Dakota Beacon

In the wake of reports that Facebook censors conservative voices, media figure Glenn Beck met with company chairman Mark Zuckerberg and emerged from the meeting, as he put it, “convinced that Facebook is behaving appropriately and trying to do the right thing.” Nothing to see here, move along. Unfortunately, this is nonsense. 

There are many “What If” experiences in American history involving the battles, agonies, and wartime hardships that American soldiers have endured on behalf of their country. To help commemorate Memorial Day, Dr. Marvin Folkertsma offers insight into a few of these scenarios and writes, “I, for one, love the America that has survived all those horrible “What Ifs” of our history. I love the America where our fallen heroes are revered and our serving men and women are held in the highest esteem.”

In our democracy the citizen has the freedom to speak with ballots even if the intellectual understanding behind the vote is vacuous. Two quotes summarize alternative views and these views are not contradictory. H. L. Mencken once quipped, “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” Alternatively, Winston Churchill famously said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

Caplan concludes with his own observation. “In democracies the main alternative to majority rule is not dictatorship, but markets.” If Caplan is right that the rational voter is a myth, then he admits that a great deal of published research based on a rational voter is wrong. In any case, it is the wiser choice that the ignorant refrain from voting than that they vote and imperil the culture and the rest of us with foolish policies.

“IT’S A RECESSION”; BNSF RAILROAD; POPULATION GROWTH; THE VIEW FROM TWO STATES; AN AGRICULTURE RESEARCH PROJECT; THE UND HOCKEY TEAM; WHERE ARE THE DRUNKARDS?; “THAT WOULD BE AMAZING"; A WOODEN CAR; LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES; EDGY MINNESOTA RESIDENTS; MINNESOTA DEMOGRAPHICS; THE MINNESOTA “CHARTBOOK”; “A GREAT, WONDERFUL CITY”; DAKTOIDS

Rather than looking at problems as problems requiring solutions, liberal and conservative politicians, bureaucrats, and academics seek to impose solutions that ignore fixing anything. 

Mr. Trump does seem arrogant to these folks because he looks at problems with an eye to actually fixing them. He is confident that problems can be resolved. 

Liberal and conservative political ideologues have no motivation to fix anything. Both seek to grow their political, bureaucratic, and academic kingdoms at the expense of unaware taxpayers. To do that, they need to breed more problems so they can con the public into believing that if they are given more money, they will fix what it is they have broken. 

The charade goes on. Maybe Mr. Trump can break the downward spiral. 

On Friday, President Obama’s administration issued a directive to all public schools telling them to allow transgender students to use any bathroom the student desires. Is this a power grab by the administration? Or is it a diversionary tactic during a crucial election year? In this interesting article, Dr. Mark Hendrickson examines the issues of privacy and safety and argues, “Going to the bathroom is one of the most personal and private acts a person does; it is a situation in which individuals can feel particularly vulnerable; and now the government wants to take away that feeling of personal privacy and safety.” 

Do you like your job? Is it enjoyable or just a grind that must be done? Is there a perspective on work that can produce a rare breed of people who contribute to others and who are workplace transformers? Yes.

In this must-read article, Dr. James Thrasher discusses “calling” and how it applies to everyone. Thrasher writes on the importance of calling: “The most potent and under-utilized way to enhance productivity, engagement, performance, and even personal health is having a calling perspective of work.”

For the record, I’m a traditionalist best described as Mayberry meets the Middle Ages. I believe in a papa bear, mama bear and baby bears and no mixing of roles considered unbearable in a Norman Rockwell illustration. And drafting women wouldn’t be an issue in my world because they wouldn’t be in the military in the first place. But this isn’t my world. It’s a bizarro world where we believe in Equality™. At least, that’s our story and we’re stickin’ to it. 

Other feathered families stop by. Our old friends the common House Sparrow brings young ones around to show them what fine dining is all about. Little ones, fresh from the nest, perch on the feeder with one parent perched alongside. The youngster sits there with its mouth open, squawking and waiting for a morsel. Very patiently, Mama shells a seed and places it in the youngster's craw. A quick swallow and the little one squawks for the next bite.

When will this routine end? Weeks later, what appears to be an adolescent House Sparrow still accompanies Mama or Papa to the feeder for a meal! The parent repeats the same ritual. I can imagine Papa's bird brain is processing what he sees. "When is this kid going to leave home?"

So goes the backyard entertainment. There is never a dull moment in birdland.

BOTTOM OF THE BARREL; MEDICAL MISMATCH; FIRST INTERNATIONAL BANK & TRUST; ROB PORT; A BIG FISH STORY; BNSF WAITING; YIPPEE!; WHAT’S GOING ON?; AND DON’T COME BACK; TIMES CHANGE; DECLINE OF PIONEER PRESS; A MINNEAPOLIS JUDGE; SUSPICION; DAKTOIDS

We should shrink the size and power of the federal government by every and any means possible. What does that mean? That means eliminating unnecessary or unconstitutional agencies.”
– Ted Cruz

Last week, Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest well-known for his protests of the Vietnam War, died at age 94. In 1968, Berrigan quickly became the symbol of conscientious objection in America. In this interesting article that first appeared in Crisis magazine, Dr. Paul Kengor examines how Berrigan was commended for his conscientious objections (in life and in written tributes after his death) but yet many people today are condemned for their conscientious objections (Little Sisters of the poor, Kim Davis, Christian bakers, and others). Is there a double standard in the United States when it comes to conscientious objections? 

It’s always hard coming out. But it’s even harder not being true to yourself. So, inspired by Bruce Jenner and other intrepid souls, I’ve decided to finally start living the life I was meant to:

I identify as Barack Obama.

.....

Given my identity, compassion dictates I be allowed to use the bathroom of my choice. My preferred bathroom happens to be in the White House. The same is true of my preferred bedroom, kitchen, living room, Blue Room, Green Room and Map Room; and my preferred chef, servants and security detail. I’ll have my preferred executive orders, too.

Here is a memorable quote by former Senator Alan Simpson as published by CBSNews.com on 8/25/2010 titled, “Social Security is Like a ‘Milk Cow with 310 Million Tits’.” Simpson made his remark in an e-mail addressing the recommendations of Obama’s deficit commission of which he was co-chair along with former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. President Obama appointed the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform by executive order in February 2010. Addressing criticism of the commission’s recommendations, Simpson responded, “We had the greatest generation – I think this is the greediest generation.”

It has been 43 years since anyone has been drafted but recently the House Armed Services Committee approved a measure requiring American women aged 18 to 26 to register for the draft. In this fascinating article, military historian Dr. Earl Tilford argues that this is merely a political charade and that if it becomes law “it will do nothing to enhance gender equality.” 

THE FIGHTING SIOUX WON’T LEAVE; UND’S MALAISE; TWO CLOSELY RELATED BAD NEWS ITEMS; GETTING ON BOARD FOR TRUMP; A HUGE PRINCE “LOVE SYMBOL”; HEIDI DANIELLE TA’SHEENA FINN;  HEITKAMP; BADLANDS-INSPIRED; F-M SCHOOLS; ARE YOU SURPRISED?; WIDENING DISPARITIES; NOW, IT’S AN ECONOMIC ISSUE; MINNESOTA LOST $1 BILLION; DAKTOIDS

Herein lay the hypocrisy. Many of the most vocal of the corporations who claim to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people also do business in countries with horrific human rights records. In many of these countries homosexuality carries a death sentence. The Daily Signal, the news agency of The Heritage Foundation, compiled a list of these companies.

It’s all up to you now.

PRINCELY REASONS; SHOWING A LITTLE STYLE; FARGO & BISMARCK CELEBRATE NDSU; THERE'S JUST SO MUCH PRIDE; DOUG BURGUM; TEAM BURGUM; FORUM COLUMINSTS GO AT EACH OTHER; DID IT END WELL?; FORWARNED IS FORARMED; DOWNGRADED; UPGRADE OR START OVER?; WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT? IT'S NOT A REPEAT OF THE 1980S; EARLY INDICATORS; CRISIS; DAKTOIDS

Russia transitioned from being one of the world’s largest exporters of food under Tsar Nicholas II to one of its largest importers of food under the Soviets, why North Korea suffers similar woes today, and why oil-rich Venezuela can’t provide basic necessities for its people. As famed economist Milton Friedman put it, “The society that puts equality before freedom will end up with neither. The society that puts freedom before equality will end up with a great measure of both.” 

American workers, the media, politicians, large corporations and even Main Street are all talking about the minimum wage. Some argue for a large increase while others suggest that drastically changing it would harm the economy. Is there a solution to the minimum wage debate? Moreover, is there a conservative solution? In this interesting article, Dr. Joseph J. Horton argues that there is indeed a solution and suggests “the conservative path to higher wages is less direct than mandating that wages be increased.” 

Earlier this month, students at Indiana University-Bloomington mistook a Dominican friar for a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Ordinarily, this may be amusing—but is there a deeper lesson here? Is something happening in America’s public universities that would result in such an occurrence? In this must-read article, Dr. Paul Kengor explores the situation and argues the incident represents “a further sign of the state of our universities, and what is and isn’t being taught.”

Mrs. Clinton's suggestion involving increased security is the most troubling of her comments. She wants "greater security protocols at airports, potentially clamping down on public zones within terminals, before security checkpoints; and taking a harder look at our security protocols at airports and other so-called soft sites, especially areas outside our guarded perimeters."

She demands that we stop expressing hurtful rhetoric against terrorists. She proposes massive, invasive, time-consuming, and expensive steps to further create an internal police state in America. These are steps that would, presumably, expose each American and guest to increased police and security invasions that are significantly more intrusive than those to which we are presently required to submit. 

Remember, those willing to give up freedom for security will end up with neither. Or is a police state part of Mrs. Clinton plan? 

This campaign season the Republican candidates have spent a lot of time talking about lowering taxes. Senator Ted Cruz often states that he would “abolish the IRS” while Donald Trump argues for a flat rate on corporate income taxes. In this must-read article, economist Dr. Tracy Miller examines the tax plans of Cruz and Trump and analyzes which proposed plan would be the most beneficial for Americans.

Bastiat’s greatest contribution to economics lay not in numbers, charts and graphs but in his clear and witty explanation of economic truths. As a contemporary and polar opposite of Karl Marx, he expressed these truths so plainly and concisely they cannot be disregarded. Beyond question he polarized free market thinking in is day and continues his influence down to our time. The words he wrote in his famous essay, “The Law” (75 pages), published in 1850 could easily have been written today.

States which have no such laws on the books are being sued now in federal courts. A challenge to traditional restroom designation in North Dakota will more likely originate with an LGBT-funded lawsuit than through either the state legislature or a referral measure. It is likely to come and soon.

We might well wonder what else we are paying for due to sloppy administration and irresponsible project !management.

CONTRARIAN VIEW; ROADS COME FIRST; WYOMING COAL HARD HIT;  SPRING CLEANING; LAST GUY OUT THE DOOR; DON’T TINKER; BIG DEVILS LAKE OOPS!; DISQUIETING; THE JAMESTOWN AREA; FARM ROMANCE; CAUSE AND EFFECT?; ST. PAUL WILL NOT BE LEFT BEHIND; MINNESOTA RACIAL DISPARITIES; L.A. OR PHILLY?; DAKTOIDS