Jim

Saw this interesting statistic yesterday Number of insurgent bombings in June '04 when we first handed over Sovereignty: 8 Number of insurgent bombings in Iraq June '05: 135 Now that's progress!!

It's always a formula on market value - though if you can show a difference via your own apprasial you have room for negoiation. Souter's record is a solid moderate conservative, Renquist is more right, Scalia is just plain wacko, and Thomas is his lap dog. I was surprised that E.D. was upheld for this case as there have been some shaky processes recently concerning "redevelopment". I think it would have been a very big deal to tweak E.D. and the ruling majority just thought it wasn't worth it.

to Futurewise also. For trail work I'd suggest EarthCorps and the Washington Trails Association, who both work with state and federal land on trails. EarthCorps gets into some interesting restoration work. If you want to do more policy stuff with sprawl issues, depending where you are the Pilchuck Chapter of the Audubon Society is concentrating on these issues and are always looking for some help (pilchuckaudubong.org), or the Seattle Chapter has a number of programs in place for volunteers (seattleaudubon.org). The Wilderness Society in Seattle is another group you may want to check out regarding public land use issues. If up north then there's the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance (www.ecosystem.org) who do good work though a couple of them I've worked with in the past need another chair for their ego.

It's in our country's interests to find those who would do harm to us and get them out of harm's way." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 28, 2005

Makes for a fun trial run also. Though it wasn't exactly running up Asgard.

to the back-crunchers. With my pretty severe scoliosis they, with yoga, PT, and cross-training have kept me limber and moving as I approach 50. I've found they can vary, however, and ML I'm interested to hear who you admire in Seattle. It seems like a pretty stiff (no pun intended) course of study.

I knew that!

Goes along with the Bushy trends of putting mining executives in charge of the BLM, timberheads in charge of the USFS, those sworn to dismantling of Social Security in charge of the SS Administration, etc, etc. Why isn't this film clip being shown over and over on the news?

On my long bike loop home - whence does it commence?

For once it's not during my woodshop session - so like where is the Nickerson?

Prole: 1 Fairweather: 0

Wished I would have bivied on this in what turned out to be an 18 hr round trip from came in hail/snow/rain/lighting storm.

Chill. I thought you misunderstood the title

Actually it was sarcasm and refering to Bush's quote regarding those who criticize any of his policies.

Speaking of summer - how come you can't get good Italian ice on the west coast?

If you take the time to read the Amnesty International report you'll see that the main point is that the US has established what is essentially a penal colony where there is no rule of law, no judical oversight, and no adherence to US or international law. Which is why the prison was established on such a vague US land holding. The denuciations coming from Rumsfeld and Bush are a good feint. They rail against the democracy-haters without touching on the core issues.

This is the type of BS that the administration comes up with literally every day that does not get much notice. These guys are the worst. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/national/24species.html New Rule on Endangered Species in the Southwest By FELICITY BARRINGER Published: May 24, 2005 WASHINGTON, May 23 - The southwestern regional director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has instructed members of his staff to limit their use of the latest scientific studies on the genetics of endangered plants and animals when deciding how best to preserve and recover them. At issue is what happens once a fish, animal, plant or bird is included on the federal endangered species list as being in danger of extinction and needing protection. Dale Hall, the director of the southwestern region, in a memorandum dated Jan. 27, said that all decisions about how to return a species to robust viability must use only the genetic science in place at the time it was put on the endangered species list - in some cases the 1970's or earlier - even if there have been scientific advances in understanding the genetic makeup of a species and its subgroups in the ensuing years. (See article link above for the full article.)

Our simpleton president is at it again: President Bush called a human rights report "absurd" for criticizing the United States' detention of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and said Tuesday the allegations were made by "people who hate America." "It's absurd. It's an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world," Bush said of the Amnesty International report that compared Guantanamo to a Soviet-era gulag. I heard his speech at Arlington yesterday and he actually said "..freedom is on the march", again. What a dolt.

Absolutely JayB - when folks calculate their profit they tend to forget the intrest on the home equity loan, the remodel costs, etc. And there is the sweat equity of any home. I think it would be more fair to say you loose less, or make some profit, on long-term home ownership than renting. And if you are a savy investor you might do better than local real estate - but that seems quite a challenge these days.

I did say if one were going to be around less than 5 yrs than renting would be a better choice.

About 12 years ago I was debating about buying in Seattle. I was renting a 2 bdrm house for $500 a month and decided to get some advice from a financial sort. His comment was at $500 per month who needs equity? Bottom line however, is I wished I bought then instead of waiting another 5 yrs. I think Peter is correct, it depends on where you are and the market pressures. The other item is lenght of time you're expecting to be around here. If it's 5 yrs or less then rent. Bottom line is that if you rent then all your money goes down the rat hole. With a house, and long-term view, you get some equity and some tax benefit. The availability of rental units in Seattle is improving with the move to increase density in urban cores related to the Growth Management Act. So rental units are pricing better than in the past. If you're going to be around here a long time I don't see why you wouldn't want to buy. On the other hand you shouldn't buy just for speculative purposes. I have a friend who prefers to rent because he doensn't want to deal with the upkeep portion of home ownership - so lifestyle is a consideration.

To start I wrote letters to my Senators and Congressman, the minority and majority leaders, and the head of the Senate Committee on Armed Services (Don't bother to email - these are generally ignored). I make it a point to stop by my Senators' offices twice a year with my concerns. I consistenly work with a couple of voulenteer groups, one that focuses on foreign policy, the other domestic. If your interested I can PM you information. I know you'll likely poo-poo this, or any other efforts. But it beats sitting on you hands.

Ummm -this also applies to thinking nothing can be done regarding the US's increasing interest in torture.

And this attitude makes for good sheep. You can look around and shrug your shoulders or you can do something, anything, to change things. It's your choice. Or you can be part of the Seattle culture that says how much you hate _________ (insert your choice) but well, I'm busy and someone else will take care of it. If you're really lacking on where to start I work with a couple of organizations that are starving for voulenteer help.

A bill is going through Congress right now that would loosen the restrictions on stem cell research. It has 200 co-sponsers and enough GOP members may vote for it to make it veto-proof. Bush has threatened to veto it - that would be his first for either term!!!