Dakota Beacon

A discussion of Milton’s classic “Paradise Lost” came to my attention simply due to providence. I had begun to write my review of Ibram Kendi’s bestselling book, “How to be an Antiracist”, but was jolted from that task by the Epoch Times article that perfectly set up the book review in a way that I never could have on my own. Devine Intervention has permeated my life so there is no reason it should not arrive abruptly at this endeavor.

This week I caught myself gazing lackadaisically out of the window with a cup of coffee in hand. Spring, the eventual conqueror, will soon break forth in all her glory. One of Robert Browning’s sonnets begins, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Forgive the personification, but that’s how much I love spring.

Life stirs in spring and the Great Outdoors takes on verve and vitality. Forgotten sounds of kids playing outside, lawn mowers mowing, and birds singing all signal the cycle of the seasons. All life displays a new zest for living.

In Part One, Grove City College Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Peter Frank ’95 detailed how Grove City College is expanding a commitment to the liberal arts as the foundation of the student experience. In Part Two, Frank examines Grove City College’s historic commitment to freedom and how this commitment is purposely conveyed to each generation of students through the unique core curriculum. He writes, “Freedom to act is a necessary condition for a prosperous society, but it is not sufficient alone for a virtuous one. The cultivation of a moral framework, enhanced by a Christian liberal arts education, is what will lead to the actions that build a thriving society.”

The tax man’s near, and soon is here, and all must pay their due;

From each his wealth will extract a pelf -- oh my, it makes us blue.

Some taxes sure are necessary, but many of them are not;

Each person stands as their own tax base, it’s really all they’ve got.

Taxes were spent, and where they went, were for entitlements;

Most were bequeathed on “entitlees” claiming impoverishment.

Confessions of Modern Day Patriot

I have a confession to make… I love history!

I had a conversation with a historian friend of mine and he shared with me the power of Calvin Coolidge speech given on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence... Please do me a favor and read this... could be one of the most powerful messages in the history of our Great Republic!

Every February, the nation celebrates Black History Month to honor the triumphs and struggles of African Americans throughout history. In this article, scholar Dr. Gary Scott Smith highlights one man who helped build a better America: Jackie Robinson. Smith writes, “Robinson’s legacy is extraordinary because it consists of a Hall of Fame baseball career, a pioneering role in promoting civil rights, and the creation of several businesses that benefited African Americans. Inspired by his Christian faith, Robinson helped smash racial barriers not only on the baseball diamond but also in politics, business, religion, and society.”

I'm not making any promises, but I thought it would be fun to return just this once to my Sunday specials.  I was inspired by a movie.

Once in a blue moon someone comes out with a movie that is really worth the time to see.  I'd say Puss in Boots "The Last Wish" falls into that category.  It's not only a colorful adventure story based on the classic fairytale character, it is a poignant statement about what is important in life - when you have only one to live.  There's a lot more along the way in terms of witty dialogue and clever supporting characters.  It's worth it just for Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  It ain't woke, quite the opposite - it's fun, with a moral to it, and great entertainment.  What's not to like?  A love story, an attempted heist, a really scary villain (or two) and some great swashbuckling action.  Go see it!  

To show partiality in judgment is not good. Proverbs 24:23

There is nothing more dangerous to authoritarianism than a principle applied impartially.

Authoritarianism thrives on group bias. Thus, one of the cures for authoritarianism is a willingness to be fair to your opponents, to judge both your own group and their group with the same lens. Like a fungus exposed to constant fresh air, authoritarianism simply cannot survive when a sustained principle is fairly applied to all sides. The danger of authoritarianism is one of the many reasons that to show partiality in judgment is not good.

Quietly dawns the day -- Valentine’s Day -- awakening tender thoughts of love. As if a prelude to spring, affectionate hearts begin to warm.

Without dramatic fanfare, how does one distinguish between real love and mere physical attraction or infatuation?

Be careful how you answer! Listening ears might be seeking a simple friendship rather than a relationship with a rose.

The world was shocked by Nazi Germany’s “final solution”, implemented in 1941 and preceded by increasingly draconian measures to punish innocent people for being Jews.  The intention of this effort was to eliminate 11 million Jews.  In the event, they were able to kill only about 6 million.  The world dealt with these criminals in the famous Nuremburg Trials.  We thought we had closed the book on such genocide.  We were wrong.  The pharmaceutical industry, led by Pfizer and similar companies, is now committing genocide - to use the normal definition of that term and apply it to the words of the proponents of various vaccines.  It turns out that the plan all along was to kill, not protect, people.  The chilling, off-hand remarks of Dr. Carol Baker should be enough to send her to prison for life if not worse.  Her words leave no doubt of the intent.  And she is but one.

This is urgent!  Call your Minnesota senator and call on them to vote NO on the "Zero Carbon Electricity by 2040 Bill"!

We wish our favorite writers would live forever. But alas, they are mortal. Fortunately, their words live on.

The great historian, Paul Johnson, passed away on January 12, 2023 at the age of 94.

I own several of his books, at least his more important ones and I dip into them occasionally. Johnson, British by birth, was an author and journalist who wrote prolifically producing more than 50 books. Notably, he fell in love with America. At one time he wrote a weekly essay for “The Spectator” and was a frequent contributor to the “Daily Telegraph,” the “New York Times,” the “Wall Street Journal,” and other newspapers and magazines.

Debt ceiling time rolls around again with all the drama of a Greek tragedy. And the media cabal offers a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of confusing factoids and disinformation.

The discussion focuses on raising the debt limit as if it were the self-evident responsible thing to do. Politicians keep emphasizing America must “honor its obligation.” This would be like a long-term heroin addict lecturing his suppliers that the responsible thing is to keep giving him heroin. Advocates of big spending in both parties (but especially Democrats) get away with implying that THEY are the morally and fiscally responsible ones by proposing raising the debt limit. But raising the debt limit is like raising the limit on a long-since maxed out credit card. If you knew somebody who makes $50,000 a year and had $700,000 racked up on his credit card, would you tell him that the responsible thing is to raise his credit card limit — immediately?

America must “honor its obligations?” We’re talking DEBT here. Isn’t the way to honor your debt obligation to simply start paying it off? And how is it you start paying it off by deeming an arbitrary increase in the amount you allow yourself to borrow? That’s insanity!

For the past decade, the American culture—and higher education in particular—have been pushing greater and greater specialization and a focus on job-skill training. While these skills are important for society, the question arises: have the liberal arts been pushed aside? Not at Grove City College. In this article, Grove City College Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Peter Frank ’95 details how the College is expanding a commitment to the liberal arts as the foundation of the student experience. He writes, “rather than abandoning our rich heritage centered on the classical liberal arts, we are not only safeguarding that heritage, but strengthening it.”

Recently there has been a lot of attention paid to gas stove emissions and to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Commissioner Richard Trumka, Jr. (yes, THAT Trumka, son of the late AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka) suggested gas stoves could be banned in the future because of their “health risk.” However, scant evidence supports that claim. “This is a hidden hazard,” Trumka said. “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”

Whoa! Trumka just let the cat out of the bag!

Some believe that Putin hasn't finished the Ukraine war because he isn't able to.  But could it be that he finds it to Russia's advantage to continue to drain our financial resources and distract our attention from our own business?  Every day that passes we lose money and advantage while this continues.  Our corrupt military-industrical-political complex is pocketing illicit funds.  The ones who are really suffering due to our involvement are the ordinary people of Ukraine and the American taxpayers.

That the 20 conservatives held firm throughout most of the negotiations speaks volumes about their courage, tenacity, and commitment to conservative principles. It also says a lot about congressional swamp dwellers who DID NOT stand up for change – especially those who criticized the hold-outs.

Kevin McCarthy finally won the gavel in the wee hours of Saturday morning and planned to immediately swear in the 434 lawmakers present in the chamber. Now comes the fight on the entire rules package proposal.

Moving out of full-time work is repurpose-ment, not retire-ment. It is a time to repurpose how and why we invest our time, energy, wisdom, experience, and resources.

The goal should be to finish life well. Being a good steward of this phase of life will not occur unless we are prepared with a proactive, well-grounded, and thoughtful vision. Be intentional and expectant about having your life experiences and wisdom being used providentially in the lives of others.

Do not let age define your life. Author Richard J. Leider states that “the trouble is, when a number—your age—becomes your identity, you’ve given away your power to choose your future.”

The Lord’s call does not fade over time but summons us to the high calling of life-long, meaningful service to Him.

Age with purpose.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, discussions about lockdowns focused almost exclusively on health effects of COVID-19 without a cost/benefit ratio of lockdown policies. One of the things most needed – but almost entirely absent – during those discussions was an articulation of the exact threshold for which potential negative health impacts would trigger a loss of freedom. In this article, Dr. Luke Conway asks: Who should set the threshold? He writes, “In order for science and politics to function together effectively, we desperately need to separate the scientific issue from the political one.”

The vote for Speaker of the House finally came to a dramatic end in the wee hours of Saturday, January 7.  Now we must all hope and pray for the best.

Over the Christmas break, author Dr. David Ayers made the trip to the Jimmy Stewart Museum in the central Pennsylvania town Stewart grew up in — Indiana, Pennsylvania. It was a reminder that George Bailey and Jimmy Stewart and all they represent stand in sharp contrast to the coarseness, animosity, profaneness, and hostility of our rapidly degenerating modern American culture. Ayers writes, “Whether it’s Woke cancel culture or ‘owning the Libs,’ we have come unhinged across the social and political spectrum. We need to bring back fundamental bedrock values, moral goodness, and interpersonal decency.”

Yesterday we saw just a glimpse of what our Founding Fathers intended as part of the process of government - debate ad deliberation to elect a Speaker of the House of Representatives.  The proper and normal process of electing a Speaker is a gave responsibility.  It is not a side show at all - the Snake Oil salesman here is McCarthy, not Goetz.  It is not a Clown Show, but potentially the most substantive and serious vote that will be taken by this Congress.

Liberals, Progressives, Leftists, Socialists, Democratic Socialists , Independents, Moderates, RINOs, Democrats or whatever they choose to call themselves on any given day believe that government solves all problems by throwing printed money at them.

Tomorrow be sure to tune in to your television set to see how successful 20 members of congress will be in reforming our House of Representatives and how many of the others really wish to be re-elected in 2024… Will so-called Republicans continue to make nominating speeches and take votes to determine their Speaker of the House… or will it be a pre-determined “Coronation by aristocrats… what  we have come to call ”The Swamp”.

A curious mutation in gun control activism occurred during the last few decades, whence began a fixation on something dubbed the “assault rifle.”

Never mind that an assault rifle, insofar as the designation was ever at all valid, had always referenced a weapon with a “select fire” feature allowing three types of operation: semi-automatic, fully-automatic or in three-shot bursts. This doesn’t, of course, describe the class of rifles (e.g., AR-15-style) now targeted, whose operation is semi-automatic only (one bullet released per trigger pull), just like 50 percent of all new guns sold. But whatever you call them, here are two facts:

Alfred Lord Tennyson penned a poem, popular among many and a favorite of some: “Ring Out, Wild Bells.” It exists as part of a larger work, “In Memoriam A.H.H.,” written in tribute to his dear friend and brother-in-law Arthur Henry Hallam upon his early and untimely death.

As with the passing of his friend, this piece superbly marks the passing of the old year. Tennyson captures the nostalgic fleeting year together with hope for the future. Everything that needs to be said he expresses. Tennyson’s words are worth sharing as we wistfully bid a heartfelt farewell to 2022 and hale the dawning of 2023.

Reflect on his words as we greet the New Year.

Conservatives realize that the 1986 promise of a secure border was never serious. Accordingly, they apply the axiom “Fool me once… shame on you; Fool me twice…shame on me!” Until the border has been 100% secure for at least three years… amnesty is off the table. The sooner that the border wall is finished and the border is 100% secured, the better for both Citizens and Immigrants.

Christmas, with all the falderal, brings with it everything one would expect for a celebration of the season. Cards and carols, dinners and decorations, gifts and greenery, meals and music -- everything to make the season bright.

The old, old story comes to life once more in the music of composer George F. Handel’s “Joy to the World” with words by Isaac Watts from Psalm 98. Likewise, composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” with words by Charles Wesley and George Whitefield from Luke 2:14. Lesser luminaries offer their own songs and carols bringing joy to the season.

Many attempts to explain the endurance of the phenomenon of the Christmas celebration fill pages. In spite of the efforts and regardless of divergence of opinion, one thing remains constant. Generations over the millennia cannot relinquish Jesus Christ.

Conservatives realize that the 1986 promise of a secure border was never serious. Accordingly, they apply the axiom “Fool me once… shame on you; Fool me twice…shame on me!” Until the border has been 100% secure for at least three years… amnesty is off the table. The sooner that the border wall is finished and the border is 100% secured, the better for both Citizens and Immigrants.

At a gathering a couple of years ago, a young man, about age 20, registered surprise when I told him women didn’t have to sign up for Selective Service. His reaction was no surprise: Marinated in Equality Dogma growing up, he probably couldn’t imagine that the greatest sacrifice one could be required to make — to possibly have to shed blood for his country — is demanded of only one sex.

This could possibly change, as there has been a recent effort to require draft registration of women as well. Conservatives have generally opposed this, unsurprisingly, with the very good congressman Chip Roy (R-Tex.) becoming especially incensed at the notion. My medieval self sympathizes, too; I very much believe that shedding blood, whether your own or others’, is man’s work.