Bo Zarts
Bo Zarts's JournalI was, again, a delegate to the South Carolina State Democratic Party Convention yesterday ..
Featured guest speaker US Representative Ro Khanna (D-California)
Hero* of an epic redistricting battle in SC, US Representative Jim Clyburn (D-SC)
*A title I also bestow on the entire SC state house Democratic delegation, who fought the Trumped-backed state GOP and Governor Henry McMaster. According to Clyburn, the state GOP folded on Tuesday (the first day of early voting in SC) when by 11:30 AM the Democratic turnout had exceeded the previous record. The GOP saw the writing on the wall, and they backed off and dropped their specious redistricting plan.
The energy level at the convention was incredible. Fund raising is way up. The state Democratic Party is in fairly good financial shape with respect to operating funds, and intends to start funding Democratic candidates immediately.
The Democratic candidates who we heard speak were all very impressive. I definitely sensed a mindset among the other delegates of "we will vote for our best candidate, but we will get 100% behind those candidates winning the primary elections." After early voting ends later this week, primary election day in SC is Tuesday, June 9.
One of the biggest response lines from any candidate was mention of Lindsey Graham (uproarious laughter, wild clapping, foot stomping, etc). 'Ole Lindsey is not liked by much of SC.
Bo
(My cellphone photos which you are free to share)
On Memorial Day, I say the names of lost friends .. especially Vietnam vets. That includes the late DUer Pinboy3niner
Pinboy3niner at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Above his Purple Heart ribbon (top row, right side) is the prestigious CIB .. the Combat Infantryman Badge, which denotes actual time in combat with an enemy force. On the left collar of his jungle fatigues is the insignia of the US Army Infantry Corps, and on the opposite collar is the rank insignia .. captain. I can't identify the unit patch on the sleeve or the medal on the white ribbon around his neck .. anyone know?
At one time, I knew Pinboy3niner's name, but that has slipped me now. I once asked him if Pinboy3-9 was his tactical radio callsign in Vietnam. It was. After that, in my mind's ear, I could just hear Pinboy3niner whispering into a AN/PRC-25 ( "Prick-25" ) field radio calling in close air support for his beleaguered men .. surrounded by VC or NVA. That might or might not have happened, but Pinboy3niner achieved hero status with me during his tour of duty here on Democratic Underground.
I salute DUer Pinboy3niner. RIP, sir.
Before/After 2nd-floor bathroom in our 121 year old house (5-month project)
Before:
After:
It was a mess!
*Plaster walls and ceilings
*Layers of paint and wall paper
*Layers of old tile
*Hundreds of pounds of hand-poured concrete between floor joists
*Active knob-and-tube wiring
*Asbestos
*Incredibly old plumbing
*All the demolition had to be carried down narrow stairs in 5-gal. plastic buckets.
The second floor is my study/studio and storage, so this is my "executive wash room." I plan to use the second floor for my work as long as I can climb the stairs. Since I can still do fire lookout towers, that should be a while.
Our contractor specializes in old houses, and he has been doing work on our house for over 20 years. This was the last big project that we are planning on, and we finally have the house ready for our old age. When the time comes that we can't do stairs, everything we need is on the first level.
The house was built in 1905, before the street existed. It was a caretaker's or guest house behind a much larger house which has been long gone.
Just took a walk in the neighborhood. Saw an iMac monitor on the curb for trash pickup or giveaway.
It had a stickum note attached to the front of the monitor. Before getting close enough to read, I assumed that it would say something along the lines of .. "FREE." But noooooo ...
The note was written in a beautiful cursive and said, "All evil begins with some sense of serendipity."
That absolutely made my day.
Lunar Eclipse from Lemmon Rock Fire Lookout
Coronado National Forest, Arizona - April 2014
©2014 Bo Zarts Studio
The Four Counts of the Nuremberg Indictment - 1945
Count 1: Conspiracy to Wage Aggressive War
Indictment for participating in a "common plan" to commit the crimes listed in the other counts. It targeted leaders who planned, prepared, and initiated wars of aggression.
Count 2: Crimes Against Peace
Defined as the actual planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties.
Count 3: War Crimes
Violations of the traditional "laws or customs of war". This included the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war (POWs), the killing of hostages, and the plunder of public or private property.
Count 4: Crimes Against Humanity
Inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, such as murder, extermination, enslavement, and deportation. It also covered persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds.
The Temples of the Sun (R) and the Moon (L) under the Milky Way
Capitol Reef National Park - Utah - March 2026
©2026 Bo Zarts Studio
Sony A7-R5 w/Sigma 17-40 f/1.8 shooting RAW files
Stacked images, so these are estimates ..
Sky: 10 images shot at 5-7 secs and ISO 3200
Foreground: 1 image shot at about 180 secs and ISO 3200
Processed with Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, and Topaz (noise reduction and sharpening)
Temple of the Moon under the Milky Way
Capitol Reef National Park, Utah - March 2026
©2026 Bo Zarts Studio
Profile Information
Member since: 2001Number of posts: 26,457