Tolmie Peak Lookout

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Barb and I visited Tolmie Peak Lookout six years ago. Yesterday, we hiked up there again. We left a little after 6:00 AM and arrived at the trailhead at about 8:00 AM. The last 19 miles were gravel with “high clearance vehicles recommended.” The speed limit was 25 MPH, but in places, I thought 15 MPH was plenty fast.
The sign at the trailhead said 5.8 miles round trip. They lied. My GPS step tracker said it was 3.47 one way.

The first part of the trail was really nice. It got a little more difficult in places. But it’s not so bad that we really complained about it. We knew the reward at the end would be well worth it.
Down toward the trailhead:

And on and up to the lookout:



We started out at just over 5,000’ elevation. This is the sign at Eunice Lake

The lookout is at 5,935.
Near Eunice Lake, we were swarmed with mosquitos. We applied insect repellant, but it was far from completely effective. Barb described it as her being their buffet.
This is Eunice Lake with the lookout on the skyline just right of center:

About halfway up the hill from the lake, we saw Mount Rainer to the Southeast. No matter how many times we have seen it, it never fails to impress us. This is from more than nine miles from the peak with a cell phone camera. The peak is nearly 9,000 feet above us.

To the Northwest was a valley filled with a river of fog.

We arrived at the lookout just before 10:00.

The lookout isn’t particularly special compared to many other lookouts. But the view is very special.

It is hard to capture it with a cellphone camera, but this is a very round valley carved by a glacier.

Last time, Barb got uncomfortable with the trail beyond the lookout. I turned around to stay with her. This time, I went on without her. I after traversing this section of the “trail” I stopped and reevaluated my life choices.

I had gone further than last time, but I didn’t see the risk/reward benefit analysis being all that favorable. This was the view forward shortly before I turned back.

Lake Twenty Two

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On July 4th Barb and I hiked to Lake Twenty Two in the North Cascades.

We arrived at the trailhead by 8:20 and found the parking lot full. A couple hundreds yards down the road the day use picnic area had one spot we could squeeze the car into.

The trail is claimed to be 5.4 miles roundtrip and has a difficulty of “moderate”. They lie.

My GPS tracking app says it is 3.3 miles one way. Had the trail been on even ground instead of random sized, irregular shaped, rocks half of the distance we would have granted it a moderate classification. The constant attention required to our footing and the work to keep our balance make it above what we considered “moderate” difficulty.

That said, it was a very nice mountain lake with waterfalls and snow:

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Crime is Up After State Gun Ban—Make the Ban National

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Quote of the Day

We’ve banned assault weapons. We’ve banned high-capacity magazines. We’ve banned switches that turn regular guns into automatic weapons and here in Illinois those are things that will keep people safe and alive, but we need a national ban,

J.B. Pritzker
Governor of Illinois
July 8, 2023
Pritzker Pushes For Nationwide Gun Ban While Illinois’ Law Challenged In Courts

Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you no one wants to take your guns.

From the same article:

Just in Chicago, violent crime has risen 86% over the past two years, and 56% over the past four.

Pritzker is innumerate, evil, or both.

Prepare appropriately.

Only a Little Surprised

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Quote of the Day

A new study commissioned by the European Federation for Transport and Environment revealed that toxic emissions of sulfur oxides from 63 cruise ships belonging to Carnival Corporation were 43% higher than all the combustion engine vehicles in Europe. This stunning statistic comes as EU leaders have decided to ban small combustion engines for cars by 2035. But what about ‘green’ cruise ships? Only crickets…

“The most polluting cruise ship operator was MSC Cruises, whose vessels emitted nearly as much sulphur as all the 291 million cars in Europe. When looking at parent companies, as in our original 2019 report, the Carnival Corporation comes on top with the 63 ships under its control emitting 43% more sulfur oxides than all of Europe’s cars in 2022,” the study said.

Tyler Durden
July 6, 2023
Carnival Cruise Ship Emits More Toxic Fumes Than All Of Europe’s Cars, Study Finds

Although Barb and I have never been on a Carnival ship we have talked to several people about the various cruise lines. Carnival cruises has a reputation like the Yugo GV has in the world of luxury cars. Yeah, they are laughed at and made fun of. There is a reason the contempt:

If a cruise ship is in distress or the passengers are suing it is a safe bet to say it was a Carnival ship.

Carnival ships emit more pollution than all combustion engine vehicles in Europe combined? I’m only a little surprised.

Anti-gun bigots are the KKK of the 21st Century

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Quote of the Day

The proposed legislation is an abhorrent anti-civil rights effort. No community in Massachusetts faces this kind an intentional bigotry and oppression from the State Government! It is simply a post Bruen tantrum, very similar to Governor Wallace after Brown v. Board of Education.

Jim Wallace
Executive Directory GOAL (Gun Owners Action League)
June 28, 2023
Mass. Anti-Gunners Push More Restrictions; Gun Group Chief Fires Back

As I said almost 17 years ago, “Anti-gun bigots are the KKK of the 21st Century.”

Open Defiance of the Constitution

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I’m hearing the echo’s of their Democrat brethren from sixty years ago in the deep south. They have announced the deliberate defiance of SCOTUS rulings regarding freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights:

Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes promised Friday to ignore a major Supreme Court ruling that prevents the government from compelling speech.

After the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Friday that Colorado cannot require a Christian web designer to create wedding websites for same-sex couples that feature messages violating her religious beliefs, Mayes vowed not to enforce what she called the “woefully misguided” majority’s decision. The case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, challenged the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), a law that prohibits public accommodations from restricting services based on sexual orientation.

Mayes promised to continue enforcing Arizona’s public accommodation law “to its fullest extent.”

If only we had a President willing to exercise whatever police powers are required to enforce SCOTUS decisions and protect the rights of the people in Arizona. Maybe that will happen in early 2025. I could see it being a 2024 election issue.

The day when we get to enjoy their trials is getting closer.

My Proposed Regulation Change on Pistol Braces

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Quote of the Day

Stabilizing braces gave me the ability to get back out and shoot things that I never expected I would be able to again and my life changed drastically. Since then, I have been traveling across the country teaching veterans how to shoot again. That brace is the foundation of everything I do because I can take someone who has limited strength in their hands or is missing digits and give them confidence and the skills and capability to grasp a firearm again and get them back to the things that were such a part of their life.

Rick Cicero
Co-designer of the stabilizing brace
July 30, 2021
LAWMAKERS: ATF STEPPING ON VETS WITH PISTOL BRACE RULE

I have never had any interest in one of them and so had no real opinion on them other than the government has no business regulating them. That they are considered helpful to people with limited strength, etc. has shifted my view on the government regulation some.

I think governments should change the laws such that pistol braces can be paid for using your health savings accounts (pretax dollars). I understand this will be controversial. But I’m will to go with this a small first step on the path to the elimination of all taxes on all arms.

The Countermajoritarian Difficulty

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Quote of the Day

While supportive of Brown, the legal scholar Alexander Bickel warned—via what he famously termed “the countermajoritarian difficulty”—that courts should be especially careful when invalidating legislation, lest legislatures flout their rulings and show courts to be powerless. Because we take legislation as representative of the will of the majority, courts are required to show legislation a degree of deference. They must justify themselves when they invalidate law in the name of constitutional rights.

Caitlin B. Tully
June 25, 2023
Rethinking the Liberal Giant Who Doomed Roe

I found this to be a very profound observation. This appears to be what is going on now in our battle for gun owner rights.

Entitlements are not Civil Rights

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Quote of the Day

In the face of multiple Supreme Court losses, including the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the blocking of Biden’s student loan relief program and the end of affirmative action on college campuses. All these court decisions really amount to is a reversal of entitlements that never should have existed in the first place. Leftists see such entitlements as “civil rights,” never mind that they exist as a means to take the rights of others.

Tyler Durden
July 1, 2023
Democrat Rep. Has Psychotic Meltdown – Calls Supreme Court “Illegitimate White Patriarchy”

I have nothing to add.

Boring Markley’s Law Demonstration

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Quote of the Day

That must be one really tiny penis

Vrt @SkullSkates71
Tweeted on February 27, 2023

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier!

This assertion is so old and boring I nearly fell asleep trying to come up with an original response to it. I wish they would at least have an interesting twist. But that is too much to expect from these small brained anti-civil rights people.

The BEST Defensive Weapon

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Quote of the Day

For at least a hundred years the debate has raged and gun writers have written, ad nauseum, over the preferred defensive tool. The only point everyone can agree is: the BEST defensive weapon is a firearm, but it is totally useless unless accessible when defense is needed.

Chuck Klein
June 30, 2023
OFF-DUTY CARRY,
A SURVEY AND ANALYSIS OF CURRENT LE PRACTICES

And those who are opposed to the carry of firearms make their intentions abundantly clear. They are motivated to have you defenseless.

Reparation Fluff and Gibberish

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Quote of the Day

Reparations provide a chance to heal our nation’s racial soul, remake our racial politics and transform dreams of a more egalitarian and interracial democracy into reality.

Joel Goza
Professor of ethics and the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Simmons College in Louisville, Ky.
June 29, 2023
California owes reparations for making Ronald Reagan president

I didn’t realize taking money from the general population and giving to people because of their skin color change people’s racial souls. In fact, I didn’t realize there was such a thing as racial souls. And how does an “interracial democracy” differ from an ordinary democracy?

It is exceedingly rare that I have read an article with so much fluff and gibberish with so little content. It is truly a marvel of rainbows and unicorns. It must be all the schooling required to become a professor that enabled him to get so out of touch with reality.

From Gods and Curses Into Psychology and Sex

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Quote of the Day

i don’t think civilization has gotten less superstitious, i think it just shifted from gods and curses into psychology and sex

Aella (@Aella_Girl)
Tweeted on June 26, 2023

I could see a case being made for that.

Another Way to Enjoy Your Trial

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Alan Korwin proposed a new law:

The U.S. Constitution, for all its strengths, revered and imitated worldwide, has a fatal flaw. A weakness of Greek-tragedy proportions. The Constitution lacks punishment for those who would violate its terms. Yes, there are avenues of recourse, but these have been neutered and rendered feckless in so many ways.

…

What America needs, what our Republic and Constitution need, is strict adherence to a policy of, “No infringement shall be tolerated.” Small encroachments—like licenses to carry arms or speech codes—must subject people proposing such violations to penalties. Gross infringements like, “We’re going to take away your favorite rifle—and of course we’ll keep ours,” require prison terms. Stiff penalties.

I’m not sure why 18 USC 242 doesn’t cover what his has in mind. Regardless, if there were a means of reliable prosecution I believe the concept is sound.

Gas Tax Loophole

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You may have heard Washington state has the highest gas prices in the nation. A huge contribution to this is the state gas tax.

As I frequently drive to and from Idaho this is rather painful. However, I have found a loophole. The difference in the price of gasoline in Idaho versus the Seattle area is so great than I can buy ethanol free gasoline in Idaho for approximately the same price as I can purchase the 10% ethanol blended unleaded in Bellevue.

Ethanol free gasoline gives my car a noticeable boost in gas mileage. On my last return trip from Idaho I was able to demonstrate that I can fill up in Moscow, just over the border from Washington, and, driving at or under the speed limit, I make it back to Bellevue on a half tank of fuel.

That means that if I bring back a five or six gallon can of ethanol free gas I can drive around town a little and still make it all the way back to Idaho without giving the commie Washington state government a single penny of gasoline tax.

Oh, and I can buy all the standard capacity magazines and guns I want in Idaho while I’m there too. All 100% legal*.

*I am legally required to leave any such newly purchased items in Idaho until the courts overturn the illegal gun laws in Washington. But that is what the armory in my underground bunker is for.

Don’t Bring a Pitchfork to a Sword Fight

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Via email from pkoning:

71-year-old homeowner’s gun jams when confronting alleged burglar armed with a pitchfork, so he draws his sword: ‘He just saw red’

A 71-year-old man and his 61-year-old wife returned to their home in Seattle’s North Beacon Hill neighborhood around 1:30 p.m. Sunday to find the place in disarray. The kitchen window was shattered. Various items were out of order. The homeowner ventured farther inside to find the culprit lurking in his living room, wielding a pitchfork.

…

The suspect followed the homeowner into the bedroom and wrestled him for control of the gun. Despite the alleged burglar’s best efforts, the homeowner managed to break free long enough to draw down on him. He aimed true and pulled the trigger, but the suspect was left still standing. The gun had jammed.

Since lead didn’t work, the homeowner opted for steel.

Police indicated that after his firearm failed him, the 71-year-old drew his samurai sword and skewered the suspect.

I would prefer backup guns to back up swords. That’s the good thing about the Second Amendment. It guarantees you can have either or both if you want.

They Have to Lie to Win

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Quote of the Day

The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether to review a lower court ruling that struck down a law prohibiting domestic abusers from possessing guns. Speaking as someone who has represented families of women and children killed by domestic abusers with guns, the potential danger of this decision is hard to overstate. But under recent Supreme Court Second Amendment precedent, that danger is treated as virtually irrelevant.

How did we get here? Doesn’t the right of a child to live outweigh the right to own a Glock or an AR-15? In most of the world, yes. But in today’s America, probably not.

Jonathan Lowy
June 28, 2023
Hey, SCOTUS — the right to life trumps the right to own a gun

Hey Jonathan – the 2nd Amendment IS the balance between private gun ownership and public safety. SCOTUS has repeatedly said this. This is the age of the Internet. People can find and start read SCOTUS decisions with only a few seconds of effort. Nearly every sentence in your screed is an easily disprovable lie or is deliberately misleading. So stop the lying. You are just demonstrating your evil intent.

But, of course, if they were to stop lying they would have no hope of winning. It is their only hope.

AR-15 in Lawful Hands Brings Down Mass Shooter

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Intense:

Via a Tweet from Chuck Petras @Chuck_Petras.

See also:

I Hope they Have the Right Guy

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I’m not surprised. Idaho prosecutors are seeking the death penalty:

University of Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger is now fighting for his life.

Prosecutors had 60 days since Kohberger’s May 22 arraignment to inform the court and the defense that they planned to seek capital punishment.

They did so Monday in a court filing, alleging the 28-year-old “has exhibited a propensity to commit murder which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society.”

Almost for certain they have more evidence than is has been publicly released. And the defense hasn’t made their case yet. Hence, I am hesitant to be in support of conviction in this case. And if conviction is achieved I’m not sure I would support the death penalty because of the lingering doubt about them having the right guy.

I hope they do have the right guy. And if those doubts are crushed. Then, yes, this is an appropriate use of the death penalty.

Legal Bans Do Not Work

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Wherever and whenever there is a demand the market will supply the product:

Now that a year has passed since women lost the right to abortion, we can assess how our neighbor Idaho’s near-total ban on it is faring.

In short: It has accomplished next to nothing.

You can’t say categorically that the Idaho ban hasn’t stopped a single abortion. But the data suggests that is essentially the case – that the whole thing is a burden, cost and danger to Idaho’s own women, but hasn’t met the anti-abortion goals that supposedly informed it.

We know this now because clinics in the Pacific Northwest have started releasing data on where women come from to use their services, both back when abortion was legal nationwide, and now that it’s not.

Idaho women are simply fleeing.

Bans didn’t stop alcohol consumption, minors from getting tobacco, or other recreational drug use. They didn’t stop criminals from getting handguns. And it should be no surprise it didn’t stop abortions. Just as there were abortions when they were banned prior to Roe v. Wade. I knew a high school classmate who traveled from Idaho to Washington get an abortion. And women are doing it again.

Reduction and even elimination of abortions is a worthy goal. But I can’t see the legal system making a significant change in the total numbers. It has to be cultural change.

Legal bans only work when you have an adversary party involved which has the ability to support the legal action.*

* In the case of murder you have friend, relatives, and dedicated detectives to “speak” for the victim. The aborted fetus/child is unable to speak for itself and without a dependable voice from those who know what happened.