Mt St. Helens - Summit Crater 2006

Mt St. Helens - Summit Crater 2006

Guanajuato, Mexico

Maraton d'Independencia, Leon, Mexico

 I flew down to Mexico last weekend to run the Maraton d'Independencia in Leon, Mexico; my 78th marathon and 9th marathon country.

Pictured with me are Chevela and John Courtney. I stayed with John in his beautiful home in Guanajuato. 

Bob Dylan: Masters of War

I just listened to Bob Dylan: Masters of War from his 1963 classic album, "The Freewheeling Bob Dylan". Tell me: Does it resonate today??

"Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead"

Daily Kos: Princeton scientists create vote-stealing program for Diebold AccuVote-TS

Now we know how an extremely unpopular president stole two elections!
Daily Kos: Princeton scientists create vote-stealing program for Diebold AccuVote-TS

Think Progress » 5th Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Objects to Bush’s Plan To Authorize Torture

Think Progress » 5th Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Objects to Bush’s Plan To Authorize Torture

Roadless Rule Wins

Great News: The Roadless Rule will be reinstated nationwide under a U.S. District Court Judge ruling today.

In Wilderness Society v U.S. Forest Service, Judge Elizabeth LaPorte of the U.S. District Court Northern District of California ruled that:

"The State Petitions Rule is set aside and the Roadless Rule ... is reinstated. Defendants are enjoined from taking any further action contrary to the Roadless Rule without undertaking environmental analysis consistent with this opinion."

In short, Judge Laporte ruled that the Bush Administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act when it repealed the 2001 Roadless Rule. The court reinstated the 2001 Rule nationwide and enjoined any management activity contrary to the Rule, except in the Tongass National Forest. The court did not extend the Rule's protections to the Tongass because the Bush Administration had previously exempted the Tongass through a lawsuit settlement with the State of Alaska.

This is a huge victory for our nation's pristine forest lands!

Statement from The Wilderness Society President William H. Meadows on the Historic Court Decision Reinstating the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule

American Prospect Online - Better Late Than Never

Robert Kuttner, American Prospect: Better Late Than Never: "Last week, the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of the most ardent protectors of the administration, was forced to release a report documenting once and for all that there was zero connection between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, and that the administration had stupidly relied on self-serving 'intelligence' claims from exile Iraqi pretender Ahmad Chalabi and his henchmen. This report was released over the objection of the committee's chairman, Pat Roberts, an ardent administration apologist, because two other Republican moderates, Senators Chuck Hagel and Olympia J. Snowe, voted with committee Democrats that the information be made public.

And on Wednesday in the House, the Republican leadership of a subcommittee of the Government Reform Committee took lengthy and detailed testimony from the Inspector General of the Interior Department on the festering corruption and incompetence at that agency. The administration's plain contempt for the ordinary functions of government and its use of the executive branch to enrich cronies and reward allied industries have become too grotesque even for its usual defenders on Capitol Hill. Even with an election approaching -- perhaps because it is approaching and some Republicans fear for their seats as well as their consciences -- there will be more such rebellions.

The founders of this republic wisely gave us separate branches of government as checks and balances against tyranny. They may not have imagined Dick Cheney, but they were familiar with his kind. The self respect of Congress has been battered these nearly six long years, but it is coming back to life just in time."

Google smack down of Gates Philanthropy

Google.org

Tibet Government in Exile

Tibet Government in Exile Executive Summary

Scientific American.com: Fiddling While the Planet Burns

Scientific American asks: Will the Wall Street Journal's editorial writers accept a challenge to learn the truth about the science of global climate change?

Al Gore speaks at the NYU School of Law on Climate Change

Major address by Al Gore today:

NYU School of Law - News, Events & Calendars

weather.com - Blog: The Weather Channel on weather news, hurricanes, tornadoes & meteorology

weather.com - Blog: The Weather Channel on weather news, hurricanes, tornadoes & meteorology: "The United States had a record year in 2005 for acres burned by wildfires, with more than 8.6 million acres scorched. Records have been kept since 1960.

2006 is on a pace to break that record, with more than 8.2 million acres burned as of this writing. The pace is 71% above the 10-year average for this time in the year."

Crooks and Liars » Graham Nails Geneva Conventions Argument

Wow. You have to watch this.
Crooks and Liars » Graham Nails Geneva Conventions Argument

Daily Kos: BREAKING!! The 'Toxic Texan' turns green!

Is Bush about to do an about face on Global Warming? Daily Kos: BREAKING!! The 'Toxic Texan' turns green!

The pope sends his regrets to Muslim leaders. By Roger McShane - Slate Magazine

Does anyone else see the irony here??

The pope sends his regrets to Muslim leaders. : "The pope's suggestion that compulsion and violence are inherent features of Islam has outraged the Muslim world. In Afghanistan, where apostates are subject to execution, the parliament and the Foreign Ministry demanded an apology. In Yemen, where religious conversion is punishable by death, the president has threatened to sever diplomatic ties. In the West Bank, Palestinians attacked four churches with guns and firebombs. And a Somali cleric added his two cents: 'Whoever offends our Prophet Muhammad should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim.'"

The Magnificent Obsession of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail - New York Times

From this Sunday's edition of the New York Times Travel Section: The Magnificent Obsession of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail

Reading this article awakened memories of some magnificent Canadian solo canoe adventures with Sam the Wolfdog. The article celebrates a new canoe trail from northern Maine to New York.

The Greatest Bullshit Story ever told

"God" loves you and he needs money.

Bush Blows it at Press Conference

  

Flowers on my balcony and a scene from downtown Manitou Springs today

 
  

Mountain Madness Relay Team

Team photo at conclusion to the 170-mile relay race from Idaho Springs to Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Why did we do it? Two words: Free Beer. Life doesn't get any better than a glass of beer at 7 AM following 24 hours of running and chasing runners in a sweat-stank van. 

Outward Bound Colorado Relay

 
 
 I ran on a 10-person team (Mountain Madness) Friday and Saturday in the Outward Bound Colorado Relay -- 170 miles from Idaho Springs to Glenwood Springs, over 3 mountain passes. Lots of "weather" for "character building". Wonderful way to meet people and make new friends! Runners are a special breed. 

62,006 - The Number Killed in the 'War on Terror'

62,006 - The Number Killed in the 'War on Terror': "The 'war on terror' - and by terrorists - has directly killed a minimum of 62,006 people, created 4.5 million refugees and cost the US more than the sum needed to pay off the debts of every poor nation on earth.

If estimates of other, unquantified, deaths - of insurgents, the Iraq military during the 2003 invasion, those not recorded individually by Western media, and those dying from wounds - are included, then the toll could reach as high as 180,000."

You are what you eat

TheyEatWhat.com, explores the reality of feed at animal factories. Legal feed ingredients include diseased animal parts, feathers, manure, plastics, drugs, chemicals, and unhealthy amounts of grain. Some of these ingredients raise human health concerns. Others just indicate the low standards for animal feeds. All are symptoms of a system that has lost sight of the appropriate way to raise food animals.

If you aren't ready to go vegan then at least buy healthy ranch meat.

Reclaiming The Issues: Islamic Or Republican Fascism?

Thom Hartmann: Reclaiming The Issues: Islamic Or Republican Fascism?

Scientists See New Global Warming Threat

This is the danger. Global warming accelerates.

Scientists See New Global Warming Threat: "New research is raising concerns that global warming may be triggering a self-perpetuating climate time bomb trapped in once-frozen permafrost.

As the Earth warms, greenhouse gases once stuck in the long-frozen soil are bubbling into the atmosphere in much larger amounts than previously anticipated, according to a study in Thursday's journal Nature.

Methane trapped in a special type of permafrost is bubbling up at a rate five times faster than originally measured, the journal said."

Democracy Now! | We Shall Overcome: An Hour With Legendary Folk Singer & Activist Pete Seeger

Can't think of a better way to spend an hour than listening to an interview of Pete Seeger: American Patriot.

Democracy Now! | We Shall Overcome: An Hour With Legendary Folk Singer & Activist Pete Seeger

Earthship

 An earthship spotted just off Rosita Road, east of Westcliffe, Colorado. Fine specimen!! I intend to build one on my property south of Westcliffe. 

Westcliffe Colorado

 
 
 
 Relaxing on my 20 acres, 10 miles south of Westcliffe, Colorado. Last night we were awakened every hour on the hour by a chorus of yelping and howling coyotes. Sam the Wolfdog, now nearly 10 years old, declined to join them... 

Bishop's Castle

 
 
 
 This was the first time I've been to Bishop's Castle, about 45 miles south and west of Pueblo, Colorado. I had seen the sign for it, and had heard about it from others, but was wholly unprepared for seeing it in person... It is amazing. I am proud to state that I climbed to the tip-top of both towers, standing on the highest stair. And the stairs go round and round and round in a spiral of wrought iron allowing you to see below you from whence you came. Not for the fainthearted.

He is going to build a castle wall around the 2.5 acre property complete with a moat and a dungeon once he completes the castle keep. Why? Who knows!! 

Bishop's Castle

 
 
 
 Bishop's Castle is a wholly useless construction being built by a certified crank. Only in America. Jim Bishop is building a castle in Colorado, far from the nearest town, that has little to no utilitarian value. He is building it stone by stone, with wrought iron stairways and platforms. By his "manifestos" festooned around the castle grounds it appears the state has given him some trouble. The "declarations" are mostly ranting and it is tough to read between the lines to ascertain exactly what the problems have been... Something about shooting guns... 

"Shaggy Parasol" Mushroom

 More edible mushrooms... Found these on my evening run down by the "Iron Springs Chateau" down along Ruxton Creek... I put them in a box and refridgerated them for later this week... 

Bush Urges Nation To Be Quiet For A Minute While He Tries To Think

Bush Urges Nation To Be Quiet For A Minute While He Tries To Think: "'Every American has an inalienable right to free speech and self-expression,' Bush said. 'Nonetheless, I call upon the American people to hold off on it for, say, 60 seconds. Just long enough for me to get this all sorted out in my head.'

'Please,' Bush added."

Larry C. Johnson | Smearing the Wilsons and Sliming America

Larry C. Johnson | Smearing the Wilsons and Sliming America

The Savory Wild Mushroom

 Cantharellus cibarius, commonly known as Chanterelles. German: echter Pfifferling; Italian: gallinaccio; Spanish: canterela.

I found these delectable delights in the Experimental Forest on the Barr Trail on my morning run. Rebekka and I are going back up there this afternoon to get some more!!

Update: These are not Chanterelles. Chanterelles are smaller (2.5cm at largest) and are more curved on top. These were "edible" and I ate them, but they were a bit bitter to the taste. I kept adding salt and pepper to "improve" the taste. This would not be necessary with sweet true Chanterelles...