catbirdseat

Yes, they are talking about "real reform" as opposed to what we are likely to get from Bush. What Bush will give us will be a wholesale transfer of the tax burden from the wealthy to the poor.

Trask wants to know what time he can come over.

Well golly gee, we agree about something!

One thing that is clear is that loyalty is what Bush craves. He DOES NOT like listening to dissenting opinions.

Good luck Dave. Unfortunately, I can't make PC, on account of my jazz band. Maybe you can get one of the guys to drive so you can get a good buzz on. Somehow I don't think we've heard the last of you.

That's correct. To use more precise language, you want an omni-directional placement as your first piece, that is, one that can take a pull from any direction. Not only does it prevent the zipper effect, but it protects the belay. I watched a fellow take a fall at Royal Columns. His first piece popped and every other piece zippered out except his second to last one. Had it not been for that, he would have decked. In this case, his first piece WAS an omni, but the route steepened dramatically, causing the rope to take a curving path. He should have placed a second omni-directional anchor where the route steepened.

November sucks, big time. It has no redeeming qualities other than the Thanksgiving Feast.

For some reason the 1994 Assault Weapons ban included specific weapons instead of describing the characteristics that would cause a weapon to be included in the ban. So the gun lobby's solution is to eliminate the ban when the best solution is to amend the law to redefine included weapons, not by name but by their capabilities. Maximum rounds held per clip, maximum rate of firing, velocity of round, etc. So under the law a particular gun might be legal with one clip design but illegal with a different one. Possession of the illegal clip would be a crime.

It seems that in this case, the wounded were disarmed, treated and left in the Mosque by one group of Marines on Friday. A second group approached the mosque on Saturday and reported taking small arms fire from the mosque. They enter the mosque and see wounded men laying on the floor. It is possible that one of these wounded had a weapon cached somewhere. He pops off some shots, hides his gun and goes back to lay down and play dead. If these guys are going to play the total war game, then they should expect the same treatment.

What do you think about this: prisoner shot ?

China at least is beginning to understand how the west values Tibetan culture from a tourism standpoint. At least they are not bulldozing any more monasteries and are, in fact rebuilding some.

The two words are synonyms, Dru.

Time will tell.

Go take a hike, Dru. I've never climbed in the gorge, visited only once, and am not an expert in geology.

Okay folks, now I want to know who took my advice to buy Sanofi stock? Latest articles on Acomplia (rimonabant).

It's funny the way Kerry is painted as a left wing liberal, but he is far to the right of most people I know. Nader is actually more in line with my own beliefs, but I still didn't vote for him for obvious reasons.

I recognize that Exit 38 Rhino stone!

We climbers like to avoid an 8% state sales tax by buying mail order. Unless I miss my guess, you won't be able to avoid National sales tax, even if you bought over seas.

Methinks that Gandhi was very fortunate that it was the British against whom he organized his non-violent rebellion. Had it been against the Germans, the outcome might have been different. Economic Left/Right: -2.88 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.13

Anyone care to speculate what would happen to the economy if a flat tax or National Sales tax were implemented? Do you think 15% would be high enough? Do you think people will try to avoid paying a sales tax by smuggling and other devices? Do you think economic activity would increase or decrease? Would there be any effect on the balance of trade with other countries? What effect would such a tax have on your buying and saving habits?

Synonyms: Tax simplification, Fair Tax Definition: Eliminate the progressive tax based on income and replace it with one based on consumption, that is a National Sales Tax. Under the old tax those who made more money, paid at a higher rate. Those living in poverty and falling below a certain level might pay no income tax at all. Proponents suggest they can mitigate the effect on the poor by exempting certain purchases, such as food. Estimates by economists suggest that the sales tax rate would need to be about 15%. This means when you go to REI to purchase a prAna top or whatever, you will pay 15 + 8.6 (local, state and county) = 23.6% on your purchase. The Cato Institute suggest that economic activity will be stimulated in such a way that the rate will eventually fall to 10%. Okay, here's my opinion. Apart from transferring the tax burden from the rich to the poor and Middle Class, I would predict that the economic effect would be the opposite of that predicted by the Cato Institute. I think there would be a huge fall off in economic activity, as money pours overseas for luxury purchases and into Swiss bank accounts. Discuss

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Bob, would you please describe this condition for me? I have been having problems with the muscle of the top of the forearm close to where it attaches to the elbow. I think it is related to computer use, but it affects climbing too.

Was it confirmed by x-ray? A lot of docs will just say "arthritis" if a joint hurts, the implication of which is there is nothing you can do about it but take NSAIDs.

Fence_Sitter Scott_Harpell KaskadskyjKozak