selkirk

To call Arafat unreservedly evil is not to understand him. Like most people i'm sure he did what he felt was best for his people, weather or not you agree with his politics.

I can certainly agree that there needs to be some give and take on both sides. The left wing has some serious whiners and fundies as well and they need to stfu. It's just been my impression that many liberal policies chose to err on the side of personal choice, over government mandate when opinions strongly differ. This doesn't prevent anyone from making a more moral decision. But legislating moral decisions forces everyone into the same box. It often seems the liberal viewpoint allows for the conservative one to exist, while the opposite isn't true.

What a minute, is there really only one right answer to every question?

, either that or he's still successfully supressing his secret life and his "friends" at the lodge, and finds all girls icky.

Republicans can be just as condescending, it's just occurs on other issues. They seem to be under impression that they are the experts and absolute authority on all things moral.

Well, wasn't actually a job interview, it was for graduate school in an engineering program at Penn State. I was supposed to fly out Friday afternoon, interview Saturday and Sunday, and fly back monday morning early. (I was at Univ. of Idaho at the time). So I drove up to Spokane, and hopped my first plane to San Francisco. I get there and find out that the plane has mechanical problems and is going to be an hour late, which means that there is no way to avoid missing my tight connection in DC to catch a puddle jumper to State College. So i'm pretty much screwed at this point, the next flight out of DC is the next morning, so I get to kill 12 hrs in the SF airport, fly all night to DC, catch the puddle jumper and finally get to Penn State, only 12 or 15 hours late or something. Anyway, one of the Prof's picks me up at the airport, and starts the interview! I've barely slept in 24 hrs, haven't had time to shower, or change either as everything was in my luggage. He drops me off at the dept. and i'm talking to profs and interviewing all day. The interviews were actually ok, it was just everything surrounding it. For the 2 nights I was there I spent the first night on a grad students couch and the second at the most expensive hotel in town, because low and behold the national collegiate wrestling and swimming championships were both in town that weekend so everythingw as booked. Was a great program, but I couldn't bring myself to move to a state where the highest elevation point is 3,000 some ft. That's the elevations backpacking trips start at!

I still haven't quite figured out why everyone is so worked up about "gay marriage". It seems to me the people who are the most against it are the most strongly religious, and as far as most religions are concerned "marriage" is something that can only happen in a church, and be peformed by a minister. Where as in the eyes of the government, marriage is only a contract, with certain rights bestowed and certain benefits under the law. I haven't really heard anyone argue that the rights and priviliges under the law shouldn't extend to same sex couples, but heaven forbid we let them "marry"??? wtf? Do they just not understand that civil "marriage" and religious "marriage" are two wholly different entities that entail the same legal status, if your religion doesn't recognize same sex marriage so be it, but why should any couple be prevented from joining in the eyes of the law? It seems that in all reality same sex couples could already establish the same "legal contract" (health care decisions, property, inheritances, etc) and are already extended many of the same benefits (health care, though not tax breaks yet) it would just be royal pain in the ass to go through the lawyers and the documents to do it, when we have this handy little institution available, where you swear in front of a judge or a minister and it's automatic.

The problem is halfway decent candidates rarely stand a half way decent chance of getting elected. They typically have things called morals and ethics, and have issues with the type of lying most politicians call "statistics". I'd be happy for a Republican that doesn't come across as a good-ol-boy and can actually look at a problem for more perspectives than their own, or a Democrat who doesn't come across as elitist and disconnected from most of America. Either won would win in a landslide I think.

Ok, who use them? who hates them? are they helpful? And which ones do you like? Thanks in advance!

Injuries are so suck! That's miserable. At least it's the off season The good news is you probably won't loose much of anything between now and next year in terms of moderate outdoor rock. It's 50% headspace, 45% balance, and maybe 5% actual strength. Yoga and martial arts are great for all three! and definitely rest it.... either that or weld on an ice tool and take it into the gym

This would all be solved if we gave the south away, of course who would take it?

Baby killing has a long and happy history... just look at the Inuit, as msmory serves it used to be standard practice to sacrifice children for the good of the tribe. There simply wasn't enough food or resources for a larger tribe, so procreation was very strictly controlled.... seems barbaric to us, but it was necesity to them.....

It's not a shock at all.. it's just nice to know that the the WASP majority is getting thinner and thinner every year.

A bit over simplified and insulting don't you think? Bush isn't dumb (regardless of how he comes across at time), the people he surrounds himself with aren't dumb. They do seem to have a more simplistic view of society and world politics. (They seem to think in black and white, where Dems. see infinite shades of gray). must claim the belated

All depends on how you define "intelligence", but if your defining it as a measure of how successfull you can be in business, or life, or how well you function in society? it's piss poor. It also has no bearing on how valuable a person or their opinion is. However.... knowing things like that, knowing how the vote broke down by religion, by urban vs rural, etc speak to the very general type of people who voted which way. And that can be usefull in trying to figure out at it's most basic level why they voted the way they did, what traits they look for in a leader, etc.

You think that clean air in LA has anything to do with Bush? Remember they voted Kerry... I'd say that's more due to local politics and regulations which are decidedly liberal. The new jobs are good news though

Very good question, Conservatives? How do you rectify the two. The desire for less government regulation and more personal freedoms, less taxation and basically less government "meddling" while being for regulating abortion, union of gay couples, increased surveillance of the populace through the patriot act, laws agains fornication and sodomy (maybe not an issue here, but a girl was successfully prosecuted for fornication in Idaho about 6 years ago), should I keep going?

Come on, what did she do to you?

You can verify that the sytem works just about anywhere theres an open field and you can spread out a bit(camp long, the open fields at UW, etc etc), you'll just need a couple of pieces of rebar to drive into the ground to use as temporary anchors. However you won't be able to practice making deadman anchors unless you find a good patch of snow somewhere.

Nah, they're just in mourning right now.

Didn't we just modify the Wa. election system somewhat? No more 2 party primaries, the 2 candidates who recieve the most votes in the primaries (regardless of party) now advance to the general election?

I choose to give the fetus the benefeit of the doubt; considering it is its life on the line. If there is any doubt why not air on the side of caution; to save lives rather than take them? In that case again, conceptions seems like a better point doesn't it? It's just that your definition, isn't necessarily better or worse than mine, or better or worse than popes. I think damn near everyone can agree that late term abortion is unnecessary (possible exception being when the mothers life is in danger.) It's the cuttoff date that's sticky, I would say that implantation is too early. I would also say 60 days might be a little late (withough extenuating circumstances; danger to the mother, limited access to healthcare due to abuse or incest, etc). But I would much rather see us err on the side of personal responsbility and personal freedom (isn't that what this country was founded on?) At the same time, we need to be educating people. I don't think it should be easy to get an abortion and pretty much all other options should be investigated and considered beforehand. I feel the same way about assited suicide for the elderly.

Classic! The breakdown by IQ and %with college educations is interesting as well. All kind of fits what i've been thinking. That Dem's want an intellectual and Republicans want someone they can identify with and trust. The issues are all secondary to those entrance requirements.

I'll take odds right now, that if Hillary is Elected, regardless of who the Republicans nominate that we'll have another Republican president after Bush. She's too polished, too political, too prone to complex views (granted the problems are complex), and too unapproachable. Even if I do agree with her politics and her political stances If she's up against McCain it'll be a slaughter.

Granted, there are wacko's on both sides. Though the conservative ones are doing much more damage right now.