You’ve got about as much chance of winning this as the Powerball!

I love the way Adam Jones and the gang at the North Dakota Republican Party have been injecting humor into this year’s political races. Here’s a real gem, from today’s press release:

HAVE YOU SEEN REP. EARL POMEROY? Neither have we.

After voting with Nancy Pelosi 97 percent of the time and serving as the decisive vote for Obamacare, Earl thinks he can hide his record-by not showing up to talk to voters. The North Dakota Republican Party is therefore today announcing a contest to find him.

Participants who can tape a video clip of Pomeroy at a public forum or town hall will win an exclusive “Where’s Earl?” T-shirt. Eligible entries must show Pomeroy at a town hall event or public forum answering questions about healthcare or the stimulus. The video must be of an event occurring between today, September 13, 2010 and Election Day. Contestants can submit their video to contest@ndgop.org.

Pomeroy has held zero town halls over the Congressional recess for the second year in a row, and his campaign website has shown no upcoming events for over a month. Needless to say, this makes his false accusation that Rick Berg is ducking debates and hiding from voters especially rich in irony.

Pomeroy may think he can hide from voters. We’re betting he’s wrong. Help us prove it, and submit your video today!

Of course, this all stems from the fact that you haven’t been able to attend a town hall meeting or other public gathering where Earl Pomeroy is available to constituents since early in the debate over the government’s illegal takeover of the health care system. Here’s another example of the hypocrisy:

Visit Earl Pomeroy’s campaign website and you’ll see this:

There is nothing I enjoy more about campaigning than getting around North Dakota to meet with the folks that I represent.

But the fact remains that he is NOT getting around North Dakota and NOT meeting with the “folks” that he represents! I called his office asking if there would be anything coming up where a citizen could address his Congressman. The answer: Nope.

So, if you’re looking to win a free t-shirt, maybe you’d have better luck with the Powerball (not that I condone gambling). Chances of Earl Pomeroy appearing in public AND taking questions about federal spending and Obamacare are probably less than getting struck by lightning while cashing your Publisher’s Clearing House check!

Coal Creek sunset

This gorgeous sunset is the result of me standing on top of my wife’s truck to capture a shot of one of the crown jewels of North Dakota’s energy industry. This is Coal Creek Station, which is the facility responsible for DryFining™ technology.

The people working here got an idea for making lignite coal burn better by removing moisture. By the time they got their process worked out a little bit, they were also able to remove a significant amount of impurities and pollutants from the coal as well. They’re now in the process of licensing this sort of technology all over the world!

The whole thing started with some of that North Dakota ingenuity we all hear about, where guys just grab whatever is handy and start building something. What started out as blowing air through a barrel is now a process which can improve coal-fired power plant performance by leaps and bounds.

It also makes for a nice sunset photo!