Tag Archives: Living in Dickinson, North Dakota

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Time’s Money Magazine Just Named Dickinson, North Dakota As 6th Best Place To Live

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On September 18 Time’s Money Magazine published a list of the 100 best places to live, and Dickinson, North Dakota ranked 6th.  Oh my God!  You probably couldn’t find twenty people in Dickinson that would even put Dickinson in the top 50 places to live.  You probably couldn’t find twenty people in the state of North Dakota that would put Dickinson in the top 50 places to live.

In some ways Dickinson is one of the worst places in the United States to live:

  1. The ratio of men to women in Dickinson is about 3:1.  There is a shortage of women, and a scarcity of attractive women.  Of the many states, cities, and towns that I have lived and worked in for the past 48 years, Dickinson has the most unattractive women of any place that I have ever been.  These statements are common knowledge here in Dickinson.
  2. Dickinson is one of the least educated places that I have ever lived.  Higher education is derided, ridiculed, laughed at, and penalized in Dickinson.  In Dickinson, people who did four years in prison are treated better that people who did four years in college.
  3. Dickinson is one of the least healthy places that I have ever lived.  It is common for both men and women to be overweight, use tobacco products, and to never engage in healthy exercise.  Only about 10% of the people in Dickinson engage in regular exercise.
  4. There is a lack of entertainment, social activities, and things to do in Dickinson.  Yes there is the West River Community Center which is nice.  There are outdoor concerts in downtown Dickinson in the summer which are nice.  But, with the shortage of women, and scarcity of attractive women, most men end up going to bars, and getting a DUI when they go home.  I have never seen more people get DUIs, than I have here in Dickinson, which is mostly because there is nothing to do and it is depressing here.
  5. I have never met more depressed, down on their luck, nearly hopeless, suicidal people than I have here in Dickinson.  It is difficult to get a job in Dickinson.  There are not a lot of things to do in Dickinson.  There is a scarcity of women in Dickinson.  All of these things, plus the unfriendliness of people in Dickinson, make many people that I have met become very depressed, hopeless, and suicidal.
  6. About 90% of the out of state workers who came to Dickinson for work during the oil boom, couldn’t wait to get out of here.  They said it out loud every day.

I have never seen a news article be more wrong than the Money Magazine article ranking Dickinson as the 6th best place to live in the United States.  Whoever wrote this article should have to come and live in Dickinson for one year.

I don’t know how the data was manipulated in order to somehow make Dickinson the 6th best place to live.  The editor of Money Magazine should interview two oil field workers, two truck drivers, two retail workers, two fast food workers, two black people, two gay people, and two housewives from out of state, and I guarantee that each of these people would say that Dickinson is a difficult and unpleasant place to live.

Background Check On Employers In Dickinson, North Dakota

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You read that correctly, Background Check On Employers In Dickinson, North Dakota.  I recommend to everyone, that if you are going to apply to work at a company in Dickinson, North Dakota, you perform a background check on your employer.

There is a fairly large company in Dickinson, where I applied to work once in approximately 2014.  Though I was well qualified, or perhaps over qualified for the position that I applied for, I did not hear anything from this company after I applied.

Employers anywhere, have their own personal beliefs and preferences for who they would like to hire.  Some employers want employees who stay at the same job for many years, other employers want employees who show ambition.  Some want employees who are family men, who don’t drink, don’t get into trouble, and have no criminal record.  Other employers want men who are risk takers, rough, not afraid of getting hurt, or putting others at risk.

In Dickinson, employers seem to favor local people, and North Dakotans, over people from out of state.  This is probably a combination of a feeling of obligation or loyalty to local people, comfort in dealing with people from a similar background, discomfort in dealing with people from a different background, and people from elsewhere having different beliefs, values, and ethics.

I have had the experience in Dickinson, where my life experiences, work experiences, education, beliefs, values, and ethics, were so different from my employer’s, that I had problems.  As an example, a company that I recently worked for in Dickinson, had the practice of not paying employees for the hours that they worked.  The owner and his wife, would look at employees’ time sheets, and pay them for less hours than they worked, based on their opinion of how much work was completed.

When I sought to file a complaint with the Department of Labor, I found out that there were four previous complaints against this company for failure to pay employees wages that they were owed.  I found out from local people in Dickinson, that this practice used to be fairly common in Dickinson.  I also found out that this company owner owed a lot more than four employees money, after looking him up on the North Dakota record of active and completed court cases, NDcourts.

The company in Dickinson that I had applied to in 2014, and never heard back, I saw that they had another job advertisement for an engineer in August, so I applied again.  I didn’t expect to hear back from this company, because I don’t think that they liked me or my resume.  And again, I didn’t hear back from them.  I wondered what it was about me, that would make me so unacceptable to this company.  I have a good education, a great deal of work experience, and a completely clean background, what is wrong with me as an applicant?

I decided to look up the company owner to see what kind of person, HE is, since he is judging me, and I am not suitable for his company.  One of the court cases that he was involved in, involved a dispute over child support payments.  At about the time he was starting his company in Dickinson when he was in his early twenties, he became married.  He and his wife had three children.  By the time he was in his early thirties, he became divorced.

His company was organized as a corporation.  As his company was doing well, he paid himself a salary of $60,000 per year.  The extra money that his company made, was held as retained earnings.  Though the retained earnings grew to $700,000, he continued to pay himself a salary of $60,000 per year.  The child support that he paid, was based on his salary of $60,000 per year.

His ex-wife, and his ex-wife’s attorney, tried to explain to the court, that the child support that he was paying, was based on his $60,000 per year salary, but look at how much money his company was making, this isn’t right.  I believe that the court in North Dakota decided that there was no law saying that the company owner had to pay himself more money, or receive more of the retained earnings of his corporation.  So, his child support payments remained the same.

Ha, ha.  He outsmarted the courts, his ex-wife, and his ex-wife’s attorney, in not having to pay more money in support for his children.  It’s hamburger helper, macaroni cheese, and Wal-Mart for them.

My Neighbor Said He Lost His Dog

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On Friday evening it was raining in Dickinson.  I was driving around the corner in my truck, and my neighbor was just getting home from riding his bicycle, he was wearing rain gear.  I asked him if he wanted to go get something to eat, and he acted kind of mad, and he sounded kind of mad.

My neighbor is moody, and he admits it.  He and his wife were divorced about ten years ago.  His ex-wife, ex-girlfriends, and current girlfriend have similar criticisms and complaints, part of it being his dark or unfriendly moods, which he is more aware of after the fact, than when they occur.

On Saturday he called me on the telephone to apologize for his angry behavior.  One of the first things he said was that he had lost his dog.  I thought that he was talking about his dog being dead.

He has this very small old male dog that is 14 years old.  It is about sixteen inches long from rear to snout, about eight inches high at the shoulders, and it weighs less than twenty pounds.  I don’t think this dog can see very well or hear very well.  I have been out to Patterson Lake with this dog, and it quit walking and just sat there not saying anything, and its owner had to come back and examine it, and it had stepped on a cactus and had cactus thorns in its foot.

My neighbor explained that on Friday when he was riding his bicycle in the rain, he had gotten into an accident.  He was going too fast, he lost control of his bicycle when he hit a curb too hard, everything went flying out of his bicycle basket, his backpack came off, and it was very embarrassing because there were people around, and dogs started barking.  He could have been hurt very bad, but he wasn’t.

He picked up the things that had come out of the bicycle basket and off of his bicycle.  He didn’t realize that his backpack had come off, and he left it there without knowing.  His small old dog had been in one of the bicycle baskets.  He looked around for his dog, and it wasn’t there.  He looked and looked for the dog, but it wasn’t there.  He supposed that the dog didn’t want to get back in the basket, so it walked off.

I said, “So your dog didn’t die?”  My neighbor said, “No, he’s home here now.”  I said, “Wait a minute, where was this that you got in a wreck on your bicycle?”  My neighbor said, “Over by the South Side Bar on Broadway.”

I couldn’t believe it.  The South Side Bar is at least a mile away.  The 14 year old, 8 inch tall, 16 pound dog, that can hardly see, and can hardly hear, had to walk across Broadway, walk through the rail road yard with about four sets of tracks with trains operating on each of the tracks, walk across four-lane Villard in downtown Dickinson which always has cars and people have a hard time crossing, and walk through all kinds of streets in downtown Dickinson to get back to his house.

My neighbor said yup, and it took him about one day to do it.  I said, I don’t even think that your dog could find his way home from the Family Fare grocery store, and you are telling me that your dog made it home all the way from the South Side Bar?

My neighbor said, “That’s not as bad as the time that I lost him out at Patterson Lake.  It was very cold, and he was wearing a sweater.  It got dark and late, and I called him and I called him, but he didn’t come.  I could hear him bark once, but he was very far away.  I kept calling him, and it got to be about 10:30 p.m., and I had to work the next day, so I left him.  He made it home after about two days.  It got down to nearly freezing at night.  When he came home, he wasn’t wearing his sweater.  He must have gotten his sweater caught on some barbed wire, that is why he didn’t come when I called  him.”

Patterson Lake is about six miles away, and most German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, and Pit Bulls wouldn’t find their way home from there, let alone an 8 inch tall, 16 pound dog.  It also kind of surprises me that he would even try to find his way back to my neighbor’s house.

Will You Catholics Take A Look At Your Church

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I have written approximately eight blog posts criticizing the Catholic Church in Dickinson, North Dakota.  I have elaborated many times that the Catholic Church in Dickinson does not teach what the New Testament Of The Bible teaches, and what Jesus Christ taught:  “So do you unto the least of my people, so do you unto me”.

The Catholic Church in Dickinson, rather than teaching people to be kind, caring, and helpful towards others, has instilled in the Catholics here that they are better than others, and that it is O.K. to take advantage of others.

I don’t know why the Catholics can’t read the Bible for themselves, and understand that the Catholic Church is far, far away from the teachings of Jesus.

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Stephanie Kirchgaessner for The Guardian on Friday September 15:

“A Vatican diplomat in Washington has been recalled to Rome after the US state department said the priest may have violated laws related to child sex abuse images.

The US state department notified the Holy See last month of a possible violation of laws. American prosecutors said they wanted the Vatican to voluntarily lift the official’s diplomatic immunity so that he could face charges, according to several reports, but the Vatican refused. The request was made on 21 August.

The Vatican said an investigation had been opened and the church was seeking “international collaboration to obtain elements relative to the case”, and it would be handled confidentially on a preliminary basis. It said the priest had already returned to Vatican City.

The Vatican said its decision to recall the priest was in line with normal diplomatic practices.

The information was transmitted by the state department to the Vatican’s secretariat of state, Pietro Parolin, the Vatican said, who in turn has turned the matter over to the Vatican’s top justice official.

The Associated Press, quoting an official familiar with the case, said the priest was a senior member of the Vatican embassy staff.

As a member of the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, the priest could not be prosecuted in the US, though he could have been expelled.

It is not the first time the Vatican has been forced to recall a diplomatic official. In 2013, it recalled the Vatican’s then ambassador to the Dominican Republic following allegations that he sexually abused minors.”

You do not need a Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, and Diplomats, who have authority and wealth.  Jesus did not teach anything about this, other than teaching against pride, power, wealth, and corruption.  So where your treasure is, there is where your heart will also be.

Review Of Rock Godz Concert, Taylor North Dakota

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This past weekend in Taylor, North Dakota, they had the “Good Ol’ Taylor Days” festival.  This event had an antique tractor display, tractor parade, antique tractor pull, and a classic car show.  On Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. they had an outdoor concert with the band Rock Godz.

Many local people had been at the event all day Saturday and all day Sunday.  There were not a lot of people that stayed for the concert.  When the band Rock Godz began playing at 6:00 p.m., they sounded pretty much the same as most local bands, more or less, only they were playing Classic Rock, instead of Country Western.

For their first few songs, I wondered why the local people in Taylor even booked a Classic Rock band, what were they thinking?  There were some local people that really wanted to be there, like this was the best thing that ever happened in a long time.

After a while, once the band had warmed up, they sounded very, very good, unusually and abnormally good.  I will give some credit to their sound guy, and how they arranged everyone’s microphone and amplification.  You could clearly discern each person’s vocals, guitar, and drum, separately.  Each person and their instruments were clear and precise.

In many concerts, especially rock concerts, the volume and amplification is so high, that the precise, fine sounds are muted, and everything is blended together to make a very loud noise.  Vocals, guitars, drums, all drown each other out and roll over top of each other.  This was the clearest sounding rock concert that I had ever been to.

The lead vocalist, lead guitar, base guitar, and drummer were all very good, and they didn’t have anything to hide.  Just the opposite, they made it so that you could hear each one of them individually, and hear how good they were.

In the past four years, I have been to between 80 to 100 concerts.  I would rate the Rock Godz lead vocalist as being in the top 3, the lead guitarist being in the top 3, and the drummer being in the top 5, of everyone that I have heard in these 80 to 100 concerts, including Firehouse, Hair Ball, and 32 Below.

The band played from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., much longer than most bands play.  They did it just because they enjoyed playing, and they were having a good time.  I am going to give you a quote from the band’s website, because I agree with it 100%:

“A Rock Godz performance takes the audience on an over-the-top, wildly fun trip through the best eras of rock and pop music. Their 80’s-focused production (combined with classic and current rock/pop) creates an instant party scene where friends raise their glasses and sing along to their favorite songs – all night long!  Rock Godz features music from all of your favorites, including Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Journey, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Poison, Prince, Bryan Adams, Led Zeppelin, Theory of a Deadman, Quiet Riot, Buck Cherry, Steel Panther…and many more!

Rock Godz is made up of professional, veteran musicians who have toured regionally and nationally with acts such as Jonah and the Wales, Wild Side, Mortal Chaos, Shameless Desire, Hollywood Blvd, 13th Step, Si6ks, A:POD, 80-D, and Driven By Design.  Their extensive experience as rockers and performers has allowed them to share the stage with national acts including Dokken, Great White, Ratt, Slaughter, Firehouse, Jackyl, Saliva, Joey Belladona, Sevendust, Candle Box, Seether, Skid Row, Alice In Chains, Shinedown, Vince Neil, Brett Michaels, Krokus, American Head Charge, and more. Members have “rocked” some of the biggest stages around including Target Center, The Myth, First Avenue, and Whiskey a Go-Go (L.A.).  Rock Godz is an experience you don’t want to miss!  These guys know how to party!!!”

140 Year Old Log Barn And Log House In North Dakota

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In my previous blog post, I wrote that I have begun uploading videos to YouTube, and that these videos are not controversial.  However, some of the videos that I am uploading now will be controversial.

In a very, very remote area, I found a log barn and a log house that are approximately 140 years old.  The barn and the house were constructed in approximately 1880.  These are some of the oldest structures that you will find in North Dakota.

Beside the barn, there is a dozer, which had begun clearing a portion of the land adjacent to the barn.  It looks like the dozer operator made an effort to not damage the barn and the house.

Believe me, the old log barn and the old log house are inconsequential to what is being done at this location.  This location is very hidden, and the location has been improved at great expense to have constant, uninterrupted, and substantial amounts of water, enough for a community of people and animals.

Though many readers and myself, may think that this very old farmstead is something that should be preserved and protected for all North Dakotans, there are not many undisturbed locations like this, this is not going to happen.  As one of my friends put it, “In the middle of nowhere, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of nowhere”, that is where this is.

On your internet browser, type in “YouTube”.  Once you click on the YouTube site, in their search bar, type in “Dickinson58601 Living in Dickinson North Dakota”.  These videos are titled “140 Year Old Log Barn North Dakota”, and “140 Year Old Log House North Dakota”.

Here is the link below to this YouTube video:

If You Want To See Kayaking On The Heart River In Dickinson, Go To YouTube

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Several weeks ago I wrote a blog post letting the readers know that I would begin uploading videos to YouTube.  These videos do not have commentary, and they are not controversial.  I just wanted to show different aspects of Dickinson, North Dakota using video.

My latest three videos show kayaking on the Heart River in Dickinson.  These short videos are quite picturesque and somewhat funny.

On your internet browser, type in “YouTube”.  Once you click on the YouTube site, enter in their search bar “Dickinson58601 Living in Dickinson North Dakota”.  The three latest videos are “Heart River Horses Dickinson North Dakota”, “Heart River Horses And Dogs Dickinson North Dakota”, and “Heart River Kayaking With Dogs Dickinson North Dakota”.

Don’t attack the person in the video, this is not me, this is someone who lives in my neighborhood.

Here is the link to this YouTube video:

Problems With University Hospital In Salt Lake City

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After reading the news stories and watching the video of a nurse being arrested in Salt Lake City for refusing police requests to collect a blood sample from a patient, I wrote two blog posts defending the police.

The vast majority of television reporters, television commentators, print journalists, and people, expressed anger and outrage that police Detective Jeff Payne arrested nurse Alex Wubbel for refusing to draw blood from a patient involved in a fatal vehicle accident.

No medical professionals, and no attorneys were willing to explain to everyone, that for the past 50 years it has been mandatory for police to collect blood samples from drivers involved in fatal vehicle accidents.  In many states this blood draw was mandatory, involuntary, and no warrant was required.  This is a completely different law, than other laws that apply to DUI cases.  In a vehicle accident with a fatality, it is a vehicular homicide/manslaughter investigation.

No medical professionals came forward, and no attorneys came forward to explain that the blood draw that police Detective Jeff Payne had requested, without a warrant or patient consent, was what the police and hospitals have been doing for the past 50 years in cases of fatal vehicle accidents.  I think that this is very despicable, that medical professionals and attorneys hate the police so much, that they will not even admit what the law and the procedure has been.

I read an article today, that this hospital in Salt Lake City, the University Hospital, has looked into this incident, and has announced some changes.  The University Hospital did admit that all of the police officers present during this incident, and all of the hospital security guards present during this incident, believed that a warrant or patient consent was not required from the patient involved in a fatal vehicle accident.  This group included approximately three police officers, and approximately three hospital security guards.

None of the police officers objected, and none of the hospital security guards objected when police Detective Jeff Payne arrested nurse Alex Wubbel for continuing to refuse to collect blood from the patient for one hour, because they all believed that the police detective was legally allowed to arrest nurse Wubbel for interfering with a police investigation.  Detective Jeff Payne was instructed by his supervisor to arrest nurse Wubbel if she continued to refuse to collect a blood sample.

The University Hospital made an announcement that nurses will no longer come in contact with law enforcement, and that law enforcement will not be permitted to interfere with patient care.  From the article that I read, it said that the hospital has made changes in what it will allow police officers to do at the hospital.

In reading and watching what happened at the University Hospital, I already had the impression that the hospital believed that they were such a large facility, that they could tell the police what the police were permitted to do.  I believe that this conflict with the police had been brewing ever since the hospital began to feel that they were so large, that they were their own jurisdiction, and that their rules governed what was allowed on their private property.

I have seen this before, and I believe that this is the case, that the doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators have come to the conclusion that the University Hospital is private property, and that they determine what can and can not be done on their property.   This is completely not true, and the sooner that the University Hospital personnel are made aware of this, the better.

On privately owned property, that is open to the public, there are limits on what the property owner can control.  I will give some examples:

  • A large facility like a football stadium, arena, amusement park, shopping mall, or hospital that is open to the public, can not say, we do not allow law enforcement, or we do not allow law enforcement to carry firearms on the premises, or we do not allow law enforcement to arrest people on the premises, or we do not allow law enforcement to enforce certain laws on the premises.  This has been tried by different facilities, and the courts have ruled on the side of law enforcement and public safety.
  • If law enforcement sees someone who has an outstanding arrest warrant in a hospital, they may delay the arrest until that person has had treatment if necessary, but a hospital is not a neutral no-arrest zone.
  • In a hospital, a doctor, nurse, or administrator is not going to tell a police officer what the law is, no more than a shopping mall manager is going to tell a police officer what the law is, or a professional sports team owner is going to tell a police officer what the law is.
  • In a hospital, a police officer is going to ask a nurse about a patient, or other questions, and a hospital administrator is not going to stop a police officer from asking a nurse questions, no more than a college dormitory manager is going to keep a police officer from asking questions to a college student, or a circus owner is going to keep a police officer from asking questions to a clown.

The University Hospital administrators and personnel have got to get out of their minds that they are a sovereign territory, where the police have no authority.  This is just as insane as the cults of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, the Mormon polygamists of Jeff Sessions, or the Free Men Malitia.

More Support For Detective Jeff Payne Of Salt Lake City, Utah

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Television news reporters, television commentators, newspaper journalists, and ordinary people continue to vilify Salt Lake City Police Detective Jeff Payne, for his arrest of a hospital emergency room nurse after her continued refusal to collect a blood sample from a patient.

In my previous blog post, I explained that it has been the practice of hospitals and law enforcement in the United States for the past 50 years, to obtain blood samples from drivers involved in fatal vehicle accidents.  Unlike suspicion of DUI cases, where drivers commonly refuse a breathalyzer test or a blood draw, many states require mandatory blood draws from drivers involved in fatal vehicle accidents, because it is a homicide/manslaughter investigation.

In collecting evidence for a vehicular homicide/manslaughter investigation, time is of the essence in collecting a blood sample.  The blood sample needs to be taken as soon as possible following the accident, in order to determine the presence and blood level of alcohol, legal drugs, or illegal drugs.

Following a fatal vehicle accident, it is likely that there will be both a criminal court case and a civil court case.  In a court case, both the innocence or guilt of each driver involved, could hinge on the results of the blood tests.  In other words, the patient that the hospital emergency room nurse refused to draw blood from, his innocence might only have been proved by the blood sample that she refused to take.

Part of what I wrote in my previous blog post was, that you can not have emergency room nurses trying to discern in their own mind, how evidence is going to be collected, how the vehicle accident is going to be investigated, the guilt or innocence of the patient, and the legality of police procedure.  Who is the appropriate person to make decisions on the collection of evidence, a police detective with 20 to 30 years of experience in collecting evidence, or an emergency room nurse with 0 years of work experience collecting evidence?

Would it be appropriate for the police detective to direct the emergency room nurse on what kind of pain medication should be administered, what IV solution should be administered, to take X-Rays, to take a CT-scan, to put the patient on oxygen?  No?  Why wouldn’t it be appropriate for the police detective to tell the nurse how to do her job?  It would not be appropriate for the police detective to tell the nurse how to medically treat the patient, or interfere with how she decided to medically treat the patient, because the nurse has much more education, training, and work experience in medical treatment, than the police detective.

Conversely, the nurse should not be trying to direct police procedure.  The police detective knows things that the nurse doesn’t know, and we don’t know.  Besides the police detective knowing that the patient’s innocence might depend on obtaining the patient’s blood sample, there are other things the police detective might know, that the nurse doesn’t know.  There are hundreds of possibilities that the nurse does not know.

Was there an illegal narcotic or alcohol discovered at the scene of the commercial truck accident that were collected as evidence, and it must now be determined that the commercial truck driver was not impaired.  Was there more than enough time for the commercial truck driver to avoid the collision, but he did not?  Was the truck driver traveling at an unusually high speed or low speed?  Was the truck driver currently suspended from driving because of a DUI?  There hundreds of reasons why the police detective wanted to make sure to get the hospital patient’s blood sample, that the emergency room nurse did not know.

What would not be very commendable, would be a police detective who gave up, and left the hospital without getting the commercial truck driver’s blood sample, because it was too much trouble.

I am very disappointed that no experienced medical doctor, experienced emergency room nurse, knowledgeable attorney, or law enforcement expert, has not vehemently explained to the media and corrected the media, that for many years, and in many states blood draws are mandatory for drivers involved in fatal vehicle accidents.  Consent does not have to be granted, and a warrant does not have to be obtained.  The blood sample is used both to prove the innocence of the drivers, or possible guilt.  It is a vehicular homicide investigation or manslaughter investigation, not a DUI case.

A fifty year old police detective, with 20 to 30 years of law enforcement experience, should not have to debate, argue, and plead his case with an emergency room nurse in order to get a blood draw from a patient.  The hospital had already taken a blood draw from the patient for their own tests and analysis.  The nurse could have documented that she refused to collect the blood sample, but did so under duress.  The hospital could have taken legal action afterwards.

The police detective tried to resolve the dispute over the nurse’s refusal to collect blood from the patient, for one hour.  The police detective was frustrated that it came to the point that he had to arrest the nurse for her continued refusal to draw blood, this is what his supervisor instructed him to do.  What added to the police detective’s frustration, was the nurse trying to get away, struggle against being handcuffed, and screaming, “Stop, stop, what are you doing!  Why are you doing this to me!”

I believe that it is people’s hatred of law enforcement that makes them express outrage over Detective Payne.  The police detective did not use excessive force, or harm the nurse in any way.  The police detective did not use angry language, threatening language, or abusive language at any time.

I think that it was wrong for the Chief of Police and the Mayor of Salt Lake City to not say, “We are going to determine whether the law in Utah currently requires mandatory blood draws in fatal vehicle accidents.  Mandatory blood draws have been the procedure in place for many years.  Though the arrest of emergency room nurse Alex Wubbel was regrettable and something we never want to happen, the police detective involved may have been carrying out orders from his supervisor, which may or may not have been a correct application of the laws regarding interference with a police investigation.  We will look into this matter with the hospital, and inform the public as to our findings once all the facts have been examined.”

Nurse In Utah Arrested For Refusing Police Request For A Blood Draw

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In most newspapers, and on most television networks, there has been news coverage of the “Shocking video of a nurse being arrested in Utah for refusing to draw blood from a patient”.

I watched the entire video that was recorded by a Salt Lake City police officer’s body camera, that was approximately 20 minutes in length.  The incident that was recorded on video was not shocking to me, it seemed very logical and just.

Many people are being very vocal about “how horrible the police officer acted”.  I have not heard or seen anyone defending the police officer’s actions.  It is a shame that there are no attorneys, medical doctors, nurses, or law enforcement officials that are explaining and defending the police officer’s actions.

I believe that it has been the practice in the United States for decades, that when there is a traffic fatality, police investigators request blood to be drawn from the drivers involved, whether they are conscious, unconscious, or deceased.  It is very important that this evidence is collected as soon as possible to determine the blood levels of alcohol, legal drugs, and illegal drugs in the drivers’ systems at the time that the accident occurred.

Unlike breathalyzer tests and blood draws that are requested by police when a person is under suspicion for DUI, where it is common for drivers to refuse, when there is a traffic fatality, drivers no longer have the right of refusal.  It is not a DUI investigation, it is now a vehicular homicide/manslaughter investigation.

Here is a brief excerpt about this area of law:

“Several states, like Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas, have laws like Connecticut’s that require police to have drivers who survive an accident resulting in death or serious injury submit to a chemical test if the police have probable cause to believe the person was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Some states have upheld these “involuntary” tests in cases where police used reasonable force to obtain blood samples.

Other states, like California, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington, permit police to require these drivers to submit to chemical tests.”

For decades U.S. hospitals have cooperated with law enforcement officials in taking blood draws from drivers following a traffic fatality, because it is a homicide/manslaughter investigation.

Please watch the entire video and listen carefully.  The police detective had made a request for blood to be drawn from an unconscious truck driver that had been involved in a fatal car accident.  The police detective’s request has been denied by nurse Alex Wubbel.  The police detective has waited for some time while nurse Alex Wubbel discusses what to do with other hospital administrators.  The police detective has been instructed by his supervisor, to arrest nurse Wubbel for interfering with a police investigation if she continues to refuse to draw blood from the patient.

Prior to arresting nurse Alex Wubbel, she explains to the detective what the hospital’s policy is for drawing blood for police, the patient has to give consent, be under arrest, or there has to be a warrant.  The police do not have the option #1 or option #2, because the patient is unconscious.

Now, to clarify some things.  The hospital itself had already drawn blood from the patient for their own purposes, to perform various blood test and analysis.  The nurse Alex Wubbel was refusing to draw blood for police purposes, and was citing hospital policy.  There had been some mention that the truck driver was “an innocent victim”.

From the police point of view, hospital policy is not Utah State Law.  How and why is this nurse deciding that her thoughts, opinions, and understanding of hospital policy override law enforcement and Utah State Law?  How and why is this nurse deciding how this traffic fatality is going to be investigated, how evidence is going to be collected, and whether the patient is innocent of any wrongdoing?

In the phone conversation that nurse Alex Wubbel was having with her supervisor in front of the police detective, she began to characterize the detective’s behavior as being threatening.  The police detective had had enough of nurse Alex Wubbel refusing to comply with his request for a blood draw, and he proceeded to arrest her for interfering with a police investigation.

If you have ever seen police arrest a female, as I have seen many times in person, and on the news, it most often goes the same way.  A female will not cooperate with police officers and defy them, no matter how polite, clear, and restrained they are.  When the police try to make an arrest, the female will resist arrest, try to get away, and struggle.  When a police officer has to hold the female with just enough force to keep them from getting away and handcuff them, they start screaming, “Stop, stop, you’re hurting me!  Why are you hurting me!”

All of the people who are not law enforcement officers who see this in person and watch this on video say, “My God, look at what he is doing to her, that’s horrible!”

How would nurses like it, if every time they had to perform a procedure on a patient, the patient started screaming, “Stop, stop, you’re hurting me!  Why are you doing this to me!”  It would get old, wouldn’t it?

When nurse Wubbel is in the detective’s police car, a police supervisor explains to her very clearly, that she is under arrest for interfering with a police investigation.  He explains that it does not matter what her hospital policy is, it matters what the law is.  He asks her why did she decide that she was not going to cooperate with the police detective’s request for a blood draw?  Does she know the truck driver?  Is he a friend or relative of hers?

It is very easy for the Chief of Police in Salt Lake City and the Mayor to issue a statements saying, “…the video is troubling…” or “…the officer’s actions are troubling…”

How would you like it if you were a police detective that had to investigate a police chase, a traffic fatality, other life threatening injuries, multiple inured victims, destruction of property, many different crime scene locations, with difficulty securing all these different crime scene locations, because they are roadways which are currently blocked but must be cleared, in handling just this one incident, and you and other police officers are being held up at the hospital for more than an hour by a nurse that is refusing to collect blood from a patient because of her interpretation of hospital policy.  Blood has already been taken from the patient by the hospital for their own purposes, without his consent.

Most people are making statements and writing comments about “people’s rights” and “people’s consent”.  The fire department showing up and getting people out of vehicles is done without their consent.  The fire department doesn’t say, we have a policy that we only get people out of vehicles if they consent, are under arrest, or there is a warrant.  Likewise, the ambulance EMTs don’t say to the fire department, we only transport people who give consent, are under arrest, or there is a warrant.

The hospital does not say to the ambulance EMTs, we don’t take people unless it is with their consent, they are under arrest, or there is a warrant.  But, the nurse does not cooperate with law enforcement because she is questioning the legality of what they are doing.  Why is that?

It is just assumed that the fire department is there to help.  It is just assumed that the ambulance EMTs are there to help.  It is just assumed that the hospital is there to help.  The hospital can take an unconscious patient’s blood if they want to, because they are there to help.  But when it comes to drawing blood from an unconscious patient at the request of law enforcement, this nurse decides that she needs to look into this.

How about this, what if when law enforcement receives a 911 call from this hospital, or any hospital, instead of heading that way, law enforcement says, “No, no, no, we have to get consent from each of the patients and each of the personnel at your hospital before we come onto the property, because we don’t want to violate anyone’s rights, not everyone might want us to be there.  When you can get consent from everyone, let us know, then we will come.”  The police often have to do their job without people’s consent.

Exposing Some Bad Things In Dickinson, North Dakota

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I have lived in Dickinson, North Dakota for five years now.  Ever since I came to Dickinson, I could tell that there were things going on that were wrong.  There were things that were adversely affecting me, my friends, and other people that I met.  I wanted to know what was going on, what were the reasons, what was behind all of this.  Eventually I created this blog website, and here are some of the things that I wrote about:

  1. The gouging and taking advantage of out of state workers on housing.
  2. The deliberate creating of a shortage and not alleviating the shortage of housing in order to keep prices high to benefit local property owners.
  3. OSHA refusing to investigate the work site death of Eric Haider.
  4. No one being charged with manslaughter over the work site death of Eric Haider.
  5. Public and private businesses violating EEO laws in order to hire friends and relatives.
  6. Failure of the Department of Labor to hold employers accountable for non-payment of wages.
  7. Long history of companies and employers in Dickinson attempting to keep wages low in order to prevent employees from ever getting ahead or being able to leave.
  8. Not allowing prostitution though the ratio of men to women varied from 3:1 to 30:1.
  9. Newspaper reports of multiple occurrences of local men resorting to sex with cows and horses in this area.

One of the causes of the injustices that I have listed above, appears to be the Catholic Church in Dickinson.  The Catholic Church in Dickinson has encouraged the Catholics to believe that they are better than everyone else, has encouraged anything that brings money to the Church, and has not discouraged or spoken out against the mistreatment or taking advantage of others.

A second cause of some of the injustices in Dickinson, appears to be the Dickinson Mafia.  The Dickinson Mafia are a group of men who own businesses, who hold public office, who are on boards of directors, and who manage some of the large companies in Dickinson.  They sought to keep wages low so that workers could never get ahead, would have to work their whole life for low wages, and could never leave.  The Dickinson Mafia also sought to control Dickinson by giving jobs as favors or rewards to people who did what they wanted, and not giving jobs to people that were independent, regardless of education, skill, and qualifications.  The Dickinson Mafia was greatly responsible for the Nepotism and Chronyism that goes on in Dickinson.

A third cause of some of the injustices in Dickinson, appears to be the failure of the police, the judicial system, and the press to hold people accountable for wrong doing.  I have come across situations in Dickinson, where individuals should have been arrested but were not, should have been prosecuted but were not, should have received long prison sentences but did not, and should have been fully covered in the Dickinson Press newspaper but were not.

Some of the really bad bad things that have been done by prominent people and businesses in Dickinson have been covered by newspapers outside of Dickinson, such as the Jamestown Sun, the Grand Forks Herald, and the Bismarck Tribune.  This is one way to handle it, and leave the Dickinson Press newspaper out of it.

The Bismarck Tribune newspaper did publish an article approximately one year ago, that described the failure of the North Dakota Department of Labor to hold employers accountable for non-payment of wages to workers.  There had been a two year wait after a worker complaint had been filed, before a case worker was even assigned to the complaint.  75% of the Department of Labor complaints were against oil field companies in western North Dakota.

I myself was shorted wages by an oil field company in the Dickinson area, so were some of my coworkers, so were some former employees of this company.  I called the North Dakota Department of Labor, and there were four other complaints against this company by former employees for non-payment of wages.

The Dickinson Press newspaper writes glowing newspaper articles about this company and the owner.  How can that be?  I began asking many local people about this company and the company owner.  I wanted to know why was he doing this, how did he think that he could get away with this, and what kind of person is he?  I found out more and more.

In high school, in the seventh grade, this company owner raped a boy in the gym locker room.  It was a very severe sexual assault.  He should have been arrested, convicted, sent to a juvenile detention center, and been registered for life as a convicted sex offender.  None of those things happened.  I asked why this didn’t happen.  I was told because of his family name, who his family was, and because his family had money.

In a previous blog post that I wrote titled, “Summary Of Wickedness And Perversion In Dickinson, North Dakota”, I wrote about a very similar incident to the one that I just described above, where a member of a wealthy and prominent local family was convicted of molesting an 8 year old girl.  His prison sentence and restitution was extremely lenient, unbelievably lenient.

In that blog post, I wrote that one of the problems in Dickinson, is that some people in Dickinson think that they are so much better than other people, that they can take advantage of other people with impunity.

As long as the Catholic Church continues to teach that Catholics are better than other people, there will continue to be people trying to take advantage of others, and mistreatment of others in Dickinson.  As long as the Dickinson Mafia continues to practice Nepotism and Chronyism, there will be corruption, collusion, injustice, unfairness, and mistreatment of people in Dickinson.

As long as the police, judicial system, and press do not hold all people equally accountable, there will be corruption, injustice, unfairness, underhandedness, crime, and mistreatment of people in Dickinson.

Problems With Zefal Mini Bicycle Pump

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When I was in elementary school, I never had problems with bicycle pumps, they always worked, because they were made out of metal.  When I was finishing high school and going to college, I always had problems with bicycle pumps, because they began making most of their parts out of plastic.

When I became older and had money, I no longer wasted my time on bicycle pumps, I bought different kinds of compressors and air tanks.  I wasn’t about to stand there pumping away with some wiggly plunger that deflected in about ten different directions, with tolerances that were way too loose, and having the cheaply made plastic nozzle keep popping off the valve stem.

Recently when I moved to downtown Dickinson and began riding my bicycles more, I wanted to have a small mini bicycle pump to carry in my back pack with me when I went riding.  I was carrying a small amount of  tools, my video camera, and things to drink in my backpack anyway, I should have a mini bicycle pump too.

Last week I went to Wal-Mart to buy a mini bicycle pump.  For $15, they had a package that included a tire repair kit, a set of allen wrenches, and a Zefal mini bicycle pump that was made mostly out of metal parts.  I tried using this mini bicycle pump while holding my thumb over the nozzle, and it had very good pressure because the pump tolerances were tight and good.

I bought the $15 package that included the Zefal mini bicycle pump and took it home.  The first time that I tried the mini bicycle pump on one of my bicycle tires that was low on air, the pump worked fine.

A few days later, I was working on one of my bicycles when my neighbor asked me if I wanted to bike ride to Patterson Lake.  I said O.K., just give me a minute to pump up this tire.  My neighbor said that pump is never going to work.  I said, it works, I already used it.  I attached the pump nozzle to my bicycle tire, and it quickly let all of the air out of my tire.  My neighbor continued to tell me that that pump was never going to work, and I was getting ready to tell him to go fuck off.  I tried, but I could not get any air into the tire with the Zefal mini bicycle pump.  My neighbor brought over his air tank, and then we went on the ride to Patterson Lake.

My neighbor who is 52 years old, was so sure that the Zefal mini bicycle pump was not going to work, because most small bicycle pumps are pieces of shit.  Several days later, I began trying to inflate a bicycle tire with the Zefal mini bicycle pump, just to try to figure out how the pump was failing.  I tried using the pump for about forty five minutes on a completely flat tire, and it wouldn’t work.

I went inside and I looked on the internet at the Zefal website, which was not very much help.  I began watching YouTube videos of people using mini bicycle pumps, which were not much help, because their pumps worked.  Lastly I read several long discussion forums where other people had had problems with mini bicycle pumps, especially when inflating completely flat tires, because the valve stem would not stick out through the bicycle rim.

I went back outside and tried using the Zefal mini bicycle pump on my completely flat tire again.  Eventually, how I found that I could make the pump work, was by tightening the cap on the nozzle quite a bit to make the rubber insert expand, shoving the nozzle all the way onto the tire valve stem as far as it would go, holding the nozzle there, and NOT Lifting The Clamp Lever Handle on the nozzle.  What was happening, when I had been lifting the clamp lever handle, which makes the nozzle insert pin move outward, instead of pushing the valve needle in, it was pushing the whole nozzle off of the tire valve stem.

The clamp lever handle on the nozzle, is supposed to move the nozzle insert pin outward to make contact with the valve needle, and push it in, but in some cases, all it does is push the whole nozzle off the tire valve stem.  You may have to just hold the pump nozzle with your hand, pushing it as far as possible onto the the tire valve stem in order to get it to take air.

The Worst Job Advertisement I Have Seen In Some Time, AE2S Construction

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I have been looking at the on-line job advertisement sites like North Dakota Job Services and Indeed.com, and I came across one of the worst job advertisements that I have seen in some time, for a Project Coordinator at AE2S Construction:

Due to our continued growth, AE2S Construction is currently seeking an experienced Project Coordinator to work out of our Watford City Shop location.  The ideal candidate is organized with an eye for detail, is a strong communicator, and excels in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment.

  • Assemble project documents, shop drawings, manuals, etc., and other project and post-construction submittals, for distribution to clients and vendors
  • Assemble and verify construction contract change order information for approval by Project Manager
  • Provide assistance with contract administration for various projects
  • Participate in project status meetings
  • Enter project data, track the accounting and billing of materials, and maintain ProContractor database
  • Maintain calendars, coordinate meetings, and arrange travel with Travel Coordinator for ACL staff
  • Provide project coordination and support to ACL Construction Manager, Project Managers, Estimators, and all other employees to include duties such as filing, copying, scanning, answering phones, mailing documents, preparing conference room and meeting materials, and distributing mail
  • Perform weekly processing tasks, in conjunction with the AE2S Construction Accounting team, including payroll, timesheets, equipment usage processing, new hire paperwork, accounts payable, credit card processing, and initial accounts receivable follow up
  • Create payment requests and prepare lien waivers
  • Maintain WC vehicles and equipment registrations and other related licensing and maintenance
  • Order and manage inventory of office supplies
  • Work directly with the AE2S Construction Accounting team on all matters related to WC accounting, as well as perform additional accounting activities as requested

This is fucking ridiculous.  If you cut that list in half, that would still be more work than one person should be assigned.  What the Fuck is wrong with AE2S Construction?  Who wrote this?

If you count down to bullet points #7 and #8, just those duties alone are what one administrative assistant should be assigned.  I am an engineer, and I have worked as an estimator, project coordinator, superintendent, and project manager, and whoever wrote this job advertisement is a Fucking Asshole, or perhaps the entire company management are Assholes.

Once the job advertisement gets into ordering office supplies, filing, answering phones, copying, scanning, arranging travel, preparing conference room and meeting materials, it appears that they are most likely seeking a woman with secretarial skills, and getting her to do accounting, payroll, human resources, billing, and project coordination too.  This is wrong.

I hope that any woman who reads this understands what this is all about, she would be expected to perform accounting, payroll, human resources, and project coordination work, and not be paid at the same level as an accountant, human resources person, or project manager.

If there is any woman or person who could perform all of these duties, please start your own business.  You are a very talented, intelligent, and skilled person.  Do not let other people take advantage of you by dumping their work on you because they are lazy pieces of shit.

This Is How Methodists Act

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In my previous blog post, I wrote that I hate White People in Texas.  White People in Texas are arrogant, elitist, proud, greedy, self-serving people.  I partly blame the version of Southern Baptists that exists in Texas, the “prosperity gospel” believers, that allow them to believe that they are better than other people, which gives them the right to do the things that they do.

I have written approximately eight blog posts about the German Catholics here in Dickinson, North Dakota, that act almost as bad as the Southern Baptist prosperity gospel believers in Texas.  The Catholics here in Dickinson, North Dakota think that they are better than everyone else, so if they want to gouge people from out of state on housing, violate federal EEO laws to hire their relatives rather than people from out of state, undermine and take advantage of people from out of state, they feel that they are justified in doing so.

The German Catholics in Dickinson, North Dakota may have no idea that their behavior is not right, because they have nothing to compare it to.  Most of my close relatives and distant relatives are Methodists.  I grew up in a town with many Methodists.  But I also went to Catholic School for four years.  Later I went to school with, and became friends with Atheists, Baptists, Episcopaleans, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Lutherans, Mormons, Muslims, and Seventh Day Adventists.  I read, and I learned about each of these religions.

In this blog post, I will write about how Methodists act.  Primarily, Methodists are moderate, peaceful, conservative, tolerant, and patient.

Methodist Finances:

  1. Methodists seek to have their financial affairs in order, just like every other part of their life.
  2. To not be reckless with money, to not overspend, to live within one’s means.
  3. To not have much debt, and to certainly not have delinquent debt.
  4. A personal bankruptcy to a Methodist, would be a grave moral failure.
  5. To stay employed, to work steadily, to pay your bills, and to save money.
  6. To not buy a home, automobile, boat, motorhome, or airplane as a way to show off.
  7. To make money only in an ethical, moral, right way, to not engage in usury, fraud, deceit, treachery, or taking advantage of others.
  8. Methodists realize as part of their faith and religious beliefs, that no good can come from taking advantage of others, usury, fraud, deceit, treachery, indebtedness, overspending, showing off, and pride.
  9. Methodists have no difficulty seeing the evil in some people accumulating great wealth, while at the same time others in the same community are lacking basic necessities.  Methodists would feel shame and guilt in having excessive wealth while at the same time others in the same community didn’t have enough, due to being less able.  Methodists seek to make sure that other people don’t suffer needlessly.

Methodist Families:

  1. Husbands and wives should stay married, they took their marriage vows before God.
  2. Husbands and wives should not engage in infidelity, they took their marriage vows before God.
  3. Husbands and wives have a duty to act like a civil, decent, moral, ethical, responsible adult, for the sake of their spouse and their children.
  4. Methodists believe in having zero to three children, and that their children need supervision, guidance, instruction, education, and correction.
  5. Methodists realize as part of their faith and religious beliefs, that they should conduct themselves as a civil, decent, moral, ethical, responsible adult, for the sake of their spouse and children, for the sake of their community, and to try to make sure that their children do the same.

Methodist Culture:

  1. Methodists seek to be civil, decent, moral, ethical, responsible, thoughtful adults.  They have read the Bible themselves, and they have had the Bible, what it actually says, taught to them by thoroughly educated Methodist ministers.
  2. Methodists are likely to see the wastefulness, sloth, immorality, and drunkenness in people getting overly entrenched with NASCAR, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and UFC.
  3. Methodist are not likely to want to spend much time in bars.
  4. Methodist are not likely to want to spend much time in casinos.
  5. Methodist do not have any interest in using drugs.
  6. Methodists are not sexually promiscuous, and they do not take advantage of others.

Methodists At Work:

  1. Methodists do not believe in discrimination of any kind.
  2. Methodists believe in performing work competently, and making sure that work is performed competently.
  3. Methodists have an aversion for unethical and immoral businesses practices, so much so that they do not and will not tolerate unethical and immoral business practices, and seek to stop these business practices whenever possible.
  4. Methodists will try to help, assist, instruct, or teach others who are having difficulty in their work, in order for that person to keep their job.  If a person is not capable of doing a job, Methodists believe that that person, no matter who they are, should be removed from that job, for the sake of the work, the company, and everyone else.

I just want to point out how significantly the Catholics in Dickinson, North Dakota behave differently than Methodists.  In #4 above, Methodists at Work, Methodists would never fill all the private and public management positions with poorly educated, incompetent people like has been done in Dickinson.  Methodists would realize that the whole future, economic prosperity, and current functioning of Dickinson has been placed in the hands of not very educated or capable people.  How in the world could this turn out well?

Hurricane Harvey Has Reminded Me How Much I Hate People In Texas

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Hurricane Harvey has reminded me how much I hate people in Texas.  Not the Black people, and not the Hispanic people, but the White People.

I hate the White People in Texas, more than I hate the Catholics in Dickinson, North Dakota.  I would rather have some militant Muslim extremists living next door to me than White People from Texas, because at least the militant Muslim extremists have principles, believe in something, and live right in comparison.

Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t stand living in Houston in a predominantly Black neighborhood or a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, because these people are so different than me.  It would be uncomfortable for both me and my Black neighbors or my Hispanic neighbors.  I don’t want to listen to rap music all the time, I don’t want to listen to festival music all the time, and my neighbors would get tired of me complaining to them about their music.

Just like the Catholics in Dickinson, North Dakota think that they are better than everyone else, and think that they are going to advantage themselves, advance themselves, and disadvantage and hinder others, the White People “Texans” act the same way, only more so.

  1.  A perfect example of “Texans”, is Ethan Couch:

Ethan Couch was 16 years old in 2013, when he killed four people while driving drunk and speeding in Burleson, Texas.  One of the passengers in his vehicle suffered complete paralysis.  He was indicted on four counts of intoxication manslaughter.  His attorneys argued that he was so wealthy, that he didn’t know what he was doing.  The judge agreed with this “affluenza” defense, and Ethan was sentenced to probation only, no prison time whatsoever.

Some “Texans” in Texas are so much better than other people, that they can kill four people and not get any time in prison.  Whereas other people in Texas have been sentenced to twenty years in prison for possession of marijuana.

2.  Another example of “Texans”, is Joel Osteen:

Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.  His father, a former Southern Baptist minister, founded Lakewood Church.  Joel Osteen attended Oral Roberts University, but he did not graduate and he did not receive a degree from divinity school.  He returned to Houston to produce his father’s television ministry program.  He did not preach his first sermon until 1999, when he was 36 years old.

Lakewood Church’s attendance grew.  In 2003, Lakewood Church acquired the former stadium of the Houston Rockets NBA basketball team.  The renovations to the stadium cost $105 million.  In 2012, Joel Osteen’s net worth was estimated to be $56 million.  He lives in a $10.5 million home.

Osteen’s sermons are sometimes criticized for promoting “prosperity theology”, a belief that material gain is the reward for Godly Christians.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, What the Fuck!  Hold on and back up!  In the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus Christ the son of God came to Earth and taught, his teachings were recorded by the Apostles.  Jesus said to each of the Apostles, come with me, leave what you have behind.  In one of Jesus’ teachings, a man asked him and the Apostles what must he do in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and Jesus replied that he must give up his possessions, and the man was very sorry, for he had much.

Teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was not supposed to be a money making venture, and people were not supposed to get rich doing it.  The fact that a preacher of the Gospel accumulates $56 million, is not a “miracle”, something is wrong, this should never happen.  The preacher himself should have never allowed this to happen.  Are you going to tell me that there aren’t thousands of needy people in Texas, that need help with food, medical care, and housing?

In other words, the “Texans” in Texas would rather give their money to a rich White Southern Baptist “Texan” that doesn’t need their money, than to poor hungry people who really need it.

3.  A third example of “Texans”, is their catching and keeping immigrants as slaves:

When I worked in southwest Texas near the border with Mexico several years ago, the grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, and restaurants had signs posted that read, “It is illegal to detain and hold people against their will, and force people to work for no pay.”  What had been happening, was White People near the border with Mexico would come across illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America that had just walked through the desert onto their property.  Tired, weak, thirsty, uneducated, and unable to speak English, these illegal immigrants were completely at the mercy of White People land owners with a gun, out in the middle of nowhere.  The White People Texans got in the habit of detaining these immigrants, not allowing them to leave, and forcing them to work for free, just like slaves.

Rather than feeling sorry for Texans when I see the news coverage of their flooded streets, homes, and businesses, I am sorry that I don’t see more White Texans trying to climb up on electric lines and getting electrocuted.

Yes, I hate Texans.  They are the most arrogant, elitist, self-serving people that I have ever met, and I hate their state.  I hope that the swarms of swimming, clawing, biting rats with rabies half-eat as many White Texans as possible.

Dickinson58601 Living In Dickinson, North Dakota Is Now On YouTube

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A couple of years ago, a friend of mine who read my blog posts, suggested to me that I begin making videos.  I didn’t want to do this at that time, there was so much that I wanted to say and write about, that I just didn’t want the distraction of trying to make videos.

Now that I have written approximately 400 blog posts, there are some things that I would like to show using video.  My first videos will not have audio commentary or narration, because I want to show some things in Dickinson, North Dakota, just as they are, so that people can look at them and have their own thoughts about them.

Today, Monday 8/28/2017, I uploaded two 40 second videos to YouTube that show Patterson Lake.  These two videos are primarily for people who have never been to Dickinson, so that they will know, and can see that Patterson Lake is less than one mile from downtown Dickinson.

I will begin adding more videos on a regular basis.  To view these videos, perform an internet search in your browser for “YouTube”, then click on the YouTube website.  Once on the YouTube website, in their search box, type in “Dickinson58601 Living In Dickinson North Dakota”.

Here is a link to my YouTube Channel:

What It Would Be Like To Be Married To A Small Freshwater Duck

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There is a young lady that I like very much, who I have written about previously.  She has asked me to please not use her name, so I won’t.  If you knew her name, it means “a small freshwater duck”.  In this blog post, I will refer to her as Quack, though that is not her real name.

I am old enough to know now, that women will change their mind about anything in an instant.  They also say and claim, the exact opposite of what they think and feel.  “I hate you”, can turn into “I love you”.  “I don’t want to see you with your shirt off”, turns out to get hundreds of views from women overnight when you post your picture with your shirt off.  “I don’t like that, stop”, turns out to mean “Don’t Stop”.  You get the idea.

Now, knowing all this, leads me to imagine what it would be like if Quack and I became married.  This is not nearly as unlikely as some of you might think.  I choose to focus on our life together, twelve years from now, when Quack is 37 years old, and I am 60 years old.

I imagine that we are taking a family vacation together, driving to the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, with our 11 year old daughter, and our 7 year old son.  On all of our long drives together, Quack has always sat in the passenger seat looking out the window, with her mind far away.

Quack always wonders to herself how her life turned out this way.  She feels cheated.  How and why did she ever marry a man so much older than her?  Why is she with him?  Why is she tied down?  How did all of this happen?

Every passing desert bush, Quack wishes that she could go and hide behind the bush, stay there, and not come out, until we couldn’t find her and went away.  Every passing vehicle, Quack wishes that she could go with them, anywhere, away from here and us.

Her thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a piercing shriek, “Iieeeeeeeeee… he’s touching me!”  Quack quickly turns around in her seat to see our seven year old son sitting quietly like a toad, holding onto a large tupper ware bowl in his lap, in case he has to throw up.  Our daughter who is sitting behind Quack, is who Quack focuses in on now, this is her nemesis you would sometimes think.

Quack’s daughter is exactly like her, she is tall for her age and thin.  She is hardly any trouble at all, but Quack is always very cold with her.  You could think that Quack is just trying not to spoil her, to make her turn out not to be a bitch, but I sometimes think that Quack is just taking her anger out on her, that is all it is.

Our son is small for his age and immature.  I would not say that Quack adores him, I would say that Quack feels sorry for him, like she would for a turtle or a toad.  She spends quite a lot of time worrying about him in any case, whatever the reason.  Perhaps it is maternal instincts, I don’t know.

Quack has had just about enough of this driving trip, and she begins to think about tricking all of us three to stay in the car, while she launches the car into the Grand Canyon, or over the dam.  The more good places that we pass for her to do this, the more she thinks about it.

It is hot, and the children have been talking about going to a hotel with a swimming pool for hours.  I have been explaining for hours that we are going to stay in an old mom & pop motel on old Route 66, that they might not have a pool.  Quack somewhat agrees with this, staying in an old mom & pop motel on old Route 66, but thinks that I am doing this because I am cheap, which is the truth.

When we do finally get to an old mom & pop motel, with a pool, the children squeal with delight, that they are going to get their bathing suits on right away to go swimming.  I know exactly what is going to happen, and Quack knows exactly what is going to happen, that pool water is cold, about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, there is no way that those kids are going to get in that water.  Quack looks at this as the opportunity to finally get her revenge.

As soon as we check into the motel room, to the children’s surprise, Quack is changing into her bathing suit too.  This makes the children slightly suspicious.  I admire Quack in her two piece bakini bathing suit, she has not lost her figure at all.  Quack takes her two little ducklings with her to the pool, noting with satisfaction that there is a chain link fence around it, with only one gate.

Quack gently and unflinchingly descends down the steps into the pool, calling to her two children.  With just their bathing suits on, and it being late in the day now, our two kids are not hot anymore, and their enthusiasm for going into the swimming pool is now gone.  They don’t want to go in now.  Quack reminds them of how they have been talking about going swimming for the last several hours.

As soon as the two children take the first step down into the pool water, they have a look of horror on their faces at how cold the water is.  Quack has taken hold of each of them by the arm, with her cold, wet, bony fingers, and they know that they can not get away from her.  They plead with Quack and beg for mercy, “No, please, I don’t want to go in, I don’t want to go in…”, but soon their mouths, eyes, and nostrils are filled with pool water and they are choking and gasping.

After about four minutes of frightening her children, who are not sure if their mother is trying to kill them, it is time for dinner.  After Quack and the children change out of their bathing suits and get dressed, we walk across the street to a diner.  I and the children order cheeseburgers and fries, Quack has to pick something else to order.

Quack’s second most favorite thing it would sometimes seem, is embarrassing the children in public, and at restaurants.  She often deliberately orders something that the children will think is gross, and she orders alcohol, which worries me too.  We all know that we are going to become victims of hers here shortly.

When Quack gets her beer, she begins eye balling each of us, and we aren’t sure which one of us she is going to start with first.  “How old are you now?  What, are you in the second grade or something?  Don’t you think that you should start doing your own laundry now?  Here let me put some mayonaise on your french fries for you, that is what they do in France, what you don’t want any, what are you a Republican like your father or something?”

After dinner, we are all tired and ready for bed.  I go lay down on one of the double size beds, and Quack goes and lays down on the other double size bed.  The two children climb into bed with Quack, and cling to her sides like baby opossums riding on their mother’s back.

I think that this is a very happy marriage.

Final Dickinson First On First Concert For 2017?

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I don’t want this to be a quick, flippant blog post, I want to be clear and have people think about and reflect on some of these things.

This might have been the last First On First a.k.a. Alive at Five concert that you will see in Dickinson for many years, or maybe something else happened at this final event, you will have to continue reading.

The Odd Fellows Lodge in Dickinson is the group that sponsors, organizes, and pays for the First On First concerts.  The Odd Fellows Lodge members are all unpaid volunteers.  Some members handle the event plans and permitting with the city, sell event advertising to businesses, seek event sponsorship and donations, have signs, tickets and T-shirts made, order alcohol, close off the street and set up the event area, set up the stage, stock the alcohol bars, serve drinks, sell event wrist bands and drink tickets, sell event space to vendors, take down the stage, and clean up the event area.  And continually do accounting and budgeting all week in order to be able to pay for everything each week, the biggest expense being the main performer every week.

Since I began going to the Alive at Five concerts in Dickinson in 2014, it has been harder and harder for Odd Fellows Lodge members and other people to volunteer and work at the events because of the way that Dickinson has changed.  I would describe it as most people having financial difficulty, more difficulty in their lives, and being less able to volunteer their time.  Also, businesses have become less able to afford event advertising, sponsorships, and donations.

For the past two years, Tracy Tooz the owner of Tooz Construction, and Mike Odegaard have been the primary event organizers in the leadership, management, booking of performers, event set up, and event take down each week.  I have never seen Tracy Tooz or Mike Odegaard complain or gripe about anything.  I have also never seen anyone ever thank Tracy Tooz or Mike Odegaard.

If you look at the First On First events as a big party, where everyone in North Dakota is invited, Tracy Tooz and Mike Odegaard set up this party, hire a band, make sure that there is enough alcohol, try to make sure everyone has a good time, then clean up after everybody has left, and then throw another party next week.  Well, nobody has ever thanked them for it.  They spend a lot of their time on the phone, the computer, driving their own trucks to go pick things up, using their own tools and equipment at the event, letting the performers use their personal RVs and vehicles while in town, and spending many hours each week setting up and taking down the stage.  Tracy Tooz and Mike Odegaard have donated a great deal of time, money, and energy to the First On First concerts and there is no guarantee that they will want to continue, I am not sure that they will.

Other people who have consistently volunteered many hours at the events are Kathy Fisher owner of the Rock Bar, Kristi Schwartz owner of Allstate Insurance, Jeff Pokorney owner of Pokorney Chiropractic, all of the Outlaw Sippin’ band members Brady Paulson, Beni Paulson, Emil Anheluk, Qwain, Donna HR at Tooz Construction, Brock White owner of Brock White Entertainment, April, and many other people whose names I will add as I remember them.

As I wrote earlier, it is becoming more and more difficult for people to volunteer or work at the events because of the way that Dickinson is changing economically.  All of the people that I have named so far up above, I don’t know if they will all be able to keep on volunteering like they have been.  I have never seen anyone thank any of them.

All of the Odd Fellows Lodge members, all of the volunteers, all of the event sponsors and donors wanted for people to come out, have a good time, meet friends, socialize, and enjoy the concerts.  Seeing and knowing that people enjoy the concerts was gratifying for everyone.  But I wanted to point out now that many people just took the events for granted, that they would always happen every Thursday, that the city paid for it, or that it was a money making venture, where someone was making a profit.

The final First On First concert of this year, I knew, and probably thirty other people knew that this might be the last First On First concert for many years possibly.  This may have been one of the reasons why Tracy Tooz, Mike Odegaard, and Jeff Pokorny decided to have the very last concert at the Dickinson State University football season opening game.  This had never been done before.

While the DSU Blue Hawk supporters were having their tail gate party in the stadium parking lot, the Outlaw Sippin’ band began playing.  Bradi, Beni, Emil and the band sounded as good or better than they ever had, but most of the tail gate partiers stayed over in the Blue Hawk supporter event area, like they were accustomed to doing for many years.  There was also the assumption by many of the DSU Blue Hawk supporters that they had to be 21 years of age, and pay admission to get into the fenced in area in front of the stage.  Attendance before the start of the football game at 6:00 p.m. was very low.

Immediately after the football game was over at about 8:30 p.m., the event area in front of the stage began to fill very quickly.  Chancy Williams and the Younger Brothers Band began playing at about 8:45 p.m.  From about 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m, there were approximately 400 to 500 people at the event.  Without anyone knowing, the event almost ran out of beer by 10:30 p.m. and they had to go get more beer.

All of the event organizers were very happy that they had sold so many wrist bands and drink tickets in the final two hours, which would be enough to cover or more than cover all of the event expenses.  All of the event organizers, volunteers, vendors, and workers realized that they could have or would have had much higher attendance starting at 3:00 p.m. if they would not have had a separation between the Blue Hawk supporter tail gate party and the event stage, everything should have been co-mingled, not separated.

The event organizers also realized from the wrist band sales and drink sales immediately following the end of the football game, that they might be able to continue to have this event for each of the remaining DSU home football games.  This would allow the Odd Fellows Lodge to continue to bring music performers to Dickinson into the winter months, which is something that many people had wanted to happen for at least the past several years, but it was not known how this could be done.

What was seen by some people as possibly being the last First On First concert for quite a while, might have instead turned out to be the beginning of the music concert season in Dickinson extending into the winter.  We will have to wait and see.

(Please leave the names of the event organizers, volunteers, band members, sponsors, and donors that I keep forgetting to mention in the comments section and I will include them.)

Magellan Energy Group Proposed Davis Space Ship

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Press Release 8/23/2017:

Magellan Energy Group, has announced its plans to begin building several space ships in western North Dakota, in order to travel to other planets, and to create colonies under the oceans and lakes here on Earth.

Travel to other planets will allow for the sale of materials, agricultural products, goods, and services here on Earth to hundreds of other galaxies, each with hundreds and hundreds of planets.  This should allow for the expansion of existing businesses and industries here on Earth such as telemarketing, real estate, insurance, entertainment, and tourism.

Magellan Energy Group expects to bring back to Earth technology and resources of every kind.  “We expect that minerals that are scarce here on Earth, such as platinum, gold, and silver may be much more abundant on other planets.  Investors should expect to see a 1000% return on their investment, if not more.”

“We could not have picked a more suitable place to begin constructing our inter-planetary space craft.  The wide open prairies of western North Dakota offer plenty of room for construction of the space craft, air fields, and unobstructed flight path for landing and take-off.

North Dakota is home to many skilled tradesmen in welding, fabrication, erection, machine work, electrical, hydraulic, mechanics, instrumentation, controls, and propulsion.  During construction, Magellan expects to employ 1,000 people here locally.

Magellan Properties, a division of Magellan Energy Group, plans to build residential and commercial properties under the oceans and lakes here on Earth, these will include:  single family homes, multi-family housing, hotels, retail, restaurants, movie theaters, police stations, and fire departments.

One of the main things that influenced the founding partners to base operations here in western North Dakota, is both the abundance of oil and uranium, that will serve as the fuel source for interplanetary travel, and also the fact that people here don’t look into things.”

(Note:  I wrote the Press Release above as a parody of actual press releases, that I have been reading from a company in the Dickinson area with a similar sounding name to “Magelllan Energy Group”.

Most readers who do not live in North Dakota, and many readers who do live in North Dakota, might have been wondering what this blog post was all about.  I have written one blog post about it before, about a company’s plans to build a $900 million facility in this area of North Dakota.  Though I believe that a smaller version of what they are proposing may eventually be constructed, I want to encourage local people to look into and question proposals and claims, to consider and evaluate the feasibility, cost, amount of time, and economic viability of this venture.  To not rely only on company press releases.)

Don’t Get Your Prescriptions Filled At Sanford Health, Check Prices First

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I went to the Sanford Health Clinic in Dickinson, North Dakota to get a prescription for an allergy medication.  Because the Sanford Health Clinic had a pharmacy there, I chose to have the prescription filled there.  I was surprised at both the high price, and the small quantity of the Pataday prescription eye drops.  For 2.5 ml of Pataday eye drops, smaller than the amount of liquid in a tea spoon, it was $191.  That is $76 per ml.

I looked on the internet when I got home to see if I could get the Pataday eye drops anywhere else for less money, and in Canada they sell it for less than $7 per ml.  In Canada they sell 7.5 ml bottles for $48, and they ship to the United States.  I wanted to have more than 2.5 ml because I have severe allergy attacks about four times per year.

I completed my on-line order form, and I e-mailed the Canadian drug store a copy of my prescription.  I then called the Canadian drug store on the telephone, and they would not process my order because I only had my prescription information from the Sanford Health Clinic pharmacy.  I didn’t have the original doctor’s prescription slip, I never got it from the doctor, she just e-mailed it to the Sanford Health Clinic pharmacy.

I called a second Canadian on-line drug store, and they would not process my order without an original prescription slip from a medical doctor.  They would not accept the prescription label from the Sanford Health Clinic pharmacy that showed I had 1 refill allowed.  The Canadian drug stores that I spoke to said that they did not think that I would have a problem getting the medical doctor to write me a new prescription slip.

What I should have done, and what I recommend that the readers of this blog post do, is to always get a physical prescription slip from a medical doctor before you leave their office.  This will give you the chance to go home and compare prices at different pharmacies.  Once a pharmacy gets your prescription slip, it will be very difficult if not impossible to get your prescription refills at a different pharmacy.

Two days after I had my Pataday eye drop prescription filled at the Sanford Health Clinic pharmacy, I delivered a letter to the Sanford Health walk-in clinic addressed to the medical doctor that had examined me and had prescribed the Pataday eye drops with one refill allowed.  In the letter, I explained that I could order the Pataday eye drops from a drug store in Canada for $7 per ml, versus $76 per ml that I paid at the Sanford Health Clinic pharmacy.  I asked if she could write a prescription slip for my one refill of Pataday, so that I could get this refill for less money in Canada.

I received a telephone call from a woman at Sanford Health, denying my request for a prescription slip, even though I explained to her that I had one refill allowed.

 

My Sanford Health walk-in clinic visit will probably cost more than $200, and my prescription for Pataday and Prednisone cost more than $200.  This is enough medication to make it through one allergy attack.  If I buy one refill of Pataday for $191, I can make it through a second allergy attack.  On my third allergy attack, I would have to go back to the Sanford Health walk-in clinic and pay over $400 again.  I wanted a solution to my allergy problem, not to be a continuing on-going source of revenue for Sanford Health.

I hope that the readers of this blog post will now know that they should request enough refills on their prescriptions for recurring health problems like allergies. so that they don’t have to keep going back for expensive doctor visits.  I also hope that the readers begin looking on the internet at on-line Canadian drug stores who mail prescription medications to the United States.

I looked for international drug stores that would sell and ship prescription medications to the United States without a prescription, and I found one company based in Gibraltar that does this.  However this particular company in Gibraltar has several complaints against it from people who placed an order, paid for their order, but never received their shipment.  Other people claim that they have received the orders that they placed from this company in Gibraltar.

In my situation, I will continue to look for a way to buy Pataday eye drops for as little money as possible, in the quantity that I expect that I will need, without a prescription and having to pay a medical doctor over and over again.