The statements by Richard Lugar are important because they show that the debate over the bases for entering the war will continue with a bi-partisan flavor. This is important for several reasons. 1. It deprives the White House of the ability to claim all criticisms of it are based on Democratic politics. 2. It shows that Republican senators in some key states, such as Indiana, are already under political pressure because of the war and the reasons given for entering it. 3. It means the quest to get answers has just begun, and an investigation will no doubt receive bi-partisan support in at least the Senate. Lugar is a conservative of long standing, a guy Reagan and Bush I could count on. This split he has with Bush II is key, because it reveals an underling split within the Republican party: the rightwing ideologues v. everyone else. Bush is a captive of the Rummy led ideologues, and they are thinning the non believers. A big battle is coming within the Republican party - for VP, for Sec. of State, and for the direction of the Party.
TJ: Try to remember that the Texas Ethics Commission requires a disclaimer after all paid advertising... Paid for by the Orlando Sanchez for Mayor Campaign. Trader Jorge, Treasurer. Much better.
Yawn. "You are obsessed with me. I can not post without you eagerly responding. I dominate your thoughts. I own you." While you have more posts, I admit I would respond more, but my posting time is severely curtailed as I am a man of action, often away fighting forest fires in order to save communities and businesses, not tear them down with misguided economic policies like your heroes. But you keep telling yourself that your cubicle lifestyle and power sychophancy is a life well led. Because I pity you, I've included a photo of your idol, Ayn Rand. Feel free to print it out and take it into the bathroom to do what boys do.
Hey rimrocker, are you still Montana? As a national Parks patron, and enjoyer of as much of what they have to offer I thank you. Anyway I wanted to ask you a question if you have the time. What is your stance on Bush's tree thinning proposal? Is it more of Bush trying to act like it will help curtail forrest fires so that he can play to the timber industry, or will it really make a difference in forrest fires?
I'm back home... thought I might have to go back to Glacier, but instead will be leaving tomorrow morn for Southern AZ to do a little rehab work. Should be back by the 18th and then not out again until 9/1. Don't have time to write an epic post on the topic, but I suspect your suspicions are correct. For one, it's based on some studies done in SW Ponderosa Pine forests and then applied throughout the West... fir, spruce, lodgepole, mixed conifer, etc. All have different fire ecologies, so you can't make assumptions from one ecoregion to the next. Second, it's really vague (I think intentionally so), and when you have vagueness in public law, there are always those that will take advantage. There is some merit in the idea of refining (not obliterating) the NEPA requirements for thinning in problem areas, but the devil is in the details and the details are not available right now. See you in a week or so.
Hey <b>rimrocker</b>, do you think we could take the collected talent here on the BBS and go piss on your forest fires instead of each other? Would that help?
Mine has too much alcohol in it. The fire would burn right up the stream. That could lead to a very dangerous 'hot crotch' incident.
I was a teenager and she was in her late 70s when we had a fling. She liked me to tie her up and read Thoreau to her. She called my special purpose her "Fountainhead." I never knew why, so I just shrugged. I loved her as the banker's assistant in THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES. Ayn Rand, Alice Rosenbaum - what's in the name?
thanks She's one of the few authors I've wanted to slap after reading their work. I read ATLAS SHRUGGED and FOUNTAINHEAD, and both were huge disappointments. That she parlayed her failed career into status of mid century guru reminds of other famous charlatans. A hundred years earlier and she might have been Mary Baker Eddy. she's wack If her books mean anything other than a testament to self indulgence, I've not seen it. But when she said "Mr. Drysdale, Jethro will meet you at the cement pond...." You know, she ran for Congress as a Democrat about 10 or 15 years ago (the real one, not AR). Maybe in Pennsylvania. Lost if my memory is correct. Miss Hathaway! You reckon she was a lesbian?
This is one of the more sane suggestions offered by the public at large, though I'm afraid it wouldn't work too well. We have a general rule in the business... if you can look down at a fire, you deal with it and if you have to look up at it, you run away. Most of the fires going in Idaho and Montana are the kind you have to look up at and being 40+, my hydraulics are not capable of hitting those kinds of heights. Still, this thread is not totally devoid of useful info... perhaps we could light TJ's stream and let him dribble along to start a burn out. One bit of warning... these are usually done under windy conditions. (I do remember a time when it burned to pee, but never a time when the pee burned.)
I saw something on the news about your profession the other day: how exhausting! I think they called them The Hotspotters ... or something like that. Digging and rooting and gauging by the touch of the hand virtually ever yard inch of ground looking for hotspots where the fire might re-ignite at a near-later time. Sheesh. Also, a couple of years ago I watched a 2-HR plus special on range firefighter on PBS. Have you ever seen that piece? Sorry but I don't remember the name of it. My Salt Lake City-based cousin (now retired) worked in that profession in Idaho and Utah for about 20 years after leaving the Ski Patrol.
Hotshots looking for hotspots cold-trailing the fire perimeter. It is brutal work and man, are they dirty when they make it back into camp. You want to get all sources of heat cooled off near the fire perimeter so a gust of wind can't throw an ember over the line and start a new fire. (We've had cases where the roots smoldered all winter and then started a fire the next spring.)
