JosephH

Conservatives are especially cute when the only math they can do relates to the money in their own pockets. Which - when it comes to their real costs, risks, and roi of healthcare (and often vaccines )- seems to entirely elude them anyway.

Yeah, the DIFFERENCE is efficacy. Efficacy in health insurance is not much different than with vaccines - you have to hit the largest percentage of the population possible to really be effective. When large numbers of people opt-out they aren't just screwing themselves, they're screwing everyone. And that's the reason for the mandate, we need to have every single citizen in the pool; how that's best accomplished can be debated, letting people opt-out without relatively severe penalties can't be allowed under any circumstance. Again, as far as I'm concerned trying to weave this universal fabric over our entirely corrupt, for-profit, million-payers system of insurers / [large] providers is an entirely sub-optimal hack which leaves the system as corrupt as it was beforehand and achieves no benefits of scale. It's the reason why you can opt-out of public education by sending your kid to private schools, but you're still going to be paying for public schools.

Headlines: But of course, no one could ever have seen that one coming...

It isn't a matter of dueling 'constitutionalities', but rather simply a matter of it being constitutional as a federal tax as opposed to an allowable federal mandate under the commerce clause. FWIW, I think Obamacare blows chunks - that's because it maintains a for-profit healthcare system run by corporate parasites who add no value whatsoever to our healthcare system. And the bottom line is everyone needs to be in the same pool in order to make any system work. What we should have to be competitive as an industrialized nation is a base level of universal healthcare for all citizens; go to any doctor or hospital you want, all premiums and claims are routed through a single clearinghouse. Above that universal level of coverage private insurers would be free to offer premium coverage to anyone and employers could avail themselves of that to provide incentives to valued employees. But a system which only covers a part of the pool, is dominated by parasitic insurers and 'healthcare' conglomerates, and is run for profit will always be a disaster.

And so by your logic you think if you send your kids to private school or once they've dropped out of high school you shouldn't be obliged to pay taxes to support our public schools? Another longhair-doper-hippie-turned-rightwing-nutjob - your journey to the dark side is complete. Rise from the ashes of your youth, Lord Darth Bone...

One chick up and in the crashing about phase. Still on track for July 15 or a few days before. The BRCA might want to consider offering to do the signage swap for the BRSP once a firm date is worked out with WDFW.

Who knew you have as much potential as a writer as you do as a free climber.

Second that - please check in...

Three chicks, not flying yet, still on track for a July 15th open or a few days before.

No matter what perspective you look at it from, the Discovery Pass is a lousy approach to funding the parks.

Was at the memorial and glad to see his kids surrounded by a large and loving family. That they were up on Hood with his ashes tells you they're made of the same stout stuff he was. He will be sorely missed. Between Mark, Vern Stiefel and Jim Anglin we've lost some of the PNW's finest rock climbers of late.

Really? How did you arrive at that conclusion? Hey, they'd be complete shitholes inside a month if they weren't constantly maintained.

Just did some checking around - WSP is still receiving some general funds - which rather than being simply shut off this biennium as some sites have incorrectly stated are instead being tapered down over three bienniums from 66% of the WSP budget to 12% of their budget. Images from the WSP Financial Overview (Updated September 2011) [ 2005-2007 General Fund contribution to WSP was $97mil and in 2011-2013 is down to $17mil - a loss of $70mil in funding ] Go here (Item E-8) for a comparison of OSP and WSP relative to acres under management, staff, and budgets - basically the WSP does way more with way less on a per human and per dollar basis.

I call BS. If WA state raised sales tax by enough to cover the deficit in funding for WSPs, guess what would happen within a year? Suddenly, again, there would not be enough funds for the WSPs. It's about setting priorities for funding and be responsibile with budgets. THAT is what pisses off a lot of us, not the $30 itself. Absolutely none of which is in the WSP's control - their budget was way short of required operating and maintenance expenses ten years ago and has was been slashed several times before this latest fiasco. In the matter of priorities, the stand out one is whether Washingtonians want parks or not because the system has been bled to death over the past decade with no end in site. Staffing has been cut across the board twice now and while they have worked there asses off to stave off park closures, they have no further ability to do so. In the next round of cuts, parks will be closing.

Again, WSP gets 84%, DNR 8%, WDFW 8% - The WSP gets ZERO general fund dollars now and lives 100% of their budget off the Discovery Pass receipts. Anyone who can't find it on google needs to brush up on their google skills. The Discovery Pass, fines and all, isn't bringing in as much as forecast. That means the WSP, which when it was operating on general funds was already hugely under funded for their daily responsibilities, is now way hurting and have slashed HQ, rangers and staff and will likely have to start closing parks if this remains the funding scheme into the future. So not only are all the parks now under-funded and understaffed, the rangers have to burn a ridiculous amount of time solely on the Discovery Pass hassle which puts them even further in the hole with their normal work. It isn't a sustainable situation in any way. Exactly. That is the grand experiment underway with the Discovery Pass and the WSP - zero general funds and 100% supported by user fees. Anyone trying to ditch the fees might as well just be pissing on your state park systems which was already severely stressed and under-the-gun before they went down this road. Folks should consider skipping ten lattes a year and making a difference in a situation where every Discovery Pass counts. P.S. I'll ask about where the fines go, but you can pretty much bet they flow back into the Discovery Pass stream or the rangers wouldn't bother, but it still isn't worth the time and distraction from their real work that's backing up in every park.

So, despite the hassle of fighting it, and despite Ranger Vicky's protestations about "all the good the money goes toward," And by that, you mean the states general fund. None of that money goes back into the parks. The only thing that has changed from before the passes to now is the parking tickets. Hey, none of it goes to the WA General Fund. 84% of the Discover Pass receipts goes directly to the WSP and is the only funding WSP now gets - they receive no general funds. Every one of you who are so miserably cheap you have to try and scam around it instead of dropping the staggering sum of $30 a year for WA parks should just stay out of them.

Renters insurance is definitely the way to go - they replaced my rack in under three weeks back when it was stolen (quite a few years ago at this point).

Yes, thanks for the heads up, it's much appreciated.

Calling the left fascists is all the rage on the right. Save energy - fascism. Protect air and water - fascism. Provide a degree of consumer protection - fascism. Where have you been?

Wait, he sneers the word "progressive" he then goes on to layout an absolutely radical restructuring of the financial industry to remove it as a [sham] 'market' in it's own right and direct the captial contained therein to more productive purposed. That 'redirection' of capital would be by government in a "top down" manner in sync with long-term goals - ala China. This latter point has some validity in terms of breaking the institutional paralysis and timelines associated with pretty much all large U.S. infrasctructure projects - China has no such logjams. If China needs 48 highspeed rail lines, a thousand mile by ten mile wall of trees planted to restrain western deserts, or fifty high tension power lines to connect various parts of the country they just wave a wand and do it and it gets done fast. So in pretty much no uncertain terms the good professor is calling for what would almost surely be condemned as a 'fascist left' with vastly more direct government control over financial and manufacturing industries to bend them to the 'common good' of the nation and it's people - a benevolent dictatorship as it were. They aren't bad ideas per se in the face of Chinese agility and our declining educational capabilities. Brazil has adopted this basic approach of late and to great success. But he is most assuredly one of the most radical folks out there and is wanting government to [finally] take up the reins and lead / rule America's fate and future. Hey, I'm all for it but I'm guessing a bullet awaits anyone attempting to actually do it.

The chicks, still in their downy white breast stage (they will darken significantly over the next month), are up and walking out to the edge and looking out, but have not yet started extending or flapping their wings at all once there. When they are getting closer to flying they will be darker and come out to the edge when there are updrafts and kind of awkwardly put their wings out and just attempt to hold them outspread and maybe give a flap or two to get a feel for it. They do that for awhile until they start getting a couple of inches lift and manage a soft set down. Sometime shortly after that they are flying. Once they are flying they start doing very short, ugly crash-landing hops which take them further and further from the nest and back. These short-hop flights typically range in increments to the Flying Swallow ledge or top of Upper Grassy Ledges to the top of Blownout or LoLP and eventually work all the way across the ledges to the SE Corner tree and occasionally down to Snag Ledge (which is hard for them to get back from initially). These are really bad landings at first in general with the fledges tumbling or desperately scratching up onto ledges or landing flat, open-winged onto trees boughs and getting stuck. At that point it takes a couple of weeks to get the hang of landing and build up the continuous flight endurance to become competent enough fliers to train to aerial hunt with the parents and which is when the rock will open. Judging from where they are now, looks to be on track for a normal July 15 open or possibly a couple of days before.

Bump for a fairly expensive pile of gear...

No!! No!! No!! I absolutely cannot believe I am reading this! It seems utterly inconceivable to me to the point of not being able to really process it. These past couple of years Mark has been super busy transitioning companies in the apparel industry, working on their home, and spending time with his family so it was pretty hard to sync up schedules to get out to Beacon together. But despite the fact we didn't know each other super-well, a couple of times each season I'd get THE call out of the blue and know he was itching to get on Borderline, BS&S or something similar. It also always meant I needed to dig out my A-game and get it on damn quick just to keep up with him. He was always super, super solid, totally calm, and relentlessly methodical on rock just this side of being a machine no matter how long it had been since getting out last. I met he and Darryl one day around '89 or '90 after rope-soloing up to them at the lower anchor on Iron Maiden. I was just getting back in shape for what ended up being a short season for me and couldn't give it a whirl myself, yet they were totally inviting and watching them swap goes on it is still seared in my mind as some of the more inspired climbing I have ever witnessed. And Mark was the very first person to jump on Flying Circus the instant he heard it had been all cleaned up. He told me of having forgotten a big cam for the offwidth at the top because it had been so many years since doing it last, but rather than back off he simply sank a small cam at the base of it and ran it out to the anchor - typical Mark - smart, sure and the very essence of what bold free climbing is all about. I had very much hoped there would still be many more pitches to come with him in the months and years ahead - my deepest condolences and sympathy to the family he loved so much, all his close friends and partners, co-workers, and to all NW climbers. A true light has been lost this day and I cannot stop weeping at the very thought of it - he will be profoundly missed.

Should be noted for old tradsters not to let the slings go on forever as there have been cases of sling failures. Have them reslung after some reasonable period. http://www.mtntools.com/cat/rclimb/cams/mt_camresling.htm

Well, I do have various never-claimed booty items from other occasions over the past few years that I am for sure never going to use so you'd be more than welcome to them. PM me sometime and I'll see if I can find that box in the basement.