Dakota Beacon

On this last day of Black History month, we look at one of the great American writers of the 20th Century, Ralph Waldo Ellison.  Ellison's life and character were complex.  At one time a Communist believer, he found that Communism was, in the end, a betrayal, specifically of Black people.  His own life took a circuitous path to literature - he was a student of music and then of sculpture first, finding his way to writing later.  Once he found his pollitical bearings, he was forthright in renouncing Communism.  He was totally opposed to "Black Power" or anything which he saw as promoting racial division.  For this he was bitterly criticized by other Black leaders and writers.  He viewed people rather as part of the human race rather than subdivisions thereof. 

We have needed to do something about the on-going mutiny in some of our cities and counties - and even some whole states.  I refer to the so-called "Sanctuary Cities" issue.  Some of our jurisdictions have blatantly refused to enforce the laws related to illegal immigration.  The result has been disastrous.  The case of Kate Steinle's murder is just one well-known example.  Clearly we have to call a halt to this.  For some time President Trump has been threatening to take action to bring these feckless agencies to heel.  The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals has handed down a decision at long last.  There is something to celebrate here but perhaps more to give us concern.

Socialism – the Equality that is Poverty itself...

“I’ll respect you in the morning” is what I half expect to hear. Of course, the Democrats now invoking the Founding Fathers’ memory in their effort to impeach President Trump won’t respect our colonial progenitors at the next dawn anymore than they did at the last one.

Nonetheless, the Left has interrupted its regularly scheduled programming of trying to tear down the Founders’ reputations and life’s work — the Electoral College, the First and Second Amendments, and the Constitution generally — to claim that those Enlightenment men are on their side.

Crystal Wright gives us her views on police brutality, self-reliance, women's rights and much, much more in a brief talk in Dallas.  Contrast her ideas with what you heard if you tuned into last night's Great Debate.

In a revealing interview on 60 Minutes last Sunday, the victor in the Nevada Democrat caucus, defended the Castro regime in Cuba, saying it is "unfair to say everything was bad".  He could try telling that to some of the people who risked their lives to escape, to the people still held captive, enslaved by this system.  There is a reason why Communist nations have always shot those trying to escape, why they monitor them when they are out of the country on business, sporting or cultural trips.  A reason why those without families at home are not allowed to leave.  Maybe you saw the movie White Nights, the story of an American who defected to North Korea and a dancer who had once successfully escaped Russia.  Fate brought him back into the chains of Communism.  Cubans can identify with this Russian.  They know what it is to struggle for liberty, to hunger for freedom, to risk their lives and more for it.  Sanders tosses them aside.  Well, he doesn't "like" authoritarianism, but then, how else can you hold a people captive?  And the bigger question - why would you need to?

One of our country's most important experts on the threat of jihad has apparently been murdered.  But the story being put out is suicide.  Those who knew Phillip Haney know he did not commit suicide and we should all be aware that he had information which was dangerous to some dangerous people.  We have lost a valuable soldier in the fight for truth and for the safety of Americans.

Over two millennia …Christians have been forced to grapple with many questions: What is a state? How do we recognize its authority? What are its limits?

Can we distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate states? Is rebellion ever justified? Must the state defer to the Church? Must the Church obey the state?

THE FRACKER’S DILEMMA; GRETA THUNBERG MURAL; BISMARCK ARTIST DEFENDED; THUNDBERG MURAL IN FARGO; ND LEGACY FUND EARNINGS COMMITTEE; PIPELINE OPPOSITION; REDUCTION OF DRONE FUNDING MAKES GF NERVOUS; BERNIE'S LATE TO THE PARTY; SLOW, SUBTLE EMBEZZLING; TRUTH IN ACCOUNTING; SINKHOLE STATES; EAGLES UP, MEADOWLARKS DOWN; DAKTOIDS

It's Sunday!  And for me, the best part of it is having another opportunity to share with you some of the great treasures of Western culture.  Today we have some of America's brightest stars and creators of classical and film music, from the Metropolitan Opera to the world of Hollywood.  These amazing artists come from all corners of America but they share amazing musical talent and dedication to their art.  Please take time out this weekend to enjoy the masterful performances by these stars.

One of the most powerful stories of the journey from destitution and abuse to millions is the subject our our Saturday Special.  The inspirational story of Chris Gardner is one of heartrending hardship and a determination to give his child what he had been denied throughout his life - a father.  

It is difficult to understand the mental mechanics of someone who would support Bernie Sanders for president.  He, himself, is no mystery at all.  He has been transparently Marxist for as long as he has been a public figure, which is a long time, long enough for him to have evolved if that had been possible.  We should be appalled that this man could even be under consideration as a candidate.   And it sounds, if we are listening to his dedicated core of followers, as though we can expect a long, hot summer this year with promises of violence.  Let's hope this dies out before the Democrats' convention.

Bernie Sanders is ranging about the country emphatically promoting a lot of terrible ideas.  One of them is rent control.   We all want to pay less and many short-sighted people think that all they need to do is pass a law against "greed".  it doesn't work.  Greed, on the other hand, can actually be put to work to help both the landlord and the tenant.

Canada looks a lot like us.  We have some similar issues also.  Canada might actually be the canary in our coalmine.  It is presently being wracked with disruptions in its transportation system due to some nefarious machinations from outside the country.  Foreign interests are investing quietly (and illegally) in phony protest movements which are destroying the economy of Western Canada and causing undue hardship on the people throughout the nation.  There is high-level fraud at work in this and we need to know what's going on with our neighbor.  It is best to know before we share the same experiences.

American Culture:  A retrospective look at Motown and the great Black American artists of the musical renaissance of the mid-20th Century.

A little over a year ago, former Florida Congressman Lt. Col. Allen West made some observations on the topic of immigration, specifically illegal immigration, and its effects.  Today we have some figures released for 2019, from the Washington Examiner, revealing the numbers of illegal aliens who have been turned loose on America.  The numbers might shock you.  

In 2013, the Keynote Speaker for a National Prayer Breakfast commanded the attention of Americans across the nation.  The speaker was a physician, Dr. Ben Carson, and he had the courage to speak out against the policies of President Obama and the Democrat Party, which he saw as highly detrimental to the future of America.  He did this in the presence of President Obama.  Since then he has run for president himself, and has become a leading spokesman for a Constitutional conduct of government and a return to the values of the Founding Fathers, was named Secretary of HUD,  and is an example of American Exceptionalism.  

ALTRU HEALTH SYSTEMS; FOR ALTRU, IT’S A CRISIS; ND STATE REVENUES; SPOIL SPORT; SOCIAL DISTANCING; SUPREME COURT JUSTICE TRIPLE; FLOOD INSURANCE; FORUM WINS IN MINNESOTA; THE "NEWSROOM NOTEBOOK"; DID BISMARCK HAVE A SLOW NEWS DAY?; SHORT BEET SEASON; MOUNT FARGO; THE REMAIN MIDGETS; THIS AND THAT ND; DAKTOIDS

As promised, just a day later.

Our lives have been made easier and more productive because of the many ingenious inventions of some great Black American inventors.  One of them was James E. West, born during the Great Depression and destined to become enshrined in the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his groundbreaking work in electronics.  As of this writing his work continues, promoting the education and development of future students of science.

We've written about this before - even this week - but today's story is of special interest when we are considering resettling "refugees".  If the "refugees" are Muslim we might be looking at some long-term changes in our neighborhoods, in our schools, in our local, state and federal government.  One might wish that we had not imported Ilhan Omar, for example.  If you had a chance to see her in action in my earlier post this week putting an American citizen and activistI in her place during a Congressional hearing, you will know what I'm talking about here.  But the dynamic of Islam is that it aggressively seeks converts.  And the converts, locally born and bred, are often the most dangerous of them all.  

Today we shift from the stealth jihad which is systematically and relentlessly destroying our freedom from within to the militant, or violent jihad which is killing us through physical attacks, at home as well as in the war zones abroad.  There is probably no better informed or better equipped authority in this area of concern than former Florida Congressman and American patriot Lt. Col. Allen West.  In this article there are enriching insights from this remarkable leader.  

This is a bit of a bonus today - something serious to think about in a brief video from Star Parker.

The headlines which scream at us the stories of incidents of violent jihad around the world - another stabbing on London Bridge or St. Cloud, another bombing in Stockholm, another rape and murder in Cologne, another dousing with acid in Nice, another shooting in San Bernardino or Pensacola - are just the jagged edges of the iceberg of hijra - the mass immigration of peoples unwilling or unable to assimilate.  Stealth jihad is now a part of our everyday existence in our own country.  It is there to eventually support the violent jihad which may come.  It is an existential threat to our freedom.

In the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and in light of the scathing attacks on both Trump and potential Democratic candidates as the 2020 election approaches, the celebration of Presidents Day is a good time to rise above the current political recriminations and rancor by reviewing the character and counsel of our two greatest presidents—George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Although all of our chief executives have had personal flaws and pursued some misguided ideas that harmed the nation, many of them have been men of exemplary character and extraordinary political vision and accomplishment who have, in Lincoln’s words, represented “the better angels of our nature.”

The recent exploration by journalist Glenn Beck, has rolled the rock off of a real nest of revolting worms.  Now we have a glimmer of knowledge of where our hard-earned tax dollars are going.  If you want to stop this kind of abuse of power, here is the answer.

GF NEEDS PEOPLE; VARYING FORUM REACTIONS; IS THERE MORE ALTRU TO COME; GREAT PLAINS SYNFUEL PLANT LOSSES; FARGO FOOD CO-OP CLOSES; AG HEALTH; LIGNITE HOLDING ITS OWN IN ND; DOUBLE-BARRELDED SHOT AT REP. JEFF DELZER; PAROCHIAL INTEREST; GREAT PLAINS SOFTWARE CARBON FOOTPRINT; THE ZICKS FROM ZEELAND; MINNEAPOLIS FIXING CARS?; DAKTOIDS

This my valentine to my Dakota Beacon readers.  It is the most romantic song of all - a song to Love itself.  I hope you enjoy this remarkable performance.

Today our Sunday Great Performances brings you the world of dance!   What can be more exciting that bringing together the inspiration of music with the athletic brilliance of dance?   Here we have a wide-ranging  cavalcade of incredible performances, from the tap icons of the 30's to the pyrotechnics of the present stars, from tap to jazz to the classical world of ballet.  It's all here and you don't want to miss it!

Today we're featuring the life and times of one of baseball's greatest heroes and a huge contribution to our American culture and a testiment to the social history which he helped to shape - Satchel Paige, one of the greatest pitchers of all time, his career went from the Negro Leagues and Central American teams to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  With a stop in North Dakota.