Umbrage, and some useful links to boot

I couldn’t help but wince a bit when someone at a daily Missouri River Flood Briefing repeatedly mentioned misinformation on “the blogs” and by “the bloggers” a couple of days ago. Personally, I was sitting in one of the Operations Centers doing my job instead of blogging, but I was still a little put out by that remark.

I don’t know there WERE so many Bismarck- or Mandan-specific blogs, actually. I like Randy Hoffman’s site and (even though we’re ideological opposites) I enjoy Cat’s writing. So who’s spreading all the misinformation?

Well, certainly it isn’t me. In fact, aside from some campy photos of the swamped riverboat, I’ve been far too busy to even get out an see the flooding in person. Even if I did, I think the past several years have proved that I’ve behaved responsibly overall in what, where, when, and how I post stuff on this site.

I guess it’s not so much personal offense as it is the way many people speak about “bloggers” with disdain. Having worked in the communications industry for decades, I could cite plenty of examples of irresponsible journalism from various media outlets in this town. Having a set of call letters or a printing press doesn’t give you any more credibility than the guy who has discovered a story and wants to articulate it.

Being a “citizen journalist” or “blogger” doesn’t make one righteous or noble, either; however, anyone who claims having a J-school degree somehow gives you a)credibility, b)accuracy, or c)integrity needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

As you should have deduced by now, I’m an information junkie. As usual, I have a few links that you may find useful. Rather than act like I have all the answers, I like to point you to the people who do. I haven’t seen these linked anywhere else, so here goes:

If you’re wondering what the river stage is at various measuring points, just click below:

waterdata.usgs.gov
 

You can find all kinds of data about the Missouri and other rivers in our area with graphs of all by clicking below:

www.crh.noaa.gov
 

This page will give you the daily water release orders issued for the Garrison Dam within the Army Corps of Engineers:

usace.army.mil Orders page
 

My favorite, which gives you a TON of information about just about every aspect of the various dams and reservoirs in our area of concern, can be viewed by clicking below:

usace.army.mil Reports page
 

There’s quite a variety of information available at the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division’s website, just click below:

usace.army.mil NWD-MR page

I said it before, I’ll say it again: I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I probably have some hyperlinks to help you inform yourself. Having said that ad nauseum and after posting all those links to dizzying information above, let me point this out:

bismarck.org and cityofmandan.com are STILL your best bet for reliable information.
Not facebook, not your neigbor, not even local media.

Do yourself a favor and find your own information from the source. Find out your home’s elevation, watch the river, learn what a river release rate means in relation to a river stage level and how that stage level relates to elevation. Once you get your noodle wrapped around triangulating rate/stage/elevation, you will be able to assess your flood risk very quickly. Better yet, you’ll see through much of the other misinformation.

“Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world…”

Those words won’t be much consolation to the biblically ignorant folks who bought into Harold Camping’s so-called “prophecy”…actually, they were banking on it actually BEING the end of the world. Of course, anyone who spends time studying the Bible saw through this charade instantly. Let’s see, take some really convoluted and erroneous math, throw out the book of Daniel and other prophetic books, completely ignore the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and voila’! You’ve got yourself a prophecy!

Let’s not forget what Jesus said about His return:

“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)

“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 25:13)

“Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” (Luke 12:40)

I read into the eschatology of these folks when people first started buzzing about it. Aside from all the nuts & bolts of the end times according to the Bible, which I don’t have time to dissect here, the Lord Jesus Christ makes it quite clear Himself that we’re not going to be able to predict or know. That’s enough for me…case closed.

I grew up Catholic, which means I didn’t always know what the inside of a Bible looked like. After I became a born again Christian and started studying my Bible, I was amazed at what I found therein. Old and New Testament correlated each other, scripture contextualized scripture, and I was blown away at what an amazing inspired book it is. It’s also a book that, when taken out of context, is a favorite weapon of all types of charlatans.

What about the poor folks who buy into this? Foretold by the apostle Paul:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” *II Timothy 4:3-4)

There’s one sure way to avoid being suckered in by this sort of thing: study your Bible. ALL of it. In context. Second, don’t give heed to anyone who’s got a $75 million dollar “ministry” and makes his livelihood from “prophecy” and end times “theology.”

ND Dept of Public Instruction partners with abortion factory, “pro-incest” group, other activists to steer sexuality of North Dakota children


You’d think it wouldn’t happen here, but under Wayne Sanstead’s watch it certainly will…if we aren’t vigilant. Recently the Department of Public Instruction scheduled a conference to “educate” teachers in partnership with abortion factory Planned Parenthood. As Plains Daily reports, “the conference’s keynote speaker is Kurt Conklin, School Health Project Coordinator at SIECUS (Information and Education Council of the US).” So what’s that?

SIECUS is a group which thinks that kindergarten children should be “educated” about their sexuality by teachers without regard to their parents’ belief system. Not only that, groups like this advocate for the queer agenda, and have added another letter to the acronym. Now it’s “LGBTQ”: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, and “questioning.” The ones they’re most particularly interested in is the Q’s, since it’s those that they hope to mold and shape into the good little homosexuals of tomorrow… regardless of how their parents feel about it. In case you think I’m overreacting, Time Magazine referred to this bunch as “part of the pro-incest lobby.”

SIECUS also is quite proud of its “No More Money” campaign, which it formed entirely to combat abstinence education such as that currently taught in North Dakota (and which is being bolstered by legislation this session). Guess who is on their list of supporters? Click here: it includes mostly homosexual advocacy groups and abortion mills…including GLSEN, the organization that was caught teaching school kids the technique of “fisting” and showing them porn. If you don’t know what that is, don’t look it up. I wonder if Wayne Sanstead knows?

Answer, one of the other organizations tied to this thing, has an interesting Vision and Mission page. It includes the line that “teens are responsible decision makers.” Really? Is that why we’re limiting their driving rights this session? Is that why we keep alcohol out of their hands? I guarantee that if you give a teenager another naked teenager, the LAST thing they’ll be is a responsible decision maker. But organizations like SIECUS, Answer, and Planned Parenthood are NOT concerned with responsibility.

The Say Anything Blog and Plains Daily broke this story several days ago, and provided this web form which you can use to contact Supt. Wayne Sanstead to give your feedback on this debacle. Shortly after they did that and people responded, Dr. Sanstead announced that the conference was canceled with no reason given for its cancellation.

Recent information has now revealed that this event is not canceled, but merely postponed. They’re simply waiting for the legislative session to end and for the heat to blow over so they can have their sex indoctrination session as planned without you knowing about it. The organizers’ own words indicate that instead of canceling their event, they’re merely postponing it “until the conclusion of the session. We have low numbers at this point, so lets use that as justification.” …”I hope we’ll find a way to re-group and make this happen when conditions are more supportive!” Click here to download the actual emails to prove it (PDF format) or peruse them below:

The conference was supposed to be about sex education, but as you can see admitted in the emails above and in the planned conference agenda, it focused heavily on the homosexual agenda. This includes a “charge to address LGBTQ issues” and a push to develop “environments inclusive” of these deviant sexual behaviors by your children. Sandra Tibke’s own assurance to these folks says that “This conference will cover the importance of adolescent sexual health as a whole but will take a large chunk of time teaching about LGBTQ issues.”

The question that needs to be asked is: Why would she need to assure someone that homosexual topics would feature prominently? Clearly the promotion of this activist agenda to introduce homosexuality etc. to our children is important to the people involved in this conference. Click here to download that agenda (PDF format) or peruse it below:

I wonder how many North Dakotans would approve of this being brought into our education system with the sponsorship of Dr. Sanstead’s Department of Public Instruction?

I’ve never been anything but forthcoming about the fact that I believe what the Bible says about homosexuality: it is a sin, period. But even if you don’t subscribe to my point of view on this, don’t you still think that the sexuality of a child is best handled by their parents, not activists?

I believe you can still use this web form to contact Dr. Sanstead and let him know what you think about this sort of thing. I encourage you to do so.

Once again, here’s a link fest for you to track this thing as it has unfolded.

Plains Daily: DPI Plans Sex Education Conference in Partnership with Planned Parenthood

Say Anything Blog: Tell North Dakota Public Schools To End Contract With Planned Parenthood

Plains Daily: DPI Sex Education Seminar Sponsored By Planned Parenthood Canceled

Plains Daily: DPI’s Sex Ed Conference Only Postponed Until After Session

Plains Daily: SIECUS Sex Ed Not in Line with ND DPI’s Stated Values

PDF: Conference “Save the Date” flyer

PDF: Conference agenda (including plenty of sessions on “LGBTQ” youth)

PDF: Emails regarding postponing the conference “until the conclusion of the session. We have low numbers at this point, so lets use that as justification.” …”I hope we’ll find a way to re-group and make this happen when conditions are more supportive!”

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” the saying goes. Make sure you tell and/or email everybody you know about this surreptitious activism, designed to take decisions about your child’s sexuality away from you and put it into the hands of the people you are supposed to trust with your child’s education. Make sure you contact Dr. Sanstead and tell him what you think of his department’s little sex-fest with these organizations, and insist that DPI cut ties with them immediately and permanently.

Barney

The remains of this old barn reside just northwest of Mandan on Highway 25. I’d photographed this structure before, but I don’t think I have done so while it’s been covered with snow. I like the range of colors.

A number of familiar old “fallen farm” structures around town have finally succumbed to old age and fallen completely. There’s only a certain window of time in which these photogenic pieces of history may be captured, and after that they’ll simply collapse into piles of rubble and rot. I’m always intrigued by the thought that these were new at one time.

Somebody once stood back at the completion of building them and stopped to survey a job well done. Somebody was excited to finally have that barn or that new home. Somebody grew up, worked hard, or maybe even passed away in many of these crumbling old buildings. That’s why I think I’m so drawn to them; a photo of a decrepit farmhouse, barn or shed is merely a starting point from which one can look back and surmise what it could have been like back in its glory days.

Earl Pomeroy ad ranked among “10 Worst Campaign Ads of 2010” by National Journal

Talk about recognition given where it was deserved! Many of us were left scratching our heads when Earl Pomeroy ran his “Introduce” ad, in which he tried to appear all conciliatory and ended up looking simply pathetic. You can view the original video here, but it’s hard to watch.

In a video I did around the same time, showing Earl Pomeroy’s deception and hypocrisy regarding his Social Security attacks, I mentioned that it made Earl Pomeroy remind us of a pouting ex-girlfriend, whining for us to take her back, even though she knows we’re sick of her nonsense. Again, I was baffled by his ad. You can view my Pomeroy Parody by clicking here.

The full list from National Journal is available by clicking here.

Guess where Byron Dorgan probably isn’t moving back to?

A statement in this dated press release from Byron Dorgan has some speculating that he is unlikely to return to North Dakota:

“I have written two books and have an invitation from a publisher to write two more books. I would like to do some teaching and would also like to work on energy policy in the private sector.”

That’s all fine and dandy. I read his first book, Take This Job And Ship It, and found it to basically be a bunch of campy anecdotes with the following simple message: Unions good. Business bad. Government necessary. Rob Port put it best when he described it as “a study in economic illiteracy.”

As Senator Dorgan’s term in office comes to an end, that press release has led a Washington Examiner columnist to speculate that Byron will become a lobbyist rather than returning to the state he’s called home for all these years.

And what of his desire to teach and work “in the private sector” (ie, pad his pockets as a lobbyist or “consultant”)? Somehow I doubt that will bring him back to the shoebox apartment (owned by Kent Conrad) pictured above.

I’ve long surmised that Dorgan and Conrad simply kept these little apartments, with their olive green appliances and ratty, hand-labeled mailboxes, for the sole purpose of keeping a North Dakota address on paper for residency…thereby providing them eligibility to run for re-election as North Dakotans. With that no longer necessary, I suspect somebody else may soon be occupying Apartment Number Six.

That’s good, because the LLC which Gaylord Kent Conrad (GKC) owns and sold his apartment buildings to for $1.00 could probably use the income. There’s a recall effort underway regarding the Senator, and Politico has an interesting note about Senator Conrad:

“The 62-year-old Conrad said he’s deciding ‘whether or not I want to do this another eight years.'”

Of course, I wouldn’t expect Kent Conrad to return to North Dakota, either. Not when he’s got a million dollar house on a Delaware beach that didn’t show up on his financial disclosure reports.

These two have been masquerading as North Dakotans while living the life of Washington DC insiders for far too long. We’ve reclaimed one office in the Senate, one in the House, and it’s time to take back our remaining seat in the US Senate. Chances are you won’t see these guys hanging out on East Central Avenue once that happens.

Let the Day Begin


Here’s to the babies in a brand new world,
Here’s to the beauty of the stars…
Here’s to the travelers of the open road,
Here’s to the dreamers and the bards…
Here’s to the soldiers on the desert dunes,
Here’s to the farmers in the fields…
Here’s to the preachers of the sacred Word,
Here’s to the loving God who heals…

Here’s to you, my little loves, with blessing from above, now let the Day begin.

Just sharing a friendly good morning with you and the windmill perched near Farmer’s Livestock southeast of Bismarck and some lyrics modified from one of my favorite songs by The Call.

If I had to pick the question I have been asked most frequently at the Republican Victory Party or even online yesterday, it would have to be a variant of “what will you blog about now?” My stock answer has been “sunsets and windmills!” Of course, the lead photo of this post is a sunrise, but I’m sure you get the picture (pun intended).

I started this blog as a photo diary of a guy who loves Bismarck-Mandan and North Dakota in general. It shall remain exactly that. Desperate times call for desperate measures, they say, and we certainly are in those. I won’t rule out a political post from time to time, especially with a lame duck session of Congress to deal with yet. A Republican sweep in North Dakota makes things much more optimistic here at home, but let’s not forget that we’re in very pivotal times for our country. I may periodically comment on things as a result. Regardless, I intend for things to return to “business as usual” here at the ol’ Blog.

Get out and vote! No, I’m not promising pizza, gas cards, or a free TV like the Democrats


Get. Out. And. Vote. Can’t make it any more plain than that. It’s time to take the first step in setting things right in our government. Here are a couple of quick resources to help you out:

Here’s a link to several maps showing you which legislative district you’re in: LINK

Here’s a link to find out where your polling place is so you can cast your vote: LINK

The link above is part of the Secretary of State’s VIP (Voter Information Portal): LINK

Oh yeah…about the free TV thing. Plains Daily and Say Anything are reporting that the Spirit Lake Tribe was caught offering gas cards to people for transporting people to the polls. The person who hauled the most would receive a flat screen TV. THIS IS ILLEGAL. Here’s the law (PDF).


This is the same law Earl Pomeroy’s cronies violated up at UND, using a Student Government van to transport college students to the polls and providing them pizza. UND’s legal counsel put a stop to that one right quick.

Get out and vote! If you see anything irregular, like someone bringing in vans of mentally disabled people and filling out their ballots for them, MAKE IT KNOWN. Take photos. Shoot video. Provide it to the Secretary of State’s Office IMMEDIATELY. Get it on YouTube, get it online. Make it public.

Let’s not allow North Dakota to become another Minnesota, where ballots are suddenly found at the last minute, waiting to give a liberal Democrat the victory. Don’t think the Democrats won’t do it if they think they can get away with it. I’ve just shown two examples of how they’re already trying.

Let’s settle this the old fashioned way: by overwhelming them at the polls! Vote, tell your friends to vote, tell your family to vote. See you tomorrow.

Earl Pomeroy and Social Security Privatization (and whining)


I don’t watch much TV, but even the little bit I do watch made me sick of Earl Pomeroy’s claims of Rick Berg wanting to “privatize Social Security.” Especially since it’s Pomeroy that wanted to do an even riskier thing back in the late 1990s!

I’m not the only one – RJ over at RegularGuyRant.com as done some great work in compiling news articles about Mr. Pomeroy’s history with Social Security privatization. It paints an entirely different picture than what our hapless Congressman would have you believe.

Watch the video, then enjoy the link to the Regular Guy Rant for all the supporting documentation.

Were Earl Pomeroy and Dem-NPL Party attempting to illegally buy college votes with pizza?


If you’re politically minded, and these days we ALL should be, you need to regularly visit RJ’s Regular Guy Rant blog site. Yesterday he posted information about two events in Grand Forks, one of Earl Pomeroy’s last liberal strongholds. A flyer from one of them is shown in the photo above. Note the new Dem-NPL “Obama-ish” logo at the top, indicating that this event has to do with the Democrat Party.

PlainsDaily.com, a news website which you should also visit regularly, started to do some investigating. In addition to the possibility of vote-buying with pizza, these events appeared to be using college resources to give students a ride to the polling place. This is specifically illegal (read the PDF). Adding to the controversy is the fact that UND Student Government vans were apparently used. Is this appropriate use of state government property, since those are likely state vehicles owned by UND?

UND apparently agrees, because their General Counsel has put a stop to the program. According to the Plains Daily article, “That program has been canceled because UND General Legal Counsel has determined that the program violated the North Dakota Century Code section 16.1-10-06.1.”

The best quote of the whole debacle comes from RJ’s post: “Anyway, one of my friends at the college told me that the rally generated ten voters and at least one of them just rode the bus so he could vote against Earl.”

Personally, I think this sort of thing needs to be investigated to see exactly which laws were broken and who’s responsible. If the Dem-NPL Party organized a voting drive in which they were buying votes with pizza and providing free transportation in violation of state law, then they need to be dealt with punitively. But, since it’s Democrats, the whole thing will probably receive “ho-hum” treatment from the ND media and simply vanish.

The big question is: will all the hijinks make a difference in Earl Pomeroy’s struggle to remain a Washington insider Democrat lapdog? My gut says no. In the mean time, if you hear about a similar event taking place, make it known. It’s illegal, and they’re Democrats. The two go hand in hand.