Rick_Sharpless

Rene Russo - Forty is fine - and its all real. Britney is kiddie porn.

another convert Deja vu "Those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither." The problem is - they vote

Uh- oh - the gun thing again For those of you who think the 2d amendmentdoes not give an individual - but only the "militia" a right to bear arms - check the definition of militia - it is not the national guard: § 38.04.030. Composition of the militia The militia of the state of Washington shall consist of all able bodied citizens of the United States and all other able bodied persons who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, residing within this state, who shall be more than eighteen years of age, and shall include all persons who are members of the national guard and the state guard, and said militia shall be divided into two classes, the organized militia and the unorganized militia. Rev. Code Wash. (ARCW) § 38.04.030 Most states have something similar - except in some - the miltia is only the guys. So if you think that the second amendment doesn't give the right to all "people" then I gues you favor no guns for women in those states where the militia is only men???? Saying the second amendment only lets the guard - or whatever - have guns is like saying that the right to counsel only applies if you are innocent

Touche And we have an Attorney General (or Ayatollah) who wants to impose (his) religious law on all of us. He's already covered up the women in the justice department foyer!

Folks - this whole "if you don't do anything wrong / have anything to hide you don't have anything to worry about" is either disingenuous, or frightfully naive. I'm a trial lawyer. I work in the courts every day. I believe in our justice system and the jury system, and don't for a minute propose doing away with juries or our adversary system of justice. It works better than most. BUT - if you don't think innocent people get prosecuted, that police or DEA or FBI or other witnesses (including criminal defendants) don't from time to time LIE (not make a mistake - that happens too - I'm talking knowing lies), and that juries don't fall for it and convict the innocent a least as often as they exonerate the guilty - well - I would like to offer you some waterfront property in South Florida and maybe a couple of bridges as an investment. I've got news for you - it happens every day, and not as some rare abberation. Sometimes we catch the mistakes, and sometimes, oops, we execute someone, or keep them in jail for twenty years then turn them loose with an "I'm sorry." If you think that those in government only work for benevolent altruistic purposes to hunt down the guilty and protect the innocent, you are way too naive to be making policy. No different than people in every other area, MOST try do do a good job, the right way, but a few/some are after nothing but money, power, pursuing personal agendas, or protecting themselves and their friends. And unlike most others, they have the power to take away from you your life liberty and property. If you still doubt this read Federalist No 51 in whch Hamilton said: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions. I don't want them to have that power. Poindexter, a known liar, and known to believe that the end justifies the means, scares me way more than Osama. He's not who you would hire if you wanted a clean, honest, altruistic operation. Back to work

Paying to play is no fun but I guess some congresspersons have decided that's the way it will be. The park's reasons for the fee increase are here . They do seem to have thought this one through and the reasons for the fee increase are to better fund the climbing ranger program and beytter address resource protection. If the info here is accurante the program is not now covering its cost, but would cover its cost and allow some expansion at the increased fee.

If that's what our society becomes have not the terrorists won? Is the country that felon poindexter envisions one worth living in and protecting? Thes people scare me a lot more than the thugs of al-qaeda and company

Way back in the 70's Vermont did some study and concluded that the cost of salting (damage to cars, plants, streams, everything) way outweighed the accident damage avoided, and started using salt on on bridges or in particularly problematic locations. Wonder what WA DOT thinks they know now, that Vermont missed 25 years ago? Salt sux.

outside climbing on this great afternoon instead of in my office writing reports

Sorry for the long rant While in the field I am completely in favor of three mountain house, a hottie and a warm bivi. I do not trust the current administration, the immediate past administration, or any of the other past or likely future administrations. I doubt any politician will ever run for office on the platform "I'll give you back your freedom but you will have to solve some of your own problems and take your chances." If any of us give a hoot we will have to raise cain with our elected reps - early and often.

In the 1960’s, for the first time, we allowed the government to institute searches to determine IF a crime had been committed, instead of searching only for the fruits or instruments of crime, after there was already reason to believe one had been committed. We were scared of criminals. Law enforcement needed to be able to PREVENT crime, not just catch criminals. In the 1970’s we created a “secret” court, the foreign intelligence surveillance court, to oversee the gathering of information through wiretaps and secret searches, on less than probable cause (which itself isn’t much) in the name of national security. But we said those searches and surveillances would never be used against US citizens, unless they were directly engaged in espionage, and even then, it would be used only to protect our country, but not to prosecute people (since the information was being obtained without following the rules). We were scared of foreign spies. We had to do it to protect ourselves. In the name of the “war on drugs” we allowed our government and others to drug test in the workplace and in schools and in government employment, regardless of whether public safety was involved. We were scared of drugs and had to protect ourselves. We needed these tools. In the name of “safety” and “security” and the “war on drugs” we raised a whole generation who when drug tested or forced to walk through a metal detector or when searched when in a public place or using public transportation says “what’s the big deal – I don’t have anything to hide.” We were scared and we had to protect ourselves from criminals, drug dealers, and domestic “terrorists.” We allowed the government to seize money and property because some cop somewhere thought it had something to do with some criminal activity. If they were wrong, you had to go to court and prove it to get it back. We were scared; the crooks had too much money and we had to give law enforcement more tools to stop the crooks. By the 1990’s we allowed any law enforcement officer anywhere in the country to require any ISP or telecommunication service provider, without a warrant, and without any cause, to disclose our web surfing and email correspondents, and to reveal all parties who called us and who we called, and in the case of cell phone providers, to tell where we were, and required all service providers to have the equipment to keep all of this information about all of us in case any cop anywhere wanted to ask. We allowed private organizations to collect information about us (accurate or not) and all credit or insurance transactions we ever entered into, and allowed other companies to keep information about every purchase we made, when, how much, to whom and where. We had to make sure those who were “high risk” did not cost those who were “low risk” anything. After 9/11/2001 we really got on a roll. We allowed the government to arrest people and detain them without charge or trial, and to brazenly refuse even to identify them, a practice condemned since at least 1215 AD. Most of us cheered the government on, They were bad guys who were detained. We were scared of them. We allowed the government greater powers to engage in domestic surveillance, without warrants or probable cause. We reversed the restrictions of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. When the “Justice” Department sought to implement these powers even the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, not known to be hostile to the government, and in its first public opinion since it was founded in 1978, found the Government proposals a bit much and noted over 75 instances where federal law enforcement agents has LIED to obtain surveillance orders, and many other instances where agents had used information obtained in an illegal manner. No agent has ever been prosecuted for breaking the law, but the “Justice” Department, rather than jailing those involved who abused their office and trust to take our liberty, instead expressed outrage at the court and appealed. Citizens were not invited or permitted to respond to the appeal. We were scared of nasty people and we needed to stop them. We supported the Attorney General. Not content with the powers already given our government, we passed a “homeland security” bill that, among other things, created within this new department an office headed by a felon, (former Admiral) John Poindexter, to create a new database and information system to combine all governmentally and privately collected information about our behavior, movements, government applications, licenses, statuses, employment, marriage, divorce, birth, death, driving, spending, insurance, buying, selling, etc. into one database that would allow the government to know what anyone did, who they were, and where they were. Of course, to link it all together, we use a number that we created in the 1930’s, with the assurance that it was “not to be used for identification.” My social security card still says that, the new ones don’t. In fact, those who said it would lead to a national ID system were labeled as hysterical extremists. More like prophets, wasn’t it? We were scared: How could we stop terrorists without such information. We needed a new “balance.” Has the balance ever moved the other way? For those who think this a partisan rant, all along BOTH parties voted in favor of most of these things. Mush of what was in the “patriot “ act was proposed by the Clinton administration after Oklahoma City, though it then died in rancorous partisan bickering and gridlock. Only a few in both parties opposed them. And never was there outrage – and those who questioned such measures were labeled crazy extremists – by both parties. History will record that the citizens of the USA did not lose their liberty to a foreign invader nor to the storm troopers of a dictator who assumed power in a coup. They happily gave it up to a nanny government through their elected politicians, who promised to protect them from the mean man that hides under their beds, or in the closet, or who did not look quite like them. Most of them cared for nothing more than to be assured of a warm bed, a hot (woman) and a cold beer. They wanted to “feel safe.” But after it all, they still were not “safe.” So climbers, we know that the world is not "safe." And there are a number on this list who don't seem to want the nanny government to protect them. Is there outrage here? And what to do about it? Or so lang as we get three mountain house meals, a hottie and a warm bivi are we content?

Kinda funny looking but quieter, more comfortable, the V6 is way stronger than the non-turbo wolwo (turbo=repair bills) and the subaru 6, and under thirty bills loaded with every gadget imaginable (aka "glx"). Runs almost as strong as my alfa 164S did. Worked for me, anyway.

I looked at the Volvo and the Subaru and bought a VW Passat Wagon. Seemed to me to be the most for the money. After 40 days it's still great. We'll see in 5 years. I downsized from a 3/4 ton truck. For driving on roads, (not mud), where the major traction issue is snow and ice - I too think 4wd is overrated. It is nice for go, but does not help directional stability or braking. I used to ice race (on frozen lakes) when I lived in the north and rear-engine rear drive and front-engine front drives were always faster than 4WD around the course (better control). Get good snow tires and chains/cables if winter traction is a big deal. Avoid the extra money, maintenance and wear of 4WD, unless you need it on the beach or in the woods and fields. Neither the cars (subaru, etc) with 4wd/AWD nor many of the SUV's have enough extra ground clearance to be a big deal to me - it's about 1 inch over the non 4WD. If you want a true off-road machine get something with little overhang, a short wheelbase, a lot of clearance, and the ability to lock the differential (Land Rovers, old Broncos. K5 blazers, short pickups, CJ's all come to mind).

Jim: I agree that a significant part of the difference between European and American work environments is an assessment that there are things more important than maximizing monetary income. I myself am trying - with only partial success - to work less (meaning get paid less) and do other things that enhance quality of life. Sounds like Muffy did that too. I'm somewhat fortunate that as a professional I can make that choice - that's tough to do as a corporate slave. But then, most of Europe also has chronically high unemployment (esp in France, Germany, Spain), and slower growth than even the current US economy. There are tradeoffs. We in the US could learn something from Europe and Canada, and they from us.

Productivity (output per worker) is highest in the US. France Canada and Sweden are close but lower. But that's because in the USA the average person works their tail off compared to the rest of the G7-8 world. No 35 days of holiday plus 5 weeks vacation here, or 37.5 hour workweek here. Maybe that's why they do more sport climbing in Europe - lots of leisure time and the belief that you can get something for nothing?

Bravo Muffy. There is nothing more important for any of us - men or women - than raising the next generation. Though it may not be right, it has most often been women who take the lead (and the burdens) of this. I now have two teenage daughters who are wonderful people and the best (and most lasting) thisng I've ever done and my woife gets most of the credit for this.

Ordered twice from these folks. Great people and very prompt. Actually had in-stock items that a lot of the mail-order guys never seem to have.

Sorry for the bad link - it's www.carolinaclimbers.org

Thankfully - NC is pretty much all trad (a few sport routes of high difficulty have been established at Moores, and, I think, at Ship Rock and maybe in the Gorge). The rock is generally great - it's a choss-free zone. Since it tends to be hard rock it's pretty vertical, often overhanging. Within 4 hours of Fayette-nam: Moores Wall - 150-300', almost all trad except for a few very intense bolted lines. Nice rock. Faces NE-NW so maybe not good on cold winter days. North of Winston-Salem - NW of Greensboro. Linville Gorge - trad - lots of opportunities - some with quite a walk to access them. Stone Mtn. - near Sparta. Slab. Not been there myself yet. Long runouts. Looking Glass - near Brevard - Granite - all levels, almost all trad - 1 -2 pitch to multi-day aid. Both northern and southern exposures. Whitesides - Near Cashiers. Granite. Trad. Big (700-1000'), bold, runout, difficult. (7-8 pitch to multi-day). South facing. This may push the 4 hour limit. Lots of bolted routes at Pilot Mtn - NW of Winston Salem about 40 minutes. Single pitch. South facing. Both the new guide by Lambert and Shull and Kelly's guide (1995) are excellent. There are other areas, some in the guides, others not, some of which have access issues. Look at www.carolinaclimbers.com. Email me off list if you need a partner. Nice palce fr climbing - little choss and nice weather (tho this weekend sux).

Ski and Ice climbing season opened last month in New England. What are you waiting for? North East Ice Killington

Dru: Don't despair - the bushies couldn't get ANWR through congress even before Jeffords jumped the fence, so it's not a foregone conclusion they will now. But you can probably count on continued arrogance (read power exercised without restraint or responsibility) internationally (the dems won't say anything unless something really bad happens to the USA), and continued erosion of civil liberties and expansion of the role of government (the things they all agree on). Oh - nice troll trask - and I thought I was going to stay out of politics and stick to work and climbing . . .

The threat of a defamation claim was way over the top - or maybe more like an unanchored belay stance. Might have looked ok at the time to the uninformed but had NO support. Sorry you have been run off - necro.

Any route on the emperor face counts as new. Re the face, Dougherty says something to the effect that once a party tops out on the ridge they will be "so mentally fried" that all they will want to do is descend and head out. So new route or not, great climb, guys.

WOW - way to go. pictures don't do the Emperor face justice, especially since it won't even fit in a standard 35mm frame unless you are way up Berg Lake or you use a wide angle lens. It is BIG like nothing I've seen in the PNW or the Rockies. The latest American Alpine Journal talks about the Stump Logan climb of 1978 (p 75 or so) and mentions it remains unrepeated. There was a rumour that some party from Europe had attempted the face in late August this year but I never heard how that went. Robson by some other route is on my list of unfinished business - what a peak!

Johnny - see email off list I live in Climax, and for those of you that are "not from roun' here" that is really a town - or a post office, anyway.