New and experienced climbers over 50 #37

Carl Schneiderwrote:

Maybe it's time for you all to come to Australia for a long holiday?

We DO have our issues but no guns, GREAT health care, lots of jobs, wide open spaces, very liveable cities (Adelaide was voted Australia's most liveable city in 2021 and the world's third most liveable in the same year), great weather, GREAT climbing, great economy, etc etc... We especially love Canadians...

But lethal ‘roos. 

We are all being played by the .1%, the same folks that have bought the majority of worthless politicians out there.

FOX is  the riot channel 24/7 right now, MAGAts are eating this shit up. Ratings are huge.

No kings day should be good 

Colden Darkwrote:

Sitting in a Starbucks in Soldotna eavesdropping on the two couples next to me (without trying). Must be in their 70s or 80s. Red Trump hats on both the men. They’re discussing the two Mexican restaurants in town that were recently shut down by Ice. Yes, Ice is up here in AK shutting down restaurants. Must get rid of the dangerous dishwashers, after all. Husbands agree that “they” all have to go - all of “them” - (dangerous othering) while the wives nod in agreement but lament (with laughter) the loss of the best gwack-a-mole (pronounced to rhyme with whack-a-mole) in town. Surreal. I said nothing because I generally shy away from confrontation and I suspect there is no way I’m going to change their minds about anything. But it made me wonder, at what point will I speak up and - at the same time- will speaking up in a small town where I’m easily recognizable (both by beard and by vehicle) put a target on my back? A literal target. Out at the end of Funny River where my cabin is it frequently sounds like a war zone. I hear target practice every night. These sound like automatic weapons and small cannons. There are a lot of people (up here and down there) who have been prepping for and dreaming about this coming civil war for a long time.

People get ready.

I live in Wyoming, the state with the lowest population of all 50. Alaska has the lowest per square mile, but Wyoming is the smallest. I am a very social person, and interact with people of all sorts as much as I can. I like people, and socializing is fun. And, of course, everyone here has guns.

I have never witnessed a situation such as you describe. I'm not questioning your veracity, I believe you saw what you saw. But apparently Wyoming and Alaska are quite different places. Not much talk about revolution around here. 

Kristian Solemwrote:

I live in Wyoming, the state with the lowest population of all 50. Alaska has the lowest per square mile, but Wyoming is the smallest. I am a very social person, and interact with people of all sorts as much as I can. I like people, and socializing is fun. And, of course, everyone here has guns.

I have never witnessed a situation such as you describe. I'm not questioning your veracity, I believe you saw what you saw. But apparently Wyoming and Alaska are quite different places. Not much talk about revolution around here. 

Having been involved in the construction industry for a few seasons in Wyoming I just gotta say those two states aren't much different,  you’ll see after you've been there for a couple years. It's the same everywhere, the hard-core anti-democratic Maga gun nuts are in every state. Here in Maine, another tiny population state, you don't have to go too far inland before the Maga flags start popping up between roadside shooting ranges. You can live in rural states for 40+ years and the locals will still think of you as "from away", especially someone from LA building a million dollar home in BFE.

I'm not too sure these bootlickers have thought things out too well though, one doesn't learn much about economics with a 5th grade education.  It would be helpful for these folks to have learned more history or even have met some immigrants who fled their country for a better life, instead they educate themselves through Fox. 

Immigrants, homosexuality and liberal types are all these folks think about as far as current events in the world go.

Carl Schneiderwrote:

Maybe it's time for you all to come to Australia for a long holiday?

We DO have our issues but no guns, GREAT health care, lots of jobs, wide open spaces, very liveable cities (Adelaide was voted Australia's most liveable city in 2021 and the world's third most liveable in the same year), great weather, GREAT climbing, great economy, etc etc... We especially love Canadians...

It is seeming like the European countries are actively involved in recruiting our scientists who are all the sudden finding themselves without grant money from the NIH,  similar to the "brain drain" that occurred in WWII.  I'm encouraging my wife to keep a look out for research positions overseas,  bonus if it's an English speaking country. I'd move down there in a hot second.

Just read an article on-line, that at the request of the 'White House', an attorney for the DOJ just  provided a legal 'opinion' that claims that a President has the authority to undo national monument designations. This opinion specifically contradicts a 1938 determination by the then Attorney General that the President does not have such authority, a determination that has been accepted as accurate ever since. According to the new 'opinion' , since the Antiquities Act of 1906 gives the Present the authority to designate 'national monuments' and since the Act says nothing about terminating such 'designations', therefore ( according to the current DOJ opinion) the President has the same ability to 'undesignate' them. This seems a bit of a 'logical leap' ( I acknowledge that I haven't read the actual opinion to see how it is 'justified'), but such 'leaps' seem to be the norm for this Administration.

The article quoted a 'White house spokesman's' response when asked about this opinion:

"We need to liberate our Federal lands and waters for oil, gas, coal, geothermal, and mineral leasing".

Sadly, I'm sure that this is just the start...

WF WF51wrote:

And they want to shoot someone. 

It is all over the place. Here in RI one of my village neighbors went full crazed MAGA. I knew him from another neighbor who my step dad had worked with for decades and was friendly with and my SD often got invited over to dinner with his family or football watching parties that I occasionally went to (I am not really into football). I used to let the MAGA guy hunt deer in our back woods since he seemed reasonable at first and the deer were getting really out of hand. He would give us some of the meat and he was a great cook at the parties. Anyway he ended up getting worse with his drinking and he almost physically attacked my stepdad (who was in his late 70s at the time) and the other guy while ranting more than once. According to the other neighbor who knew him a lot better he actually had drawn up a list of local "Libs" he was going to hunt down if "the shit hit the fan". I was thinking "oh great, now I have to figure out how to take out a heavily armed alcoholic maniac if things go "all against all". Thankfully he seems to have recently moved away to northern RI, but some other community is going to have to deal with the asshole. The scary part is most of the time  previously he was reasonably intelligent, normal friendly helpful neighbor, so you could easily have no idea how crazy he is. There are  LOTS of people like that out there.

Kristian Solemwrote:

I live in Wyoming, the state with the lowest population of all 50. Alaska has the lowest per square mile, but Wyoming is the smallest. I am a very social person, and interact with people of all sorts as much as I can. I like people, and socializing is fun. And, of course, everyone here has guns.

I have never witnessed a situation such as you describe. I'm not questioning your veracity, I believe you saw what you saw. But apparently Wyoming and Alaska are quite different places. Not much talk about revolution around here. 

Kris I’ve lived in Wyoming for 50 years. You seem a bit naive about what is happening in Wyoming. We have always had a republican majority here but they were mostly good Wyoming bred republicans not the recent influx of new far right “locals” involved in our state politics. Now we have the Freedom Caucus firmly entrenched in the legislature and Trumps puppets Barasso and Hagerman spewing his anti democratic and anti public land rhetoric.

 Many of us here are concerned with the recent changes to our state. That includes not just liberals like me but also the long standing hunting and ranching community. 

Norm Larsonwrote:

Kris I’ve lived in Wyoming for 50 years. You seem a bit naive about what is happening in Wyoming. We have always had a republican majority here but they were mostly good Wyoming bred republicans not the recent influx of new far right “locals” involved in our state politics. Now we have the Freedom Caucus firmly entrenched in the legislature and Trumps puppets Barasso and Hagerman spewing his anti democratic and anti public land rhetoric.

 Many of us here are concerned with the recent changes to our state. That includes not just liberals like me but also the long standing hunting and the ranching community. 

I was just in Wyoming. Beautiful state and everyone I met was nice enough in person. At the same time actions matter and they keep electing Senators and members of Congress that want to hurt me and others like me. My home county has twice as many people as live in Wyoming. And they get two senators while we get none. California has like 70 times the population of Wyoming and still only gets two senators. This disproportionate representation leads to Wyoming, like almost all low population red states, sucking off the federal government with funds coming from blue states. And hey I'm OK with this. The larger populations and higher incomes of blue states mean it's not a big sacrifice. Where I draw the line is when they try to force their cultural values on the rest of us.

Easy but scenic slab problem at the Jenny lake boulders. I wanted to jump on Classic Overhang an old Gill FA I think but the boulder was covered with a large downed tree.

House of Representatives reflects state's populations; Senate is equal voice to each state to allow low pop states an equal voice to large pop states.

Anybody know where I can get a bunch of cheap gold paint? I'm thinking of spraying my house with it so I can sell it to some MAGA moron for 5 million and go visit Carl. Forget climbing, I would just like to learn to write as well as he does.

Norm Larsonwrote:

 We have always had a republican majority here but they were mostly good Wyoming bred republicans not the recent influx of new far right “locals” involved in our state politics.

Liz Cheney would have much to say on this, no doubt.

Populist politics get started because there is a level of discontent that a manipulative politician takes advantage of. History bears this out, as well as the fact it tends to result in great catastrophe. The only thing that has a hope of steering clear of this is an equally effective alternative. Maybe more time should be spent discussing what this should look like.

Norm Larsonwrote:

Kris I’ve lived in Wyoming for 50 years. You seem a bit naive about what is happening in Wyoming. We have always had a republican majority here but they were mostly good Wyoming bred republicans not the recent influx of new far right “locals” involved in our state politics. Now we have the Freedom Caucus firmly entrenched in the legislature and Trumps puppets Barasso and Hagerman spewing his anti democratic and anti public land rhetoric.

 Many of us here are concerned with the recent changes to our state. That includes not just liberals like me but also the long standing hunting and the ranching community. 

If I read Colden correctly, he expressed fear for his life if he were to get into it over politics with locals. That is not my experience in Wyoming. That was the point of my post.

I'm building a house a few miles outside of Hulett in Crook County. It's hectic there on the jobsite now, nearing completion. On any given day there are several trades working there at once. Lots of political views are represented, and there's a lot of banter but no hostility. One thing that's driving a wedge between a few of the right wingers and Trump is the public lands issue. I listen carefully to what they have to say.

I stepped outside of my comfort zone and asked a guy who i don’t know to hike to this dome. We repeated 2 routes , I had a good time and he agreed to go back and climb a new route with me. I left a rope and bolting gear stashed down there so I have to go back.
   I’ve lived for 35 + years in the foothills east of Fresno. We used to joke about “practicing up for the next insurrection “ when some of the gun loving neighbors shot all day long, I’m not laughing anymore.

Jim Malonewrote:

I stepped outside of my comfort zone and asked a guy who i don’t know to hike to this dome. We repeated 2 routes , I had a good time and he agreed to go back and climb a new route with me. I left a rope and bolting gear stashed down there so I have to go back.
   I’ve lived for 35 + years in the foothills east of Fresno. We used to joke about “practicing up for the next insurrection “ when some of the gun loving neighbors shot all day long, I’m not laughing anymore.

The talk about insurrection is pretty concerning, hope it's just bluster, not serious.  Glad I'm in small town Idaho where everything is quiet and guns are used in the fall for deer and elk hunting.

Idaho Bobwrote:

The talk about insurrection is pretty concerning, hope it's just bluster, not serious.  Glad I'm in small town Idaho where everything is quiet and guns are used in the fall for deer and elk hunting.

Yet northern Idaho has been known for years as a white nationalist community full of right wing extremists from all over the country. You are lucky!

I have family in S Utah and I wonder how it's going in their small LDS town (that definitely voted for Trump). The LDS have history of being secretive, well armed and a real love of everything white(and delightsome). I have a hard time visiting there for more than a day, it's like another planet with low oxygen and rattlesnakes everywhere.

Kristian Solemwrote:

If I read Colden correctly, he expressed fear for his life if he were to get into it over politics with locals. 

To clarify, there are two types of Trump supporters in AK. One type has been here for while (sourdoughs) and they are old school conservative Republicans and many are financially stable. They made their money during the oil boom and own large homes in beautiful spots with hangars full of every toy an Alaskan could want. These are the folks I overheard in Starbucks. There’s no changing their minds about Trump, but they pose no threat. They’re armed to the teeth to protect what they have but they won’t be going out looking for trouble.

They other type of Trump supporters are recent far-right arrivals from outside, many from the Deep South. These folks are younger and financially desperate. They buy an acre of vacant black spruce swampland and put a shack on it and start shooting their guns and filling up their property with trash. They came up here because they think there are no rules and they can do whatever they want. These are the folks who scare me. When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose. 

M Spraguewrote:

It is all over the place. Here in RI one of my village neighbors went full crazed MAGA. I knew him from another neighbor who my step dad had worked with for decades and was friendly with and my SD often got invited over to dinner with his family or football watching parties that I occasionally went to (I am not really into football). I used to let the MAGA guy hunt deer in our back woods since he seemed reasonable at first and the deer were getting really out of hand. He would give us some of the meat and he was a great cook at the parties. Anyway he ended up getting worse with his drinking and he almost physically attacked my stepdad (who was in his late 70s at the time) and the other guy while ranting more than once. According to the other neighbor who knew him a lot better he actually had drawn up a list of local "Libs" he was going to hunt down if "the shit hit the fan". I was thinking "oh great, now I have to figure out how to take out a heavily armed alcoholic maniac if things go "all against all". Thankfully he seems to have recently moved away to northern RI, but some other community is going to have to deal with the asshole. The scary part is most of the time  previously he was reasonably intelligent, normal friendly helpful neighbor, so you could easily have no idea how crazy he is. There are  LOTS of people like that out there.

There's only one solution. Everyone. Everyone. Woman, child, man, cat, tree squirrel, the dying, the unborn, the recently deceased. Armed. Two pistols and one AK-47. Count down, 10, 9, 8 . . .

I have been involved in shooting competition for much of my life. There is a lot of standing around waiting for your turn in most competitions. Lots of time to talk. There was always a strong faction that  was  talking about someday having to defend themselves from the government. Crazy thing is that now that we actually have a government that you should feel threatened by those are the tools that that are right on the bandwagon of fck the constitution, bring on the oppression.