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We've all heard about the Obama lies. He's a radical Muslim. He's Jewish. He won't put his hand on his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. He took the oath of office using the Koran. Blah, blah, blah.

But what I didn't write about is the "who" of the matter. Who is circulating these lies about Barack Obama?

If you've been paying attention to the news lately, apparently there are lots of idiots spreading the lies.

Apparently one of those deceptive suckers shares the name of a North Dakota state representative. One "Francis J. Wald" was apparently circulating the Obama urban legend e-mail last month. He sent it out to with a personalized message at the beginning expressing his outrage at the liberal media:

Thank goodness it was just some guy who shares Representative Frank Wald's (R-Dickinson) name and middle initial, and that it wasn't really a ranking North Dakota Republican representative who's spreading these ridiculously absurd lies about a presidential candidate. Thank goodness North Dakota's Republican legislators, like Frank Wald, have more common sense, integrity and dignity than the saps who get suckered into distributing false, urban legends like this.

I have issues said:

I am sorry....
that those of us in District 37 could not get rid of Wald in the last election. We tried but I can't say we did our best because if we had he would not have been re-elected. Less than 80 votes...80 more pieces of direct mail...80 more knocks on doors...you know the drill. I am sorry that we were not successful in ousting this bastard...It was so very close but there was no cigar. I don't know if any democrats in the entire state of ND hate a republican more than we hate Wald. This is a lesson for all of us...every vote counts...every action taken by a district in an election cycle counts. Could we have turned out 80 more people to vote our way? I don't know but I do promise that next time around I will work harder and put in more of my "free" time making sure that if Wald runs again he does not end up in the win column.

February 28, 2008, 11:37 PM
Votes: +6

spababe said:

Frank and Integrity: Nah
I would not put the name Frank Wald and integrity in the same sentence nor would you see his picture when you looked up the word 'dignity'. That he would pass on lies and innuendo comes as no surprise to anyone and is his modus operandi.

Frank and is ilk are so afraid of Barack and Hillary. Frank is way out of his league when it comes to Barack Obama who is the epitome of dignity and integrity. Poor Poor Frank, he may have to get used to saying President Hillary Clinton or President Barack Obama. Ooooohhhhh, he won't like that!

February 29, 2008, 07:02 AM
Votes: +5

40 Years in the Dem-NPL said:

	How about a Recall? After all the revelations about WSI and Wald, why not try again in 2008, District 37? You have more than enough reason to circulate recall petitions and force Frank to face the voters one more time - his last time.
	report abuse vote down vote up

February 29, 2008, 08:51 AM
Votes: +2

Jay said:

	... Being a voter in district 37...I too am sorry.
	report abuse vote down vote up

February 29, 2008, 09:53 AM | url
Votes: +2

I have issues said:

To 40 Years...
Tell me a little more about the process for this. I thought that recalls could only happen with commissions, councils, school boards, etc...What would the process be for recall of a House member. Isn't that impeachment? Please set me straight on this....I have been involved in a recall several years back. That was a commission seat/s. Is there a section of the Century Code to refer to??? This could be fun!! smilies/tongue.gif

February 29, 2008, 10:05 AM
Votes: +1

Chet said:

	provisions North Dakota - Const. Art. 3, §1 and 10; ND Century Code § 16.1-01-09.1, 44-08-21 Link Here
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February 29, 2008, 10:10 AM
Votes: +2

S. Fred Wood said:

	Cause. Let us know if you need donations for the recall. Now there is a cause I'd like to help fund.
	report abuse vote down vote up

February 29, 2008, 10:18 AM
Votes: +2

Big Jake said:

...
Wald is an amazing character. Behind his right wing cloak he uses the "cross" as a deflection shield. The amazing part is that he has gotten away with it.

Wald is one of the instigators of the WSI mess. An obstructionist suspreme. Underneath that cloak lies his real mission----filling his pockets. His is the annual beneficiary of largesse provided for by the taxpayers of ND.

His company or some vehicle that he either controls or has an interest in sells a re-insurance policy to the State Fire and Tornado Fund---a policy without any value or need. The fund has enough surplus that its premiums are only 10% of the cost of commercial insurance. That fund covers all state buildings--of recent notice was the destruction of the school at Northwood by a tornado. We needs to be looked at very closely---the odor is not perfume. From someone of his obvious character, the Obama trash is predictable. It is beyond disgusting and shameful. While there is probably civil and perhaps even criminal liability, the real cure is at the ballot box----"throw the bum out". I'm thinking a recall petition might be in order.
Just how has North Dakota sunk to this sorry state of affairs??? For certain, operating any business or any government agency or even a sporting event without rules will always produce bad results. Certainly this travesty at WSI could have been fixed at any juncture. The power of the Walds of this world are granted by those who have the responsibility to stop them. Wald certainly has demonstated his character and he just does not have the mental acuity to dream it up.

The buck stops at the Governor's desk. It is preposterous to suggest the Hoeven did not know and even more ridiculous to believe that he has no authority to fix it. Apparently, he has been neutered somewhere along the way----just no testosterone whatsoever. We could just use a dartboard and end up with a better leader than Hoeven.

February 29, 2008, 10:21 AM
Votes: +3

40 Years in the Dem-NPL said:

Recall isn't easy, but it is your right
It will take 1599 signatures on a recall petition to force an election in District 37. The petition must state a reason for the recall, but it could be that he chews gum in church, or we don't like him, or he's groped half the women in Stark County and we're sick of it. Actually, stating a reason in writing is a great way to kick off the campaign - talk about shaping a message!

February 29, 2008, 01:35 PM
Votes: +4

truenob said:

...
Would someone here know if the meeting at chamber of commerce with Wald,Blunt,Keiser....etc regard WSI and the letter writing campaign as reported by Dr. Long is legal? What i mean is that although this meeting is "i hope their dick falls off" disgusting to me is it illegal? What i am getting at is that even if i were to anticipate collusion with Wald regarding the legality of this act from the Attorney General and the Governor, they still would have to issue an opinion or NO? Can anyone or say someone like "(ahem) "outspoken WSI critic and democrat activist Chad Nodland" ask for an Attorney General's opinion on whether this meeting is legal or not? Sure would make a nice reason to recall or no?

February 29, 2008, 02:01 PM
Votes: +4

Chet said:

Legality
I know a certain "outspoken WSI critic and democratic activist" who got three AG opinions today. Some good for openness in government, some less good. Surely that activist is trying to figure out when he's going to write something for y'all about those.

As far as asking for an AG opinion on that meeting, I'm not sure. There would have to be an allegation that the meeting was an improperly noticed public meeting. I kinda don't think it falls under that. I'd be interested in hearing different opinions on it, though.

I think the "legal or not legal" question is less about open meetings violations (for which I potentially could ask for an AG opinion) and more about use of state resources for political purposes (for which there is no right for citizens to ask for an AG opinion). Sort of a state Hatch Act type allegation. I'm not sure whether it would fall under the state Hatch Act either. I would be interested in hearing different opinions on that, too.

February 29, 2008, 03:17 PM
Votes: +3

S. Fred Wood said:

Someone is due another Sunshine Blogger award!
Congratulations to the "outspoken WSI critic and democratic activist"!

Sunshine is good, you just provided some more.

Bad day for Mark Armstrong. More law violations at WSI. When are you going to stop listening to those attorney's of yours. You know, the ones that are taking over control of WSI.

"WSI improperly claimed the open records were privileged under statutes protecting information about Risk Management claims." Well it worked for a while, now you are going to have to come up with new obstacles.

Congratulations "outspoken WSI critic and democratic activist"! You da man. Do some celebrating!

February 29, 2008, 03:37 PM
Votes: +6

Just a suggestion said:

	the recall of Frank Wald, eight months of entertainment The recall petition should say something like: "Whereas Representative Francis Wald, since election in 2006, has embarrassed District 35 by his involvement in the mismanagement of North Dakota's Workforce Safety and Insurance, WSI, to the detriment of North Dakota's workers and taxpayers, ..."
	report abuse vote down vote up

February 29, 2008, 08:54 PM
Votes: +3

I have issues said:

To Just....
I like it...there is much to add but that would make a great opening. I am sure there are quotes galore from him in the news archives.I am sure we could find more related to WSI as he serves on the Legislative Audit and Committee which receives the biannual performance audit and also the annual report from WSI which he (and others) totally blew off.

http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/60-2007/docs/committeestructure/lafrc.pdf

One minor correction for Just a suggestion...it is district 37 not 35. (no biggie) This is getting good. People...tell me a couple of things

1. Do you really think that this should be done or is this just blog talk.
2. Do we have enough on him to motivate voters to get out there and vote after the petition is turned in?
3. This takes money and people. I would need BODIES to do this, are you out there?

This would need to be thought through very carefully and we would have to have a well thought out plan in order to get it done. I don't think that it would be hard to get the signatures to actually do the recall but it is after that we would have to worry about.

Give me some feedback on this. Would you come to an pre-recall meeting? Would you open your checkbook? Would you circulate a petition? There are three names needed to be petitioners? Would you be one? Would he run for reelection if we were successful with the petition to recall and who would we run? (I have a couple of people in mind but it takes more than a commitment to do this...it takes ACTION AND ACTIVITIES! (oh ya, and money)

He has a big checkbook and if we were able to do this, it would take at least $25000 to run a campaign to get a good solid smart candidate from the district to beat him. Would we have statewide support? Would we have support from the state party? What about our congressional delegation?

Just throwing these questions out there. Give me some feedback and we will talk more later. Poll your friends...I dont want to go into anymore detail here but I do like this idea and I think that we could do it if we had a well laid out campaign plan that everyone involved would agree to follow.

I await your responses!! smilies/cool.gif

February 29, 2008, 10:00 PM
Votes: +5

Not Fooled said:

	Recall for Defective Legislators Can this idea be expanded to include a 1/2 dozen or so other Republicans? What about Keiser, Berg, Kasper, Klein, and the rest of the gang? I'm willing to open my checkbook. I'm willing to volunteer to mail fliers and maybe even knock on some doors. At the very least, this would send a message. We're mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore!
	report abuse vote down vote up

February 29, 2008, 11:39 PM
Votes: +3

spababe said:

Think about It
If you are all serious about this, I think it would be strategic to take on only one district. It would then send a strong message that we will all unite and take them out one by one if need be. So my advice is to do only one district. Any more than that and it dilutes the fundraising capabilities. Remember there is an initiated measure out there. Also, one needs to take a good look at the district chosen, do we have a stellar candidate, do we have the ability to raise the money in light of everthing else that is going on. Will the district party be willing to take this on in light of everything else going on. Or should we really concentrate on taking out republicans who are already up this year if we take those seats, we make Wald et al insignificant and in the minority. Will the public, especially in conservative Dickinson close ranks behind their hometown boy. Those are the discussions that need to occur before it moves beyond blog talk.

Just throwing out issues that need to be looked at here.

March 01, 2008, 08:26 AM
Votes: +2

Not Fooled said:

	Spababe makes a good point Keiser and a few others may have already done themselves in, although no one should underestimate the resolve of the Republican Party (and WSI) to turn this mess around. They're hoping to do just that next week.
	report abuse vote down vote up

March 01, 2008, 09:20 AM
Votes: +1

Just a suggestion said:

	... It should only be the one district. It sends a clear message if you can focus and beat him. Adding even one more risks a split decision. He barely got re-elected and he makes the biggest and dumbest target.
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March 01, 2008, 11:50 PM
Votes: +1

Janet Reno said:

	... SOULJAH JIHAD --
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April 07, 2008, 07:03 PM | url
Votes: +0

Chet said:

Another Obama Lie Email
Today I got another e-mail full of fiction about Barack Obama.

Feel free, if you're curious, to read what I got here: http://www.factcheck.org/askfa...stand.html

People who forward these e-mails should really spend 10 seconds fact checking before they forward that garbage on. It's frustrating that so many people lack the capacity to think critically.

Forwarding false e-mails without fact checking them ought to be a crime. Or at least a personal foul. Flagrant. 15 yards. Loss of a down.

It makes me wish I had more vices.

June 25, 2008, 02:28 PM
Votes: +1