Flood, Blizzard, Flood, Blizzard

[ClintVideo 1]

If you don't like the weather here, just wait twenty minutes. We went from thunderstorm to blizzard to flooding to more blizzards up here in the past week. Fargo gets most of the attention, but here in Bismarck there's been a lot of flooding to battle too. We're not in as dire a circumstance as Fargo, but the south half of the city was in jeopardy for a few days and it ain't over yet.

 

Out west our problem is more one of ice jams blocking the water of the Missouri as its tributaries continue to pass along the melt from record snowfalls. A climatologist pointed out (after Obama blamed global warming, natch) that snowfall here is greatest during the coldest winters, and we've had both. There's a big ice jam sitting just upstream of Bismarck, while the downstream one causing the flooding has been abated thanks to hard work, salt bombs, and plenty of C4. Our office called an emergency staff meeting Wednesday and told us that anyone who wanted to volunteer could do so "on the clock" so most of us left. There have been hundreds more volunteers than needed, which makes it easy to rotate out a bit when one gets tired.

 

After a beautiful "spring weekend, last night we got 14 inches of snow. It's still snowing now, and I'm at home because our office closed. I got the call right after I carved out my sidewalks, the neighbors', the driveways, and even the alley with my snowblower. Even had the kids loaded up to go to the babysitter. But now I'm sitting at home watching it snow all day, presumably another eight inches of snow by evening. W00h00! And yet it's supposed to be quite warm by mid-week, meaning that we'll have even more water to contend with.

 

One thing though: we haven't had any looting, any gang activity, nobody shooting at rescue helicopters, no rumors of "toxic soup"in the streets or rampant rapes or murders. Nobody has blamed FEMA (in fact, they haven't really been needed that I know of). There are no celebrities on the TV claiming that President Obama hates white people. Nobody has used it as an excuse to go running around confiscating weapons from law-abiding citizens, assuring that the criminals are the only ones armed. Of course, there are more guns than people in ND...that'd be quite an effort.

 

What's really amazing is that in most of the photos and video I've seen, just as in the time I spent volunteering at a sandbag operation, people are just smiling and kicking butt. Nothing is anybody else's fault. In Bismarck's case, most of the homes in jeopardy are the among the most expensive houses in central North Dakota, but nobody seems to be playing the class envy card. In fact they're simply helping "the rich" protect their property like anyone else.

 

You can be darn sure that once the floods have abated there won't be anyone left waiting for years to come for FEMA to come and make them whole. I like living up here, and I like the resilience and generosity of the people here. Besides, once it's all done, we've got the bragging rights. This winter has given us -40 temperatures, thunderstorms in winter, record snowfall, good moisture for the crops, and tested the resolve and spirit of our communities. We sure are ready for spring, though!

 

Cf

[silatix 0]

Why are you on this website again?

[beau+++ 0]

I feel for you guys, we've got flooding up here on our end of the Red but it's certainly not as bad as what you guys are dealing with.

 

That being said, the comparisons you're making to the looting/raping etc. of Katrina are facepalm worthy. I'll bet you're one of those idiots on the news proclaiming his particular state to be "real" amayricuh.

 

I WANT to like you Clint, I really do, but damn you make it hard.

Edited March 30, 2009 by beau+++

[microdot 0]

yay for whitey.

[fishface 0]

You have somehow managed to take a wonderful story of resilience and inspiration, and ruined it. What, I wonder, were you hoping to accomplish by posting this on a motion graphics board? Spread your intolerance? Show us 'Liberals' how it should be done? What is the point, and why are you using a tragedy to start a fight?

 

I too, want to like you. I want to feel bad for the circumstances you are now placed within. With the things you write, you make that near impossible.

 

Where is your 'come together and get things done' spirit when it comes to the entire country? The USA does extend beyond your states boarders.

[microdot 0]

Unlike the others, I don't want to like you at all.

 

If anything, I would love to have some kind of 'twilight zone: the movie' moment,

where your conceited white ass is magically transplanted to the superdome during those dark days,

or floating face down under an overpass in toxic muck, or just plain testing out that BS quasi 'american spirit' against

some real 'american' adversity. I'd be tickled pink to watch the shit-eating grin fade from your face within seconds as

you lose all your hope, sanity, oh . . . and family within hours of each other.

 

Your 'speech' betrays more about you than you'll ever know or believe.

 

You might as well be sitting next to your bro, 'W' as he flies miles above a tragedy,

imagining you both 'understand' the scope of what's happening on the ground.

And just like him, you'll still never get it.

[beau+++ 0]

I'm pretty sure Velocity Video is actually Fred Camino...he has to be.

[Guest spence]

I'm pretty sure Velocity Video is actually Fred Camino...he has to be.

 

Gold.

 

-edit

Whats especially funny though is I still think most people don't even know what you're talking about because they have everyone's favorite forum member blocked

Edited March 30, 2009 by spence

[Bartleby 0]

Clint wrote a bunch of stuff

.

.

.

 

Ah, that gave me a special feeling in the cockles of my heart.

 

Or maybe below the cockles. Maybe in the sub-cockle area. Maybe in the liver. Maybe in the kidneys. Maybe even in the colon, I don't know...

 

--------------------

I oppose motorcycle ridin', Fox News-regurgitatin', gun totin', fascist wannabes - even if they're corn-fed white males. What kind of Enlightenment™ and Reasonable Discussion™ can you expect from an American Redneck who is one step removed from the trailer park?

[silatix 0]

Somebody call the troll exterminator.. The board has been infested lately.

[jasfish 0]

If you don't like the weather here, just wait twenty minutes. We went from thunderstorm to blizzard to flooding to more blizzards up here in the past week. Fargo gets most of the attention, but here in Bismarck there's been a lot of flooding to battle too. We're not in as dire a circumstance as Fargo, but the south half of the city was in jeopardy for a few days and it ain't over yet.

 

Out west our problem is more one of ice jams blocking the water of the Missouri as its tributaries continue to pass along the melt from record snowfalls. A climatologist pointed out (after Obama blamed global warming, natch) that snowfall here is greatest during the coldest winters, and we've had both. There's a big ice jam sitting just upstream of Bismarck, while the downstream one causing the flooding has been abated thanks to hard work, salt bombs, and plenty of C4. Our office called an emergency staff meeting Wednesday and told us that anyone who wanted to volunteer could do so "on the clock" so most of us left. There have been hundreds more volunteers than needed, which makes it easy to rotate out a bit when one gets tired.

 

After a beautiful "spring weekend, last night we got 14 inches of snow. It's still snowing now, and I'm at home because our office closed. I got the call right after I carved out my sidewalks, the neighbors', the driveways, and even the alley with my snowblower. Even had the kids loaded up to go to the babysitter. But now I'm sitting at home watching it snow all day, presumably another eight inches of snow by evening. W00h00! And yet it's supposed to be quite warm by mid-week, meaning that we'll have even more water to contend with.

 

 

One thing though: we haven't had any looting, any gang activity, nobody shooting at rescue helicopters, no rumors of "toxic soup"in the streets or rampant rapes or murders. Nobody has blamed FEMA (in fact, they haven't really been needed that I know of). There are no celebrities on the TV claiming that President Obama hates white people. Nobody has used it as an excuse to go running around confiscating weapons from law-abiding citizens, assuring that the criminals are the only ones armed. Of course, there are more guns than people in ND...that'd be quite an effort.

 

 

What's really amazing is that in most of the photos and video I've seen, just as in the time I spent volunteering at a sandbag operation, people are just smiling and kicking butt. Nothing is anybody else's fault.

In Bismarck's case, most of the homes in jeopardy are the among the most expensive houses in central North Dakota, but nobody seems to be playing the class envy card. In fact they're simply helping "the rich" protect their property like anyone else.

 

You can be darn sure that once the floods have abated there won't be anyone left waiting for years to come for FEMA to come and make them whole.

I like living up here, and I like the resilience and generosity of the people here. Besides, once it's all done, we've got the bragging rights. This winter has given us -40 temperatures, thunderstorms in winter, record snowfall, good moisture for the crops, and tested the resolve and spirit of our communities. We sure are ready for spring, though!

 

Cf

 

With a little bit of editing, nothing relevant to the story would have been left out. Could have been a nice story about helping out neighbors.

I doubt anyone would have been upset then.

[mamurphy 0]

Clint,

Being "conservative" does not mean being an asshat because some people acted or didn't act a certain way in the recent past.

You are "free" to want lower taxes, less government intrusion, military complex growth, smaller welfare commitments, and so on, but i don't see how any of those personal philosophies morph into slamming people who did silly things after Katrina.

Edited March 31, 2009 by mamurphy

[mete_shop 0]

It's a beautiful Monday afternoon here in NYC. The wind makes it a bit brisker than I'd like, but with a light jacket on there's nothing better than strolling about our nice dry streets, enjoying the sunlight.

[anthonyc 0]

the little snow we got here in northeast ohio melted....time to go outside and play catch with the kiddies!

[Guest Sao_Bento]

It's a beautiful Monday afternoon here in NYC. The wind makes it a bit brisker than I'd like, but with a light jacket on there's nothing better than strolling about our nice dry streets, enjoying the sunlight.

Geez, it's been nearly 80 here in the East Yay Area. I haven't really thought about assigning blame to anyone for it though.

[ZeBrownie 0]

What's happening?

[aspekt 0]

Overcast & misty up here in Seattle with a high of 50 today...it's almost like spring...kind of-

[microdot 0]

well, it looks like even CNN is getting in on it.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/03/30/f...show/index.html

[spritelyjim 0]

Overcast & misty up here in Seattle with a high of 50 today...it's almost like spring...kind of-

 

Sunday was a nice break, though. Nice and sunny. Man, I've been up here for 6 months and I'm already going a little crazy.

[Mousel 0]

I lived in Minot, ND for a year and half while in the Air Force and boy o' boy did it suck huge amounts of ass, weather-wise. I never felt compelled to make vague, off color, ignorant comments about it in relation to other inclement weather events in far away states, though. I must not have been watching enough Fox News.

[the_Monkey 8]

That's odd... I swore you were going to claim that God did this to North Dakota to punish you all for being homosexual.

 

*shrug*

 

I guess I just don't understand the Republican Rules.

 

-m

[ClintVideo 1]

That's odd... I swore you were going to claim that God did this to North Dakota to punish you all for being homosexual.

 

Oh don't worry, the Phelps wackos put out a notice that God Hates North Dakota. They were particularly mad at all us bikers up here that kept them a long way from the funerals they tried to protest.

 

Looks like a lot of you guys thought I was pointing fingers at the Hurricane Katrina disaster, but I wasn't. I was highlighting the fact that people here didn't get all crazy as soon as a local disaster struck. Besides, it isn't like a giant hurricane hit Fargo; the two aren't even comparable. But look at the "outside" media coverage of it all; they don't have any bad behavior to report. That's no accident, of course...the media would love a sensational story if they could find one.

 

In one press conference the mayor was asked if they were ticketing people for entering restricted areas for sightseeing or other purposes. His answer, paraphrased was that once the word was put out on radio and TV that people should stay out of areas where they're not required, people listened for the most part. The only person I've heard of being arrested in Fargo for such a thing is a CNN journalist. It's reasonable to assume there are a few more, but if there were enough for it to be a problem I'd have heard about it.

 

Darn right I think my community typifies the kind of America I want to live in. Ridicule it all you want, but we're quite happy up here. I suppose the spirit that makes you want to ridicule that is the same one that made you freak out and see my post as ripping on the rest of the country. Rather, I was just pointing out that I'm pleased with how people up here are handling a disastrous situation.

 

Cf

 

Besides, I thought I'd take a little heat off of Fred for a while.

[fishface 0]

Its almost as if you live in a different reality than everyone else around you. Your comments have not been misread. Go and read them again.

 

Almost nobody ridiculed the part of the country you live in, rather it was you that started throwing stones.