Senator Dorgan’s response to my letter

A while back I wrote to Senators Conrad and Dorgan about their participation in a letter sent to Clear Channel to influence political speech on their stations.

I got a response back from Senator Gaylord Kent Conrad which admitted that he didn’t know the context of Rush Limbaugh’s comments, so apparently he was simply being a good Democrat so he could continue to receive the over 90% of his out-of-state campaign contributions. You can read the post about his response letter here.

I just got my response from Senator Dorgan in the mail. He maintains that Rush Limbaugh was critical of soldiers who disagree with the war…no problem there, we’ll just have to disagree. To his credit, the letter contained the following: “However, in retrospect, I wish we had not started down this road of having the Senate involved in expressing support or opposition to various kinds of speech.” Later on he says, “…I think it would have been better had the Senate not rushed to express itself on either of these issues involving Moveon.org or Rush Limbaugh. Frankly, there will always be people on all sides of controversial issues that say things we might object to, but I think we should not have started down that road.”

While Senator Conrad gave me some sort of nonsense answer and apparently stuck to his guns on the issue, at least Senator Dorgan agrees that the Senators participating in the letter should not have done so. He’s not afraid to say so in a letter to one of his constituents. We’ll just agree to disagree on the intent of the comment on the radio that started it all. I’m fine with that.

Case closed, I suppose. I wish that our state’s Senate delegation had not signed on to the letter in the first place. It seems that only half that delegation can at least own up to it and say it was the wrong thing to do.

Luke Graner at the Walrus

I can’t believe I went to the Walrus and didn’t order a huge plate of pasta! Not only did my wife feed me a hearty meal before I left, but I was also there on a mission: to record Luke Graner’s set during the “Suchy & Friends” night. I brought my MD recorder and decided to take a few photos while rolling.

Obviously I enjoyed the show, even though Luke didn’t play any of my favorites (hint, hint) and the start of a nasty cold that made me want to flop down on a couch somewhere. One of the coolest things I saw through the whole evening (aside from my friend Ellen) was that the drummer was playing a big yellow Samsonite. It worked great as a bass drum, I would have never expected that!

Once Luke’s show was done, I grabbed my gear and went home to that couch and a nice hot Theraflu. I’ll never look at luggage the same way again.

A couple of my favorite Christmas trees

Outdoors, of course…it’s not like I’m peeking in people’s windows or anything! This one you’ve probably seen…it’s on Northview Lane, which is quite a popular place for people to troll along and enjoy the view.

I’m sure you’ve seen this one, too! It’s at the busy intersection of 4th Street and Divide Avenue. Personally I wish this one would stay lit all year. It’s fantastic.

There are a lot of fun places to go looking at Christmas lights. Marina Bay used to be a hot spot, but I’m not sure that’s the case any more. The limo companies used to offer packages to cruise around in a limo and look at lights, but I haven’t heard much about that lately. Hopefully it’s still going on, because there are great displays if you know where to look.

“Expert” claims that Minot AFB nuke mishandling is part of something bigger

Tonight I was driving home when I decided to check out what local radio had to offer. KFYR had Coast to Coast AM on, as usual. I’m sure it’s a big hit with local Ron Paul supporters! Anyway, there was a fella by the name of Charles Ostman who theorized that the mishandling of nukes from Minot AFB was part of a “False Flag” operation or other surreptitious activity. He’s trying to tie such a theory to Iran’s nuke program and the latest National Intelligence Briefing. I listened for a few minutes, in which I heard a couple of things that blew this guy’s credibility:

1- He pronounced Minot with a short i, as in “minnow.” For a guy who claims to have all kinds of knowledge about nuclear weapons handling, you’d think he would know how to pronounce the name of an Air Force Base that has been a critical part of our nation’s defenses for fifty years.

2- He claimed that the NIE is available for anyone to read. The last I heard, the full text of the NIE is available only to someone with the proper clearance, or a congressman serving on the appropriate committee. There are in some cases declassified “versions” of NIEs, or summaries that are public record; but by no means does an NIE lay all our cards out on the table for anyone to read.

Aside from having the worst web page I’ve seen in recent memory (heck, the conference links are five years old), I see nothing to indicate that this guy has the slightest bit of credibility whatsoever. It’s bad enough that such a serious lack of protocol took place at MAFB, but for the conspiracy theorists to have fun with it doesn’t help. Fortunately they only appear after midnight, where they belong.

What was YOUR turkey doing on Thanksgiving Day?

Probably not the same as this turkey, who was having a feast of its own. One blessing about being southwest of Bismarck is all the wildlife. There are the herons that drive me nuts when I try to get close enough to photograph them; the turtles that do the same; the deer and pheasants that don’t seem too worried about my presence; and the turkeys that act like they own the place. This would be one of the latter.

This particular flock was just hanging out, with only one ambitious bird willing to flutter up into the trees for the really good eatin’. The rest were content to just peck around in the yard. Then they noticed some crazy guy with a telephoto lens trying to get a better angle. That resulted in a mass turkey exodus. Having spoiled their dinner, I took off to enjoy one of my own, provided by my mom! Since we were barely home from the hospital (due to the birth of little Jonathan), she was gracious enough to provide us with an amazing Thanksgiving dinner while my wife took care of the newborn.

I know it’s December, and Thanksgiving day is a distant memory with the Christmas season in full swing, but I caught myself thinking about the sight of such a dorky bird as it lurched itself up into the tree. That’s a story that begs to be shared!

Cycle Hutt Christmas Tree contest! Visit in person, vote online

Justin and Tammy, owners of KTM Cycle Hutt in Mandan, decided to have a contest to help boost the Christmas spirit around the shop. Here’s what they told me by email:

As part of Mandan’s Holiday Shop Hop, KTM Cycle Hutt offered a challenge to their 16 employees: decorate the best tree and win $1,000 in cash; 2nd place $500; 3rd place $100.

To jump-start the decorating frenzy, each employee was given $250. The 16 uniquely decorated Christmas trees will be on display from December 2nd through December 28th outside KTM Cycle Hutt located on the Strip in Mandan (3700 Memorial Highway).

Drive by to view the colorfully lit Christmas trees during this holiday season. If you would like to vote for your favorite Christmas tree visit www.cyclehutt.com or stop in the dealership 9 am to 9 pm weekdays, Saturday 9 am to 1 pm. through December 20th. For 2008 KTM Cycle Hutt will allow non-employee Christmas tree entries.

I stopped by to visit Justin and Tammy and take some pictures, since the trees are located strategically around their giant parking lot. I thought I had a favorite tree, but I have to admit I’m stuck on two. This one depicts a motorcycle crash, one of my favorite pasttimes! There are wheels lying at the base, with fenders sticking out and even a helmet. Very cool!

This fishing tree is pretty sweet too. Note the frozen fish dangling from the arm of the chair! I don’t know where the bobber came from, but that’s pretty impressive as well. Very well done.

You can visit Cycle Hutt on the strip in Mandan. You can’t miss the trees, which are positioned around the lot. When you drive through, please stop to take a close look at all the trees; there are some pretty cool items hanging in them to complete each tree’s theme! When you find a favorite, don’t forget to vote. Click here to vote online for your favorite tree at KTM’s “ndracing.com” website.

A Christmas display that can be seen from space: the Schaff residence

Clark W. Griswold would be green with envy. I have featured the Paul Schaaf residence before on this blog, and I’m proud to do so again. It’s a fabulous sight to see. Of course, any home can be seen from orbit, but it’s fun to joke that perhaps this one could be seen without fancy satellite imagers!

Mr. Schaaf was featured on the PH Phactor last year and had a lot of interesting things to say about his display. He’s retired, if I remember correctly, and devotes a lot of time to putting up this display. As you can see from this photo of the backyard, his house is visible long before you arrive at his driveway on West View Place in Mandan. This photo was taken from 8th Avenue Southeast.

If you want to see this house, simply look southwest from any high ground in Bismarck-Mandan. Seriously, though…simply cross the river and take the first right. Stay on this road until you reach the Fort Lincoln school. Continue to go straight from the 4-way stop there, and you can see the house to your right. From there I forget the exact turn to take, but I think it’s the third turn on the right. You’ll figure it out. If you get lost, you can always look for the glow!

Christmas Capitol

All is right with the world. The “skyscraper of the prairie” is decorated with its windows tinted and stars lit atop the roof…and now there’s snow on the lawn! Perfect. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

With the NWS forecasting temperatures around 30 for the next couple of days, with the strong possibility of freezing rain, I really hope our cities can keep their white blanket intact. A white Christmas is the only kind of Christmas for this guy!