tvashtarkatena

get a sense of humor, you joyless douche Douche is French, you know.

It may have to do with the prosecutor in the case retracting his statement yesterday about serious irregularities having been committed during prosecution. That was all the excuse they needed to protect a french citizen (Polanski) from serving time in the US. Of note, over the last 30 years, extradition was asked from the UK, Israel and Thailand, and had apparently been turned down. Anyway, if anything, it's good to get a sign of life at the justice department because many appear to think they should get busy with some of what happened over the last 8 years ... I have no idea why other countries wouldn't trust our Justice Department. No idea whatsoever.

You're facing kind of a tough weather forecast/conditions this weekend. I'd go east, WA Pass for less committing day routes, or Stuart Range if you're feeling lucky, but expect freezing poo from above. The big glaciated peaks will probably suck so much ass this weekend, cuz, you know, that's why they have glaciers on them. Perhaps a run up Goose Egg Mountain followed by some Tieton cragging might be in order.

Too late. Johnny Law's already destroyed that 48 million dollar ganja field near Ross Lake.

A scrotum as a mascot. Yeah, that's about right.

They must have used a pretty big net.

So you are saying that raping 13 year olds is no worse than selling drugs? Isn't that what a huge percentage of the prison pop is in for (drugs)? I would not put them in the same category. The woman who wants the issue to go away does not want it to go away because it doesn't hurt anymore. She wants it to go away because it hurts so much. "But who cares?" Is that what you are saying? The prisons are full of drug dealers so lets let the first time child rapists off easy? Her life is changed forever because of what he did. There are lots of rape victims who do not have any semblance of a normal life afterwards. Nothing Draconian about that though right? They're just women after all eh? Yes, I'm saying all those things Keith...obviously. I certainly wasn't addressing the larger issue of crime and punishment in our society. You nailed it.

I have no problem with a society removing organisms that continue to do it harm. It's only natural, after all.

My lead? Why, whatever are you talking about? Next time, reschedule RopeUp around my big fall trip, mkay?

Draconian penalties have produced an expensive prison state (2.2 million prisoners...the highest incarceration rate in the world by far), which in turn has bred more criminal behavior (as prison life in the U.S. predictably does). You put a kid in jail for 10 years instead of 6 months and what do you get? White Supremacy or Gansta, depending on the flava. What these 'tough on crime' policies haven't produced is less crime. This is a hard nut to swallow for the moralist dolts who continue voting for the very policies that worsen the problems they claim to be so concerned about. In reality, their ire is merely an expression of an unfulfilled domination and punishment fetish that is seemingly forever unsatisfied, particularly for those of more diminutive physical and mental stature. My brother, who is a public defender, has observed that perps don't even consider the penalties, and most don't even consider how their actions might escalate into the kind of violence that eventually results. Some idiot walks into some other idiot's house to steal their weed, which is valued at $4000 a pound because of our fucked up drug laws, amped up on a B movie fantasy about how he's going to fucking do the thing, myan, someobody opens up with a shotgun, and within a few seconds there are 3 people lying dead on the floor. Woah, man! Anyone who really believes there's a lot of forethought going on here is living in their own little fantasy kingdom. Mental illness also plays a large role in crime, particularly sex crimes; no 'ooh, I might go to jail' thoughts there. Drug use (mostly alcohol), famously accounts its lionshare of bad ideas gone worse. Again, when your inhibitions have been removed by a drug, you really don't think about sentencing policies too much. A case in point is California's prison system, which used to be the nation's model with it's 27% recidivism rate and rehabilitation philosophy. Enter the Reagan era: now the system, which is famously overcrowded, offers little to no rehabilation, has a 72$ recitivism rate. Want more crime? You got it, baby. What does work to reduce crime is the elimination of our idiotic war on drugs and support for a healthy middle class; people who've got somewhere to go Monday morning, watch their neighborhoods, and pay taxes for programs that aid the mentally ill and provide a way for the convicted to rejoin society (um...what's that path now, exactly?). Curiously, the very same constituents who vote for 'throw away the key' policies also vote for policies that have eroded our middle class.

Trip: Final Peak Whoring Junket of 2009. Really. - Windy, Remmel, Apex (Pasayten Wildnerness) Date: 9/30/2009 Trip Report: TR: Windy, Remmel, Apex (Pasayten Wilderness) 9/25-29/2009 Reduced gravity descent, Apex Mountain It starts when you first look at The List and think to yourself, Hey, I’ve already done a bunch of those…wonder how many I have left…just for fun, of course. Then, you start tagging an extra peak here and there, you know, since you’re in the neighborhood and all. You break out the highlighter and a constellation of pink dots appear on your maps that seem to be conveniently grouped geographically… And down you slide until finally you’re leaving inexperienced friends and family, the very people you promised only days prior to protect from nature’s harsher impulses, alone in the wilderness to fend for themselves with nothing but their lousy choice of books and some sticks to play with while you prostitute yourself yet another time on some obscure bump with horseshoe prints on the summit for Christ’s sake and for what? You’re running up a 13 mile stretch of burned out trail even mule deer won’t take anymore as fast as you can, knees creaking like the charred lodge pole pines around you because it’s been about a century since you’ve run anything longer than a lawnmower, so as not to piss of your girlfriend too much because, let’s face it, the moment you proposed this little side trip she was already pissed, and the only person to bear the brunt of her dissatisfaction is your poor nephew who only just met her. But you climb Windy Peak anyway. Larches from Windy Peak So it went our first day in the Pasayten. By the way, there’s at least one moose running up and down the Chewuck these days. Either that or some elk has gotten into the steroids. Spotted tussock caterpillar Lophocampa maculata, Chewuch River Spotted tussock caterpillar Lophocampa maculata, ant’s eye view, Chewuch River The day after my little side trip to Windy, my nephew Theo, Beth, and I headed up to Four Point Lake, dropped our gear, and continued on to tag Remmel. Previous supplicants never seem to mention what a beautiful trip this is. Larches, white granite, expansive views, and a gently graded trail to what used to be a summit lookout. Superb jaunt. I finished out the day by dispatching a couple of trout for dinner, both of which went to Beth, who seemingly had forgotten one of her freeze dried dinners. Lichen cladonia sulphurina, Four Point Creek Lichen sp. unknown, Four Point Creek Lichen sp. unknown, Four Point Creek The trail to Remmel’s summit Windy Peak, from the Remmel trail Beth and Theo nearing Remmel’s summit Theo on Remmel’s summit Stone temple pilot, Remmel summit The following morning I convinced Beth that the bushwhack shortcut straight north from Four Point Lake really, no, I mean really, was a good idea. Theo needed no convincing. He was up for anything, even the navigation. We were all up for some kind of exercise after freezing our asses off in the previous night’s high winds. Hydnellum auriantiacum, Remmel Creek The Shortcut The meadows beneath Amphitheatre, Remmel in the background Approaching Amphitheatre Theo looking north to Canada Beth relaxes while Theo goes all direttissima on Amphitheatre Jesus Cathedral Basin was cold. There were white caps on the lake. I caught another trout but after a minor tangle in my reel I stowed it and my frozen fingers and headed for the fire. By morning it was 35 degrees out. Doing the frost trot, Cathedral Lake Cathedral Lake and Peak Yeah, it was a little chilly last night Despite it’s beauty, we were not too sad to trade Cathedral Basin’s exposed meadows for the wood stove comfort of the Tungsten Mine Cabin. With a layover on Apex’s summit, of course. Cathedral Peak portrait Amphitheatre and Cathedral, on the way to Apex Pass On Apex, Cathedral in the background Reverie high above Tungsten Lake Apex summit cheeze Theo feels the need to stand on every false summit. Apex, looking north Another Theo Sighting on Apex, Windy in the background When you first see the Tungsten Mine; it’s buildings, engines, boilers, and many tons of fractured heavy machinery, you invariably wonder: how did all this crap get up here? Well, here’s how, when, and why: http://dooger.org/posts/hiking/visiting-the-tungsten-mine-at-wolframite-mountain-pasayten-wilderness/ The Tungsten Mine and its temporary foremen Life at the Tungsten Mine. Next time, I'll use someone else's camera. Final morning from the Tungsten Cabin Watched from above with unsympathetic eyes; Douglas squirrel Tamiasciurus douglasii We hiked the 15 miles out from the cabin to beat the oncoming rain, consume some Rastafarian pizza in Winthrop, before the long, wet deep space voyage home. Along the way, Beth finally found her freeze dried dinner hiding in the hydration pocket of her new pack. Gear Notes: Castmasters

My camera has an 'autofunk' setting.

THAT was f'in funny.

Story moved here

All I can say here is the guy behind her must be very, very well endowed. The euro indictment of the GOP's history of asset stripping and planetary raping as somehow being unnatural (my words) is completely off base. There is nothing more natural than a species consuming all it can while it can.

and we all know that if polanski is not extradited, then all hell breaks loose and every perv sees it as a green light. and we all know that in the days of the wild west when you'd take perps behind the barn and string 'em up by the balls, rape and incest and such was wayyyyyy less common. gimme a break. This whole discussion seems to hinge around the use of the phrase 'little mistake' instead of simply 'mistake'. Call me crazy, but I don't believe there is a crime out there that cannot be atoned for. Plus, The Tenant was an awesome movie...starring the Director himself, no less. And check out Repulsion if you want a really weird, 60's style experience.

Obedience is my watchword.

I'm trying to work the required 'under the table' joke in here, but I got nothin.

Hey, uh, sorry guys...that census worker was a real tool. Before I knew it, my buddies were stringin him up...

Because it takes a village...of idiots.

You can buy a 12 gauge for $109.99 at Outdoor Emporium.

Speaking of shit, I didn't see any, so it's not (German) porn.

99% of the peeps here climb better than me, so that's not exactly a badge of honor. What I bring to the table here is 1) total indiscrimination when it comes to choosing climbing partners and 2) the ability to publish a Liberty Bell Sandwich: 2 TRs of the most over-climbed route on the mountain with a juicy Thin Red Line flail in between, and pull it off. Plus, it seems that I've now been designated as the resident entomologist/naturalist

my advice for your next vacation is to drive

Nice, Mark. Its not often Tvash runs away with his tail between his legs. Yeah, not quite what happened there. More like not wanting to enter into the same non-discussion, this time with a 12 year old, for the 17th time.