JoshK

Ahh, good ol' Jeff Bozos, proving you don't have to be even mildly intelligent to get incredibly rich. The same dumbass that was spamming constantly how the segway scooter was going to change the course of human history and have "cities redesigned around it." Then there is Steve B, who has done a great job proving that Microsoft without BillG isn't exactly the same as the Microsoft that made lots of us good money. Have you seen Bezos' X Prize losing rocket? LOL Nope? We might need a link to that. I am still amazed he hasn't somehow been forced out of his leadership at Amazon. It speaks highly of the other people at that company (some I know to be very smart people) that they succeed in spite of him. I can't think of many big name tech people I'd consider more overhyped and overpraised than Jeff Bezos. He seems rather friendly and happy go lucky though, and maybe that counts for something...

Ahh, good ol' Jeff Bozos, proving you don't have to be even mildly intelligent to get incredibly rich. The same dumbass that was spamming constantly how the segway scooter was going to change the course of human history and have "cities redesigned around it." Then there is Steve B, who has done a great job proving that Microsoft without BillG isn't exactly the same as the Microsoft that made lots of us good money.

Fwiw, if "the thief" is reading this thread I doubt they are getting nervous, since there is pretty much nothing less impressive than an internet tough guy. More likely, they are getting a laugh out of the rage they induced. Just saying Sorry about the shoes though, it does suck.

Hey, in all fairness, they at least "pitched in" to help put out the fire they started! "The National Guard pitched in to fight the flames, deploying 120 soldiers as well as seven bulldozers and three Black Hawk helicopters."

Your own link supports what I said. Arggghh...this is like talking, err, typing, to a brick wall. "In addition to these sources, the department aggressively pursues other sources of funding revenue" does not mean it is the primary means of funding. It means exactly what it says: that they also pursue other forms of funding in addition to being financed by our tax dollars. How can you possibly NOT understand that? I never said they didn't also use those means, but you flat out said most departments are primarily internally funded, and they are not.

Very true, yet more reason why it's a perfectly valid government service for our state. Thanks for getting my back on this one kk.

Funny, you lecture reading comprehension but then turn around fail yourself. I never said they generated 2.2B with written tickets, just that they were "digging the state out of a 2.2b deficit with written tickets". It emphasizes the revenue generating potential of large departments that the state would call on the department in such a manner. Obviously its a single example (which you seam to like) but still the norm in states like OR and WA. Touche, you got me, "digging out" indeed...the same way one could dig our new highway 99 under-city tunnel with a little kid's beach sand shovel and some day complete it. The point is you were completely and totally incorrect with your assertion, and despite both common sense and evidence to the contrary you keep going.

Apparently reading comprehension is not your strong suit. Then again, I'll give you a free pass, since that article is worded pretty poorly. It says "help" with a $2b+ budget shortfall. Even handing out 7000 tickets in a weekend will generate nowhere near that much money. Even if it did, that would be just great for VSP, but not for the "most" departments - local, county, state, etc - which is what you applied your statement to. But frankly all of that is aside from the point. The point is you just continue to make up new factoids to support your point of view, which is just that, your point of view, and not reality. "Since 2006, a total of twenty-three ticketing blitzes have taken place, generating 120,977 traffic tickets." As a fun little excercise, I'll let you figure out just how much each of those tickets would have to cost to cover the $2.2b. You can even apply all 4 years of tickets to the single year budget shortfall if you want *and* assume the department has no operating budget.

I do get a good laugh trying to imagine the LAPD, NYPD, etc. trying to hand out enough speeding tickets to fund those massive departments which probably have more firepower than several small countries.

Wrong. You flat out made this up... "The Police Department budget is funded, primarily, by two funding elements; the City’s General Fund, and the Public Safety Sales Tax Initiative (Proposition 400) which was created from a voter approved initiative in 2003. In addition to these two funding elements, the department pursues other funding sources including State and Federal grants applicable to the mission of the police department." -Avondale, AZ police dept, http://www.avondale.org/index.aspx?NID=503 "The police department is primarily funded by two sources: a permanent police mill levy and the city general fund" -Pickerington, OH police dept, http://www.ci.pickerington.oh.us/sections/government/pdfs/2003/3%2030%20Police.pdf Those were the first two PDs I could find an easy answer to with less than 30 second of work. Clearly this will differ across the thousands of PDs around the country, but considering the first two came across directly contradict your B.S. assertion, either put up some sort of evidence or stop making shit up to support an already invalid argument. Department revenue goes into the general fund before getting given to the department. Primary funding will always ledger as "General Fund" regardless of the percentage that the department creates. Sure it does, and you know this because...you make things up on the spot?

I think you mean the people who live on the islands are thankful, I doubt many residents on the east side of the state agree with it. Maybe not. But myself and the other Seattlites are happily paying for their nice highways now, aren't we? Amazing how things work in a society.

Sorry but I don't see it as being essential for the government. The people of Washington shouldn't have to support a select few who choose to live in a place they can not travel to and from on their own. If the service can not sustain itself based on what passengers are charged (or island residents are taxed) then it shouldn't exist as a government program. Well, thankfully "the people of washington", myself included, disagree with you.

Wrong. You flat out made this up... "The Police Department budget is funded, primarily, by two funding elements; the City’s General Fund, and the Public Safety Sales Tax Initiative (Proposition 400) which was created from a voter approved initiative in 2003. In addition to these two funding elements, the department pursues other funding sources including State and Federal grants applicable to the mission of the police department." -Avondale, AZ police dept, http://www.avondale.org/index.aspx?NID=503 "The police department is primarily funded by two sources: a permanent police mill levy and the city general fund" -Pickerington, OH police dept, http://www.ci.pickerington.oh.us/sections/government/pdfs/2003/3%2030%20Police.pdf Those were the first two PDs I could find an easy answer to with less than 30 second of work. Clearly this will differ across the thousands of PDs around the country, but considering the first two came across directly contradict your B.S. assertion, either put up some sort of evidence or stop making shit up to support an already invalid argument.

LOL, The fact that you compared a ferry system with gambling/liquor (on which I pretty much agree the govt shouldn't be operating) pretty much proves your opinions are worthless. Thanks for playing.

Are you going on a guided trip? If so, remember you'll be going at the pace of the group and not necessarily the pace you'd want to go to keep optimally warm. While you may be plenty warm at the speed you'd normally climb at, extra warmth will be very key if you have to stand around or move slowly. Being warm is good.

The real question is who da fuck takes somebody's climbing shoes? Most people are disgusted by their own, let alone another person's.

My summer climbing with tvash, subtitled "The reason why I have no interest in the WA top 100 any more" But fwiw, Booker has probably one of the top #5 summit vantages I've ever experienced. Too bad that huge steep face is such a pile of crap.

More top-notch police work: Cop breaks neck of 84-year old WWII vet Though in this case the guy was drunk and touched the cop.

While it may not make him a regressive, his defining feature is a complete inability to use less than 14 paragraphs to say anything. I have yet to make it through a JayB drivel post without falling asleep.

So just because they don't let homeless people use/do drugs in their bathrooms they deserve to be blamed for the homeless' public urination. I love the lack of personal accountability. How exactly did he blame the business owners? Clearly the "lack of personal accountability" of the homeless is what is at issue here, and not over aggressive cops working out their own personal shortcomings on the less fortunate. Get a clue...or go put up some more "FAs" on Mt. Si maybe.

I thought none, at least according to the U.S., but unfortunately Canada considers the lesser charges equivalent. Damn them socialist pigs. Thankfully these Euro-socialists were still happy to have me spend my $ here. As Ivan pointed out at the time, being tossed from Canada for a drinking related offense is sadly ironic. Thankfully I didn't have my woodcarving knife on me or things could have gotten much worse.

I'll bite. Indian woodcarver, slow-moving, rather small in stature, 50+ years old with small, legal blade. By all accounts non-threatening, and a record of nothing more than petty drunkenness and public urination. Rookie cop, I would guess 20-something or 30-something, armed with a 9mm pistol. Cop shoots him at range FOUR FUCKING TIMES. What exactly more needs to be known now? You must have a rather vivid imagination to contrive a scenario that warrants a scenario in which that cop feels his life is immediately endangered and requires him to blast this guy over and over. So let's hear it...

The core of the problem, no doubt. So why don't American libtards seem at all concerned about the sole source of population increase here? You must be referring to the Mormons, the Duggars and "john and kate + eight", right?

I'll bet even the 2% could get away with 100-mile-range vehicles for a lot, if not the majority, of their driving. On those occasions when you need a longer range vehicle, you can rent one for pretty cheap. Most people don't need to own a long-range vehicle and drive it every day: they just need access to one from time to time. Very true. And agreed, FW, I don't see any possible substitute for petro in aviation in our lifetimes, barring some sort of unexpected and massive technology breakthrough. I'd love to see high speed trains make inroads in the U.S. since I don't enjoy flying at all and would like an alternative, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Hopefully the Tesla Model S delivers... http://www.plugincars.com/tesla-model-s/review Energy density of battery storage is definitely a limiting factor, but I believe over time even this will improve. Most of us here fall in the 2% (my guess) of consumers for which a 100 mile range would not be enough. The vast majority of the auto driving public could get by with far, far less, especially once a charging infrastructure starts to develop. If we conjured the political will to charge people for the true impact of IC vehicle usage (carbon output, etc.) the financial benefit of electrics would be even more impressive compared to IC. We've gotten about all we can get from IC, it's time to suck it up and move on to new technology and save the fuel for uses we can't replace with electric power, such as jet travel and making plastic. Burning it up in millions of cars is a waste.