tvashtarkatena

OK, from a purely market driven system, here it comes: Single payer, government managed. Why? 1) One nationwide system has greater buying power. 2) One data system...less loopholes, ambiguities. 3) 'Premium' service is still possible. 4) The economic friction of health insurance companies, which is responsible for the majority of high health care costs, is eliminated. Let's go for it!

Did you ever think that's because you're a media whore? Maybe Kim looks disheveled because he's pullin' all nighters to destroy America. Didn't think about that? I didn't think so.

If you don't STFU I'll rape you and your whole family.

Nice try. Black or white?

Now THAT is fuckin funny...

Smearing takes on a whole new meaning.

See what I mean?

Imagine a set of Zambuca glasses that you don't have to light on fire: they already glow. If I were the US government, I'd start booking tourist charter flights to the Korean peninsula. It's Spaten Pils time. Later.

I can't picture a gun owner who'd use 00 for home protection, unless the next door neighbor is a polar bear and they're REALLY not on very good terms. Besides, 00 is just as likely to pass through somebody as knock them down. Number 4 will deliver all of it's MV to the target. If that doesn't knock you on your ass, you don't have an ass.

Why do you think they call it sticky rubber?

You and me, we've got two very different ways of looking at what it means to be human. I go out in nature specifically because it appeals to by baser, lower, whatever instincts. My objective is to become just another animal out there, not some high and mighty ruler of the planet, full of my own ideals. I've got air, water, food, my five senses, my muscles, my brain. From that connection, I recognize that there is no isolated action in this world. Every action has an effect. That leads to more connection, and more action. You might call that ideals, whatever. I would say that it is our baser instincts that guide our higher ideals, rather than the other way around. After all, out baser instincts cannot be denied for long. It is the baser instincts that draw us to the things we truly love.

If you've got a round that you know won't kill the kid next door, then you've satisfied the requirement. But is this common practice or knowledge among people who have guns for home protection?

Just make damn sure it isn't your teenage daughter (or her boyfriend), which it all too commonly is.

Why are higher instincts somehow better than lower? I'm a big fan of lower instincts. In fact, if we all were, we might give more of a shit about this really cool blue ball we all live on.

Not if you live in the city. You know the physics of handgun penetration. Shoot wrong and the kid next door is dead. There is no way I would shoot a handgun in my neighborhood with all the kids around. I'd rather just take my chances with the 'intruder', come what may. A shotgun poses no such risks, has greater stopping power due to greate combined projectile momentum, and requires less aiming in a stressful situation. Dogs, of course, trump them all.

Uh, that battle scene in Lord of the Rings was fictional.

The Lord of the Flies principle applies on every island.

Gun culture is as homogenous as climbing or any other culture. Not very, in other words. Some like to target shoot. It's a very zen thing, actually. Some like to hunt. Nothing better for you meat-wise than wild game. Some like finely made machines, and guns are certainly that. The list goes on and on. If you don't believe non-climbers should dictate what we do in our spare time, I think you'll agree that gun owners might feel the same way. And as for base instincts, well, that's the tune we all dance to, whether we admit it or not. You can't honestly say that climbing doesn't satisfy your base instincts, can you? Rather than a total ban on all guns, which you seem to be advocating, and which is definitely not politically feasible in this country, why not focus efforts on more specific legislative or enforcement reform that will address only those who commit violent crimes with guns? Why should we, as climbers, as citizens, be worried about anything else? Look, I know for some guys a gun is a penis extender, or even a fetish. But my experience tells that they are a small minority. And even if so, so what? As long as they don't pop a cap in someone elses ass, who cares?

I don't know. I have a sawzall, a splitting mall, an axe, an ice axe, and a car, all of which could quickly kill a person, but I don't. Sure, guns tend to be a bit more lethal than that, but you're talking about a total gun ban, which is not politically feasible in this country. Rather than going for a solution that will never come to be, I'd rather go for specific reforms that address the problem of people who use guns to commit crimes. Not shoot cans. Not shoot deer. Not fondle in their living rooms because they like finely worked metal.

You know, I hear the Volunteer Park mens rooms are full of guys that don't wash their hands afterwards...

Plus it's hot and humid as hell.

It's pure politics. Assault looking weapon = crazy person on top of tower shooting passersby. Doesn't matter what the performance of the weapon is. It could be a fucking BB gun. It's all perception, but that, after all, is what much of politics is about. A large segment of the public also believes that only government officials should own 'assault' weapons. They are very nervous about private citizens owning this kind of weapon for recreational purposes. Just as they are nervous about people climbing Mt. Hood in winter. The problem is, the issue consumes valuable legislative shelf space that could be used to actually curtail violent crime with guns (see my previous posts). It also robs it's proponents of political backing that they might otherwise capture if they'd just lay off and get real. Finally, if someone's going to go off the deep end and kill some folks, they're going to find a way to do it with whatever is available to them, assault ban or not. BTW, a shotgun with slugs is much more effective against bears, but you knew that. You'll never have to shoot a bear here in self defense anyway, so unless you're wearing a 2 week old tuna wrap, it really doesn't matter.

Nothing says "I love you" like a 25 million degree bouquet. And the sky afterwards? To die for.

I don't know. Osama might wish to shop local to support his community. Pakistan also uses enriched Uranium, so I think you might be able to go either way and still adhere to the organic philosophy. Be sure your Uranium 235 is enriched using only the very purest natural spring water.

Dying ain't much of a livin', boy.