[kleet]

So I'll ask you again BPJ,

[treewalker]

In a true capitalism, there wouldn't be such concepts as limited liability, subsidies, tax breaks or other ways that the government helps companies to avoid paying the true cost of doing business. Their costs are offset by forcing the american people to pay for corporations to destroy our environment, take away our rights, and then ship our jobs overseas. whatever we have in this country, it certainly isn't real capitalism and it STINKS. I am all for capitalism as long as human rights and the environment are considered sacrosanct and come before corporate profits. Corporations should exist solely towards the benefit of society.

[jenjen]

BPJ, what makes you think that the consultants won't find a way to hang on once they figure out how to allocate the maintenance jobs? Contracts will continually need to be revamped and renegotiated. This will be a continual expense. That said, I don't necessarily think contracting out services is a bad idea. It seems like a lot of employees in the public sector cruise along doing the bare minimum in their jobs. I'm a lanscaper, if I worked at the same rate I see most county park employees work I'd be fired in a heart beat.

[Stefan]

[CampChamp]

Just catching up on the threads and it appears that BPJ has been displaying more impulsive "Dribble" I believe is his word of choice. Joe you need to talk to MTN Goat about how to be an informed, thinking conservative. I think you have some people who want to hear from you:

[sarbar]

Hoo-boy, I opened a big ol' can o' worms when I posted this today-and I am glad I did! It is good to see others have my reaction to what the Adminstration would like to whitewash over! The NP system is far from perfect but it is something unlike anything else in the world-and taking it private is not what was envisioned when NP were created so long ago!

[Stefan]

I have been in Italy and hiked in their national parks there. There are actually probably about 10fold more people who use the parks and hiking trails than we do. People exercise in Europe more than fat Americans. The one thing that amazed me, was their lack of people patrolling as well as a permit system. I find patrols and a permit system a waste of money by the park system. Mountain patrols as well as hiking patrols just do not make sense. Forget the "wilderness" designation. Its over people. Our areas are not more pristine than parts of Europe. My opinion: The NPS DOES WASTE MONEY. FLAME SUIT ON.

[jenjen]

Um, CampChamp, you quoted me a bit out of context. If you notice I continue in my previous post to comment that contracting out positions may not be a bad idea. A bit of nitpicking I admit, but taking quotes out of context is what gets people in trouble and starts arguments. ie Bush being quoted, correctly, as saying "bring them on", ignoring the entire rest of the speech this quote was taken from. I'm not knocking rangers, I just think Government mucks things up more than it fixes them.

[CampChamp]

To whom it may concern: Write a letter or sign a petition. Give the Sierra Club your money. Do something about this. Just some suggestions. This administration is destroying (or making an effort to destroy) the whole National Parks System as we know it. Be aware of the consequenses and make your own effort to be educated about what is happening all over the country. Too much to list. That's all I have to say: http://www.petitiononline.com/SVNPS/petition.html please read the above petition.

[CampChamp]

I apologize, Jen-jen. Wasn't paying attention to what I cut off of your quote... I just wanted to make a point that BPJ loves to stir the pot, but needs to stick around to answer for himself...

[sarbar]

Hey, Campchamp, thanks for the petion link I did it, and sent an email to a whole bunch of my hiking partners and others. At least it is a start, tiny as it is!

[CampChamp]

You betcha, sarbar. I was amazed to realize all that is going on with not only the National Parks. Everything from the debacle wtih Tongass Nat'l Park in Alaska (horrible) to Bush trying to irradicate the Roadless Rule (look it up) in many of the parks and monument areas around the country for corporate gain. What is going on here? Or have things like this been going on for years and am I just now waking up??? There are some great petition sites - petitionsite.com petitiononline.com Do searches on these sites for what interests you. Everyone needs to be informed and wake up! Petitions, I have heard do not have the impact that a REAL letter would, however these are much more easily accesible and are better than doing nothing about the situation(s)...

[jenjen]

CampChamp, understood.

[Dante]

[Brain]

Am I the only one that noticed that the article posted was one of the most biased and unobjective pieces that could have possibly been written. It saw an opportunity to rip Bush and tailored the article accordingly. It would be interesting to see what the story would have looked like if it was written by someone without an anti-Bush agenda...maybe the privatization of the parks service wouldn't look so bad then and the benefits of doing so would be a bit more apparent.