Dakota Beacon

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

These three candidates owe their prospective constituents an opportunity to hear them out and answer their questions. This ought not to be an entertainment for the media to promote – it ought to be a well-thought out, considered and well-informed decision.

“CHANTS OF ‘LET’S GO SIOUX’; WELL-BEHAVED FANS; HOW DID THEY REACT IN MINNESOTA?; GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS; SMALLER, BUT WELCOME; WHAT A DIFFERENCE MENARDS MAKES; VACCINATIONS; WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?; THE MOOSE WAS KILLED; LET THEM EAT PAMPHLETS; SISTER NICOLE KUNZE; OFFICIALS DISAPPOINT; FIGHTING UGLY RHETORIC; HOW WOULD YOU RULE IF YOU WERE A JUDGE?; TEST NOT; DAKTOIDS

April 22, 2016 marks the 46^th anniversary of Earth Day founded by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson and flower power liberal Ira Einhorn. In a weird twist, Einhorn was later arrested for composting his dead girlfriend. In his pre-Senate days, attorney Arlen Specter defended Einhorn until Einhorn skipped bail and fled the country to organized Earth Day overseas.

Earth Day qualifies as an urban legend through its mystical twists and grasping for facts. The biggest fallacy of radical environmentalism is the distorted view of the relation between humans and nature as if humans were excluded from nature. As often happens, a projection of human values and sentimental environmentalism onto an amoral and neutral material world creates a strange romantic view of nature. Nature-love, reinforced with selective scientific citing, creates a potent body of false knowledge.

In August 1968, Democratic delegates debated two rival Vietnam policy planks in Chicago. While they debated an estimated 10,000 protestors gathered at nearby Grant Park. Millions of TV viewers watched as demonstrators faced off against platoons of police. The melee moved between Grant Park, the International Amphitheater Convention Center, and the Democratic Party headquarters in the Conrad Hilton Hotel. In this interesting article, Dr. Earl Tilford examines the events from 1968 and warns that there is a great lesson to take from 1968 and apply to 2016.

Some important Quranic verses help explain the motivation and behavior of jihadists and other Islamists. These verses are not isolated or parsed.

Congratulations to David Woods, a courageous and powerful truth teller, and his website AnsweringMuslims.com for his work in rendering in context the verses of the Quran to non-Muslims. Also of help is the Quranic Arabic Corpus (corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp), an annotated linguistic resource for the Quran. It offers seven parallel translations in English showing the morphology of verses.

What follows is a discussion about a book and what it teaches. Citing chapter and verse challenges the claim that Islam is a “religion of peace” as purported.

DRY SPELL ENDS; ATTORNEY GENERAL WAYNE STENEHJEM; CHASE IRON EYES; DIGGING A DEEP HOLE; NOT ME!; TOO MUCH MONEY?; BRENT SANFORD; PIVOTAL YEAR; BIG CITY CRIME;  GET ON WITH IT; 
JOCELYNE AND MONIQUE LAMOUREUX; GOV. JACK DALRYMPLE; SHOULD HEIDI APOLOGIZE?; DAKTOIDS

The 2016 NDGOP Convention provided some surprises . . . and maybe augurs for the future?

For more than 200 years, America did not have these types of problems. Why? Because we did not have a Supreme Court that allowed the government to exceed its limited authority. Only now do we have Justices who arrogantly take legislation brought before the Court and blatantly rewrite it to mean what Congress specifically said it did not mean. 

Pennsylvania went nearly nine months without a budget. Many agencies that depend on state funds suffered during the stalemate and some public schools were forced to eliminate programs or seek loans to pay the bills. As soon as the 2015-16 budget became law it was time to begin work on the 2016-17 budget. In this interesting article, Dr. Tracy Miller examines the fiscal shape of the state and warns that “coming up with a budget that is balanced and politically acceptable to the Republican legislature and the Democratic governor may be even more difficult this year.” 

Has the front-runner of the Republican race for the White House started to tone down his rhetoric? Is this a poll-driven adjustment or a real change? In this interesting article, Dr. Paul Kengor looks at recent examples of Donald Trump’s disparaging comments directed at women and argues that Trump’s true temperament has been on display all along.