Dakota Beacon

Wedged between Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and Black History Month, but far in advance of St. Patrick’s Day, resides an almost-forgotten celebration of a very famous Celtic poet.Robert Burns was born January 25, 1759, in Ayrshire, Scotland. Two hundred fifty-two years later, Scotland’s immortal bard is still remembered on Burns Night around the world, particularly in British Commonwealth countries.

For me, the life issue is my starting point, of far greater value than where a politician stands on social security or the minimum wage. Obviously, other issues matter. The right to life, however, is the first and most fundamental of rights, without which other rights are impossible. And if you, personally, are unsure when life begins, consider Reagan’s recommendation: ‘If there’s even a question about when human life begins, isn’t it our duty to err on the side of life?’

The North Dakota University System is out of control.  Most legislators, of both parties, will agree with that to some extent (Sometimes publicly, more often privately.)  

“Clear Thinking” blog reader and business owner Don Ross recently received an email complaint from a customer. Don’s reply comprises a solid condemnation of Washington’s explosive invasion into our private lives. Don graciously granted me permission to post that reply following a summary of the customer’s concerns.

As I've often observed, the U.S. Constitution poses no serious threat to our form of government; it now bears roughly the same relation to that government that the Book of Revelation bears to the Unitarian Church. And liberals aim to keep it that way.

Which is what, at one level, the fight over Roe is all about. And some liberals are honest enough to admit this. You will find some advocates of legal abortion who agree that Roe was badly reasoned; but you won't find any opponents of legal abortion who think it was well reasoned.

The Republican Party is truly on probation with America.  Conservatives have stayed the course. They have loyally supported Republican candidates and elected them to high office.  They did so for a reason.  They want real reform, not just a changing of the guard while the looting goes on behind closed doors.  The Republican Party asked for a chance to prove itself, in effect.  Now the leadership must do that.

They simply cannot view people as they are, warts and all, and love and value them equally anyway. This is why, when dealing with individuals they look down upon, secularists make the worst snobs. It is why, when they want to feel good about themselves by promoting equality, they make the worst social engineers. And it is why, when they have power and have shed this emotional imperative, they become the worst killers (e.g., eugenics, forced abortion).

University Student’s Creed.
They come to school to socialize;
To become popular, not wise.
They think no thoughts, They read no books,
They spend their time on “outward” looks.
If “beauty” lies in “other’s” eyes,
Why waste time becoming wise?
Just buy the clothes and play the part;
Develop the image, not the heart.
They put their faith in lies and guile,
And hide their falsehood with a smile.
These “friends” are like the sifting sand,
And have no base on which to stand.
They’d rather party than go to classes,
They all think it’s cool, the ignorant asses.
So, reject the lure to socialize,
Which forces one to equalize,
And destroys your right to individualize.  

- Ruben Lackman, March 2005

1949 Ford 8N, ND Media, ObamaCare, Regulatory Fiat

Two Fargo Lutheran pastors arrested, full-length fox and coyote fur coat, official state insect, Keep it in the family, a new sense of urgency about Devils Lake, Spirit Lake Casino, ND is getting younger, Fighting Sioux controversy, essential flaw in health reform, Fuzzy Words, a new Holiday Inn in Williston, a provision for “historically underserved producers, Olive Garden, DAKTOIDS

The Democratic Party’s definition of civility is when we all shut up and go along with their agenda. This debate was never about civility, it’s really about censoring the voices of freedom through intimidation.

Democrats are panicking after the historical beating that they received in November. They have lost the debate over their transformation of our nation and simply want the debate to end.

The two insuperable problems that afflict the international monetary order today are the acceptance of fiat currencies and government monopolies. It is impossible for a country, let alone the entire world, to build a durable monetary order on the weak foundation of an un-backed paper currency. Indeed, history demonstrates that fiat currencies inevitably end up being worth exactly what they are—insignificant scraps of paper.”

The Party of Spenders must be repudiated. We now realize there is no such thing as a moderate Democrat.

"Consensus" science. Where have we heard that before?

Church of Global Warming Pope Al Gore as well as other church members and officials have for years advanced the utterly wrong notion that because agenda-pushing "scientists" had reached a "consensus" on humans heating up the planet, then humans must surely be heating up the planet. Not letting facts, evidence, knowledge, and other pesky manifestations of reality get in the way, the NOAA uses consensus science to "predict" solar activity.

My Dad had built it himself, and it was pretty nice for the time. We had a basement apartment that my folks would rent out. One renter we had worked for the Agricultural Service. He planted trees for shelterbelts. His name was Parker, and he had an artificial leg because his real leg had been blown off in Korea. The leg was cut right above his knee, and we were fascinated with looking at that stump.

In both inaugurals, there was no mistaking the message, or the mood that followed. Both initiated a profound, palpable, quite immediate change in the nation’s morale and sense of itself. The shift was dramatic. Of course, it wasn’t just the speeches that made the difference, but the men who made them, with the inaugurals their starting points.

The anniversary of two unforgettable inaugural addresses from two beloved presidents, Democrat and Republican: John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. For Kennedy’s speech, this is the golden anniversary, 50 years; for Reagan, 30 years.

Wealthy people must be punished--presumably for accumulating all that nasty "wealth." At least this is the impression one gets from today's class warfare mongering progressives, who talk of the evils of the "income gap." Free To Choose Network director Max Borders suggests the following approach to kicking off a discussion with an income gap worrier.

Why do liberals, both Democrats and RINOs (Republicans in Name Only), invariably choose totalitarian solutions to treat real or imagined economic, social and political issues? Don’t they realize Americans resent authoritarian rule?

Liberals and their kind tax to punish, withhold funds to coerce and award money to entice. Look at the list.

Obama's tyrannical regime speaks for itself--the forced, unwanted legislation; the ideologically-motivated executive orders; the business-murdering, general welfare-destroying regulatory nightmares of the EPA, CMS, FCC (1, 2, 3), HHS, FDA, etc. But it would be wise to maintain a balanced perspective. On occasion, when even the most radical President ever does or says something good, if conservatives and right-side-of-the-road libertarians fail to acknowledge the goodness, then is the Right and righter than the Left?

Shakespeare biography is in what might be described as a persistent vegetative state. This is a rather natural result of trying to write a man's life without taking the preliminary step of making sure you've got the right guy. I own more than two dozen biographies of the Stratford man, most of them fairly recent, who has been mistaken for the real author for nearly four centuries.

After much soul-searching I decided I would do it: I would comment on the shooting that took place this month in Tucson.  The reason for my reticence in writing about this crime is because it IS a crime, a random, isolated incident, mishandled from the start, yes, but NOT a politically relevant item.  The only “political” element is that one of the shooter’s victims happens to be United States Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.  The absurd attempt by the liberal press to associate this very troubled man’s act of violence with anyone in our American political arena should be seen for what it is- a red herring promoted by a desperate Left to distract the American public and our newly elected Congressional delegation from doing what we sent them to Washington to do, to repeal Obama Care, to curb the illegitimate activities of agencies such as the EPA, to bring the national debt under control and myriad other urgent projects.

Are Red River Valley winters especially harsh?, Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex Hall, more money and help, Gov. Dalrymple, high school graduation rate, Federal spending in ND, The new 49ers general manager Trent Baalke, the nation’s largest potato farmer, The Sunday Opinion Pages, Seven out of 55, UND GFighting Sioux nickname, 30-acre greenhouse, staged at least 37 auto accidents, Daktoids

In the reason corner, we have the birther foolishness, Obama fascism, and the Fed conspiring with foreign powers. Anyone, not just Tea Partiers, putting significant energy into any of these three areas is wasting their time.

Now for the nonsense corner. To deny that Obama has driven America toward socialism, that Soros has financed vitriol-filled anti-American organizations and efforts, or that some Muslims are trying to push the tenets and customs of Islam into various American communities requires the blindness and naïveté discussed above.

The real genius of the American political system is the original understanding, born more of experience and compromise than of theory, that power should be limited, divided, and dispersed. Spreading power thinly is one way - imperfect, but practical - of protecting liberty.

In a truly federal system, states are united on a few specified points, but free to differ in all other respects. How ironic, but how typical, that the apostles of "diversity" want to make the states uniform. Real diversity, the kind the United States used to have, is the last thing they want. This is E pluribus unum with a vengeance.