Ready for the cold

I spotted these familiar statues on North 2nd Street this morning, but had to do a double-take when I saw their new attire! It’s good to see that someone has a sense of humor. These statues are gonna need it – the HIGH for Saturday is expected to be five below zero!

“Hostile and abusive” company fined $2 million for making substandard Kevlar for our troops

Not only do they get caught doing it, but then they get a fresh $74 million contract to make new ones, according to this New York Times article. You can read more about it here on my friend Rob’s site.

What caught my eye, of course, was the “hostile and abusive” name of the company. I looked on the company’s website and found some very interesting facts:

– the company is “100% Tribally owned by the Spirit Lake Nation.” Aren’t these the guys whining about the UND Fighting Sioux logo? So why is it that…

– “By 1989, the Spirit Lake Nation had purchased the last remaining shares of the company owned by the Brunswick Corporation, thereby gaining full ownership of the company. Renamed Sioux Manufacturing Corporation (SMC)…

So, once again, it’s apparently just fine for anyone but UND to use the name Sioux. If this name brings up such pain and anguish and is such a derogatory term, why are the tribes using it? I think the whole thing is simply a matter of belligerence on the part of the anti-UND crowd.

I can’t forget the quote by Archie Fool Bear: “We went to a hockey game, and they talked about the courage and integrity of the Sioux people. We looked at each other like, ‘Wow, we don’t even honor our Sioux warriors or veterans like this on the reservation.’ ” According to the details in the NY Times article, I’m inclined to believe that UND is more interested in portraying the integrity of the Sioux people than a Tribally owned company.

Caucus at the Elks

I braved the crowds to join the fun at the Republican caucus tonight at the Elks. It was far too crowded to take many pictures, and I spent all my time talking to people besides. Here are a few random thoughts:

– Turnout was GREAT. I haven’t waited in a line like this since Sammy Hagar tickets went on sale at the Civic Center.

– I’m not funny. I was walking to the building with a woman who was going to pick up her son, and she told me she’s a Democrat. We were talking about why the Democrat caucus hours were 2 to 8 and the Republican hours were 6:30 to 8. My response: “Our guys are employed.” Judging by her reaction, I’m not funny…although I think the look on my face illustrated that I was just funnin’ around. We continued to joke a little until we got to the line a few seconds later.

– There are a lot of Ron Paul supporters here. That doesn’t surprise me, since we have a lot of libertarian types in our state. I agree with Ron Paul on a LOT of issues, but there are some key issues in which I don’t. Besides, he stands no chance in the long run. I predict he’s going to make a pretty remarkable showing in North Dakota, at least in certain precincts.

– Our country is polarized. It’s not George Bush’s fault, either. Look at the forces aligning on either side of the ideological divide. Consider how the states were moving their caucuses ahead on the calendar. Note the reports of unusually high turnouts.

I voted for Romney. I originally said I’d never vote for a Mormon, because I object to their cult (I’m not into identity-based voting, but Christianity trumps any other principles.) I wanted to vote for Fred Thompson, but sadly that’s no longer possible. The most important issue at this point has become tanking John McCain.

McCain isn’t just a liberal. He’s got his name on bills designed to limit free political speech (McCain-Feingold); to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants (McCain-Kennedy); and legitimize the hoax of man-made global warming (McCain-Lieberman). These bills are sponsored by this joker, folks…they aren’t just simple votes on issues. This man is responsible for, among other things, a law to stifle political discourse, in direct violation of the First Amendment. He is not a conservative, and I’m ashamed he’s a Republican.

Added 2/6/08:
The big thing with McCain is that he’s a liberal, and pretty much a Democrat. Don’t forget, he was in negotiations to switch parties and run as John Kerry’s VP in 2004! Remember the infamous “Gang of 14” that stalled the President’s conservative judicial nominations? That was McCain, too.

Even if you can ignore the other policy nightmares, consider this: we conservatives cling to the hope of the governmental Holy Grail of getting conservative justices on the benches of our government’s courts, to stop liberal activism on the part of current justices. Well, we had that chance…and who sabotaged it? John McCain.

My goal with my vote is to assist in stopping a McCain nomination. If we’re unsuccessful in that, I’ll write in Fred Thompson on election day. But if given the choice in November to vote for two liberals for President, I’m going to vote Neither.

Frosty Sunday

Sakakawea wasn’t the only one taken aback by the frosty, fogged-in capitol building today. There were plenty of us poking around the grounds, even in the early afternoon. I wanted to make it during the morning hours, but was unable to do so before church. I bolted to the capitol immediately after church, and found that the cold temperatures had kept the frost completely intact. There were a few other people poking around with cameras as well.

Somehow, I imagine this is exactly what it was like to be a pioneer some days…braving bitter cold in search of a better life. Thankfully I had the warm truck in which to warm my frozen fingers, because even a few minutes of working the camera made them painfully cold.

This wrought iron horse was a remarkable sight as well, with the gaps in the re-bar sealed with a frosty glaze. I had all but forgotten this statue, but it caught my eye as I rounded the capitol mall. I actually came back later to try a different technique with this statue, and there were still people taking pictures of it. The effect I wanted was to keep the background out of focus, allowing the horse to stand out a little better. It wasn’t easy; I need to get a neutral density filter. I was unable to keep my aperture wide and still keep a slow enough shutter speed to sync to my external flash. I used a lens that tends to help with depth of field, then exaggerated the blur a little in Photoshop.

Check this out – only one side of the horse is frosted! I got the horse at a funky angle here, and I’m not sure if I like it or not. It was accidental; I was paying more attention to other details at the time, so I could get back in the truck and warm my fingers, and get home to my wife and boys. Little PJ has been spitting up, so she kept the boys home from church this morning. Let’s just call the angle ‘artistic’ and not tell anyone, okay?

I also got some other neat frost pictures near the river, but those can wait until another time. As far as I know, the frost is still out there, since the temperatures are cold enough. How long it will last is anybody’s guess…I’m just glad I was able to get out there with my camera to capture it!

Anniversary of North Dakota’s last lynching

January 29th marked the 77th anniversary of the last lynching in North Dakota, probably the most popular one as well. Locals broke into the Schafer Jail and retrieved Charles Bannon, accused of murdering the family who’d hired him as a farm hand. Apparently there were nearly 75 people and over a dozen cars involved in hauling this guy out to the nearest bridge and giving him the last necktie he’d ever wear.

Want more information? Visit an interesting source of information: the North Dakota Supreme Court’s news page.