JosephH

Pink_Chalk left her drivers license somewhere the night before and had to go retrieve it. No biggie and it was pretty rough out there.

Then I step up and second that suggestion...

210k troops would be a surge; 21k simply pushes the fierce fighting from 100yds outside the Green Zone to 300yds and [finally] secures the road to the airport so folks can bug out safely. The execution of the military campaign in Iraq has been a complete embarassment. "Limited escalation" is just another way of saying 'get out alive'. Hopefully the lesson learned in this fiasco is that if you are going to unleash our military might then unleash it unconditionally, completely, and with at least half a clue as to what will follow on the day after. And any decision to unleash our military needs to be based on a cogent assessment of reality, not the felonious reinvention of it. The Chinese are laughing their asses off at us, and rightfully so...

Yep, that was pretty windy. I got tipped out of a sitting belay stance at the bottom of the corner ridge. Jim did seem to get the idea that, while not nearly as iconically stylish, the new gear can keep you fairly warm and you can still move your arms. That harness is a different story altogether. I haven't looked at it too close lately, but I suspect it's fine. I'm guessing you're right he'd only bite on a Misty or Yates - but even that's pretty dubious given he has a lot of love and identity wrapped up in that baby.

Look I didn't post that piece of Rovian trash dressed in "moderation" - don't post partisan garbage like that and you won't get an angry response. Words count folks, and the posts above are exactly the type of distorting lexical twister replete with codewords that fox news was designed around and Rove so brilliantly manipulated half the country with. If you have something to say, say it, but drivel like this isn't going to fly.

No, it's an incredibly blatant partisan argument using all the classic neocon and rightwing assumptions and accusations as it's base. That you conisder it anything else other than rightwing escapist propaganda says volumes about the fact that they are still as capable of manipulating you with as ever. That Bush 'inherited' this mess is the essential rightwing propaganda that still attempts to blame the clintons for the world's ills. It is pathetic at pretty much every level. Cutting funding for the war would be an ignorant path for the democrats. But neither that nor a troop increase of 200k is going to change the destiny of Iraq. This administration squandered every opportunity - political and military - to enhance our security at home and abroad after 9/11. Both sides need to clearly understand that at this point there are no solutions to what is now Iraq - it was a mistake no one can unmake and we will not escape the consequences of our actions. The new congress has no authorization to make political or military policy and should not attempt to interfere with those that do or they will be linked to the result. Oh, so there are now 'moderate conservatives' again? How convenient for you all - can't ditch the uniforms fast enough no doubt. That is pure rightwing Rovian trash of the lowest kind and, yes, it will be somewhat effective on a few clueless and embarrased redstaters who are also looking to escape any responsibility, but it will not staunch the flood of deserters from the republican party or the blood that invariably flows from such words. It says that the rightwing, after six years of chickenhawks ranting about 'showing a little backbone' and the coming up the 'courage to do the right thing' - like accepting responsibility for their actions - are still resolutely the last ones prepared to do either.

The war in Iraq is and was owned 100% by this administration and the neocons. Period, end of story. There are no good options and never were - that's why Bush Sr. didn't take baghdad, he knew it would lead to the disaster and consequences we now face. Yes, but the fools we have allowed to acquire power over the past six years have done far more damage to our nation than any terrorist ever could - in fact, the administration's draconian and opportunistic neocon responses to 9/11 have in many ways simply been finishing the job OBL started in terms of undermining our democracy. More neocon and rightwing claptrap meant to deflect sole responsibility for the war in Iraq. By and large it was our increasing infatuation with technology led to the deprication of human intelligence. That is exactly what this administration has done at every turn. The administration and the administration carefully crafted a war policy and approach the explicitly assured the American people that absolutely nothing would be demanded of them - particularly backbone and sacrifice. Nothing could be a greater lie than this... The entire monologue posted above is exactly the sort of sad disingenuous neocon and rightwing pablum that's being promoted to help them avoid standing up like men, accepting responsibility for their actions, and cleaning up their own mess. The new congressional leadership has no authority to make political or military policy and shouldn't. They should provide the president whatever he asks for to conduct the war in Iraq with the sole public request that he resolve the matter by the end of his term. The American public should not be shielded from the harsh consequences of bad decision making by an imperial-minded executive. That Ford shielded us from the consequences of Nixon's abuse of executive power very much led to the rise of the current administration. Pain is part of the learning process, the people who twice voted for these fools should not be spared the consequences of those decisions.

I didn't mean to suggest don't climb, just dress warm - the climbing is fine if you do...

Nate, dress warm - today ended up turbo-burly...

You can get it at REI or Backcountry.com or a lot of scuba places. Probably the same stuff as enzymatic pet mishap deorderizers...

We still consider folks from Minnesota as being Midwesterners even if they plug their car in at night and can walk from one end of downtown to the other without ever going outside. But hey, anyone who fishes all winter long gets to be in the club.

Well, there are two explainations that no one in the Midwest would understand or relate to. Folks would just shake their heads and go WTF and say 'over thinking'. And trust me, the Great Lakes generate every conceivable kind of nasty frozen precipitation from coating everything with two inches of ice to burying the known world in deep snow of every stripe. Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there at some point. It's just 'drive' - summer, fall, winter, and spring - no one really sweats the distinction when you live and drive ass deep in snow for a good chunk of the year.

Driving in the snow is a combination of skill and attitude. And the midwest isn't entirely flat, certainly not in the river town suburb of Chicago I grew up in. Hell, since 1905 they have had an olympic size ski jump bowl with several big jump ramps going down to the river that serves as a balloon port in the summer. And part of the deal in Chicago and elsewhere in the Midwest - summer or winter - is that folks always simply remember they are attempting to get somewhere, deal with everything matter-of-factly, and maintain an awareness beyond their windshield at all times. Simple and effective but the difference / result between here and there is quite stunning. Hey, that's just a pissant no-name midwest suburb neither you nor anyone else has heard of, where's the Oregon Cascades ski jump center...?

Don't get me started. When it snows in PDX you should have to produce an old drivers license from the Midwest in order to drive...

Come out over the weekend and you'll meet some of the crew...

Keep getting a "permission denied" when I try to pm you even though I appear to be able to reply to others. I'll try on my home machine when I get there...

Oh, yeah - that was safety meeting at High noon - I'll be out there early and ready for one by then...

Pink_Chalk, I can't seem to get the PM working today for some reason and keep getting an error when I hit send. Try sending one to Stewart or Kevin - I believe they both have my phone and email.

Say at, High noon!

Saturday is looking sunny and 50 degrees which will probably mean more like 65 on S. face. Could be time for a last blast party you know where...

I'd be up for that, let me know...

I'll be up for it one or two of those days. It should be good out there from tomorrow on. This is it - I'd be getting on it if I wasn't working...

"Dry tooling" - eewwwwhhhh, could be I'm old school, but I don't like even the sound of that. Man, that's just plain unnatural. Do you dip you pick too. Maybe a pub crawl is in order - got to have some sort of lubrication...

Let you lead? By all means...you will be leading EVERY time from now on!!! And if he can't make it out you can always give me a shout...

I think so. If you think they were put in by those folks than just leave them, they're part of the routes history. From a technical perspective there's probably no need for angles on routes anymore, but what makes you think you should just booty old fixed pins? I personally think that's kind of a dick thing to do to be honest.