I got my own little “squee” moment this weekend with my kids at the Dakota Zoo. This little baby prairie dog was poking around right by the glass where my 2 year old could watch him. He was so adorable I had to wait until he did something cute, like starting to nom some corn!
By the way, I got a TON of Buggies & Blues photos this weekend with my family. Once I’ve sorted through some of the coolest ones, they’ll appear here. Stay tuned!
Step one was to crouch in the grass, hiding the houses just over the hill. That introduced another problem, however. Because the sun was off to my right, the side of the sign that I wanted in my photo is actually in the shadows. No problem, just use a flash, right? Sure…except that crouching low made my flash blast the grass in front of me as well as the sign. Not desirable.
Then I realized that I had my remote flash cable in the truck as well as my monopod. I attached the camera to the monopod, then tethered my Speedlite to the camera using the aforementioned cable, and I was in business. The monopod helped me steady the camera with one hand. With the other I held my flash high and aimed it at the sign. A few clicks later, I had the photo I wanted. The sign was no longer a dark shadow, and the grass wasn’t illuminated. Then it was time to go home, get on a motorcycle, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
I like old weathered signs like this. My favorite one appears in this post from almost exactly three years ago.
“We will not waver; we will not falter; and we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail.” George W Bush
This is so typical of the liberal Democrat mantra of “I support the troops, but I don’t support the mission.” Have you seen the text of the resolution that Earl voted against? If not, click the link above. But first let me point out that this resolution was a show of support: it didn’t promise funding, it didn’t have any policy riders in it, it was simply a declaration that Americans are doing a good work and that they’ll succeed. Earl disagreed.
Here’s some of the text. I left out all the “whereas” clauses because, while they’re part of the text, they are not the meat of the resolution:
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives–
(1) honors all those Americans who have taken an active part in the Global War on Terror, whether as first responders protecting the homeland, as servicemembers overseas, as diplomats and intelligence officers, or in other roles;
(2) honors the sacrifices of the United States Armed Forces and of partners in the Coalition, and of the Iraqis and Afghans who fight alongside them, especially those who have fallen or been wounded in the struggle, and honors as well the sacrifices of their families and of others who risk their lives to help defend freedom;
(3) declares that it is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq;
(4) declares that the United States is committed to the completion of the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq;
(5) congratulates Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and the Iraqi people on the courage they have shown by participating, in increasing millions, in the elections of 2005 and on the formation of the first government under Iraq’s new constitution;
(6) calls upon the nations of the world to promote global peace and security by standing with the United States and other Coalition partners to support the efforts of the Iraqi and Afghan people to live in freedom; and
(7) declares that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the noble struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.
What was so objectionable to cowardly Earl that he couldn’t vote YEA on this? Did he object to a “Whereas” in there somewhere? The only one that should count is this one:
Whereas the United States and Coalition servicemembers and civilians and the members of the Iraqi security forces and those assisting them who have made the ultimate sacrifice or been wounded in Iraq have done so nobly, in the cause of freedom;
That clause alone is worthy of a YEA vote. Instead, spineless Earl the Pearl voted along with such notorious wackbags as Nancy Pelosi and Charles Rangel, one of the guys who keeps saying our soldiers are too dumb or poor to choose other career options. Then he has the nerve to show up at the funeral of a fallen soldier the very next day, putting on his North Dakota face on the flight back, and presumes (correctly) that it will go largely unnoticed.
The official roll call of the vote can be found here. Pomeroy’s name, quite appropriately, appears right next to that of Nancy Pelosi.
The full text of House Resolution 861 can be found here.
I know right now the struggling Earl Pomeroy is running TV ads claiming he’s such a friend of the veterans. If that’s the case, perhaps he’d like to answer a simple question: Why couldn’t he break Democrat party ranks even ONCE and cast a symbolic vote in favor of soldiers representing North Dakota and the USA as a whole?
To visit this rock, something that might be especially appropriate this Memorial Day, simply take Expressway north from where it intersects with Century Avenue. When you reach 57th Avenue, take a right and head east. It’s at the end of the road a short while later with a little cul de sac where you can park and/or turn around. Here’s a little map I put together:
If you were a teenager or older in the 80’s, you remember Sertoma Park in its heyday. You could drive into the park on the north end, where the walking path exists now. The road hugged the tree line all the way through the park, providing ample access to the sandbars below the Memorial Bridge. During the summertime, those sandbars would be packed with people enjoying the river, playing frisbee, sunbathing, or just hanging out by the water. The area was literally carpeted with people having a good time.
Well, the City of Bismarck apparently couldn’t stomach that, because they broke up Sertoma Park into a bunch of confusing little pods that do not provide more parking than before and totally obliterate ease of access to the sandbar. As a result: none of those pesky kids having a good time out in plain view! Only in recent years have people with boats begun to repopulate Bismarck-Mandan’s sandbars during the summer.
I don’t know what was such a huge problem about having vehicle or walking access to the top of Hillside Park, but obviously somebody thought there was a need to put a stop to it. In doing so they ruined the last truly great park in Bismarck, depriving many of its citizens the best view in town, and leaving photographers like me scratching our heads in bewilderment as we wonder just what in the world they were thinking. It’s as if they wants to torpedo our enjoyment of the area on purpose. Thanks a lot, guys. You just guaranteed that this park will see a tiny fraction of the use it once enjoyed. I hope that was worth the taxpayers’ money.
Also, the work here isn’t completed. It looks like all the roads and paths that are planned have been installed, however. It’s a shame, because that’s the part that’s so messed up! The other improvements are fantastic. There’s still time to at least get a foot path up to the top of the park; however, citizens who have a problem hiking that far have likely lost their ability to enjoy this park with ease forever.
Do you recognize ’em? If the windows don’t give it away, the curvature of the brass should.
Did you know there are a couple of very old grave markers, probably among the area’s oldest, right along Sibley Drive in south Bismarck?
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