‘Til the Storm Passes By
Reply
Monthly Archives: June 2008
Your tax dollars at work
There’s always the chance that this sidewalk is going to hang a sharp right and connect with the adjacent driveway, whose corner is protruding into the bottom right corner of this photo. In that case, the money is probably coming from somewhere other than the funding from this job, and will have to be done seperately and at greater expense. After all, I’m sure some ADA money went to the little slab you see here, but the sidewalk itself would have to be paid for by other city funds. Ain’t government grand? At least it’s good for an occasional laugh…albeit at our own expense.
Successful nesting
Robins tried this routine two years ago in May in the same location, and I posted photos of the mom guarding her nest. Sadly, the robins abandoned the nest unexpectedly, leaving me to simply wonder what had happened and whether they would come back. When they didn’t, I took the nest down and that was the end of it. 2007 didn’t bring any robins to this particular perch, so I was a bit surprised to find them there this spring. Thankfully the results are better, since we have three hungry babies successfully hatched therein!
Dad seems to be a little put out by the sight of me lying on the roof of the addition to our house, camera at the ready. It didn’t stop him completely from bringing home the bacon, but he was plenty nervous. I’m going to give them a lot of space as they raise the little ones, but on occasion I’ll see if I can get any photos of the baby robins’ progress.
Something I noticed while waiting for the elevator at the Capitol
Yes, “we” were once at war with the indigenous people of this land…that’s part of our history. Likewise, they were occasionally at war with each other, and I’m quite certain that everyone in the USA comes from a race or nationality that was run roughshod over by an invading army at one time or another. That’s just the way history has played out.
I’ve interviewed Native American soldiers who served in the US Army during Korea and later wars. While many of them still carry around a lot of angst over the history of our various peoples, they were still willing to fight and die for this land as it currently stands. Take, for instance, the Standing Rock color guard I mentioned earlier. I was proud to see them standing at the memorial services last Memorial Day. Was it because of their skin color or race? No. Was it some sort of “white guilt” or a wave of political correctness whelming my soul? No. It was pride in these fellas who are actually members of a “nation within a nation” as it were.
While I recognize that the tribes are sovereign, I have to admit I’m confused as to what that means at the bottom line. Regardless, these men served on our behalf. Sure, there are still individuals harboring prejudice against each other’s race…but I still say we’ve come a long way from the days depicted on those elevator doors. The USA still has some promises to keep, but I’d rather face the hurdles with optimism rather than bitterness. Easy for a white guy to say, sure…but I still just see people as people. If all we ever did was hate anyone whose ancestors wronged our ancestors, you couldn’t find two people in this world to get along. I prefer healing.
The most popular 55 year old at Buggies ‘n’ Blues
I was excited to see this car, although I must say that I prefer the new Corvettes to the old. A friend of mine used to let me drive his ’64 Stingray convertible a lot, and that was nice because the car is such a classic, but the new ones are bristling with technology and far outperform the originals. It’s like comparing old and new Star Trek or old and new Van Halen…classic hot rods and modern sports cars are two different animals entirely.
I took a lot of pics during my walk around Buggies ‘n’ Blues, but haven’t had time to go through them. They may show up around here sometime down the road. I did see Governor Hoeven and his wife perusing the rows of cars, although I doubt he’s as much of a motorhead as his predecessor. I also drove out to the fly-in at the Mandan Airport, but didn’t see anything noteworthy going on out there. I suspect I was too late.
The cool, wet weather has somewhat masked the fact that this is the time of year when lots of really cool outdoor activities take place in North Dakota. According to Too Tall Tom, very warm weather is around the corner. For now I’ll just be thankful for the rain, and enjoy the outdoor stuff in the baking heat when it arrives.
You don’t need a zoo pass if you’ve got a four foot wingspan
After I took that last photo of him, he flapped away to parts unknown. Maybe some time down the road I’ll see him or some of the other herons that inhabit this area.
Litany of Failure: some MAFB specifics
“Inspectors watched as a security forces airman played video games on his cell phone while standing guard at a “restricted area perimeter,” the DTRA report said. Meanwhile, another airman nearby was “unaware of her duties and responsibilities” during the exercise.”
…
* An internal security response team didn’t respond to its “pre-designated defensive fighting position” during an attack on the weapon storage area, leaving an entire side of the maintenance facility vulnerable to enemy fire.
* Security forces didn’t clear a building upon entering it, which allowed inspectors to “kill” three of those four airmen.
* Security forces failed to use the correct entry codes, issued that week, to allow certain personnel into restricted areas.
* Security forces airmen failed to properly check an emergency vehicle for unauthorized personnel when it arrived at a weapons storage area, or search it correctly once it left.
* While wing airmen simulated loading an aircraft with nuclear weapons, security forces airmen failed to investigate vulnerabilities on the route from the storage area to the flight line, and didn’t arm three SF airmen posted at traffic control points along that route.
* While on the aircraft, one flight of security forces airmen didn’t understand key nuclear surety terminology, including the “two-person concept” — the security mechanism that requires two people to arm a nuclear weapon in case the codes fall into the hands of an airman gone bad.
How could things get this bad? I don’t know. It’s going to take a long time for the Minot AFB personnel to build a decent reputation again. But the Air Force is going to set about doing just that, apparently, with the addition of another B-52 squadron to the base. At first glance, a cynic might think it’s typical of government to reward failure, but I think that’s the wrong way to look at it. According to the article I linked above, they’re going to use the extra active-duty resources to allow for more training. Hopefully that’s the case.
It really does seem as though MAFB’s problems were a top-down issue. The first article I referenced described leadership that was detached from the servicemen. It’s hard to make changes at the top in any government organization, civilian or military, but hopefully the recent shakeup at the top of the Air Force command structure will ripple downward. Oh, and someone please teach these kids how to leave their cell phones behind.
Cold War exhibit at the Heritage Center
I’m not sure how long this exhibit is scheduled to be in the Heritage Center; in fact, I took the pics over a week ago. It doesn’t show up on the State Historical Society web page, but that doesn’t look like it’s updated very frequently. If you’re interested in this exhibit, hang a sharp right as soon as you enter the Heritage Center. It is (was?) in the gallery room preceding the door to the library of the state archives.