DPI candidate Potter calls ND “terribly embarassing”, served as Socialist Workers Party elector, gave false information to IRS

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One of Rob’s readers at SayAnythingBlog.com pointed out an interesting detail about Tracy Potter, the failed gubernatorial candidate who’s looking for another foot in the door of North Dakota politics: he served the Socialist Workers Party in the 1970s. People who don’t pay much attention to politics are probably tired of the term “socialist” after the past four and a half years, but this one’s documented.

Potter’s name appears under the Socialist Workers Party in the Official Abstract of Votes Cast for the “terribly embarrassing” state of North Dakota (more on that later) issued by the ND Secretary of State’s office in 1976. You can download a PDF of this document by clicking here.

Potter was serving on behalf of Peter Camejo, author of “Racism, Revolution, Reaction, 1861-1877. The Rise and Fall of Radical Reconstruction” (boy, if that doesn’t sound like the last four years!). Camejo was the candidate of the Socialist Workers’ Party, a party of former Communists and other radicals. Is this who you want running the Department of Public Instruction?


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By the way, Tracy Potter doesn’t appear to be a fan of children escaping the womb, either. In a 2007 Bismarck Tribune article he’s quoted as calling North Dakota “terribly embarrassing” for its predominant pro-life stance on abortion. Sounds about right for a leftist. You can download a PDF of this article as well by clicking here.

Strike three: you may not know it, but your land probably falls inside the new Northern Plains Heritage Area, an enormous chunk of land in central North Dakota that Tracy Potter got designated with the help of then-Senator Byron Dorgan. It allows for millions of dollars of your money to be distributed to dubious groups, many of which do NOT have your property rights at heart.

Potter lied about this thing from the get-go, including the fact that his Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation lied on its tax records. It claimed that it had not paid to lobby Congress on its behalf (PDF available here), when in fact lobbying firm Greystone Group disclosed that it had performed lobbying services for Potter’s Foundation “in excess of $10,000” (PDF available here).

So…here we have a documented leftist radical from a Socialist party; one whose rabid pro-abortion views clash with those of the majority of North Dakotans; and a proven deceiver and advocate against the property rights of North Dakota citizens. Is this the person you’d like to have running the organization in charge of teaching your little kids? I think he views this as a prime indoctrination opportunity.

Potter’s opponent, Kirsten Baesler, has received the endorsements of just about everybody under the sun, from varied ideological standpoints as well. They include:

The Fargo Forum, Bismarck Tribune, Grand Forks Herald, and Dickinson Press;

US Senator John Hoeven, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, Fmr Governor Ed Schafer, Governor Jack Dalrymple, ND Senator Judy Lee, Tax Commissioner Cory Fong, and ND Reps. Kathy Hawken, Mark Sanford, and Al Carlson;

Organizations such as the ND Education Asssociation, ND Family Alliance, ND Farm Bureau, and ND Association of Realtors

The choice is obvious: elect the radical with a proven history of disdain for North Dakota, dubious associations, and outright deception…or elect an experienced educator and administrator who has garnered support from the gamut of organizations, media, and elected officials.

Don’t put a 60’s throwback radical in charge of our kids’ education. Vote for Kirsten Baesler as DPI Superintendent!

Yes, I do know where the rest of it is

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Out roaming and four-wheeling around a friend’s land I spotted something very interesting in the grass near a section line: the complete front end of an old Plymouth truck! Very cool. The fenders and everything are all intact, just waiting for a photographer to wander by. I was happy to oblige.

Yes, I do know where the rest of this truck rests. I even spent some time photographing it where it resides under a tree, but didn’t really have the light I was looking for. Sometime soon, however, I plan to time a visit for the light I desire and I’m sure I’ll post the results here.

How to summon Bruce Wayne if you’re in Dickinson

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I spot weird things from time to time, and this phone in the Dickinson armory caught my eye. I was pretty busy at the time so I didn’t venture to either stick my hand into those wires to see if they were live or, more pragmatically, lift the receiver to see what would happen on the other end if I did.

In any case, someone has a sense of humor about this phone. I suppose there’s a Guardsman who can help shed some light on this thing, perhaps. In the mean time, I’ll it will have to remain shrouded in mystery.

The next time I’m in Dickinson I’ll give Mr. Wayne a call, and as I drive by the armory I’ll check the roof for a Bat Signal.

Gotta love those pink sunsets

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The past few gloomy days and some time spent working in soggy conditions took the wind out of my sails, so I came home from work early to sleep off a headache and head off a cold before it could get the better of me. When I woke up my little boys were excited to show me that the skies were looking bright red and pink on the western horizon!

I was in no position to get the shot, but it gave me the idea of going back into the archives to grab one of my favorite pink sunsets along Highway 25. Much like the fallen farms which only exist for a while, this tree has been whittled down a lot since I took this series of photos. Most of the branches are gone, making this a photo I can never really duplicate.

One of the greatest appeals of photography to me is that it’s about capturing a specific fleeting moment in time, one that may never come around again. The merging of proper technique and simply being in the right place at the right time is thrilling and addicting, just like nailing a corner just right while leaning over on my knee at triple-digit speed. The nice thing about the photo is that it lasts longer!

23,000 and we’ve got another man down, Dude

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While perusing a road along Highway 3 a couple of weekends ago I spotted what I deem a tragedy: the head of an old windmill lying battered and broken in the grass. As you may have deduced by now, I have a soft spot for these old windmills…and when I see the wreckage of one I consider it a loss, both historically and photographically.

This particular windmill had company; there was plenty of old machinery and other interesting stuff lying about, and I was able to peruse much of it with my camera while staying on my side of the fence (and No Trespassing signs). Some of them are going to be a lot of fun to play with in Photoshop, so they’ll have to wait to be posted until later.

Oh, I almost forgot: the reason I mention the number 23,000 in this post’s title is because the first photo above is the 23,000th photo I’ve taken with my Canon 7D. Still less than half of what I have taken with my other camera. No worries…we’ll get there eventually, but of course by that time the other Canon will have left 57,000 in the dust as well!

I think I know why it won’t start

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I was hunting around in my photo library when I came across this shot from quite a while back, and I don’t remember sharing it before. That’s why there’s snow on the ground, so if you haven’t looked out the window recently, don’t panic.

Clearly this vehicle has sat in place for quite some time to get such a lovely arrangement of trees populating its engine compartment! I may have to look through my GPS and find its location next spring so I can see how it looks with some foliage.

Two trees of Kidder

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If you got the reference in the title of this post (the two trees part, not Kidder) then you are a MUCH bigger geek than I am; I had to look it up. I mentioned on this blog’s Facebook page and Twitter feed that I was able to wander Kidder County last weekend, and I spotted these two trees along my journey. Distinctive shapes count as interesting, and so does an attractive background.

I still don’t know if this is hay or straw for sure, but I’m going to guess that it’s straw. The hazy horizon was very noticeable last Saturday but I enjoyed otherwise clear, blue skies as I bounced along section line roads and other bumpy trails. I’ve got plenty more to share from this trip, but for now it’s just these stoic trees.

Oil patch anecdote (comes with bonus windmill)

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Because I can tie an old windmill to just about anything, here’s a shot of an old abandoned farmstead that I located just south of Watford City on Highway 85. There…I think I’ve made my rustic windmill photo quota, so here’s my interesting story about the past several weeks in Bakken Country.

We’ve all heard the horror stories about the Wild West: the crime, the traffic, the overcrowding. I don’t doubt that many of those growing pains, and many of the reports thereof, had basis in fact. Oil production in Bakken country has slowed somewhat recently for a number of reasons, and perhaps that’s why my experiences there departed slightly from the tales.

My first impression of Williston was that sure, it was crowded with heavy traffic…but their equivalent of State Street, the divided Highway 85 that runs north out of town to Highway 2, was completely closed down on the southbound side for resurfacing. Of course it would be crowded with half the roadway available. In fact, I was able to get served faster at McDonald’s in Williston than I have been in Bismarck lately. While working with the security manager at the facility I was in, he gave the following advice: “Oh, sure…it’s not so bad here. But you should see Watford City!”

The very next day I found myself working in Watford City. I needed some accessories to build some 50 amp power cables, so I stopped in at the RV store located at the busiest intersection Watford City has. I noticed that I had no problem getting in/out of his parking lot onto Highway 85, despite a lot of traffic. It just wasn’t as bad as I’d been told. “Oh sure,” said the owner. “…it’s not so bad here. But you should see Williston!”

Now just a doggone minute here. The person I spoke to in each town thought the other one was the madhouse. In neither case did I see the kind of problems that I’ve heard so much about. Of course I’m sure traffic gets insane when there’s a blockage on the road…but I have spent dozens of hours on the road in northwestern North Dakota and never experienced any such issues. I’m not saying they don’t exist, I’m saying they’re not a 24/7 phenomenon.

I know that the medical system and first responders are overwhelmed in the area. I acknowledge that many aspects of life have seen great upheaval since the boom took hold. What I suspect happens, however, is what I call “REO Speedwagon Syndrome”: the tales grow taller on down the line.

By the way, if infrastructure is so far behind, and they can’t afford to catch up, then why in the world is Williston breaking ground on a $70 million recreation center? Is that the greatest need, or do they simply have a fetish akin to the Bismarck City Commission’s? I think it hurts their cause when they claim they can’t keep up with critical needs but they certainly have more money than you or I will ever see to start building indoor pools.

Of course my limited time up there didn’t give me the chance to see the whole picture. Again, I acknowledge the upheaval northwestern North Dakota has experienced. I also acknowledge that we can’t believe everything we hear about the Bakken boom without experiencing at least a little bit of it for ourselves.

Couple of capitol closeups

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I didn’t get to take part in the Bismarck-Mandan part of the Worldwide Photo Walk event last weekend due to an emergency, but I was able to head over there a few days earlier for a “Photo a Day” project in which I’m taking part sporadically. The theme was “something close-up”, which explains the alliterative title of this post.

The shot above is actually quite pleasing because it was unattainable by the general public all summer long; the scaffolding and surrounding safety fence were only removed from the capitol over the first weekend in October. This is my first close-up shot of the capitol with its newly scrubbed limestone exterior.

This is Becky (I had to give her a name), the statue near the veterans’ memorial south of the state library and heritage center. I tried a close-up of the dude, but his ear was full of spider webs. Creepy.

My friend Jo got a shot at the capitol that really baked my noodle, so i had to drive to the capitol today and poke around trying to figure out how she got it. I finally figured it out, but not until AFTER leaving the capitol grounds and the possibility of trying it to see if I was correct. I drove there over my lunch hour so perhaps I’ll have to take another crack at it before the weather goes completely medieval on us.