Dakota Beacon

I have just finished reading Victor Davis Hanson’s new book The Dying Citizen. If you read only one book this year, this is the book to read. It was largely written between 2018 through early 2020 although the accumulated research extends much earlier. Hanson’s views cannot be dismissed as mere “conspiracy theories.” Nonsense! He is far too intelligent and well-read for that. As an eminent historian and classicist he authored several dozen well received books. They offer a range of material dealing with the comparison of historical and current demographics and cultural customs.

He begins his book with the history of the concept of citizenship and then explains the forces trying to destroy that idea today. Hanson summarizes hugely important historically significant events in an incredibly clear manner. His footnotes, short essays in themselves, document his assertions.

People seem to have become deeply invested in fear.  Fear and authoritarianism.  Because we have all seen screaming karens, their masks hanging under their chins while they abuse others for not wearing theirs.  We have heard about teachers taping masks to kids' faces, a mother - a schoolteacher, no less - stowing her young son in the trunk of her car for fear of covid because the boy "tested positive".  We have also seen people lining up and sitting for hours in their cars in order to get a stick up their noses to tell them if they are sick or not.  How weird is that?  Worse, we have seen our entire economy disrupted, first through shutting our businesses (at least our local, Main Street businesses) down and now through a ridiculous attempt at "mandating" unwanted "vaccines" on unwilling subjects against the Constitution and international law, resulting in mass exodus from services such as transportation of goods.  Yet we see the very people responsible for these draconian orders partying without masks - AOC at drag queen bars in Miami, Gavin Newsom at the French Laundry restaurant in LA, the exalted Obamas partying it up on Martha's Vineyard.  So we all know damn well that none of this has to do with "protecting" anyone.  It is entirely about controlling people.  The masks, the "vaccines", the shutdowns and isolation, the curfews, the censorship.  It is all a matter of a few elites attempting to control the rest of us.  It needs to stop today.  Right now.

Aside from labeling herself “an affirmative action baby,” Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor once called herself a “wise Latina.” Given this, apropos here is a line from ancient Chinese sage Confucius:

“Wisdom is, when you know something, knowing that you know it; and when you do not know something, knowing that you do not know it.”

Sotomayor certainly failed this test during oral arguments on Friday over the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 “vaccine” mandates, making outlandishly incorrect claims that have brought her mockery.

This weekend teams will play the last regular season games in the NFL. Earlier in the season, the NFL lost a veteran player—a man with a remarkable football career and life. In September, Tunch Ilkin, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ stellar offensive tackle and captain, died of ALS. In this article, Dr. Gary Scott Smith honors Ilkin by detailing his legacy of character and faith on and off the football field.

Humans are intelligent, creative beings. So why aren't we procreating? Dr. Mark Hendrickson examines why humans are deliberately choosing to have fewer children and the potentially catastrophic consequences. Hendrickson acknowledges this important but overlooked global occurrence, writing “We may not be at the point of an existential crisis yet. But it is ominous that an increasing number of young people no longer include child-bearing in their concept of what constitutes a fulfilled life.”

A weird, wizened little man proclaiming public policy and making rules, a population in mass panic over a mysterious virus, images of people falling over in death in the streets in Wuhan, rumors as to where the disease originated - was it in an unsavory "wet market"?  Or was it the creation of sinister scientists in a secret lab in central China?  An experimental "vaccine" that appears to be causing more death and hideous injury than the disease.  This disease has been used - weaponized - to strip Americans of their heritage of freedom.  It seems to be on track to accomplish drastic depopulation - if we listen to the experts and those who are beginning to see the results.  A people divided.  Did the virus or the response divide them, or did it merely reveal the fact of a native division?  It seems that we are now two peoples - one which clings to government and authorities - scientific, medical, governmental, to protect them from a faceless enemy and one which sees problems with the conclusions of government, the medical community and scientists when the evidence and the facts and outcomes do not support them and hence do not wish to submit their bodies to an experiment.  The latter group could be described as "objective, investigative, questioning skeptics" while the former could be considered part of an illogical, unscientific cult, following without question those they have been told are in charge.  They rely on what could be called "magical thinking" and when the "magic" doesn't work they cannot understand or accept the result.  

Earlier this month, critical race theory was at the forefront of a major gubernatorial election in Virginia. The theory made daily—if not hourly—headlines. And it remains one of the most divisive topics on major networks.

What is CRT? And why are liberals (James Carville, Andrew Sullivan, Bill Maher, and many others) speaking against it?

In this article, Dr. Paul Kengor traces the roots of CRT and fleshes out what the theory is doing to America: dividing her citizens. Kengor writes that CRT, “divides people into groups pitted against one another, into categories of oppressed vs. oppressor. What’s worse, your group defines you. This certainly flies in the face of the Judeo-Christian conception of all individuals as children of God made in the image of God.”

Another year of rapid change now gone and with it have passed the hours and days of 2021. Year 2022 dawns presenting another opportunity to see clearly and act wisely.

            How unaware we are of the passage of time when thoroughly immersed in social media, entertainment, and the distractions of inconsequential activities. Meanwhile the “drum beat of time” marks cadence. What follows is not history, but rather the notation of historical markers as a measure of the increased rate of change over a millennia.

So who has the bigger ego, Trump or Obama? Some may claim that at First Baptist, 45 was speaking to (and perhaps playing to) an audience very different from 44’s. Fair enough. But for certain is that with Falsani, Obama revealed his true self as he so often would off teleprompter, just as he did when telling an audience in 2008 that people in middle America clung to “guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them….” His comments were in the nature of a Freudian slip.

Practical solutions to one of the most contentious issues of our time have been ignored by those who believe they alone know what’s best for the rest of us. These partisans have posited the choice as either a free market driven fossil fuel economy or a central planned replacement of fossil fuels by other energy sources. Generations of school children have been taught that fossil fuels are destroying the planet and mankind is to blame.

A solution has been offered by a pioneer in meteorology, predictive modeling, extreme weather, and long-range forecasting, Mr. Joe Bastardi.

There is a link at the end of this post.  Please watch it.  We begin 2022 at a crossroads.  The path we take may be irrevocable for the rest of time.   Will we choose freedom or will we sit back and accept oppression by default?  We will get to oppression by complying with it.  The is a pivotal year for human rights and freedom.   

In years past, to conclude one more year, The Passing Scene cited with comment Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Ring Out, Wild Bells.” The same was true of Robert Burns, the Bard of Scotland, and his poem “Auld Lang Syne.”

This year, a lesser known piece by Burns seems appropriate. Titled, obviously enough, “New Year’s Day” this little ditty becomes a tip o’ the hat to Father Time.

What does it say about a civilization when it feels compelled to place a satanic display next to baby Jesus at Christmastime? As a general question, you can answer that for yourself. But among other things, in our case it means too many Americans — including judges — wouldn’t know the Constitution from the Communist Manifesto.

The story here is that the baby Baphomet, a goat-like creature worshiped by satanists, has been placed alongside a Christmas tree, a Nativity and a menorah in Springfield, Illinois State Capitol Rotunda. This isn’t just a one-off, either, but reflects now common insanity. It also isn’t just limited to “liberal” states

As we quickly approach Christmas, a recent study uncovered a troubling trend in America: we are in the midst of an “epidemic of loneliness.” In this article, sociologist Dr. David Ayers examines the Harvard study and argues that we are not made to go through life solo and if we set our hearts upon Jesus Christ, we will never be lonely. He writes, “He came to remove the alienation of humans from God and one another. He is the ultimate source of joy, the premier fountain of happiness.”

The days of Joseph Pulizer sending Nellie Bly around the world in 80 days, or into the clutches of the villains running the mental hospitals in New York or Stanley finally being able to greet the elusive Dr. Livingstone in a remote African village, the dogged reporting of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre or the Lindburgh kidnapping or the impassioned account of the crash of the Hindenburg, are gone.  Today our press is literally shilling for their sponsors, the drug giants.  They will cover up for the most blatant abuse of the public's trust by politicians and vaccine manufacturers and their proponents and beneficiaries.  Meanwhile we must get our real news elsewhere and those who don't pay the price.  It is all so sad and so very unnecessary.

Americans have been rightly concerned about the institutionalization of racism in our society through our schools by means of "Critical Race Theory", but it's not just in the classroom that this is practiced.  In Mankato the school board has decided to act on a racist inclination with respect to salaries - not indirectly but directly  dependent upon race.  Meanwhile, in Ontario, the provincial government is making sure that the future remains bleak for students in their schools.  What is going on here?  Has common sense left the building . . . or is it something more sinister?  Is it perhaps beating the drum of race war?  Is it perhaps a determination to keep citizens in ignorance?  We have some very serious problems in our schools and in the people who elect these community leaders.  We had better wake up and start paying attention.

American culture ignores serious reading (the Bible in particular) and prefers social media and entertainment as the source of information – and misinformation. A materialistic culture distracts. These distractions numb us to any communion with the Holy Spirit and what the Father might reveal. But, we think we are okay. “…everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6)

Pascal’s Wager comes to mind. The gist of the wager is that one cannot come to the knowledge of God’s existence through reason alone. So far, so good. The wise thing to do is to live your life as if God does exist because such a life has everything to gain and nothing to lose. If we live as though God exists, and He does indeed exist, we have gained heaven. If He does not exist, we have lost nothing. If, on the other hand, we live as though God does not exist and He in fact really does exist, we have gained hell and lost heaven. Here’s where Pascal’s Wager breaks down. Can we live the life Christ wants us to live without His internal presence? To phrase it as a statement, none of us can live the Christian life without His indwelling presence. Trying to do so is to live by the flesh in an attempt to justify ourselves to God. Fat chance.

“Lia” Thomas, the “transgender” University of Pennsylvania swimmer who has become famous, and infamous, for making women in the pool seem like manatees racing a barracuda, recently said that he just tries to tune out the negativity directed his way. After all, not only do many people say it’s unfair he’s competing with females, but his recent boast that winning was “so easy, I was cruising” truly raised hackles. But even though he’s not really a damsel in distress, I’m here to help as his knight in shining armor.

In 2021, the federal government distributed money to many Americans through various programs. Has this assistance caused an incentive not to work? In this article, Dr. James Thrasher examines the situation and argues that working is a significant part of God’s providential plan. He writes, “The workplace is part of God’s divine strategy to use workers as transforming and restorative agents by pointing others to Christ. It was God’s intention that true soul satisfaction would come from an honest day’s work.”

In case you haven't noticed, America is rapidly hurtling into a bleak totalitarian state.  Before too long we might look more like North Korea than like the land of our Founders.  This is not an exaggeration.  Right now we are looking shockingly like the Third Reich.  Think about this.  We have places right now where people are required to "show their papers" before going into a restaurant or pub or even buying groceries.  As of this writing the federal government - through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - is building "quarantine" facilities in out-of-the-way nooks and crannies.  Like behind the trees off of a roadway in Nashville, in Ohio, in other places you might never suspect.  Maybe somewhere in your home town.  Homeless people, always an issue, are the first line.  They are beginning to be rounded up, for their own good, of course, and hauled off to guarded facilities.  Well, you might say, that's probably "for the best".  But tomorrow, when the homeless are all off the streets they will begin looking for other inconvenient people.  People who fly the Americna flag on their front porches, whose cars sport bumper stickers like "Let's Go Brandon" and the like.  People who write inconvenient letter to the editor or call in on radio shows.   Tomorrow it might be you.  As the shelves become more bare, as people are locked out of their jobs, as we begin to look more like a police state, we need to look deeper into the roots of this problem - and it isn't China.

Today there was another story about a school undermining parental authority and de-stabilizing another home and confusing another young child, attempting to promote "trans-fluid" identity.  One would think that teachers would have their hands full trying to teach a classroom full of energetic young kids how to do math, something about the English language, hsitory, geography, great literature.  Those things, however, seem to have been put up in the attic to make way for the really important tasks of disrupting the normal development of young children, trying to destroy the bonds between children and their parents, persuading them to question their own identity, maybe throwing in a little CRT for good measure - we want our kids to feel helpless and guilty, right?  There are answers but they involve taking responsibility.  

The US Postal Service was once the pride of the country.  We have all heard the motto about sleet and snow, of course.  That doesn't stop the delivery of our mail, so the saying goes.  What does?  The threat that we might perhaps be receiving a completely legal, FDA-approved medication, that's what.  It seems that there is so much surplus funding in the Postal Service now, with postage at .55 for a letter, that they are able to hire extra people to snoop and intercept our mail.  It's not fentanyl, it's not heroin, it's not the famous Letters of Transit that they are tearing things apart to look for.  It is . . . wait for it . . . Ivermectin!  That's right - the renowned horse dewormer that miscreants around the nation have been using to cure COVID.  Well, obviously we can't have that.  Next thing you know people will be buying aspirin to cure a headache.  

Yesterday we discussed the culpability of many in our government for the intense suffering and death that has been brought about under the guise of "Covid-19".  It continues - in fact, it is intensifying and after the holidays is likely to become even worse if we allow the status quo to prevail.  If you doubt this, just take a good hard look at Australia.  If you want a closer example, look at Canada.  If these nations can fall overnight from nations of free men and women into slave states, you can be assured that it can also happen here, and will.  All of the blood that has been spilled over the past 300 years to win and protect freedom will have been wasted unless we step up in our era, take our turn, and do our part.  In our case, today, what we are called upon to do is to enforce justice.  That is not too large an ask for people who have enjoyed a free republic for 250 years.  It's our turn.  We can no longer sit by while the abuses pile up.  Next it will be you.  Next it will be your family.  The time is now.  We must enofrce our Constitution and protect our own rights.

When the baking starts, can Christmas be far behind? What a grand prelude to a wonderful season.

Home baked goodies make this season one of the favorite times of the year. Nothing compares to a home filled with the aromas of baking together with the melodies of Handel’s “Messiah” and carols sung by the Vienna Boys Choir. Only at Christmas!

To be clear, none of this concerns whether you love, hate or are indifferent about Putin. It’s not about whether Russia is right or wrong on Ukraine. It’s about applying Just War Doctrine and, again, recognizing that you can only do so much at a great power’s doorstep.

The prices of gasoline, oil, and natural gas have risen over the last year. In this article, economist Dr. Mark Hendrickson examines the price increase and argues that policies from the White House may be hurting the economy. He writes, “Among other steps designed to restrict domestic production of oil and natural gas, the president canceled completion of the Keystone XL pipeline, banned drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and greatly curtailed the issuance of leases for companies to develop fossil-fuel resources underneath public lands and waters.”

Ever wonder why, when we are hearing every day that taxpayer-funded "vaccines" are totally ineffective in preventing either contraction of the Covid disease or its spread, when we are witnessing horrible "adverse events" from them, hearing dire warnings from many experts (despite the efforts of mainstream and social media to silence them) that they are a threat to our health and lives, that we are being coerced into accepting them - allowing them to be injectred into ourselves and our children?  Where is the sense in this?  Well, there is logic found for everything.  Nothing happens without a reason.  Some reasons are hidden.  Our Constitution has been stood on its head -  the president and a host of un-elected twerps like Anthony Fauci are making the laws while Congress sits on its collective duff conducting a verbal circus of hearings with absolutely no result.  Why?  The only thing that will stop this abuse of power and of the people is to bring Fauci and his kind to justice.  It isn't happening.

It's that time of year again!  Time for government drunk with power to try to shut down anything upbeat or hopeful.  In the case of one small business owner in Albert Lea, Minnesota, this Christmas will be spent away from family, away from her grandchildren, in prison. Her crime?  Trying to keep her business - a restaurant - open so her employees could remain on staff and she could serve her customers.  Oh, and "make money", which is now, according to one Minnesota judge, a crime in this state.  No wonder the state is ranking low in economic outlook.  It is a hole.  A state whose voters elect garbage like Keith Ellison as Attorney General, or Tim Walz as Governor, really deserves a low rank.  

When did we decide that our rights are just "privileges" to be suspended at the whim of some power-mad functionary like Walz?  When did our US Constitution become subject to editing by such people?  Such small people?  This is serious.  Unless we take back our freedoms NOW, there will be none left.  We will consign ourselves to the misery of a totalitarian dictatorship . . . under the direction of a housefly like Tim Walz.  Is this what you want?  If not, it is time for "non-compliance" with nonsensical and illegal orders from inferiors.  Like Walz.  Sadly, there are plenty of Minnesotans who are all too ready to sacrifice the rights of others, at least, to their own fears and cowardice.  I sincerely hope they are not (still) the majority in Minnesota.

Christmas settles around us. Good cheer resounds in neighborhoods and across the marketplace as the hustle and bustle infects the Shopping Season.

Not everyone, however, celebrates the season – and for good reason. They are bound in slavery.

What?! Such talk! At this time of year? Slavery does not exist, especially here in the US. It’s a thing of the past! This is the stuff reparations are made for.

Oh no! Slavery is not a “thing of the past!” It’s here, it’s now, and it’s across America. Case in point – human trafficking! Welcome to one of the most lucrative criminal activities today.