Category Archives: Other

Eight Senate “Coal State Democrats” Write Challenge To EPA, North Dakota’s Senators Conspicuously Absent

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According to this article from CNSNews.com, a letter from Jay Rockefeller is challenging the EPA’s attempts to regulate CO2 and bludgeon traditional providers of energy. It was signed by seven other Senators:

“The letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was signed by Democrats Mark Begich of Alaska, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Carl Levin of Michigan and Max Baucus of Montana.”

So much for that clout and tireless fighting for North Dakota that we hear about from Senators Conrad and Dorgan, eh? They can’t even stamp their name on a letter standing up for our state’s energy producers.

How’s that Hope™ and Change™ working for you, my fellow North Dakotans? Right now our state is the only one bucking the recession trend. The federal government wants to put a stop to that, and our Senators can only sit like good little Democrat pets and vote the party line. Where’s all that seniority, clout, and experience they brag about every election season?

Washington Times: “Make way for the Bismarck Earmark.”

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A short while ago in this post I pointed out the fact that President Obama’s plan to nationalize even more of our nation’s economy, in this case student loans, would pull the rug out from under 30% of the Bank of North Dakota’s loan business. At the time, KXMB quoted Senator Kent Conrad as declaring that he’d fight to get an exemption for North Dakota’s “socialist bank.”

Now, according to this Washington Times story, Senator Conrad is going to try to make good on that promise. My response to this is not that it’s good for North Dakota; no, it’s symptomatic of a problem in Congress. Even worse, it’s distracting from the real problem: President Obama’s attempts to socialize even more of the economy.

The federal government is broke. It doesn’t have any money; it’s up to its eyeballs in debt. The last thing it should be doing is promising to loan out more money, but even more so to legislate itself a monopoly and take the student loan industry completely away from other banks. Someone should ask Senator Conrad the following: if this takeover of the student loan market is bad for North Dakota, then how can it be good for the rest of the nation?

Instead of addressing the real problem, the radical left agenda of his political party, Senator Conrad is trying to put a “bureaucratic band-aid” on the situation by pursuing special favors for his state. That doesn’t serve our state or our nation well. Instead of more politics as usual, Senator Conrad needs to use the example of the Bank of North Dakota as a reason why the federal government should not mess with the banking industry even further.

The only thing Senator Conrad has accomplished in this case is make North Dakota look like Louisiana or Nebraska, states rightly vilified for seeking special treatment in dysfunctional legislation that the people don’t want. Way to go, Senator. We North Dakotans sure are Hoping for Change when you’re up for re-election!

Take Back Washington rally a 110% success

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I attended the Take Back Washington rally on Friday, and left energized despite spending the entire day on my feet (with a twenty pound camera pack) and on the move. I wasn’t the only one…several hundred North Dakotans joined me to take part in this synergy between the established Republican Party and the grass roots movement.

I’ve gone back and added a few things to these photos now that I’ve got the time, so check ’em out a little more closely:

“Thomas Paine” and Dakota Beacon publisher Steve Cates were among the friendly faces I found when I first arrived. If you don’t read the Beacon, you should. If you do read the Beacon, please subscribe. If you advertise your business or product, do it in the Beacon. “Thomas” is my friend Lynn, and I’m told that yes, those are rented socks.

Things started at 3pm with breakout sessions consisting of various panel discussions and Q&A opportunities. The topics ranged from family issues to energy to constitutional battles. This session was on taxation and government spending. Some of the sessions were in smaller rooms, others like this one in much larger ones. The only downside was that I couldn’t decide which one to sit in, and I wanted photos of all of them, so I did the best I could to pop in and out without being rude.

Each session had a microphone handy for those who had questions and/or comments for the presenters and panels. This was the family session, hosted by Tom Frier of the North Dakota Family Alliance. It’s also the only one I know of that closed in prayer. Amen!

My friend Rob was on the Constitution panel, and I didn’t even get to hear him! I was too busy running from place to place in search of cool photos. I allowed the organizers access to a bunch of my images to upload to their Flickr stream. This event is important because it can be used as a model for other states, and I want to contribute to that success.

I love this hat, belonging to a sweet little old lady who let me take her picture later on. I agree with the “Draft Ed” button, but now to draft him for a return as North Dakota governor! She waited patiently in her wheelchair for me to take her photo, giving me a little background about the history of many of those buttons on her hat.

Speaking of Governor Ed, he was on a panel with political expert Grover Norquist. I was able to meet Grover at a luncheon earlier in the day and get an autographed copy of his new book, too! Someone later remarked that no matter where or when you meet him, Ed is always Ed…a man of character. I’d wholeheartedly agree. Whether it was helping him get a restored car started at McDonald’s or chatting about getting a new racetrack started outside his ExtendAmerica offices, he’s been the same friendly, genuine person each time our paths have crossed. Mr. Norquist was nothing like I expected him to be, and is another patient and friendly guy. I sure appreciate his sense of humor (as well as the free autographed book).

All the panels were very well attended. I managed to listen in from place to place and really wish I could have been everywhere at once! It was impossible to pick one discussion I wanted to attend. It was hard to find a seat in most of them. I stayed near the back and listened while taking my pictures, moving from place to place.

I lucked into a VIP pass for a chance to meet the keynote speaker, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, and a seat right up toward the front. I’ve never been pranked by a US Congressperson before (aside from the daily backstabbing we North Dakotans get from Earl Pomeroy)! Nice to see she has a sense of humor 🙂 I didn’t really use my seat up front much, though, since I was roaming around with my camera as usual. The first picture we took was serious. I was about to leave when she pulled me back and said, “one more!” This was the result.

Then it was time for the rally to start. As you can see, it was a wildly successful event. There were several hundred attendees and the atmosphere was one of excitement and enthusiasm. Even with my blue VIP ticket, I was lucky to find a place to sit in the section they had reserved for us up front. That’s okay…I was only in it for five or ten minutes before roaming around the room with my camera once more.

The evening was MC’ed by the Chairman of the Common Sense Club, radio personality and event supporter Scott Hennen. I think he coordinated the effort to provide live web streams of the event as well. I keep a link to his radio station, AM 1100 “The Flag,” on the right hand side of this site. You can hear his show locally here in Bismarck-Mandan on News Talk 1270 AM.

Gary Emineth, GOP Chairman, deserves credit for coming up with this idea. I’ve only wanted to get involved in politics in the past year or so, and from the start Gary and other members of the party have enthusiastically reached out to me and others like me who want to make a difference. Republican party organizations in other states had better take note of what happened here tonight, because Gary’s idea was a sure-fire winner in my opinion.

Republican candidates for a variety of offices as well as party leaders took their places at a row of tables at the front of the room. They had no microphones. They were given no opportunity to respond or give a speech. They were there for one purpose Friday night: to listen. And listen they did. I have a really wide lens, but not wide enough to show you that Kevin Cramer was to the left of this shot. Make no mistake, he was there and listening.

Ross Ueckert started off the audience participation part of the rally. Ross is known for his effort to walk to Washington, DC and give our congressional delegation an earful. He made it all the way across North Dakota from Beach last year, and as far as Hastings, Minnesota. He suspended his walk (due to weather, I presume) and will resume on Flag Day. He isn’t going to stop until he gets there.
Ross’s stories of the people he’s met along the way are amazing. I got to chat it up with him at lunch earlier in the day. He proudly wears a bracelet bearing the name of a fallen ND soldier. The bracelet was given to him by a woman he encountered on his walk. Why, yes…he does have a website: www.ourgreatwalk.com.

Yes, I had my turn at the microphone after Ross. When I realized that I had something I wanted to say, I took a cue from a certain vice-presidential candidate and wrote the three points I wanted to mention on my hand. No teleprompters in this house! Naturally I was misquoted in the Tribune.

Then it was time for Congresswoman Bachmann to take the stage as keynote speaker. She was amazing to listen to, and appeals to people like me who value tradition, responsibility, and accountability in our government.

Michele (if I can presume to refer to her by first name…she’s such a charismatic person, it’s easy to think of her in a friendly way) was a superstar, even though Scott and others told the crowd that we’re the stars of the show this time. She was able to present some interesting information while being entertaining, endearing, and encouraging. Can you imagine her teamed up with Sarah Palin? Well, that’s going to happen down the road at a future rally, in Minnesota if I recall correctly.

Then the Johnny Holm Band took to the stage, with an impromptu parody song to the tune of “Battle of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton. He was able to talk some of the evening’s more famous folks into singing along with the crowd, as someone had dashed to a photocopier and made a bunch of lyric sheets for the crowd. I’m told that FOX News took the live web feed when the crowd started singing, but at that point I was packing up my camera gear to rush home to my beautiful wife.

I say again, the entire event was an enormous success from start to finish. The most important thing I got from the event, and this is what I said when I had a turn at the microphone, is that we concerned North Dakotans should not be considered “Tea Party” or “Town Hall” people. We’re North Dakotans who are standing up for our nation, and we are with the Republican Party on the vast majority of issues. If we differ with the party on certain issues, let’s change that from inside! They’re reaching out to North Dakotans who have never been involved in politics before, saying, “Come on in!” Let’s take them up on it, giving strength and direction to the party, and start taking back our nation!

History starts in Bismarck this Friday

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Click the image to visit takebackwashington.net
Forces align this Friday, and you can attend for FREE at the Ramkota. Michele Bachman, conservative spokesperson and US Representative from Minnesota, will be one keynote speaker. The audience will be the other. There will be a public comment period as well as the rest of the festivities listed on the website at takebackwashington.net.

Conservatives involved with the grass roots “Tea Party” movement are aligning with the Republican Party, since we’ve got common ideas. Don’t like something about the GOP? Bring your voice! Change things from within and hold people accountable to the conservative ideals we hold dear.

According to the site home page, there’s a star studded lineup of supporting organizations, including:

The ND Republican Party
Citizens for Responsible Government
The North Dakota Family Alliance
Concerned Women of America
The North Dakota Farm Bureau
The North Dakota Taxpayers’ Association
The National Rifleman’s Association
Campaign for Responsible Health Reform

Hopefully this event is just the beginning of Take Back Washington rallies in all of President Obama’s “57 states!” Come on out, let your voice be heard, help build the momentum, and let’s bring about some real “change we can believe in.”

You can sign up for free at the Take Back Washington website. It starts at 3pm and runs throughout the afternoon and evening with different panels and speakers – the agenda is on the main page. Let’s make history and start taking this country back from the radicals trying to ruin it forever!

One more adverse way in which Hope™ and Change™ impact North Dakota

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Among the many things that Hugo Chavez Barack Obama wants to nationalize, i.e. seize under government control: student loans. The problem for banks is that it takes a revenue stream and yanks it out from under them. Some banks, such as the Bank of North Dakota, derive 30% of their loan income from student loans. Hope™! Change™!

According to this KXMB article, there are 55 North Dakotans employed in relation to the bank’s student loan activities. I wonder if they’re feeling all hopey-changey right now.

Of course, one of our gallant Senators promises to ride to the rescue according to the same article, pledging to deliver an exemption for the nation’s only state-owned bank. What about the other banks across the nation? Because they’re not government entities, should they be treated this way?

I’ve been meaning to write on this for quite some time, so perhaps it’s even a done deal by now. If BND is actually exempted, North Dakotans should still be upset at this latest attempt on the nation by the radical leftists running President Obama.

This week’s episode of “Follow the Dorgan & Pomeroy Money Trail” – Connect the Dots edition

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Here are a few interesting bits of news for you to piece together and see if a big picture reveals itself.

According to this KX News article, Earl Pomeroy is once again being considered for a cushy job for a life insurance lobbying group. He was in the running several years ago as well, presumably with contacts he made while ND Insurance Commissioner. It’s called ACLI, for American Council of Life Insurers.

This insurance industry publication article talks about the loss of Democrats in the Senate. It points out that “Sen. Dorgan’s wife, Kim Dorgan, is senior executive vice president for public policy at the American Council of Life Insurers, its top lobbying position.” I find it remarkably convenient that the wife of one of these “Senate allies” holds a cushy lobbying position with the group. Something smell fishy here? I thought so, too.

According to opensecrets.org, The number one contributor to Earl Pomeroy’s election campaigns is a life insurance company. In fact, there are several insurance companies kicking in big dollars to Earl, along with labor unions, of course. In fact, there isn’t a single North Dakota entity listed in his list of top contributors! Let’s not forget, he gets ninety percent of his money from out of state donors!

Back to Kim Dorgan for a second. Her husband is a United States Senator. She holds the “top lobbying position” for a big lobbying firm…yet we’re supposed to believe that she lives here?

Once this news broke, this article was released, claiming that Pomeroy is not interested in the job. That may or may not be true, but it brings to light an important point.

North Dakotans have caught on to Dorgan, Conrad, and Pomeroy. We know our Senators live in ND on paper, not really occupying the apartment building owned by Senator Conrad’s LLC. We know how these jokers vote, and where their money is coming from. We even know that Congressman Pomeroy’s on a short list for a cushy lobbyist position alongside the wife of another North Dakota career politician.

While the mainstream media wouldn’t take the twenty minutes required to track this stuff and write about it, an average guy can put the pieces together in no time and let ’em go viral on the Internet. The “new media” is a force these politicians can’t stop yet, although I’m sure they’d like to try. Now that the people can arm themselves with information, we’re a far greater threat to these politicians than they could ever imagine. Now…let’s set about giving Earl Pomeroy the opportunity to explore other career options this November!

Governor Hoeven’s running

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It’s official: he’s in. I got there plenty early but there was no parking anywhere NEAR the Doublewood. The banquet room was so packed that they had to open a divider and fill a second room. I was on the press platform next to my friend Racer from KFYR TV and Scott Hennen from AM 1100 radio. One funny thing about Republicans, though…they don’t chant for long. Several times the chant was started to bring in the governor, but they had to be restarted. There was lots of applause and enthusiasm though!

It’s too bad all that ammunition against Senator Byron “Skybox” Dorgan won’t have to be used…it would be great to expose him for his true legacy. It’s no wonder he didn’t want to go against a popular incumbent governor, given all the baggage that is going to stick with our helmet-headed Senator forevermore.

Go get ’em, John! We’ll be keeping an eye on you.

Boston Globe can’t figure out why Senator Dorgan opposes his state’s interests so frequently

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I read Senator Byron Dorgan’s book when it first came out. I’m a speed reader, and it’s really just a bunch of fluff and feel-good anecdotes wrapped around a singular premise, so it took me very little time. The summation: protectionism and labor unions. Period.

This Boston Globe Op-Ed article has the author scratching his head in bewilderment over Senator Dorgan’s protectionist position. There were some interesting North Dakota stats in here:

– One seventh of North Dakota’s manufacturing jobs are due to exports according to the International Trade Administration;

– Foreign companies employ 8,300 people in our great state;

– 900 of our North Dakota businesses earned combined revenues of $2.8 Billion from export sales in 2008 alone.

I’m scratching my head too, Senator Dorgan. In fact, many of your North Dakota constituents have been doing so for such a long time, its a wonder WE don’t have your hair predicament!

Change North Dakotans can believe in: Byron “Skybox” Dorgan ain’t comin’ back

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This is good news and bad news. First the good news: Senator Dorgan will NOT be coming back next year as a US Senator from the great state of North Dakota. We won’t see any loss of representation, since he hasn’t represented North Dakota views in years. In fact, his Republican replacement will probably do a far better job.

The bad news: I expect him to vote with a “scorched earth” mentality in mind, since we don’t have his re-election to hold over his combover-clad head any more. Plus, I suppose he’ll dole out his four million dollar war chest to PACs set up to elect other North Dakota democrats across the various ballots.

With all the liberal Democrats that are announcing they won’t be running in November, I expect they’re all being bought off with promises of “czarship” or some other cushy reward within the bowels of the Obama administration. Kent Conrad alluded to as much already. That’s the way of Chicago thug politics: buy off and intimidate.

The major thing of note in Byron’s career, and this is why I refer to him as Byron “Skybox” Dorgan, was his involvement with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, something the media branded as a “Republican scandal” to shield their beloved Democrats. There is the Northern Plains Heritage Area debacle as well, which is still in the “unfinished business” category.

One question: does this mean he’ll “return” to his “home” at 1001 Central Avenue #8 here in Bismarck? Not bloody likely. Heaven forbid that we get another Democrat senator…but if so, will Kent Conrad rent this placeholder apartment out to them instead?

I guess Byron will have to remove this illustrious placard from his mailbox at good ol’ Apartment Number Eight. Think he’ll be able to cope without such luxurious trappings of office? I bet his home on the east coast doesn’t look this shabby!

Good Riddance, Senator Dorgan. Don’t let the door hit your combover on your way out.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house…not a creature was stirring, not even a US Senator from North Dakota

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I had some errands to run last night on my way to the law enforcement center to hang out with some friends who were on duty. My wife and boys were in bed and I wanted to let the guys know I appreciate them and wish ’em a Merry Christmas. I couldn’t help but satisfy my curiosity and swing by the apartment building that Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan use to claim North Dakota citizenship on paper for re-election purposes. Kent Conrad sold this apartment building to an LLC that he set up for $1 a few years ago, then refinanced it on a sweetheart mortgage deal from Countrywide Financial. Conrad was “cleared” by an ethics committee once the Democrats gained control of it in the 2008 elections and pulled pranks like changing the locks on the hearing room doors to keep Republicans from asking him tough questions. Members of that oversight committee had their own Countrywide problems they wanted to go away, as well.

The two buildings are part of one property. Apartment #1 in the building on the right belongs to Sen. Conrad. It’s the dark set of windows on the left side of the second floor. Apartment #8 in the building on the left belongs to Sen. Dorgan. It’s the dark set of windows on the bottom back corner. It doesn’t look like they’re “home” for Christmas.

I don’t know about Senator Byron “Skybox” Dorgan, but perhaps the Conrads are enjoying the holidays at the million dollar beach home that Sen. Conrad failed to list on his required financial disclosure forms. After all, it would save him the unpleasant possibility of having to face his constituents over his behavior in recent Senate votes.

Then again, maybe they’re so tired from stabbing North Dakotans in the back yesterday by voting for the health care takeover bill that the majority of North Dakotans oppose. That’s tough work, contorting yourself between the carefully crafted image you portray back in North Dakota and the lockstep liberal you really are in Washington, DC!

It’s time to send these guys packing, and throw little Earl Pomeroy out to boot. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!