Bismarck-Mandan Blog

I'd love to know the story behind these flags...

This large vacant lot along North 19th Street in Bismarck becomes the home of an enormous snow pile during the winter. We've had plenty of snow this winter, so the lot has been filling up over the past few months. In order to maximize the space, the snow is pushed into piles as it accumulates. These days there's a surprise atop a couple of the piles if you look closely.

Some enterprising soul has put a couple of United States flags atop these snow piles. I don't know if they were placed there as the snow was piled, or if some hiked out on top of the vast expanse of snow to place them. But they're there...waving proudly.

Hopefully they don't fall into the muck as the snow melts...whoever put them there, I hope they keep an eye on them. In any case, it was really neat to look over one afternoon and see the flags waving on top of a monument to the bountiful winter we've had so far!

City of Bismarck sitting on $15 MILLION in questionably acquired tax money

I had the opportunity to attend a meeting of the Bismarck City Commission last night and got to hear some really boring stuff, along with some very interesting stuff. Which do you think I'd like to write about this morning? :)

Recently there have been many questions brought up about the legality of the Renaissance Zone Authority, a body put together by the City Commission to authorize various pet projects in the city... beautification and upgrades, that kind of thing. If you read this letter (PDF) sent to the Commission you'll find that the way the City did it doesn't necessarily meet state law. But that's a separate matter from what I want to discuss.

Here's my "average citizen" understanding of what I heard last night (if I'm in error, please correct me):

When the City determines an area needs to be "renewed" the law enables them to come up with a specific renewal plan. They are then allowed to use Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to fund the plan for its specified goal. They assess the taxes of properties in the specified area at their current value at the time of the plan (in this case, 1978 or so). As those properties periodically rise in value, the amount collected over and above the assessed amount goes to the renewal fund. Once the work is completed, the fund is to be closed, and the remainder distributed to local entities such as school districts and the like. That fact is very important. Here's why...

If the urban renewal plan is "amended" along the way, the City is required to re-assess the baseline value of the properties taxed therein. Last night's vote to amend the plan was referred to as the seventh time this has happened. The way I heard it last night, the properties in the downtown area, however, have not been adjusted in the TIF plan since their original value! That simple fact is the basis for this post. What does it mean to you or me?

Let's say I had property downtown that was taxed at $100 a year at the start of the renewal plan. Year one of the plan I paid $105 in taxes, so $5 went to the Urban Renewal Fund. Fine and dandy...but fast forward 32 years, and maybe I'm paying $1000 in property taxes. now the county gets $100 again, and the urban renewal fund gets $900! That's $900 that could go to roads, schools, and things other than beautifying someone else's neighborhood.

If you paid attention to the last legislative session, you know that the state passed a boondoggle of a bill in the name of "property tax relief" because people are upset at the amount they need to pay for property taxes. At the same time, the City of Bismarck is using questionable math and, to my understanding, bending the law as it relates to urban renewal. All the while it's padding its urban renewal coffers by neglecting to re-assess the properties in the TIF area!

Like I said, the TIF idea enables the cities to "skim off the top" a bit for urban renewal. BUT...it also requires the amount above which they can skim to be adjusted every time the plan is updated for new pet projects! Apparently, in the past 32 years that has NOT been done.

This, of course, also flies in the face of the fact that the urban renewal law intended for a specific plan to be made, executed, funded, and then ended. The City of Bismarck seems to think they can keep amending this plan ad infinitum, collecting all the money in excess of 32 year old property tax values, and then congratulates itself for having FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS of tax money available for said projects. This is dishonest, it's a violation of policy, and might just be illegal.

My friend Brett over at the North Dakota Policy Council has been following this and put together a little video about this Tax Increment Financing. As a taxpayer I suggest you watch it:

You can also read a little more on this page, which has the same video and a link to the PDF letter sent to the City Commission. If you'll note in the letter, a decision to amend the Urban Renewal Plan was made by the Renaissance Zone Authority board, which was delegated that authority by the state. The problem is that the City did not follow state law in setting up such a board, nor did they comply with the law in delegating their authority to amend the Plan to the Renaissance Zone entity.

I heard buzz that the reason they held the meeting last night addressing the Urban Renewal amendment was so the City Commission could vote on it themselves, since they realized they screwed up with the Renaissance Zone Authority. That's all speculation. Even if it's true, it highlighted one other fact, one that meetings won't fix: the City has been dragging this Urban Renewal Plan along, with apparently little oversight from us, the citizens. It's time that is changed. The Urban Renewal plan wasn't intended to be turned into an open-ended pet project.

If they're sitting on $15 million that was taxed improperly, then I suggest that Urban Renewal Plan projects be STOPPED until the TIF mess can be sorted out. Money that should not have been skimmed into the fund should be returned to the entities who need it, and the remainder made available for Urban Renewal as planned. The City should be required to outline a specific, finite plan for renewal and, according to the law, finish that plan and close out the fund. If they find another project that needs TIF financing, then write up a new plan for that project and go about it on its own merits. It's time to get rid of the city's perpetual Urban Renewal piggy bank!

This TIF money in the urban renewal fund is money that would otherwise go to schools, roads, or emergency services. Instead, it's sitting in an account waiting to dress up someone else's property. Is that how the people in the Cathedral District got a facelift for their neighborhoods? Citizens of Bismarck, we need to wake up and keep an eye on how our city government is collecting and spending our tax money!

Let's say I'm wrong, and the property values have been adjusted along the way as this Urban Renewal plan morphs into an open-ended pet project. That makes much of my argument above irrelevant, except for one thing: Urban Renewal plans are NOT supposed to be perpetual. They are supposed to be designed with specific project goals and closed when those projects are completed. A new Urban Renewal project should have its own plan and funding. That prevents a mess like I've outlined above from dragging itself out over thirty years and tying up millions of dollars in taxpayers' money.

(Here's a Bismarck Tribune article on the meeting, but they don't get into why there's concern about the pool of money in the Urban Renewal fund, or how it got there.)

Again, this is my understanding of the program as a taxpaying citizen and property owner. I'm still getting up to speed. I'm also not implying malicious intent on the part of any city officials, just that the city's Urban Renewal activities need to be scrutinized and brought into compliance with state law. If you spot anything in this post that's inaccurate, let me know so I can correct it ASAP. For more information on how you relate to your government, check out the North Dakota Policy Council website frequently. It's a great resource.

My new favorite billboard in town

In the past few months I've had several friends show up on billboards around town for various ad campaigns. Those were cool to see, and my little toddlers love pointing them out. This sign, however, is my new favorite! It points right toward the Federal Building on 3rd and Rosser, and I think it's visible from Earl Pomeroy's office windows! In many ways, the view from his Fortress of Solitude isn't so lovely these days.

It's still Christmas on east Divide Avenue

This beautiful Christmas display is still providing a much-needed splash of color to the trees near Sleepy Hollow on east Divide Avenue in Bismarck. As I've said before, I put the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack in my truck's minidisc player with the first snowfall and don't remove it until the snow's gone the following Spring. I will gladly take an extended Christmas season, and I notice that there are a few kindred spirits around Bismarck and Mandan.

As things begin to transition from white and gray to gray and brown, it's nice to see some bold color breaking up the monotony. The melting snow is going to make things pretty dirty for a while, and green grass and leafy trees are still several weeks away. In the mean time, it's sights like this that give the eye a break from all the dreary grays and browns.

"They've gone to plaid!"

When you've got a toddler coughing every couple of minutes and went to bed VERY early due to a migraine, then you'll find yourself up at 4am making quotes from the movie Spaceballs. I'm just sayin'.

I spent a chunk of time indoors this weekend, scanning slides and film negatives before returning our ultra-sweet Canon film & slide scanner to the office. While watching the Class B, I saw a bit of an epic transmission fail (pictured above). When I worked at KFYR I built an edit suite in my home office that blew away the setup I had at the TV station, including a quick "F7" macro to make a screen shot of whatever is piping through my house's AV system. This is what I got Thursday night.

I only show this screen capture to make a point...no, not about KFYR. It's about digital. Remember your old analog cell phone? Sometimes it got fuzzy but you could usually make out what was being said on the other end. Now it simply drops out. How about digital TV, if you don't have cable? Instead of a fuzzy picture, you get gibberish or a frozen frame. Those are the pitfalls of replacing analog with digital.

The western North Dakota NBC stations ditched their analog microwave ICR (Inter City Relay) system a long time ago in favor of fiber optic digital. Well, when something goes wacky there, you can about imagine how much fun it is. No fuzzy image until the problem gets sorted out...no, you get to be a Spaceballs reference. Seeing this on the air made me glad I wasn't in the truck or the control room for this one :) I've had my share of those moments.

I didn't get to watch the finals because I was working Saturday night, directing the internal feed for the WDA tournament. I haven't directed anything in a while; I've only run cameras or replays this season. It was fun to get the captain's seat for a little while, especially with camera operators and a replay guy that make the job easy. I like to think I started getting back into the swing of things by the end of the second half of the last game ;-)

Something I'm told you won't find north of Bismarck this year

This slab of ice, jutting straight upward to the tune of twelve feet or more, was part of a pressure ridge on Lake Audubon, north of Bismarck about an hour (or less, if you drive like some people). Being the adventurous sort and having checked out the ice's stability, I ventured to an adjacent high point to snap a few photos.

As the title implies, these photos were not taken this winter. They date back a couple of years, since we've had way too much snow for something like this to be available. This particular pressure ridge is WAY out on the lake, near an island that's only accessible by boat for most of the year.

The past couple of years have seen the ice covered by so much snow, it's nearly impossible to drive on much of the lake. I bet that's a bummer for the ice fishermen! Well, it's not fun for us photographer's either. Check out the amazing colors in the ice and water in that shot. I'd love a chance to chase down more images like these.

We do, of course, still have dramatic winter skies. At the end of this trip, a wave of weather was on its way. You can see the band of clouds approaching. Having parked our vehicle a long ways away from the pressure ridge, it wsa time to hike back to it and roam around the ice some more. Sadly, I didn't get to take a repeat trip this year, since I was told that the snow makes it an impossibility. I do like to dig up these photos and share them every now and then, though. Someday I'll get the opportunity for more.

If the squeaky wheel gets the grease, what does the frosty one get?

It gets its picture taken, I suppose! This fine example sits in the snow on 93rd Street southeast of town. The frost is from the haze that's been hanging over Bismarck-Mandan every morning lately.

Pomeroy: one "cookie-cutter approach" to health care is just fine for North Dakota, another is not

I got a copy of this email sent out by Congressman Pomeroy's office this morning (no, I'm not on the mailing list) to someone I know, detailing a problem he has with Medicare funding and its impact on rural medicine. Apparently a new requirement of having routine therapeutic services performed by a nurse or other professional will only be reimbursed if "a doctor or mid-level practitioner is physically present," instead of within 30 minutes of the hospital. Obviously this is not good for the practice of rural medicine in many cases.

Congressman Pomeroy makes a good point. I won't disagree with him on that. There is, however, an even stronger point brought up by this last paragraph in his email:

I have been in touch with CMS and the Administration to make clear that this new rule is not acceptable, and I�m going to keep pushing them to resolve this issue. This policy might be just fine for hospitals in New York City and other urban centers, but here in North Dakota, this cookie-cutter approach is exactly the wrong way to go about it.

I think many North Dakotans would agree with you, Congressman. Why is it, then, if something so relatively small as a reimbursement requirement for therapeutic services is so unacceptable and worthy of a fight, do you want to support your party's unwanted, unconstitutional "cookie-cutter" approach to nationalizing health care entirely?

Congressman Pomeroy has been dutifully following his political party's lead and voting at Nancy Pelosi's behest to force a "cookie-cutter approach" to the federal government's takeover of the nation's health care system. Doing so would force North Dakota to abide by the same bureaucratic nightmare as "New York City and other urban centers," and that's justifiable to Congressman Pomeroy? Does he actually think rural North Dakota would have any influence in such a system or how it's designed?

But now he's going to act all indignant and promise to fight because of a reimbursement criteria that does the same? This relatively insignificant issue will become irrelevant if he keeps voting for the federal government's takeover of the entire healthcare system!

This is just one more example of the fact that, for liberal Democrats, "health care reform" is not about health care, health care funding, health insurance, or health coverage. It is about power. It is about pushing this country so far into European style socialism, even at the expense of a number of political careers, that it will be impossible to bring it back. For them, the health care system is simply a tool, the blunt instrument by which they will bludgeon this country into irreversible mediocrity and bureaucratically induced suffering. How do you think that affects North Dakotans, Congressman Pomeroy?

Beware the loppy-eared king of the hill

This fella (and his roommate, who was barking in a different corner) now stands taller than the fence meant to contain him. If you thought that BEWARE OF THE DOG sign was serious before, I'm sure you'll be on the lookout now! My guess is that neither of them have any intention of leaping over the chain link, but one can't be took careful.

That late night steam image I had referred to earlier

A few posts back I mentioned a photo in which the plumes of steam from the ~~Amoco~~ BP Tesoro refinery were heading in one direction and the steam from the Heskett Station power plant were heading another. Here it is. I spotted this while out by Hawktree one night on Highway 1804, so I pulled over to capture it. I've no idea what would cause this phenomenon, but I figure it's probably a pretty rare occurrence!

Senator Kent Conrad wants to tax you per every mile you drive

According to this article, self-proclaimed "budget hawk" Gaylord Kent Conrad, on-paper resident of North Dakota, wants to bridge the gap between his spending and government revenue from the taxpayers by...yes, another tax!

Chairman Kent Conrad, D-ND, raised the point during a hearing Wednesday, Feb. 24, on the subject of President Obama�s recent budget request for 2010-11. Conrad highlighted some of the options.

�And these include increasing the gas (fuel) tax; charging for each mile traveled; adding more tolls; continuing general fund transfers, which I strongly oppose; and identifying other funding sources,� Conrad said.

�Now let�s be frank, none of these are popular options. But we have to find a way to close this funding gap. We are going to have to start making tough choices.�

First off, it would be hilarious how Kent Conrad keeps claiming to be a "budget hawk" if it wasn't so sad, and the consequences for our nation so dire. But the way he wants to bring those budgets into line is never by cutting government spending! It's always about bleeding the taxpayer a little bit more.

Imagine what that's going to do to rural North Dakotans that have long drives to get into town, or the farm families Kent Conrad claims to represent when he leaves his million dollar beach house, bought at a cushy rate from Countrywide Financial, to fly back to North Dakota for a bit and pretend he's representing North Dakotans for a while. How about poor people who can't afford newer, more fuel efficient cars? It seems that the people these Democrats claim to stand for are always the ones who take the biggest pounding as a result of Democrat policies!

Uh oh...you mean that beach house in Delaware didn't show up on his required financial disclosure reports? Say it ain't so, Gaylord! Hm...it seems that he has stricken his real first name from even his Wikipedia entry. It's the "G" in GKC, the name of the corporation he set up and to which, for the sum of one dollar, sold the apartments he uses to claim North Dakota residency on paper for himself and Senator Byron Dorgan so they can run for re-election.

We can't get this tax-hungry crook out of office fast enough.

Pusillanimity and Partisanship in the Fight for our Nation

(This is an article I wrote for the January 2010 issue of the Dakota Beacon.)

pu�sil�lan'i�mous: adj. contemptibly timid.

par'ti�san: adj. disagreeing with Democrats.

Liberals are wordsmiths. They have to be; they have no ideas of worth, a predicament demonstrated by their inability to come out and simply say what they want to achieve and why. The very term "liberal" itself characterizes their craft, in that it used to have a good connotation until it came to mean them. With that the case, they shriek and recoil with revulsion when described as "liberals" and instead cling to the term "progressive." Of course, once that term gets connected with them and their ideology, they'll have to jettison it in favor of another trendy label. They will probably always have one label for their enemies, however: "partisan."

The term "partisan" has had its own negative connotation as well, often meaning someone who reflexively or instinctively clings tenaciously to one side of a disagreement. Perhaps that was a bad thing in the distant past, but these days the policies of the left must be reflexively and instinctively opposed. If we'd had some ferocious partisanship opposing the New Deal, the Great Society, or other such failed entitlement programs before they were enacted, we might not find our nation up to its eyeballs in debt!

When liberals are faced with a debate of ideas, they immediately change the game to one of name calling. It makes sense when you take into account that they're really in the branding business. That's why we have a litany of legislation with titles totally opposite of the substance of their text. That's also why they label their advocacy groups with such innocuous name as Centers for the Public Good. Since ideas, at least ones that survive in the realm of sanity, aren't their strong point, they instead resort to bludgeoning their opponents with insults. Their favorite, of course, is "partisan."

I'm happy to be labeled a "partisan" if it means I oppose liberal Democrats at every turn. For politicians on the right, however, it seems to be the worst sort of punishment one could be asked to bear. For decades Republicans have cowered in fear of being branded as "partisans" by the liberal Democrats and their advocates in the media. Having bought into the lie that "moderates" will turn in distaste from anyone perceived as a partisan, these Republicans shrink from the term as a vampire would from a brandished crucifix. It's no wonder we conservatives decry the absence of leadership on our side. Nobody seems ready to stand up to - gasp - the labels wielded by the liberal Democrats!

For those of us who simply want to work our jobs, live our lives, practice our faith, raise our children, and have the government impede us as little as possible, only one term can suitably describe these sissified Republicans: pusillanimous. Their contemptible timidity saddens those of us who count on them to champion our cause, stand up for our Nation and its founding principles, and stand guard against further bureaucratic government into our lives. Rather than fighting on our behalf, they're dithering and dodging in the hopes that everyone in the establishment will like them. That is not a sign of character, and it's certainly not leadership.

Show me a candidate for local, state, or national office who has the guts to come out and say, "I oppose abortion and will be a fierce partisan in my stand against the murder of innocent children in the womb" and I'll be chomping at the bit to give that man or woman my vote. The same goes for issues such as national security, tax reform, border security and immigration enforcement, or the myriad rights which the leftists are trying to strip from my fellow citizens and me in total defiance of the Constitution. I want a partisan.

The leftists have their fierce partisan fighters...where are ours? We seem to be the only side with defectors in this war for the future of our nation, culture and heritage! For instance, I was sickened by Sen. McCain's promises to "reach across the aisle" to work with Democrats. He's a remarkable man, but he's obviously been in government too long if he can't see the fact that some things need to be wholly opposed because they're wrong. Period.

Hypothetical: Let's say the North American Man/Boy Love Association decides they want to codify into law their right to prey on young children (don't think they don't dream of that day). Naturally the decadent left, with President Obama at the helm, champions this "bold new initiative to bring about relationship change for adults and children all across this great nation." Dorgan, Conrad, and Pomeroy ride the party line as usual, parroting talking points about how all North Dakotans want such legislation and it's good for North Dakotans while whining about "out of state money" financing any campaign to oppose them. First off, they'd never name it the "Legalizing Child Rape Act of 2010." No, it'd be something like the "Fairness in Relationships Act" or something obfuscating like that, like so many dishonestly named bills in recent years.

The point I'm trying to make with such a drastic example is: just exactly how do you "reach across the aisle" and work with something like that? Do you "compromise" by "only" lowering the age at which a predator can sodomize a child? Do you "only" lessen the penalties for someone convicted of such an offense? No. The correct answer is that you do not cross the aisle to work with the Democrats on the issue, because they're WRONG. Yes, it is that simple. It is just as simple when it comes to government taking over the health care system, labeling carbon dioxide a harmful pollutant, or considering treaties that turn our nation's sovereignty over to a bogus international climate regulatory organization as well.

When the Democrats seek to grant citizenship to millions of criminals who are in our country illegally, you don't cross that aisle. When they want to cripple our nation's energy supply to placate rabid environmentalists, you don't cross that aisle. When they want to destroy our economy in the name of falsified "climate change" pseudo-science, you don't cross that aisle. Sure, it will cut down on the number of invites you receive from Meet the Press, but standing your ground is the right thing to do. I say again:I want a partisan.

We partisans are finally influencing things in Washington, however. When even the most liberal of Republicans won't vote for cloture on the health care takeover by the Democrats, that's an indication. Call it self preservation on their part if you wish, but the fact remains that they're taking notice of how their constituents feel on this matter. It's too late in that we lack the numbers to stop such legislation outright, but the indignance of the Democrats at the Republican rejection of this bill shows that they're nervous about owning it one hundred percent. What we need now, and what conservatives have been craving for some time now, is some leadership. If we'd had an articulate conservative leader in the last election, Obama would still be in Chicago with his thug pals.

Sorry, Senator McCain, the last election proved that Americans couldn't be less interested in an aisle crosser. Step by step we've watched as you establishment Republicans let the government chip away at our freedom as it grows larger and more unwieldy. Bit by bit the radical left has won victories in driving Christian faith from public view, hamstringing our military, and bludgeoning citizens with the multiculturalist and politically correct movements. It's time for you Republicans to start acting on our behalf or get out of office and make way for someone who will. We desire to see someone who's got the nerve to roll up their sleeves and oppose all this lunacy. Your days of being contemptibly timid and remaining in office are over. We've had enough pusillanimity; now show us some partisanship...or we'll find someone who will.

Eight Senate �Coal State Democrats� Write Challenge To EPA, North Dakota�s Senators Conspicuously Absent

According to this article from CNSNews.com, a letter from Jay Rockefeller is challenging the EPA�s attempts to regulate CO2 and bludgeon traditional providers of energy. It was signed by seven other Senators:

"The letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was signed by Democrats Mark Begich of Alaska, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Carl Levin of Michigan and Max Baucus of Montana."

So much for that clout and tireless fighting for North Dakota that we hear about from Senators Conrad and Dorgan, eh? They can�t even stamp their name on a letter standing up for our state�s energy producers.

How's that Hope� and Change� working for you, my fellow North Dakotans? Right now our state is the only one bucking the recession trend. The federal government wants to put a stop to that, and our Senators can only sit like good little Democrat pets and vote the party line. Where's all that seniority, clout, and experience they brag about every election season?

Boundary layer

I was out watcing airplanes with the toddlers the other day when I spotted this neat effect in the plumes across the river.

Notice how the steam from the power plant hits a certain level, then veers off horizontally. The billows rising from the refinery are doing something totally different, and reaching higher in this instance. It reminds me of a late night photo I got of the refinery and power plant from Highway 1804 north of Bismarck. The steam from the refinery was forming a horizontal line straight south, and the power plant's steam was heading straight north. I'll have to look that one up later.

This is a result of the steam hitting a layer of air with a different temperature (and, I presume, a resulting change in pressure). Yes, I did take some astronomy and meteorology in college, but I'm sorry to say I don't remember many specifics. It makes for a neat photograph, though.

Remember to vote - Rate the Windbag�!

When I activated this feature a long time ago, I posted instructions on how to "Rate the Windbag�." The number of regular visitors to the site has grown by leaps and bounds since then, so I'll post this again for those of you who are new. While older posts have rating counts as high as 400 or 500, I'm getting several times that many visitors on even a slow day now. So perhaps not everyone knows what those dots are for.

This is a 5-point rating system. If you like the post, click on the dot to the far right. If you think I'm out of my ever-lovin' mind, click on the dot on the far right. Just kidding. The dot on the left is worth 1 point, the one on the right worth 5, and I leave it to you to discern the values of the remaining three.

Each time a user clicks a dot it's added to the tally, the number on the right. The average rating is on the left. In the graphic above, 4 users have responded with an average rating of 3.8.

This diagram illustrates the difference between the way a designer sets up a web page, with how he thinks the reader will scan it in mind, and the way the average web surfer actually looks through the page. It's a pretty big difference, isn't it? By the same token, I tend to assume that those five little dots look like they're clickable... but apparently not everybody gets it right away. Oh well.

That's why, when you see the numbers at the bottom of the posts, things won't always make sense. I'll have a post with a low vote count, but with one comment, and dozens (sometimes hundreds) of comment views. So, while the post has been read between a thousand and two thousand times (that's how many daily visitors I get), only one person may have found reason to comment, and not everybody decided to read his/her comment. Even fewer decided (or knew how to) vote to rate the post. It's actually very interesting to see, especially in light of the server stats that I receive daily!

Of course, if you're reading this post on one of the websites that syndicate it, you're not eligible to vote. You have to actually come to www.bismarckmandanblog.com to do so.

Have fun. The old Democrat adage "vote early, vote often!" doesn't apply here. I haven't accepted any fraudulent ratings from ACORN, either... but I have added the text "Click a dot to rate this entry: next to the dots for the voting impaired.

Winter windmill and a bit of shoe advice

I used to think a North Dakota winter was too bleak to provide many photo opportunities. I soon learned otherwise. On those hazy days, one simply has to look a little harder. On those crystal clear days with the sun glaring at you from low in the sky, you've got to be a little craftier. Then there are those really stark, dramatic skies that make a rare appearance over winter. That's when you hope for something like this. Frozen landscape below, varied sky above, and a decrepit old windmill placed just right in relation to the sun. Yep, I like the ingredients in this one.

I didn't even have to hike too far, and my shoes were already wet. I wear mountain biking shoes when I do winter photo hikes, because they wick moisture away from my feet. They also have hard rubber cleats, which helps with traction in certain conditions. Then there's the fact that my Shimanos are one of the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn.

Anyway, back to my original line of rambling. No matter what the conditions, North Dakota remains a fertile playground for a would-be photographer. From fluffy snow and blanketing fog to spiky frost and stark, glaring sun...North Dakota winters have a little bit of everything. You need only be brave enough to venture out into it, camera in gloved hand.

Frosty pioneers

Brr. (What more is there to say)

One nice thing about these foggy winter mornings is the blanket of frost deposited on everything. I happen to like winter fog, except in the evenings when I'm trying to take pictures of northern lights or other celestial subjects!

By the way, I recently spotted evidence that this statue once existed without a sidewalk leading to it, and with stone posts and a chain surrounding the statue and a flower bed.

Washington Times: "Make way for the Bismarck Earmark."

A short while ago in this post I pointed out the fact that President Obama's plan to nationalize even more of our nation's economy, in this case student loans, would pull the rug out from under 30% of the Bank of North Dakota's loan business. At the time, KXMB quoted Senator Kent Conrad as declaring that he'd fight to get an exemption for North Dakota's "socialist bank."

Now, according to this Washington Times story, Senator Conrad is going to try to make good on that promise. My response to this is not that it's good for North Dakota; no, it's symptomatic of a problem in Congress. Even worse, it's distracting from the real problem: President Obama's attempts to socialize even more of the economy.

The federal government is broke. It doesn't have any money; it's up to its eyeballs in debt. The last thing it should be doing is promising to loan out more money, but even more so to legislate itself a monopoly and take the student loan industry completely away from other banks. Someone should ask Senator Conrad the following: if this takeover of the student loan market is bad for North Dakota, then how can it be good for the rest of the nation?

Instead of addressing the real problem, the radical left agenda of his political party, Senator Conrad is trying to put a "bureaucratic band-aid" on the situation by pursuing special favors for his state. That doesn't serve our state or our nation well. Instead of more politics as usual, Senator Conrad needs to use the example of the Bank of North Dakota as a reason why the federal government should not mess with the banking industry even further.

The only thing Senator Conrad has accomplished in this case is make North Dakota look like Louisiana or Nebraska, states rightly vilified for seeking special treatment in dysfunctional legislation that the people don't want. Way to go, Senator. We North Dakotans sure are Hoping for Change when you're up for re-election!

It's just a matter of perspective, really

I spotted this unique moon last night, actually. It was even more of a sliver than it is tonight, since it's waxing from a recent new moon. What caught my eye is that the crescent appears completely horizontal, something I don't remember seeing before. I knew I wanted a photo last night but I had two little toddlers to take home after our swimming excursion. No worries, I thought...I've got tomorrow night. Well, tomorrow became tonight, and it brought with it some challenges.

That's an actual photo up there, folks. I did not cut out the moon and paste it next to the capitol, nor did I enlarge it in any way. Thus the title of this post, and the challenge I faced in chasing this shot.

First, I needed a prominent foreground object to showcase this moon. What better object than the capitol? That's what I thought, although that presents its own challenges. Read on...

Second, I needed to get far enough away from my foreground object. Why? So it would appear small, and thus make the moon look relatively large. I can't vary my distance from the moon to any significant degree, but a little bit makes a BIG difference with the foreground object, even one as large as the capitol. But with distance, my challenge was compounded. Why?

Third, I needed to be able to get a clear shot of the capitol from just the right position to get the moon next to it. Think that's easy? Not hardly. I needed high ground, and even a few dozen yards makes a big difference in the perspective.

Fourth, I had to find this magic location at just the right time to catch the moon approaching the capitol. I didn't want it above the capitol, nor did I want it directly beside it. I knew I didn't want to Photoshop it, either...so I had to get it all right.

That's why it was such a fun and stressful challenge to get this shot. I had to triangulate relative distance, position, and time for things to work out. This shot is the result of standing on a freezing sidewalk, shooting between two houses and just past/through a small tree. It worked. I was able to catch this unique sliver of moon next to our cities' most prominent landmark, and I was able to do it without any digital trickery. Then it was a quick grocery errand for my lovely wife, and back here to share the photo with y'all.

Frosty Friday

On my way to the rally I spotted this shot of the trees in the historic Cathedral District. Ever the compulsive photographer, I hiked up on the sidewalk over Memorial Highway and took a few shots through the frosty chain link covering. Then it was back to the truck to deliver a nice big HUG to my wife at her workplace, then to the Ramkota for the afternoon's events.