“I piss on you all, from a considerable height.” (Louis-Ferdinand Celine)

The photo to the left is of one of the hardest walks we ever did, somewhere in Italy. It is not that it is a great distance or steep climb – most of us could accomplish this and recover quickly. The problem was this: I placed an orange arrow at the very top of the mountain we had to ascend.  Though hard to see, it is Rifugio Lagazuoi, seen above. It is a mountain hotel, where we would be staying in that night. We could see it, and over the entire walk that followed, it never left our sight. It also never seemed to get bigger. This is what made the hike so difficult, a psychological sense that we were not making any progress.

As the photo to the right indicates, we did eventually make it to our destination.

I wish at the outset here to separate myself from men and women who climb mountains. Maybe in another life I will deal with ropes and gadgets designed to suspend people at high altitude, as from the Half Dome or North Face. I have climbed, that is, jumped from rock to rock on minor hills and mountains, pulling myself up, losing fingernails, and I must say it was invigorating. Now, at age 71, I stay on trails. I have never used a rope, helmet, harness in any “mountain climbing” sense, and a carabiner only to suspend a water bottle from my belt or bird feeder from a wire on our property. You magnificent people who do that, go away. This is not written for you, who might echo Monseur Celine above about our efforts.

Continue reading ““… from a considerable height.”” →

I know everyone will hate this idea—and I mean, almost everyone—but, if current recreational trends continue, it might a good time to start accepting that grizzly country should be for grizzlies. Otherwise, it’s a near certainty that there will be more encounters that will equal more human deaths, which will almost always equal more grizzly deaths and further demonization of grizzlies. The the egocentric will hate it.  

https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/man-injured-grizzly-bear-after-encountering-female-cub

Alternatively, should people sign a waiver if they intend to walk, hike, backpack,  fish, hunt, etc. in grizzly country agreeing they will not hold a bear accountable if they are attacked and agree the bear should not be killed?

In Idaho’s Selkirk Range, the Harrison Lake trail was closed because some moron with a loose dog had his camp raided by a moose and shot it. 

Is it time for Glacier Park to control recreationalists, with more rules, like on National Forest land? Is that a good strategy? Or, is a no-use option the only solution? Why not just ban all recreation in griz country? 

There are far too many people recreating in griz country. Humans are a menace to most wildlife. They remain the biggest threat to grizzlies. Just ban all recreation in griz country.  

People in Great Falls showing up recently at a commission meeting to protest more development for recreation, stating they do not want Great Falls to be a recreation destination. They said: “Look at Bozeman and the Flathead – we don’t want that for Great Falls.”

… don’t you think the joker laughs at you? (John Lennon’s songwriting ghosts)

“I would rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that cannot be questioned.” (Richard Feynman)

7/4/2021 – We are in Yellowstone National Park with our two grandsons, having a very good time. We did not know what to expect, where we would be. In the past we would stay at Pebble Creek Campground, maybe eight miles into the park from the Silvergate entrance. All of the 27 sites were FCFS, that is, first come, first serve. We would look over the board and see what sites were coming available, and arrive at 5:00 AM the following morning to be first in line.

Continue reading “Expert texpert, choking smoker …” →

“We’re living in the first truly global-hegemonic ideological system in human history. We have been for the last 30 years. If you are touchy about the term “global capitalism,” go ahead and call it “globalism,” or “crony capitalism,” or “corporatism,” or whatever other name you need to.”

Manufacturing (New Normal) “Reality”

Continue reading “A new look at “reality.”” →

Earlier this week I bragged to Stephers that, having been at this since 2006, I’ve seen many bloggers burn out. But I keep going. It seems easy to sit down and write. I very promptly ran out of ideas. Karma is real.

The above video features one of my favorite comedians (I have many), Norm MacDonald, telling us that despite pompous pronouncement, teaching is not the hardest job in the world. It is the easiest. To teach a second grader, you only need have a third grade education.

Continue reading “The deadliest game afoot … criticizing teachers” →

The Nuremberg Code, a part of which is listed listed at the end of this post (concerning informed consent), came about in the wake of World War II, the result of a public trial of Nazi leadership figures in the Nuremberg Trials, lasting from 1946-49. These days we call such public displays “virtue signalling,” as in the wake of the war the Allies were much in need of a public face lift. Crimes against humanity knew no nationality, and my own country, The United States, was sorely in need of a public trial and a few ritual hangings. But victor’s justice prevailed. The Nuremberg Code led to the subsequent 1975 Helsinki Accords, designed to ease the stalemate between the West and the USSR that existed at that time. Article VII of the Helsinki Accords reads as follows, promoting

Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.

This was apparently intended as a slap in the face to the USSR, again, virtual signalling and nothing more. Neither the Nuremberg Code nor the Helsinki Accords have force of law or treaty behind them, and as such are merely window dressing. In fact, during the current “pandemic,” they’ve been ignored in total. It’s a good thing for leadership, as if these enunciated principles carried with them force of law, our prisons would be over-populated and thousands of white lab coats would be hanging in the closets. The medical and scientific professions are as corrupt as anything that might have existed in Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union that led to this massive display of false righteousness called Nuremberg.

Continue reading “Nuremberg Schpuremberg” →