Friday, August 22, 2008

Trouble for Barack

In just one month Obama has gone from being clear favorite to nearly underdog. And why? McCain's campaign and the right-wing lie machine have been working overtime. While Obama has been working hard and taking a weeks vacation, they've labeled him as an elitist, vacationing in Hawaii (where his family live!) and not being around when trouble in the world flares up (i.e. Georgia). Add these issues to Obama's continued reluctance to 'go-negative' countering McCain's negative attacks with negative attacks of his own, Obama and the Dems are teetering on the edge of that slippery slope to losing the election. Again. While McCain's attack adds appear amusing at this stage and light hearted, I can barely imagine what they've got up their sleeve as the race heats up. What I don't understand is how the democrats have not learned from the past. They are proving yet again that they are weak, countering attacks with a poor defense as opposed to better lethal attacks. what easier target could they possibly have other than an aging, aggressive, pandering, lie-ing, panderer to both the right and left, who's own party members can't stand because he is too moderate, who moderates don't trust because he pals with George Bush, a man that destroyed our last known John McCain - McCain the Good - in 2000. Yes, as summer draws to a close and the real race begins I am beginning to feel pangs of anxiety unfortunately. The lies of the right, their deception and hate are taking their toll on Obama. Time will tell, and I have faith in Barrack's advisor's and campaing, certain that they have a counter plan - but the psyche of the American people is a hard nut to crack. A nut the Republicans and righ-wingers have manipulated and lied to with tremendous success over the last couple decades.

Friday, August 15, 2008

As long as there is life there will always be scum...



So this is the person that wrote the book that helped in a large part to de-rail John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004. Here he is on 'Faux' News claiming Obama's birth-certificate is a fake.

The Hawaii department of health has just stated that Obama's birth certificate is "a valid Hawaii state birth certificate" and has called speculation about Obama's citizenship "pretty ridiculous."

This person (who shall remain nameless for lack of wanting to stain my blog with his bad karma - but you can easily find it out on the interwebs) has just released a book entitled Obama Nation in the hopes of swift boating Obama in the same way he did with Kerry.

I haven't read his book, nor am I going to. He has been proven wrong time and time again. But his actions are enough for desperate, clueless and il-informed right wingers to treat as gospel, "So ya know Barack Hussein Obama is a Moo-slim right?"..."ugh, yeah I heard that somewhere, how'd you know for sure?"..."yeah, I read it in (nameless guys) book".

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Snow Lake Hike

Gem Lake above Snow Lake

I had intended on making this an overnight trip, introducing Muirenn to some backpacking. None of this 'drive a car to a camp site and set up your tent there' business. Unfortunately a cold front moved in last Friday and brought with it a fresh dose of much needed rain. Muirenn was off the hook, I wasn't going to introduce the wonders of the back-country to her and sleeping under the stars, miles away from the car and trail-head, on a windy rainy night that would leave her trembling with fear at the very mention of the words 'camp' or 'hike'.

So I took off by myself on Sunday morning at the crack of dawn. Drove up the I-90 to Snoqualmie Pass and hit the trail by 8:00 a.m. It was overcast as I skirted the deep switchbacks leading up to the ridge across from Alpental ski area. Despite this, the views were spectacular and the air was fresh. It felt good to be up in the mountains amongst the pines in cold morning air. I made the ridge within the hour, tagging along with a national Forest Ranger who I had a great chat with along the way, I then dropped down into the lake basin and was surprised to see so much snow still skirting the lake. I now know why it is called Snow Lake. In parts the lake is actually frozen over still which really surprises me as we've been getting 90 degree temperatures for the past two months. We did have record snow this year which explains it, but it's a sight to behold this late in the summer.

The lake was pretty much fogged in and although it was spectacular in it's own right, I had anticipated the clouds breaking up and seeing some surrounding peaks. I decided to move on, skirting around the lake and head up to Gem Lake a couple of miles further in and up. More snow on the trail and quite a bit of mud on the slow and consistent climb before breaking out at the glorious Gem lake which, with all the cloud cover, appeared to be on top of the world. With only distant voices of another hiking group, this place was blissful, even on a cold summers day. I ate lunch, took some shots and headed back down the trail. Home by four for tea, biscuits and more tackling of that dreaded laurel!

Friday, August 08, 2008

Naches Valley - A lads weekend at Scott's house.

A lads weekend was had. Scott who plays bass in my incredibly great but nameless new band has a house (pictured above) on the other side of Mount Rainier in a beautiful valley near the town of Naches. I took off after work with Kevin (guitar player in nameless band and co-worker) we hit the road heading east over Snoqualmie Pass and into the dry Eastern Washington where rain rarely falls. In the three years I've lived here it was my first time on the east side of Washington state and it is every bit the opposite I've read and been told about, from the topography and weather to the politics and religion. As we wound our way deep into the desert it resembled California and my favorite drive through the Mojave Desert on the way up to Mammoth Mountain.

We got there late and hit a local bar where Kevin and I wallowed in our mistake of ordering McDonalds on the road. The other lads, Scott, Chris, Chris, Steven and Brian were sampling delicious looking plates of locally caught fish and other fresh foods. It didn't last long, we were soon well oiled on beer anyway. The locals were out in droves as they barn danced to a single guitar player with his karaoke set as he sang everything from The Eagles to Dolly Parton. There wasn't so much of the 'squeal like a pig boy' element, but we soon got bored and hit another bar a couple miles away which was closed so we went back to the house and got shit-faced there instead.

In bed by 4 a.m. and up 3 hours later due to Scott and his friend Chris' dogs and the glaring sunlight coming through the curtain-less windows. After capturing some early morning, tall shadow shots on the digital camera, I threw together a feast for breakfast, topped off by an endless supply of coffee. It was mid morning when we hit Scott's own personal single-track mountain bike trail that he's been working on. The trail stems from an old horse trail that winds it's way up a mountain at the back of his house. The ride up wasn't too bad but I regretted not taking up the fire road the entire way. The way down was fantastic.
Some of the best riding I've had in a long time. Mountain biking is all about pushing you and your bike to the limit, bringing yourself as close as you can to losing control at speed, on dirt, over rocks and between trees. On a single track that is no more than a foot wide this feeling is magnified times ten and it's as much a rush as snowboarding on a good day. It's enough to cure any hang-over that's for sure.

Back at the ranch we settled into a long afternoon of barbecued lunch and beer. By late afternoon we were all passed out or reading or like myself, crashed out in a hammock somewhere. After a hit of coffee and a fly-fishing trip of which I was supremely crap at (but I must admit, I've got the bug for), evening was spent drinking and preparing a beautiful dinner of sardines, sausage, grilled pork and an exquisite elk chilli. We spent the rest of the night getting drunk and taking turns at DJ - pass the iPod basically!

Another late night and another early morning. Both Kevin and myself were up by 8 and as the other guys were fly-fishing we decided to hit the road. After a typically massive american roadside breakfast, we skirted around Mount Rainier through the famous Chinook Pass. The scenery here is stunning. In the mountains it is still spring, and I'm sure drivers have crashed their cars or driven over cliffs as they catch views of wild flowers in meadows hugging glaciers below gargantuan peaks. We were home by early afternoon and I was out at the dump by four o'clock getting rid of some more of that damn laurel!

Life was becoming a little predictable for me and this break was exactly what Dr. Shano ordered. Made some new friends and spent time with some existing friends in the band. I was able to throw my crap on the floor, not wash and drink as much as I wanted. Which wasn't all that much - really. Sometimes a man's gotta be what a man is. A big lazy kid! Evenings spent, watching shooting stars and drinking beers outside, talking utter nonsense are priceless themselves and a reward to getting far away from the city for a couple of days.
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