''

I'm ok with opposing views based in some logic - but fantasy is another thing. Let's take one item from the Perry, Bachman, and Palin rule book for instance. They don't believe in global warming or they may couch it that it is not human causes. Great - an opinion based on what exactly - no facts certainly. The door has closed on that one. They could say what they likely mean - that there is global warming but they don't think we should tinker with industry becase they think that is bad for certain economic sectors. That, at least, would be an honest policy decision.

OK - you are correct - they should not call them idiots. But they should do a better job showing how vacant their statements are -

But slience from the majority of moderates is what allows the idiots a venue. I mean really, Palin, Bachman, Kain, Perry, - these folks should be defended? What does it say about the Republican base and the party in general if they have to appeal to tragically failed policies, dumb-dumb false science, and ignorance of how our financial systems work - or actually haven't worked in the recent past. Sheesh!

Propane stove in basement, yes.

I agree. The Republican Party has been taken over by the right fringe and folks that might have a reasonably moderate bone in their body, Mitt included, are constantly covering their right flank. The press is pretty lame at calling most of the field what they are, blathering idiots.

Not true at all: Michael Reardon is also recent casualty. I can also think Jimmy Jewel (GB) off the top of my head. Oh, how about Lafaille as far as alpine goes? I don't think I'd lump Reardon in a solo climbing death group. He drowned after getting washed into the sea from the base of a climb in Ireland. I was about a mile down the road when it happened. Unfortunate.

A lawyer's primer: If you don't have the law, you argue the facts; if you don't have the facts, you argue the law; if you have neither the facts nor the law, then you argue the Constitution.

Soccer - the perrenial next big thing. While I like it enough it's just not catching on to compete with smashmouth and other sports. Yea, yea, lots of kids play. But when they get to be adults they apparantly move on. Oh yea, a whopping 40k to watch the Sounders.

I think you mean congressional candidates - or Willie Sutton.

Letter to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris

The reliance on technology seems to be getting to be the norm these days - see the excess of use of SPOT and such. But you can still get away from it all. It wasn't all that long ago that a trip in the Cascades meant isolation. In the late '80s while working on a NR Stuart variation (unintentional!) my partner took a whipper 30 ft from the top and seperated his shoulder. We tried to pop it back with no success. A party that came up the hiker's route graciously offered to get a rescue going. After an uncomfortable evening my buddy was plucked off the summit by heli. We took no pictures because we were mortally embarassed that we could not get off the peak under our own power. Well, we could have but it would have taken days. Now it seems to be taken for granted that help will arrive - and rather quickly.

I can sympathize. My wife, the teacher, provides a running tally of weird kids, dysfunctional families, and inept admistrators. Your hair isn't yet white from teaching?

Isn't she one of your former students?

Not guilty of murder. Admitted she knew kid was dead but lied and reported her missing - thus causing use of law enforcement personnel that was not necessary. Git it?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/sept-11s-self-inflicted-wounds/2011/09/08/gIQAfjm5FK_story.html

....and the latest data show about 17% of the US population is without health insurance. Stunning.

I wish they would straighten up Social Security already.

On the original question - had a similar issue, forgot to post my pass and just sent the FS a scanned copy - no problem. You should follow-up and make sure your info got to the right person, however. On the passes in general - I don't have problem paying for a pass. I spend more on a RT in gas for crying out loud. But the program does have rules and the FS appears to be stretching these at times. Regarding road openings - JasonG has it correct. It often is quite complicated with NEPA, ESA, and stakeholder suits. And many time road were put in place - where frankly that are unsustainable or will just cost to much to keep repairing. I worked on resource studies for the Mt. Loop Hwy repairs and holy cow I was surprised what prortion of the MBS FS road budget was devoted to keeping that road open. Similarly the Suiattle Road is suceptible to flooding and associated damage as is the Stehekin Rd. While it takes a bit more creativity and energy to get through these areas, I'm not sure the long term cost/benefit analysis is worth repairing and repairing these features. IMO.

I came across this in one of my professional associations - worth taking a look if you have such interests. _______________________________________ Conservation Biology Community Letter I would like to make the conservation biology community aware of a new resource for citizen-science support. Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, http://www.adventureandscience.org,'>http://www.adventureandscience.org, is a Bozeman, MT based non-profit whose purpose is to further understanding of the natural world by facilitating the pairing of scientists and adventure athletes. The goal of ASC is to provide scientists with an avenue for collecting inexpensive and reliable data from areas that are difficult to reach. By pairing scientists with adventure athletes who are travelling to remote areas, ACS is creating a network of citizen-scientists who can give their quests additional meaning by acquiring data that scientists may not be able to obtain themselves. They also have a chance to learn and utilize a set of tools and methods to help conserve and maintain the wild places they visit There are many possible scientific applications that can benefit from motivated volunteers. One of the most basic is simple observations and location data for species whose distribution is poorly known. The Craighead Institute is partnering with ASC to help expand baseline data on extant American pika (Ochotona princeps) colonies in the Rocky Mountains. Other researchers will benefit from at least 20 teams of hikers who will collect pika location data along the Pacific Crest Trail this summer. Two extreme adventurers, Justin Lichter and Shawn Forrey are hiking from Kanchenjunga westward to Nanga Parbat along the Himalaya. Along the way they are collecting data on Bar-headed geese for researcher Jessica Meir, and location data on pikas for the Craighead Institute. Another type of research that can benefit from ASC utilizes samples collected from remote places. Currently Willie and Damien Benegas with the North Face climbing team will collect lichens from Mount Everest at what may well be the highest site for life on earth. Rusty Rodriguez, a microbiologist with the USGS from Seattle will receive these specimens. The climbers will also collect rocks for Tim McDerrmot from the Land Resources & Environmental Sciences Department at Montana State University with the goal of finding high altitude bacteria that can tolerate high levels of UV radiation. ASC coordinated the researchers and the climbers, and helped facilitate the acquisition of necessary permits. A third possibility is the deployment and later retrieval of instruments. Experiments of this type are practical in areas where professional guides make repeat visits and can routinely retrieve data, replace batteries, and re-position instruments. Instruments can even be deployed by one group and then retrieved by a later group using GPS to find the sensors. Data loggers that collect temperature and other data are often used across landscapes: partnering with ASC can expand the landscapes that can be sampled. Simple procedures like setting out motion-sensor cameras and collecting them months later may provide valuable information on wildlife distribution. There are many possibilities related to Climate Change monitoring. I would encourage anyone who might be able to utilize Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation to visit their website at http://www.adventureandscience.org, and to contact Gregg Treinish, the Executive Director at gregg@adventureandscience.org. ASC is interested in hearing of other types of research that may benefit from dedicated citizen-scientists who are motivated to work for conservation. In addition ASC is consolidating its Science Advisory Board and would be interested in including scientists who would like to become more formally involved with directing research applications and finding research partnerships. Sincerely, Lance Craighead Executive Director Craighead Institute And Board Member of ASC

You're depressing me again.

Losing? I agree with you if you mean the distasteful gay bashing and other bottom-of-the-barrel social items are not being swallowed (except that abortion thing in the mid-west). But having the wackos cover the right wing and a lack of any organized opposition makes the "center" of the GOP's proposal seem almost reasonable. "Let's not eliminate Social Security altogether - just cut it into small pieces while spending 48% of the world's military budget". Yea, that's reasonable.

1) YOUR logic has lost. 2) First generation to "turn back the epochal clock?" Read a fucking book. (Not Jodie Piccoult. Try a History book) 3) Get fucked. Well there's a thoughtful response!! The right-wing, and quite frankly, the general public's lack of understanding of anything more complicated than how Weed and Feed works is a growing trend. You could make the argument that there were larger forces at other times in history that mutted thinking - but I would say the mass media of today - and particularly social networks, tweets, and such, is pushing out not just important items to think about - but thinking all together. With all this overload that folks seem to what to keep abreast of - what are the Kartishans doing? What are my friends doing now, oh, and now? Assembling and reading busts of what? Reports on what I'm eating now, where I'm going - commentary on heavy matters - well, what fits into 140 characters. None of this trivial information is of any use other than making the user feel, well, informed. So yea - I do think more important things are getting crowded out and way outside the public arena. Oh wait - we have the internet to fill that void. Yea.

Had my Platypus for 10 yrs and no problem. Only reason it sprung a pin-hole lead is some big guy sat on it! New Camelback leaked on first trip! Plus the dang Camelbacks taste like I'm drinking liquid plastic - WTF? Back to Platypus.