Dakota Beacon

Should non-member teachers be forced to financially underwrite negotiating positions taken by a union? Especially during contract deliberations that are political and ideological in nature and are contrary to their interests and views? These questions are set to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. In this interesting article, Dr. John Sparks examines the case and details what is at stake for both unions and non-members. 

Foreigners have no inherent right to immigrate to our country.  And an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If in future we determine that Muslim immigration offers unparalleled benefits, it can always be resumed. But once an alien nation within your nation is established, only desperate measures can provide remedy, if the matter is remediable at all. Trump has been called an unserious candidate given to name-calling by the very people now hurling names, as they throw tantrums and react to a most serious issue in a most unserious way. They claim to not want another Fort Hood or San Bernardino, but then propose that the desired different result can be achieved by doing the same thing over and over again.

They’re not just radical. They’re radically insane.

STILL A WINNER; SLUMPING N.D. REVENUE; FORMER ND GOV. ED SCHAFER; OVERPAID?; THE TIDE HAS TURNED; IF IT WERE A CITY; LET’S NOT GO WITH HO-HUM AND MEDIOCRE; LEG UP; SOMALIS; DIPPING; MARILYN HAGERTY; GROWING APART; GM FEELS LEFT BEHIND; SMALL CHANGE; IT WAS HORRIBLE; DAKTOIDS

This essay, along with 116 others, is part of a new collection of Sobran columns titled Subtracting Christianity: Essays on American Culture and Society (fgfBooks, 2015). It was published originally by Griffin Internet Syndicate on February 19, 2002.

On Monday, Donald Trump called for a shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. For the past two days, hours upon hours have been dedicated to discussing the presidential candidate’s remarks. In this must-read article, Dr. Marvin Folkertsma asks: What are we supposed to make of all this? Folkertsma discusses two key points and argues that some Americans (especially Trump supporters) may be “enraged about America’s elite endlessly spouting their irrelevant and scolding pieties.”  

Reach for the stars, and, even falling short, we may at least get to the moon. The current crop of GOP_e no-can-do nattering nabobs won’t even shoot for the treetops, and they should hear only one thing from the voters. As Donald Trump would say, “You’re fired!” 

After considerable delay, the House of Representatives finally passed a highway funding bill. But is this another case of the federal government kicking the can down the road using unsustainable gimmicks? In this must-read article, economist Dr. Tracy Miller examines the bill and warns, “Congress has found a sneaky way to borrow and escape full accountability to the voters. It is time for Americans to wake up.”  

The so-called mainstream media (MSM) is not what it used to be. It is failing. Once upon a time the American public relied exclusively on the MSM for its news. Then along came the alternative media.

A very recent Gallup Poll dispels all doubts. Only seven percent of Americans state that they have a “great deal” of trust in the MSM. Only 55 percent of Democrats say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the MSM. Among 18-to-49 year-olds the percent of trust is down to 36 percent. The people who said they have no trust in the MSM was 24 percent or one quarter of all respondents.

The mainstream media is failing, Americans know it and that is good for America.

Frankly, I couldn’t care less what hurts Tashfeen Malik’s feelings.  Tell Loretta Lynch to stuff it.  Tell Barack Obama to go lay another egg.  Let’s use our First Amendment to save ourselves and defy the Thought Police.  After all, if we don’t use it now, what use can it ever be? 

We could catalog the misconceptions surrounding the efficacy of wind farms and discuss their fatal flaws and hopeless inadequacies, but setting this aside for now, let’s look at Trump’s own history with wind power generation issues.

REALLY!; NO TRACTOR DRIVERS NEEDED; LOST OPPORTUNITY; ND STICKS OUT; CRUEL AND UNUSUAL; ONE MORE TIME; “HEITKAMP is a Democrat of another generation. You might think of her as ‘Your Daddy's Democrat.’"; MANSION MONEY; IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT A MEETING, INTROSPECTION

There was a tragic incident of climate change Wednesday, or so Barack Obama might say. As I was driving home that evening listening to the still sparse details on the San Bernardino shooting, the news report informed that there were two dead suspects, a man and woman. So I already knew more than the authorities were telling: I figured the two assailants were non-white, almost certainly Muslim. After all, if the police knew their sexes, they knew what they looked like. And if they’d been white, it would have been announced right away.

You see, I know the drill. When the suspects are non-white, politically correct authorities will never mention it for fear of condemnation. “Why are you calling attention to their race or ethnicity?!” they’ll be asked. Of course, they didn’t mind calling attention to their sex. In the leftist upside-down world, all characteristics are equal, but some are more equal than others. Really, the more consistently PC way of describing the terrorists would have been as “two sentient bipeds.” Because, you know, four legs good, two legs bad.

We can profile people based on sex, age, the car they drive, dress and even race. For instance, police may stop a white man driving through a bad inner-city neighborhood in an expensive car, figuring the probability is relatively high that he’s there to buy drugs. But this willingness to “racially profile” goes out the window when the matter is politically favored groups. That, my friends, is unjust discrimination. That is prejudice.

And it’s dangerous.

Maybe the real trouble is that modern culture simply refuses to face the fact of evil. "If God does not exist," as Dostoyevsky wrote, "everything is permitted." As if to underline his words, one of the killers fatally shot a girl when she said she believed in God. 

If God does not exist, right and wrong are reduced to subjective preferences; even human life loses its dignity. "Thou shalt not kill" means no more than "I hope I won't get shot." Laws become the amoral collective preferences of the majority. 

With Thanksgiving past and Christmas three weeks away, it is not too soon to open the Christmas conversation. Despite the drift toward secularizing the Season, Christmas is uniquely a Christian Holy Day.

The Christmas traditions and customs we observe today grew from simple beginnings two millennia ago in Roman-occupied Palestine. Since then, every conceivable style of celebrating Christmas occurred somewhere in the world. Millions of people in dozens of countries kept Christmas for centuries in countless ways.

None of the peculiar or bizarre customs encountered through the centuries dispel the truth of the Biblical account of Christ’s arrival. Cutting through the fog of superstition and staying true to the Biblical text keeps the Christmas celebration in perspective. All the traditions, all the customs, all the superstitions and legends began with the advent of the Christ child two thousand years ago. We would do well to re-read the ancient text before immersing ourselves in the hodgepodge and residue of custom and tradition.

The following is in response to an article by Elliot Glassheim in the Grand Forks Herald (December 2, 2015), entitled, “By what name should we call our enemies?”,  in which we were admonished that Syrian “refugees” are subject to rigorous vetting, that if we reject them we are encouraging radicals, and also that ISIS does not exist - there is no such thing as an “Islamic State”.  We beg to differ . . .

A Book Review of "A History of Strategy: From Sun Tzu to William S. Lind by Martin van Creveld"

Lind argues that America should change from offensive to defensive warfare and containment, as we did with communism. Offensive war is bankrupting us and only creating more enemies wanting vengeance and instigating terrorism. Instead we should try to contain, not inflame, Islamist fanaticism and let it burn itself out just as did the religious wars in Europe during the 17th century. Current American strategy, Lind argues, results in losing wars against enemies wearing bathrobes and flip flops. Lind argues that we should work with nations which are sources of order and stability. (Think China.)

From being a lonely voice of dissent from Washington's losing strategy, Lind's concepts are now becoming accepted (see Newsweek's "Can America Win a War?"). If one thinks of America's wars as a business, then they become more understandable as profit centers and career enhancement opportunities. I've delved into this subject with a study, "12 Reasons America Doesn't Win its Wars." Or, as one bitter joke put it, "Most nations waged wars to loot their enemies, America wages war to loot the American treasury."

Under pressure from liberal naysayers and fringe groups, the notion of giving thanks has slowly morphed into a puddle of muddled feelings. Thanksgiving has digressed into a one-size-fits-all four-day weekend.

Despite attempts in recent years to debunk the Thanksgiving story, a certain historical truth offers evidence of a bed rock foundation for the Thanksgiving Spirit. Unfortunately, this evidence cannot be transmitted through the classroom.

A new documentary, “3801 Lancaster: An American Tragedy,” chronicles the horror of a late-term abortion clinic in Philadelphia and is playing in select theaters across the country. In 2010, law enforcement raided the offices of Dr. Kermit Gosnell and what they found inside shocked the nation. Recently, Dr. Joseph Horton screened the film and was brought to tears. Horton discusses the documentary and reminds us that, “Healing and forgiveness can be found, even with tragedies like 3801 Lancaster.”  

SQUAWK, SQUAWK!; DIEHARDS; DEJA VU?; IT MAY BE DIFFERENT; UNAUTHORIZED KELLY DOCUMENTARY; WHO IS THE BOSS?; GOOD JOB AND NO COLLEGE DEBT; MDU RESOURCES; NO COMMENT; SELLER’S MARKET; A LONG HISTORY; DAKTOIDS

Reported recently was that Keller, a kindergarten “teacher” at Captain Johnston Blakely Elementary in Bainbridge Island, WA, was refusing to let the boys in her class play with Legos during free play time. 

“Keller…watched with discouragement as self-segregation defined her classroom — her boy students flocked to the building blocks while her girl students played with dolls and crayons and staples, toys that offered them little challenge or opportunity to fail and develop perseverance.” And, of course, innate sex differences evident since time immemorial cannot be allowed, so Keller’s leftist sense of equality compelled her to action. She discriminated so the girls could use the blocks “unencumbered.”

Of the illegal aliens (the May 9 report), the GAO looked at the crimes committed by 55,322 aliens who had entered the country illegally and were still in the United States illegally at the time of their imprisonment during fiscal year 2003. The destruction caused by these illegal aliens is astounding.

There is more shocking information from the US House Judiciary Committee. In fiscal year 2013, the Obama administration released over 36,000 convicted criminal aliens awaiting the results of deportation hearings. In fiscal year 2014, Obama released 30,558 illegal alien criminals. These criminals had been convicted of assault, robbery, sexual assault, sexual offenses, kidnapping, voluntary manslaughter and homicide. In 2013 the Obama administration did not bring removal proceedings against over 68,000 convicted criminal aliens.

ONE LAST TIME; UNTIL HE DIES; WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON AT UND?; GOOD NEW; NEEL KASHKARI; ORUM COMMENTARY; MCFEELY’S THEME; WILLISTON THROWING OUT MAN CAMPS; MCKENZIE COUNTY; WOES IN COAL COUNTRY; NO COMMENT NEEDED; THE GUV WENT TOO FAR; DAKTOIDS

Releasing the controversial “College Scorecard,” President Obama described it as containing “reliable data on every institution of higher education.” That simply isn’t true. Furthermore, the College Scorecard poses risks to institutional autonomy and may shape the American higher education landscape in unexpected ways.

In this must-read article, a president of one of the excluded institutions, The Honorable Paul J. McNulty of Grove City College, examines the College Scorecard and defends the freedom of independence his college fought for, protects, and cherishes. McNulty illustrates Grove City College’s high-quality education, affordability, and success of its graduates—all without a dime of Title IV aid. He writes, “Grove City College has demonstrated that excellence does not have to be bankrolled by the federal government.”

In an attempt to salvage a failing multicultural model and strategy for importing left-leaning voters, we hear that the Muslim migrants must be “vetted” better. A practical problem with this notion is that Syria’s and other Middle Eastern countries’ databases are woefully inadequate, making accurate information on many migrants impossible to obtain. This confronts us with a simple matter of probability: if 1 million migrants enter a nation over time and just 1/10th of 1 percent are terrorists, that’s 1000 dangerous jihadists. 

What are foreigners today supposed to assimilate into in today’s France, Italy, Germany and U.S.? Bread and wine; pasta fagioli; Wiener schnitzel; and baseball, hot dogs and reality TV, all lathered in moral relativism? Are they really going to follow the lead of a dying anomaly in a world of growing religiosity? Heck, I’m a Westerner, and as a believing Christian I refuse to assimilate into my country’s wider culture (although I save my cutting off of heads for broccoli). Thus, with assimilation, even if Muslim migrants were buyin’, they wouldn’t be buyin’ what we’re sellin’.

Art Linkletter once remarked, “Kids say the darndest things.” So do adults, especially if they are politicians. Try a sampling.

I’ve often lamented the profanity rife on the Web (kids sometimes see these things, you know), a phenomenon that just further coarsens society. But that’s not mainly what Leftists complain about when sanctimoniously speaking of “incivility”; in fact, they’re the very ones who mainstreamed profanity (unfortunately, too many conservatives follow their lead), as Hollywood movies attest. Yet their lying tongues are far worse than their dirty mouths. For the worst kind of incivility is insincerity in discourse. 

Is allowing Russia and Iran to call the shots in the Middle East an American foreign-policy mistake? Could a major war—a nuclear war involving Israel—become more likely? In this interesting article, military historian Dr. Earl Tilford examines the rapidly changing political landscape in the Middle East and warns, “Washington’s only chance to retrieve a semblance of strategic leadership in the Middle East is to move decisively against ISIS.” 

CHEW ON THAT; LUTHEREN SOCIAL SERVICES ON THE DEFENSIVE; FARGO’S MOMENT IN THE SUN; IMPASSE; LOSS OF OIL MARKET; SECOND THOUGHTS ON WILLISTON AIRPORT SPENDING; WHOA AT NDSU!; FARGO RAINMAKER; POOR AND DUMB; PRESSURE MOUNTS DUE TO MINNEAPLIS VIOLENCE; MORE TWIN CITY CIVIL SUITS; DAKTOIDS 

This weekend, a highly anticipated film about prominent Hollywood screenwriter and communist Dalton Trumbo debuts in theaters. Will the movie detail the truth about Trumbo? In this interesting article that first appeared at Investor’s Business Daily, Cold War and communism historian Dr. Paul Kengor shares important background information about who Dalton Trumbo really was. 

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has been excoriated for setting up the CNBC debate, but he perhaps stumbled into gold. No, taking down incompetent propagandists is no substitute for having a fair media in the first place. But, as G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “War is not the best way of settling differences; it is the only way of preventing their being settled for you.” The media have long been launching the salvos and settling matters. It’s time to fight back in the spirit of settling their hash.