dougd

Nothing more to add to the OP on this. Except that it's definitely time to decriminalize Montecristos! d

I beg to differ. This debate is far from over. Heller, was precedent setting, and narrow in scope. Ended up far from "settling" anything, except a person's "right" to possess a handgun in one's home for self defense. As a gun owner, and advocate of more controls to protect society from the growing problem of indiscriminate gun violence in America I've found a couple books enlightening. I recommend "Uncertain Justice: The Roberts Court and the Constitution" by Laurence Tribe and Joshua Matz for more insight into not only Heller, but a very interesting look into the current Supreme Court. Another good read on the second amendment is "The Second Amendment A Biography" by Michael Waldman. It addresses a lot of the "points" of the pro gun crowd that throw around words like "tyranny", and "my constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms" to include military assault type weaponry &c &c... d

Only thing missing is the "and nobody gets punished" part. +1 other than that. d Oh, the officer is being "punished". That guy's life is ruined - at least for some time going forward. He's currently in focus of a media firestorm. The stress this will put on him and his life is punishment. Is it the right punishment? Legal, involving an indictment and possible imprisonment, dunno. Will any amount of punishment bring back the dead man and give solace to his family? Would a lengthy trial with an innocent verdict be satisfactory or just cause more pain all around? Would the guy losing his job and never being allowed to work again in law enforcement be a good 'punishment'? I'd just rather see these things not happen. Trying this cop seems like treating a symptom - a bandaid. Having zero such incidents is unlikely but how about reducing them to a number where they are a rarity and not something that pops up as frequently as they do? My reference above was related to the incident in NY. Not Wilson. I'm not commenting on the Ferguson in Context because I'm finding it difficult to do, given that I'm a middle aged white guy from the Pacific NW and the only time I get hassled by cops is when I try to cross the border into Canada with my climbing stuff it seems... I am wholly unqualified to put Ferguson in Context. So I'm trying to listen. d

Only thing missing is the "and nobody gets punished" part. +1 other than that. d

Looked like a ref to the shake up in the middle east appearing at the top of the list of infamous errors... NP. My mistake. They all did have their moments for sure. Lots of "mixed bags"... Fair enough with the inclusion of GW on the shitbag list, at the risk of sounding unappreciative, I do think dubya should win top billing on that list... Fair? I was a lil surprised not to see FDR on your list... Plenty of fodder from his what, 12/13 year run? Wasn't the trail of tears 'ole hickory's thing? LBJ did get to sign into law some pretty momentous legislation in our history... Medicare, civil rights act... And, the resulting exodus of racist southern democrats to the republican party in '64 after he signed the latter into law went a long way to make the R's what they are today... They have to be somewhere I guess. Taking a broad view is important when judging these men, and the job they did as President. Historical perspective awaits both GW and Obama. One man's "dictater" is another man's "leader". d

David Brooks, IMO, is one of the good guys but ya have to be careful with him. He appears to be trying to be fair, at least. "No righty by any stretch" is certainly debatable... He did think that bush's war, or, at least that part of the "great experiment" you refer to was a great idea... Just goes to show ya, how wrong people can be. The power of the pen: http://gregmitchellwriter.blogspot.com/2013/03/ten-years-ago-david-brooks-iraq-war-hawk.html The Great Experiment sounds like a video game or something... Great term for the deniers. d

We can agree to include the "Great Experiment" as you call it, with the other worst of the worsts list? I could go for that. I may have been too hasty, in my original assessment...

Yeah, I was outraged. Sure, I made some pretty strong statements during that time that I stand by today, that could have been perceived as being beyond the pale.. I didn't understand what the big rush was to go in there and take that country over like that even after 9/11. GW was making statements like bring it on, and , saddam tried to kill my dad, and we all remember the talk about mushroom clouds et al. That he got congress to authorize military force wasn't hard given the circumstances and the resulting rise of nationalistic fervor. Nationalistic fervor fed by the administration and eagerly gobbled up by supporters. Folks like me were labeled unpatriotic, and worse, for questioning what was, and I'm confident history will show, to be the absolutely worst strategic error ever perpetrated by a president on this country. This action has turned out to be profoundly damaging world wide, not only to America. Just look at the Middle East now. And it didn't need to happen. To use the men and women of our military in this way is unforgivable... All this of course noted, after setting aside the death and destruction brought to the Iraqi people... Whether or not he lied to get the authorization passed I don't know. I do know he took advantage of every opportunity to take us to war in a country we had no business going into. To call this President a shitbag, after all that happened leading up to '08, and all that has happened since? Seems to indicate a narrow view. That is as kind as I can be... Serious questions about the Executive Order on immigration are being asked. Republicans have filed suit. Now the Judicial branch will do it's job. I do know the supremes are very uncomfortable refereeing tiffs between the Executive and Legislative branches of government. It will be interesting to see how this crew would decide it, if they actually accept a case if/when it reaches them. I'm pretty comfortable letting the system continue to work. This representative government experiment of ours is not looking so good these days. Our so called leaders appear to be ruining it with unprecedented selfishness. It's more about what they can get for themselves than what they can do for the country. They come out publicly and make statements that indicate a lack of real thought prior to making them, demonstrating poor judgement, and worse, a lack of understanding of just what an effect this might have on "the people". The resulting lack of confidence in the competence of these leaders is very troubling. The system does appear to be feeding this culture of selfishness and so a vicious cycle with considerable gathered momentum is in play now. It's tough to see how to sustain it as it is. So we limp along, watching, wondering just how long it can go on like this... Real answers? A viable third party would be great to have right now. Term limits for Congress is an idea I like a lot. Campaign finance reform is a huge issue. As it is now, Legislators have to immediately start raising money to have a hope of keeping their jobs. The supremes pretty much gutted the last decent efforts of McCain Finegold. Representative government really needs participation to work. Everybody was pretty excited at first. They hadn't had choices before the revolution and were thrilled to finally have a say. What we're seeing currently is a lot about a lack of participation IMO. Look at the mid term percentages of registered voter participation. Low 30% turnout is unacceptable. It starts with me. I know I can do more and I will. Giving up certainly isn't an option. d

Mushroom strudel huh... Catherine's gonna want that recipe. d

This kind of language only serves to further expose you. You won't care of course, but you should... d Not sure why. (Please tell me.) Meantime, feel free to defend a president who has no regard for the Constitution re immigration law or his own healthcare law, uses the IRS as a political tool, spies on citizens and allies alike, and uses the Justice Dept to harass reporters. Like I said, thanks for the dictator. You should be ashamed. Well, first off, there's a difference between hyperbole, and rhetoric. Your post was, in my opinion, hyperbolic. This makes you seem more interested in appearing to be a pugnacious sort, than actually coming close to making a point. I do think President Obama has done a good job with what he's had to work with. Most of us are familiar with the talking points, inherited two wars an economy on the brink of depression, ordered the mission to kill bin laden etc etc... It seems to me it's about trust. Doesn't matter much whom we vote in, it's gonna be a mixed bag in the end. Nobody does that job perfect. Yeah, I voted for him twice. I'm not ashamed of that. I trust that he's trying to do the right things for the right reasons. I didn't trust GW that way. So ok. You accuse him personally of things over which he has only some control. Going back to Bush II immigration reform has been a pain in the ass. Took both parties then to kill what I thought to be a good bill, comprehensive immigration reform, that dubya gets credit for supporting. He fought for it and it failed. Now after talking about it again for the last 6 years the President has made a decision to lead. So you don't like it. So ok. I don't like that congress and the administration couldn't have found a way to get something done together but that ship has obviously sailed. Not all anybody's fault. History will be pretty kind I think. A good friend of mine told me something that has stuck with me. We were watching shock and awe on the tv. I was vehemently opposed to the invasion of Iraq and still am. This guy told me that sometimes, leaders have to lead us where we don't want to go, but we have to go. While I understood what he was saying, I was still wishing the other guy had won the election in 2k though. This President is just trying to lead, during some exceptionally difficult times. More concerning to me now though, is that there seems to be a growing fear in this country. People are bombarded with the bad news and there's a lot of it. Hyperbole over rhetoric seems to be the order of the day which only contributes to it... When people use this type of language they appear fearful to me. When the shit hits the fan for real, the loud ones are usually not much good... I understand this forum is about a lot of things including hyperbole at times but why does everything have to get so personal, and shrill? d

This kind of language only serves to further expose you. You won't care of course, but you should... d

Enjoyed the pics. On a motorcycle trip a couple years ago, rode through Zion. It was June. Lots of people. I thought, man I gotta get back here some day and do some exploring... This TR reminds me there is unfinished business down there. It will fester now until I get it done. d

Doubting "that the rise of corporations was foremost on his list of worries" is safe enough, but it's entirely likely, considering the task of reconstruction ahead, this man would have considered the possibilities up to and including the rise of corporate America. Lincoln was a pretty smart dude... d

Aww c'mon, he's just having a look... Geez, so serious... d

cool quote from one of abe's letters to a friend: "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the (Civil) war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed." That "quote" is a nice find for sure. Odd that I don't recall seeing it when I read the 700+ - page Lincoln biography I read a few years back... but anyway. I have Lincoln as the hands down #1 of all time Republican Presidents. Not a tough one to see IMO. That whole thing with suspending habeas corpus is a bit of a sticky wicket, but the necessity of that is debated by much smarter folks than me. Lincoln was great no doubt but he'd be overall #2 or 3 in my pantheon of the greatest... d

Subsidizing

It's a quote. It does appear you two share a world view... As far as the net neutrality thing, isn't this just part and parcel of the great, diabolical, left wing conspiracy? d

Joe would be so proud...

Yep, and Wisconsin is a great example. Walker landslide. Home of Muir, Leopold, and, of course, University of Wisconsin Madison. Can't wait until we get Walker version WA. We took a small step in the state Senate this past Tuesday. Let's not forget Joe McCarthy, Wisconsin native son!... d

Interesting how you can get a sense of a person through their stories, shared on the net. We come to know each other a little through our common avocation. We revel in the successes, and feel the losses too. Sometimes quite deeply, given that we've never actually met someone. Accepting the loss of a strong, vibrant person such as Liz is particularly difficult even for those of us who did not have the pleasure of meeting her in real life. Man tho, she did live well! d

Great trip report. Those are some very fortunate kids for sure. My wife and I have toyed with the idea of a Dolomites trip and have yet to get it done, this report should help. Thanks d

Didja find any firewood layin around up in that monkeys mouth?

I'd venture there's at least a couple pics in this TR that might just win a certain photo contest I've heard about somewhere... Thanks for sharing. d

Love the pics Luke. Next time you see Cecil, say hello for me... d

I've been around some, and seen some pretty country, IMHO it's tough to find a prettier place than the Sahale Arm in the fall... Thanks for posting the story and pics! d