JayB

Makes me wonder what the law permits when private citizens use force to deprive you of the rights that you are entitled to under the law. Probably not much, since the presumption is that there are police who will enforce the said laws.

http://www.bayareanewsgroup.com/multimedia/iba/2008/player/?f=0131_codepink "We're trying to remain neutral." Something tells me that they'd be substantially less neutral if, say, the door to an Obama campaign office was being blocked by a group of Skinheads.

Decided to go with the 154's in the Scarlets since we found a pair of those for ~$250. Will report back after the Mammoth trip in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the feedback.

Yep. That's why I'll be voting for Angry White Man Ron Paul! He's got the anti-vaccine vote all locked up, I hear.

Just noticed that a few hours later. Mea Clpa.

That sounds pretty snarky, Matt. Since you mention Pilchuck, wasn't it two women who were murdered there last year? I'd venture to guess that women are assauted 100% more than men outdoors, particularly women alone. I'm just reading a book, Strange Piece of Paradise, about two girls cycling across the US in '77 who were attacked by an axe-weilding maniac in their tent as they slept (miraculously, they survived) in a state park near Bend, OR. The author actually does some research and, sadly, her attack--while sensational--is not that unusual for women in parks and secluded areas. I've always kind of worried about some women that I've met who seem to have confused "not living in fear" with not taking (what seem to me)like sensible precautions whether in the city or in the woods. I find that I'm less concerned about the ones I meet that seem to have what seems like reasonable estimation of the risks in their heads before they head out and make a conscious choice to accept them, and more concerned about the ones that seem to be either in denial or oblivious.

We put pretty much every expenditure we have on a rewards card that kicks 1.5% into the cash account that we have at the investment company we use. Works great as long as you can pay the balances at the end of the month.

Who gets the credit for this site? http://www.naturalnews.com/ Exhibit A: "Childhood Vaccinations Hoax - Not Effective and at Worst, Harmful." http://www.naturalnews.com/022617.html Exhibit B: "The Great HPV Vaccine Hoax Exposed" "...what this NaturalNews investigative report reveals is that HPV vaccinations may not only be medically useless; they may also be harmful to the health of the young girls receiving them. This report reveals startling facts about the HPV vaccine that most people will find shocking: • How it may actually increase the risk of precancerous lesions by 44.6 percent. • The FDA has, for four years, known that HPV was not the cause of cervical cancer. • Why mandatory HPV vaccination policies may cause great harm to young girls. • Why HPV infections are self-limiting and pose no real danger in healthy women • Little-known FDA documents that reveal astounding facts about Gardasil • How Big Pharma promoted its Gardasil vaccine using disease mongering and fear mongering" http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_HPV_Vaccine_0.html What's the homeopathic position on this? "Homeopathy has an ambivalent attitude toward vaccination. Homeopathic organizations seem reluctant to discuss the issue publicly and it does not seem to be taught as part of any regular curriculum. There is no question that the strong support of the medical establishment and governments for vaccination, despite growing concerns even from within the medical research community, makes opposition to this policy risky. Nevertheless, our position must not be based on expedience; it should be founded upon what we know medically. The purpose of this article is not to consider the evidence for or against vaccination, but rather to examine what the theory and practice of homeopathy over the past 200 years have taught us about vaccination. This article explores these issues based on the writings of several respected homeopaths, their extensive clinical observations, and inductive reasoning. What emerges is a consensus that vaccination is not consistent with the principles of homeopathy, even if it is a crude application of the law of similars. Clinical evidence further suggests that vaccination holds serious short and long-term consequences both because of its effect upon the miasms, and because some constitutional types are particularly susceptible to vaccination shock. However, a complete understanding of vaccination continues to elude us. The functioning of the immune system remains shrouded in mystery. What we do not know about disease and prevention far outweighs what we do know. The evidence, both from allopathic and homeopathic sources, strongly suggests that the long-term effects of modern, mass, and multiple vaccinations in early childhood are significant. The these [sic] of this article, therefore, is that homeopaths should be opposed to vaccination as a medical practice because (1) vaccination is not consistent with homeopathic principles of health and cure, and (2) because vaccination may potentially arouse latent inherited and constitutional weaknesses. " Amazing.

"A Credit Card You Want to Toss By Robert Berner Thu Feb 7, 8:08 AM ET Credit-card issuers have drawn fire for jacking up interest rates on cardholders who aren't behind on payments, but whose credit score has fallen for another reason. Now, some consumers complain, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - News) is hiking rates based on no apparent deterioration in their credit scores at all." http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20080207/bs_bw/feb2008db2008026105146;_ylt=Ak2vsoO4de2qoZEteGbiB7ms0NUE

Looks like Obama took Maine. If Obama cleans up in the "Potomac Primary," and Hillary wins Texas and Ohio as she's projected to at this point, does that more or less guarantee that it's in the hands of the superdelegates? Party Faithful, chime in at leisure...

News sites are buzzing that a pancake bearing the likeness of Ron Paul is drawing large and reverent crowds in Hayden Lake...

Note bold above and below. I did not attend any caucus today, nor will I be a delegate to the Democratic (or Republican) convention. My vote breaks no laws. I am fine with being considered a Republican if it helps to get a losing candidate selected by the republicans. Ironic that the party of cheating cheaters and lying liars might attempt to ever take the moral high ground. You guys are funny! -sbqIyeed4g The edifice of civilization quakes beneath the weight of this sinister treachery. Next comes taking *all* the pennies from the "need-a-penny-take-a-penny" at the local gas station owned by a Republican donor, and from there it spirals off into a free-wheeling maelstrom of underhanded political subterfuge that climaxes twenty years hence...in defacing the sidewalk outside the party head-quarters by peeling-out with the 18-volt Medicare-funded three-wheel-scooter-with-a-basket-on-the-front on the way to the luncheon with the rest of the Red Hat Society ladies.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/the-truck-stops-here/9332-what-are-safest-most-dangerous-truckstops.html

I think that pretty much the only Walmart's that don't allow free parking/camping overnight are those that are located in places where the city ordinances forbid it. I think there's a list of those stores online on sites that cater to the RV crowd. Flying J truckstops are also a good bet, have showers etc, and on the whole are probably quite a bit safer than the average pull-out, rest-stop, etc.

Good discussion of Biofuels and C02 on NPR/Science Friday today...

"It's not HIV infection that's the problem, it's entirely the immunodeficiency." Cross your fingers for a mode of biofuel production that doesn't require any land. Super-algae, your time has come.

The environmental equivalent of homeopathy. I expect the scientific analysis of the claims put forth by the crop-to-biofuel enthusiasts as double-blind studies of homeopathic remedies have had on the practitioners of that trade and/or the folks the frequent them. The fact that the Ag-subsidies have created a vast constituency who will feel a considerable amount of pain if the government policies that created the ethanol-monster are modified in response to the scientific evidence that they do more harm than good.

Self-nomination for AF coordinator at Beacon....

Not in Washington, but I have a hard time believing this sort of thing has been contained to Vegas, Florida, Phoenix-Tucson, and Socal.. "Formerly booming Sun Belt cities are the epicenters of this economic downturn. Many economists believe that the likes of Phoenix, Las Vegas, Miami and San Diego are already in recession. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Monday found that the economy and jobs are now the foremost issue in voters' minds nationally. A McClatchy-MSNBC poll released Sunday found that the same was true of likely voters in Arizona's Democratic primary Tuesday. A trip through the suburbs of Phoenix shows why people in these cities, reeling from the popping of the housing bubble, are so anxious. Within these regions, the pain is concentrated among people who overextended themselves on mortgage debt to take advantage of housing prices that seemingly did nothing but rise. Because many of those people are facing massive debt, the tax rebates of $500 to $600 per person contemplated by Congress would offer little solace. "We're in so deep that it doesn't seem like anything will help," said Rebekah Ao, 33, a pregnant homemaker who lives in a new four-bedroom home in Avondale with her husband, Otto, a truck driver. The Aos, with $50,000 in income, owe a total of $607,000 on mortgages for two houses they bought since they moved to the Phoenix area about two years ago." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/04/AR2008020403270_pf.html She's right. They should start looking for a rental and get a contract signed before they miss their first payments, walk away, and try to save the money they'd otherwise be paying on the mortgages. Servicing $600K in debt on a $50K income is a mathematical impossibility, and it would be foolish to try.

Someone should share the good news with this guy... http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1289686 Listing Price History Date Price Nov 13, 2007 $999,950 Nov 20, 2007 $949,950 Nov 26, 2007 $899,950 Dec 04, 2007 $854,950 Dec 12, 2007 $811,950 Dec 19, 2007 $771,950 Jan 07, 2008 $731,000 Sales History Date Price Jul 01, 2005 $1,750,000 -- Feb 13, 2007 $995,000 Appreciation -29.4%/yr I have a hard time believing that the July 1 price is real, but...

Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot...

"A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy those are who already possess it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Few are agreeable in conversation, because each thinks more of what he intends to say than of what others are saying, and listens no more when he himself has a chance to speak. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Few things are impracticable in themselves; and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed. Francois De La Rochefoucauld Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad example. Francois de La Rochefoucauld - More quotations on: [Advice] Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors. Francois de La Rochefoucauld - More quotations on: [Gratitude] He who lives without folly isn't so wise as he thinks. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Hypocrisy is the homage which vice pays to virtue. Francois de La Rochefoucauld If we had no faults of our own, we would not take so much pleasure in noticing those of others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Jealousy feeds upon suspicion, and it turns into fury or it ends as soon as we pass from suspicion to certainty. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Many people despise wealth, but few know how to give it away. Francois de La Rochefoucauld No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong. Francois De La Rochefoucauld Nothing is less sincere than our mode of asking and giving advice. He who asks seems to have a deference for the opinion of his friend, while he only aims to get approval of his own and make his friend responsible for his action. And he who gives advice repays the confidence supposed to be placed in him by a seemingly disinterested zeal, while he seldom means anything by his advice but his own interest or reputation. [ Francois De La Rochefoucauld One cannot answer for his courage when he has never been in danger. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Our repentance is not so much regret for the ill we have done as fear of the ill that may happen to us in consequence. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Preserving health by too severe a rule is a worrisome malady. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Small minds are much distressed by little things. Great minds see them all but are not upset by them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The defects and faults in the mind are like wounds in the body. After all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acquire it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld me] The height of cleverness is to be able to conceal it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The passions are the only orators that always persuade. Francois de La Rochefoucauld

so arm yourself to fight fire with fire, or nukes if necessary. its true that you aren't going to beat rove, for instance, by "out nicing" him. "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It will only frustrate you and annoy the pig."

Largely agree - but I think you'll find the same traits evince themselves in any competitive enterprise. Science, medicine, etc, etc, etc have competitive pressures that can also bring out the worst in people who are largely motivated by noble sentiments.

Nope. Just recognize that if you want to achieve something good, help others, etc that these may obstacles that you have to overcome. Anyone who works in fundraising for charities, for example, probably recognizes the role that vanity, flattery, egotism, etc play in motivating people to participate in or donate to causes that are self-evidently worthwhile (in addition to the role that good and noble sentiments play). I don't think that folks who incorporate these realities into their approach to raising money or support for good causes are necessarily cynical or defeatist for doing so.