KaskadskyjKozak

How so? He's not up for reelection. He can piss off anybody he wants, and still make a good living publishing memoirs and making speaking tours after his term ends.

Liking making unnecessary climbing trips to Turkey, South America, etc.

Excellent point. And people's desire for a better life and our need for resources are also inseparably linked. If you had the following choice - take a 25% pay cut in your salary to cut oil use by 25%, would you do it? Exactly. And note that nobody wants to answer your points here. They just repeat the mantra about the "Bushies", "big government", "greed", and "secret oil plans". How many of the self-proclaimed environmentalists on this forum have calculated how much gasoline they consume every year and then actively cut back by 10, 20, or 30% each year following 9/11? I'll bet the answer is close to none. A few years ago a coworker told me he was a "rabid environmentalist". He drove a Ford Explorer to work 40 miles round-trip everyday, where it sat in the parking lot. He had no kids, and never took the thing off of paved streets. f***ing hypocrite POS.

Hey shit for brains - that's what I said in the first place: NIMBY

yes, and in Europe population is actually decreasing, if I recall correctly (although the figures I read might be excluding immigration).

Well said. We are in a fine mess.

We don't know how much oil is in ANWR. There may be significantly more - or less - than is hypothesized. I'm all for raising cafe standards, but that doesn't solve any problem long-term. The developing world will want more and more oil, and our population and energy consumption will only go up. Let's have an open bid for the work. Or just give it to the French - then you'd probably be all for it.

Gee, that's not the impression I got from watching PBS specials about the diverse life of the deserts around the world, and their fragile ecosystems. Yeah, you really showed me. Your claims must be true, 'cos you said so... And yet you are so dismissive of the impact on the fragile deserts of Arabia. Tsk tsk tsk. And must it be so? I think not. Just because it's done that way in Tejas, doesn't mean it must be done that way, assuming your claims are true (a big ASSumption)...

What I'm saying is that I've never heard a loud-mouthed eco-nut ever say one damn word about the (supposedly huge) negative environmental impacts of oil drilling around the world. Only in relation to ANWR and off-shore drilling in California. And regarding Iraq, let's not forget the environmental destruction caused by Saddam following the Gulf War when he lit up all the Kuwaiti wells. And let's not forget how he destroyed the marshes of the Tigris and Euphrates. Not a peep from those supposedly concerned with the environment - a strong indicator of their pretense of environmental concern, a thin veneer over purely partisan, knee-jerk, political predispostions. The ANWR debate is just another thing for lefties to bandy around in their discontent.

They don't know how much oil is actually there - it's all guestimated. As for the fragile environment of ANWR - what about the fragile desert ecosystem of Arabia? NIMBY strikes again...

Someone needs to take food away from the first, and give it to this one...

Exactement!

Reminds me of the totalitarian Stalin era, where 'enemies of the state' were airbrushed out of photos following their execution. Just one more example of how socialist Europe is moving farther to the fringe...

Thanks, guys. Jon: FYI, I took the family up to Lake 22 last weekend. Suprisingly little snowcover at the top, but quite a bit of thin icy patches along the trail - even at the trailhead. I'd expect Pilchuck to be similar.

Has anyone been up there recently - the scramble route through Tin Pan Gap. How much snow is up there? Icy? TIA.

Good Cover: Aerosmith's "Train Kept a Rollin".

Blackmore's Night does a good (more recent) cover of Diamonds and Rust as well. JP did a great cover of Green Manalishi...

The Iranians really hated Carter and his administration, not the US. They cheered when Carter was defeated in 1980. There was a great documentary on this that I saw on PBS (I believe) a couple of years ago.

I wish more people on the left could make similar admissions and recognize the progress. By no means would this mean you think the administration has optimal policies (or even good ones), or that they (or their party) should not be removed from power in the next election.

Are you propositioning somebody?

Man, you guys gotta get a sense of humor. Joyeux Anniversaire, Monsieur Crash!

Sat: power hike / Si Sun: family hike / Lake 22, partially with 45 lb pack (i.e. 3 yr old).

Get better at trolling. If you think I am merely trolling, then you've proven yourself over and over again to be a sucker, since you so often feel compelled to respond to my comments.

Yes, but then they are committing crimes other than simply using drugs.

Paying $31k a year for someone who contributes nothing to society is a good thing? Recidivism is a good thing? 60% of California prison inmates will be back in prison within 3 years. What, exactly is good about having a large prison population? They get out at some point, and have to be reintegrated into society, or they've just gone to criminal college Better in prison than on the steets committing more crimes. Duh.