Showing posts with label Grand Forks North Dakota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grand Forks North Dakota. Show all posts

Good morning HEALTH CARE

By Glenn 

Good morning. It's so rare I can wish you a good morning in the shadow of such great news. It seems like every time I'm excited to write this column a space shuttle explodes or the Republicans win a special election somewhere in this great land. Now I have the distinct pleasure of telling you that yesterday HISTORIC health care reform passed the US House of Representatives, with some of the writers from this website casting the deciding votes to get us to 219 and secure passage. It should be smooth sailing from here on out, with a simple up or down vote needed in the US Senate and then our President's Kenyan, left-handed illegitimate signature.

[Let's talk about all good things this morning, okay?]


Today's Weather

Online video chat by Ustream
Look at this LIVE STREAM of some sort of self-aware camera staged right at the Red River in downtown Grand Forks. The river, like health care costs, has been contained! The beloved downtown where I spent so many months killing homeless people and artists is free of standing water. Our old campaign office remains along with the painful memories of the artists who perished there. I'm not saying this flood won't ruin lives - and it probably already has - but I just wanted to highlight this bit of good news.


Today's Right Wing Reaction
One of the nice things about health care reform passing the House yesterday is that it also means those opposed to Obama, the Democratic Party and liberalism are very frustrated. This will seem a lot less funny when this frustration turns into violence, but for now let's make some light of it.

First up, the Orange Goblin himself, John Boehner:

This guy becomes manic at the thought of spending money to provide health care to almost all citizens of the United States. I'd say his face is turning red, but he's already orange. That's practically a shade of red.

Next is a lovely message from Dale Robertson – Founder/President Tea Party/TeaParty.org:
What did we expect from national socialists?

Arm twisting, threats, buying votes and political dirty tricks are now the normal operating procedure for the new regime.

The Obama putsch has taken roots and is thriving in the new era of the expanded welfare state. The American people said NO, Conservatives said NO, but it makes no difference when the oligarchy says; ‘Yes we can’ in spite of the will of the people.

First they came for our wellness; our health-care fell into their hands.

If we stop the madness and restore America now we can halt the bleeding of our freedom. However, if we don’t, then keep reading and learn what will happen next.

Next they will come for our sovereignty and our beloved nation will be flooded with millions of illegal aliens further converting America into a socialist state.

Then they will come for our guns, and our gun rights will falls into their hands.

After that they will come for more taxes, collection of healthcare premiums, along with penalties and fees will be heaped upon the American public. A new form of debtor’s prison will emerge, not of walls, bars and cells, but the loss of rights. Privileges will be rewarded to those who obey while the disobedient are punished by privilege banishment.

Subsequently they will come for our money, currency will disappear. Taxes, income and expense will be deemed to volatile and too complicated to manage. America will turn into a cashless and currency less government controlled geographic contained society.

Finally, they will come for our homes. Every house becomes guaranteed and insured by the federal government and by doing so, becomes an asset of the state. Homeownership will be an illusion, home ownership in name only.

The thrill of risk and reward will vanish in a cloud of the greatest good, and free enterprise will become the unwilling slave of the new enlighten order.

Yes America, change is in the wind, for this is what you voted for and this is exactly what you got. Congratulations.

Codicil: To restore our beloved nation from the pestilence of National Socialism and liberal extremism we must rise up, pledge our life, liberty and sacred honor. We must vote them out! We must file law suits to stop egregious legislation. We must march in protest. Most of all, we must build our ranks, recruit, grow, and train our members on how to restore our nation. We must not be afraid of this task, for this is our land; our nation and our heritage, freedom is our national treasure. Our freedom, liberty and self governance have fallen upon our shoulders and it will be our effort that will stop the greatest runway government in history.
I hope you didn't read all of that because I know I didn't. We really don't need that kind of vile nonsense in our lives. I do want to point out that this rambling, paranoid diatribe literally begins with calling the Democratic Party Nazis. You gotta admire the bravery to use that in the first line, but it kind of mutes the outrage of the proceeding lines.


Today's Kitten Picture

This kitten just found out that it could stay on its mother's feline health insurance until it is twenty-six in cat years.


Today's Box Office News

Though no one should be happy that Alice in Wonderland earns millions of dollars, there is some silver lining to be had in looking at this weekend's box office news.
And Jude Law and Forest Whitaker's action thriller "Repo Men" flopped, debuting at #4 opening with just $6.2 million. Law plays a repo man on the run in a future where organs are bloodily repossessed if patients miss their payments.
The amazing Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com says it better about Repo Men here than I could, but let's just say I was disappointed in the film. It's not worth seeing and it looks like people are learning that without making the same mistake my sister and I did.


Today's Prediction

In the next week THE US SENATE will pass via reconciliation the fixes needed to its original bill. This will cause John Boehner's head to explode, with pumpkin seeds flying all over the Republican House caucus - who had assembled to see a special screening of Repo Men. The team had intended to use the film's dystopian health care vision as a campaign tool against the Democrats, but recoil when the the public says "NO!" to Jude Law. That kitten will be the only casualty in the Red River flood of 2010. Sorry girls, but at least Dale Robertson - Founder/President Tea Party/TeaParty.org- is still around:

What a dreamboat!

Good Morning from North Dakota Part -30

By Glenn 

It's been a while since I last wrote a good morning post, even longer since I wrote anything for this website and the longest since I wrote an award winning short story in high school about what the year 2000 would be like. I didn't forecast eight years of George Bush then and I don't plan to forecast the weather here in North Dakota for the next few days. Let me just put it this way: it's going to be cold. Then let me put it this way: it's going to be colder than the reception I got in 2000 after making an ill-conceived reference to someone in a wheel chair. Hopefully, to you, reading this good morning post will be like settling into a wheelchair you used until you were cured by a televangelist at age 35, but settle back into at age 45 after your birth father pushed you out of a fifth story window. That's a reference to Lost, but it might as well be a reference to my own future.

[It's hard not for me to make more Lost references when I write because I watch one episode every day and the last season is on the horizon. But if Katy can go this long without making references to Buffy the Vampire Slayer then I should be able to match her restraint.]

Today's Weather


I know you were expecting me to go the easy route and talk about how cold it was. Sure I could show you the forecast for -30 below or whatever cold shit I'm dealing with today, but that's too easy. Instead, look at this translucent neon blue blob. What does it mean to you? It says just as much about precipitation in our area as it does about your relationship with your parents. Or maybe it's just supposed to be a bloated version of Italy as seen on a map. Either way, we're right on the edge of that blob and I'll spend the entire day trying to see what it's like outside of it.


Today's White Stripes Song


Although Fell In Love With A Girl was the "breakout" song for the Stripes (as I call them, just like we call the Rolling Stones "the Stones"), Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground is the song that really made me fall in love with them. The song had everything: cool images, despondent lyrics and a crunching guitar riff that matches Jack White walking up the stairs. If you haven't seen the video it's worth watching. It was directed by Michel fucking Gondry! That guy could direct Bub's funeral and I'd be excited for it.

Today's Gym

Recently my roommate/coworker Taylor and decided to finally pull the trigger on a joint gym membership. He felt like he was getting out of shape and I just had my foot amputated from Type II diabetes. Now he's in shape and my foot has grown back through a rigorous program of calisthenics and prayer. The nice thing about Snap Fitness, besides the fact they don't offer memberships to Asian Americans, is that they have locations everywhere. They're also open 24 hours. Who among us hasn't been lying in bed late at night and wishing they could be on a treadmill instead? My workout regiment consists of 15 minutes of running on said treadmill at various speeds, followed by a variety of activities to build muscle on my arms legs and stomach. At Snap Fitness you can literally do any exercise you want. It's not like at Anytime Fitness where you're only allowed to do exercises approved by their headquarters in Bahrain.


Today's Prediction
Without skipping a beat I bring back today's prediction. That massive blue blob over the Red River Valley is going to become a "no service" area for Snap Fitness, forcing all the stores to close and my foot to get accordingly re-amputated. After it gets amputated I'll try to recreate Jack White walking up the stairs as pictured in today's video, but I won't be able to capture his rhythm. Instead I'll just settle back into my wheelchair like John Locke in Season 5 of Lost. Have a great day.

Good Morning from North Dakota part 3

By Glenn

Good morning. Welcome to part three of a two part installment chronicling my life in North Dakota as seen through the prism of a "Good Morning" post. The last time I wrote to you on this website - what I consider my personal dream journal - I had just discovered the abundance of bison ("buffalo" for those who have a passion for racism against our great American Indian). Now I've seen the world's largest buffalo in person, and without my parole office present. That will be discussed later, but the point is that things have changed.

[I also spend late nights in the office playing guitar. This has nothing to do with bison, buffalo or Neil Young. Or, actually, I take that back. That has EVERYTHING to do with Neil Young.]

Today's Weather

No one talks about the weather anymore, no matter how much R.E.M. might wish. But I'm here to tell you about the Ls and the Hs! For years meteorologists and less educated but equally beautiful "weather girls" have tried to decipher what these letters mean. I'd love to drop a great joke here about what I think they mean, but I never graduated from high school. It's as sore of a spot for me as it was for Uncle Jesse on that episode of Full House. The day I went to get my GED, the weather forecast was just an L - not unlikely the big red L sitting over my state on the map above. So i stayed home instead because I didn't know what it meant and still don't. Ideas? Post in the comments section for reader input.


Today's Error Message

I always get this fucking message when I'm trying to listen to Talking Heads or Wilco on iTunes. Sometimes I even get it when I'm listening to less hip bands like Xiu Xiu or Blues Traveler. I'd like to think that error message comes on when I start listening to music I shouldn't be listening to, like really early Beach Boys. You know, when all the songs were about driving around in some fucking car or making out with girls. These are things no self respecting man would ever want to hear in music in 2005, which must be why my computer from that year brings up that error message every time I listen.


Today's Buffalo
There are buffaloes all over the world, but why dance around the obvious? There's only one largest buffalo in the world, and it's this one. It's located right now in Jamestown, North Dakota which is to North Dakota what Hoboken is to New Jersey. The buffalo is 26 feet high, 46 feet wide and weighs 60 tons. To put it in perspective, that's bigger than the moon and sun combined! Unlike those planets, this buffalo doesn't revolve around our Earth but the Town of James definitely revolves around it. The buffalo, and the "old time" wild west village that surrounds it account for nearly 85% of the town's GDP. Between the souvenirs and bubble gum ice cream cone I got, I probably paid enough money to fund a year of primary education for the few children who survive the harsh Jamestown winters. The buffalo is really big but too tall for me to ride it. So I took that picture instead.


Today's Prediction
The Jamestown Buffalo, long ago killed for the sake of tourism, will come back to life and ride along the blue and red trails laid down in that fucked up H and L weather shown above. After I leave North Dakota in a few months I'll go back in time, kill Brian Wilson and Mike Love, and then rewrite all the songs the Beach Boys wrote about cars to be about buffaloes instead. That way when the Jamestown World's Largest Buffalo goes on its walking rampage in 2009 I'll make a shit load of money off the royalties and will finally be able to replace my four year old computer and listen to as much Blues Traveler as anyone can realistically stand.

Good Morning from North Dakota part 2

By Glenn

Good morning from North Dakota. This is the second installment in a four hundred part series chronicling my good mornings in the great state of North Dakota. The longer I'm here, the less I'll reference bison and the more I'll hopefully be able to discuss important internal state issues. All the major US occupying forces pulled out of the cities of North Dakota on June 30th, so we're waiting to see if the police and security forces are capable enough to deal with the insurgent problem. The insurgent bison problem.

[I said the bison references will decrease but they will never disappear completely. My goal, besides pushing for health care reform, will be to get a picture of me ON a bison.]


Today's Weather
I hate to stress on this, but I do it because I know there are people currently in or traveling to the American Southwest/Southeast. While these next two months are going to be the most painful periods in your life (pun intended), in North Dakota we have gorgeous weather akin to a spring day. The high tomorrow is 79 degrees. It hasn't been truly HOT since I got here, yet I haven't had to change out of my bicycle shorts and Hawaiian shirt either. The only weather we have to worry about hear is the Red River flooding.

This is my office.


Today's Music Video

Record Club: Velvet Underground & Nico "Femme Fatale" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo
I can't actually hear this right now because the speakers on my laptop appear to be broken, but this seems like it'd be a cool video. It's Beck, who is a Scientologist, covering Velvet Underground, who in the early part of their career made the musical equivalent of Scientology. That might sound insulting, but it's hard to listen to the "jam" at the end of European Son without thinking of your own body thetans.


Today's TV Show

To say that I like Roseanne is a little like saying I'm liked by the people who visit this website. While technically true, it's such a giant understatement that it should almost be criminal. Probably a misdemeanor. TV Land has been playing a lot of Roseanne lately and I've been catching up on it. How familiar are you with Roseanne on a scale of 1-10? If it's anything below 6 or 7, just email me and I can send you either the fan fiction erotica I wrote about Darlene when I was 20 or the 10,000 word essay I wrote last year about the Conners as the ideal American family. TV Land shows a lot of crap, but they also pleasure us artistically with shows like Roseanne. Seasons 3-6 are the best, just so you know.


Today's Prediction
No prediction today! But it was lovely to talk to all of you.

Good Morning from North Dakota

By Glenn

Good morning. This is the first post I've written since I drove 12 hours north into the great state of North Dakota. The only major difference I can tell living here versus Missouri, Illinois, DC, etc. is that people speak with thick Scandinavian accents here and are very nice. For instance, when I was walking around someone said "hi" to me and then later at the grocery store someone said "Did you find everything all right?" That's what they call "Minnesota nice." The sun also doesn't set until 10pm, which lets me get a lot of lawn mowing done. That's my job here - a professional lawnmower!



today's Weather

It's going to be beautiful in North Dakota. Since it's so close to Canada it's not very hot in the summer, which is perfect because that's what season it is right now. It doesn't snow and when it's sunny it's sunny until 10pm. All the farting from the bison creates a layer of our atmosphere that traps the sun's rays and creates global warming. If you live anywhere closer to the Equator, I pity you. These next tow months will be the hottest of your fucking lives. Meanwhile I'll be snowboarding down George Washington's face on Mount Rushmore. I know that's South Dakota, but close enough.


Today's New Senator

This should have been addressed already but let me atone for the slight: Al Franken is the newest US Senator from the great neighboring state of Minnesota. Though he won the election last November, the RNC/Norm Coleman/Tim Pawlenty held him hostage, not unlike the SLF did to Patty Hearst. They made the Minnesota Supreme Court rule 5-0 that Norm Coleman's challenge was bogus and now Minnesota has two Senators! A MN-based paper distributed here had an ecstatic headline yesterday morning. You see, when the Constitution promises a state that it gets two Senators and then the Republican Party tries to only make them have one, there are some hard feelings. In honor of Al...


Today's Video

I love this so much. I remember the weekend it was on CSPAN's Book TV, though it must have been almost ten years ago. This was at the point of my life where I used to tape all of Al Franken's appearances on TV, starting with this one. This was also the point where he came to my college to speak and I protested outside with the College Republicans. You might say "Glenn that doesn't make any sense!" But it never made sense for them to protest him either. Sometimes you just gotta protest.


Today's Picture

This is a bison. That's what I ride to work every day. And it's who I pay to mow my lawn, because after a long day of mowing other people's, I have no desire to do my own. Have a good day!

Glenn's New Concept of a Weekend Get-Away

By Nate

Since Glenn is moving to Grand Forks, North Dakota, I expect his life to become very "A Prairie Home Companion-esque." If that is the case, he will probably find Bemidji, Minnesota, to be a great location for a weekend get-away.


View Glenn's new idea of a weekend get-away in a larger map


I can hear you scoffing. Right now you're thinking Fargo would be the obvious spot since it's a bigger city and the people there that would grind you up in a wood chipper have been removed, but according to Garrison Keillor it may be even more exotic seeing as how several Lake Wobegonian couples only go there once a year for their annual vacation. Let's face it: Glenn is going to triple in weight, start inserting "eh's" after every sentence, and find Jesus in the Lutheran church. He won't be able to handle big cities like Fargo for too long at that point.

If you're still skeptical, Grand Forks is on the border of Minnesota and that means he can probably pick up MPR on his radio. They will convert him in a matter of weeks. You may think his northern Illinois upbringing would have built his immunity toward becoming a typical Midwesterner, but it still doesn't compare to the northern border states. (You have to go through Wisconsin to get there!)

Now let's see what Bemidji has to offer:



Iconic statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. Glenn, we all expect postcards with a picture of you standing in front of the main tourist attraction in Bemidji. A blog post or an email to our @oneyearintexas.com email accounts simply won't do. I'm sure by the time you make it to Bemidji you won't be using email anymore unless it's to act like a 40+ year old sending us forwarded chain emails about kittens, scriptures, birther conspiracies, and favorite recipes. You will have plenty of stamps and correspondence stock so you can send out your annual Christmas update to your closest friends and family.

Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about Bemidji:

Bemidji (pronounced /bəˈmɪdʒiː/) is a city in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was estimated at 13,419 in 2007.[3] It is the county seat of Beltrami County.[4] Bemidji lies on the southwest shore of Lake Bemidji, the northernmost lake feeding the Mississippi River and, as such, is deemed "the first city on the Mississippi." Bemidji is also dubbed the "curling capital," of the U.S.

Its name derives from the Ojibwe Bay-may-ji-ga-maug (Double-Vowel orthography: bemijigamaag)[5], meaning "lake that traverses another body of water". On occasion, in Ojibwe, the city of Bemidji is called Wabigamaang ("at the lake channel/narrows"), because part of the city is situated on the Lakes Bemidji/Irving narrows, located on the south end of Lake Bemidji, and extends to the eastern shore of Lake Irving.

Bemidji is home to Bemidji State University, Northwest Technical College, and Oak Hills Christian College. It's also headquarters of Bemidji Woolen Mills. The statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, local landmarks, are downtown on the lakefront. Lake Bemidji State Park offers year-round recreation.

Bemidji is a base to one of five medivac helicopter flight stations in the state for AirCare, operated by North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, MN, a Level 1 Trauma Center located in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. This station covers the northern part of Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. It's building is located at the Bemidji Regional Airport. North Country Health Services, which operates North Country Regional Hospital, and MeritCare Clinic are also here.

Paul Bunyan Broadcasting, a group of sixteen radio stations across northern Minnesota, has its headquarters here.

NFL Pro Football Hall of Famer Dave Casper was born in Bemidji, as was actress Jane Russell.


HOW INTERESTING! Not. I can't wait until I'm over 40 years old and can actually find enjoyment in knowing the Native American etymology of all the cities in Minnesota.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the local culture of Bemidji:

Culture

Bemidji is a college city with strong arts influences. The city's streets are lined with small shops and adorned with sculptures and other forms of public art.

The Concordia Language Villages are located near Bemidji and this has, perhaps, been influential in the existence of several language conversational groups (including French, Norwegian, Spanish, Italian, and German) that meet weekly in local coffee houses.

During the summer the Paul Bunyan Playhouse operates a non-equity, summer stock theater.

The city is well known to fans of the sport of curling. Both men's and women's rinks from the Bemidji Curling Club won the right to represent the United States in the 2005 World Curling Championship and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. Pete Fenson, the skip of the U.S. curling team that took the bronze medal at the 2006 Olympics, is a native of Bemidji.

A city referendum for a Bemidji Regional Events Center passed by a slim majority of 43 votes out of 4583 votes cast in November 2006. The center is expected to cost $50 million. While the major tenant for the center is expected to be the Bemidji State University (BSU) hockey team, the current status of the men's hockey team is uncertain as it attempts to enter the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Information on this project can be found at Bemidji Events.


Wait, THEY HAVE CURLING??? Nevermind forget all these lame jokes I've been making about norther Midwestern culture. Bemidji might actually be cool because, let's be real here, curling is awesome. I've never seen anyone as skilled with a broom as curlers are since the "housewife triathlon" was banned from the Olympics in the 1970s.

And what about that events center bond bill? I'm sure Glenn will be going to the Concordia Language Villages so he can learn the local lingo and get in on some of the hot coffee shop buzz about the $50 million dollar price tag and BSU's attempt to enter the WCHA.

So let's recap what this weekend get-away package will include:

  • Four hours round-trip drive time to listen to MPR
  • Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues
  • Studying Native American etymology at Bemidji State
  • Visiting the childhood homes of Dave Casper and Jane Russell
  • Learning the local dialects of French, Norwegian, Spanish, Italian, and German
  • Opining on current events with the other 40+ year olds at the local coffee shop
  • Catching a play at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse
  • Watching a curling and hockey match


Wow. That's quite a lot. It may take Glenn several weekends to cross all of those off the list. Plus, he'll probably get distracted walking the downtown streets of Bemidji when he passes by all the local artists' sculptures such as "Blue Chain Jane," "Ira Eagle Boy," and "From the Depths."