Dakota Beacon

In an important new book, Corruption In America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United, Professor Zephyr Teachout of Fordham Law School argues that corruption is the most pressing problem our democracy faces. In her view, corruption -- broadly understood as placing private interests over the public good in public office -- is at the root of what ails American government.

Leonard's lifelong work for liberty won him acclaim among diverse audiences. In 2007, he was recognized with the Adam Smith Award, the highest prize bestowed by the Association of Private Enterprise Education. In 2011, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Development of Austrian Economics. That same year, the then-nascent organization Students for Liberty published an interview with Leonard that called him "The Original Student for Liberty." Special ceremonies in Leonard's honor were held in France and Austria, organized by the Institute for Economic Studies - Europe and the F.A. Hayek Foundation, respectively

American commentators feel these acts are evil. Yet, they seem to have no moral basis for this feeling, much less a logical one. The absence of a moral basis on which to firmly condemn Islamic terrorism stems from the fact that few Americans understand Christianity’s Just War doctrine and its place in the Western world’s past. If they did, it would be obvious to some at least that the slaughter of innocent non-combatants is murder, and thus, morally wrong. And, where did this idea come from? It is embedded in the 1600-year-old Just War Theory attributed to St. Augustine (354-430).

If words mean anything, any civilized person is "to the right of Attila the Hun." But the phrase is meant to imply that savagery is on the right, while humanity is to be found on the left, a view that flatters liberals but is somewhat at odds with the history of the twentieth century.

First, they straightforwardly and without sensationalism dealt with the less-than-flattering aspects of their character—Theodore’s compulsive need to be in charge and prove his manhood; Franklin’s need for loyal, adoring female companionship and his “deviousness” (although Geoffrey Ward never quite explains that characterization); and Eleanor’s aloofness as a mother. Also, the documentarians included many of the Roosevelts’ opponents’ criticisms, leaving it to the viewer to decide which side was right on various issues

In a market the size of Pittsburgh Limbaugh receives a monthly talent fee of $35,000.”

Wow. That’s over $400,000 per year just for Rush Limbaugh, at one station in Pittsburgh! And that’s merely Rush. That’s unaffordable. Can’t these conservatives cut costs, as they demand of big-government liberals?

It is making the rounds. Influenza, that is. Forget Ebola. You are far more likely to contract flu even though early stages of Ebola resemble flu symptoms.

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Some argue that having only an impact fee with no severance tax on gas in this state offsets other state taxes so that Pennsylvania can effectively compete with other states in attracting energy companies. Many of those who oppose the proposed tax on gas extraction are not opposed in principle to taxing resource extraction, but are rather concerned about how this tax will affect the total tax burden and the size of the state government, which they view as too large. Proponents of limiting the size of state government oppose a severance tax because the revenue will likely be used to support more state government spending rather than opening the door for reducing other taxes.

Our name for the world’s Lena Dunhams today is not in accordance with the truth of things, and it’s one reason millions of girls do not know how to conduct themselves. Remember that, as a writer once said, stigmas are corollaries of values; if certain things are to be valued, it follows that their opposites will be devalued.

Moreover, giving marriage an open-ended definition, what Fourth Circuit Judge Paul Niemeyer called a marriage to “anyone and everyone” and calling that judicially-minted right “marriage,” could serve as a basis for justifying polygamous and incestuous unions in the future.

The New York Times also faults Congress: "Congress has utterly failed in its Constitutional responsibilities. It has left Washington and gone into campaign fund-raising mode, shamelessly ducking a vote on a critical issue. This has deprived the country of a full and comprehensive debate over the mission to Syria and has shielded administration officials and military commanders from tough questions about every aspect of this operation -from its costs to its very obvious risks - that should be asked and answered publicly."

The computer models and the press they attract may have contributed to their fear and the fear experienced by a large segment of our population. The reality is that our freshmen have never experienced global warming in their lives.

The computer models and the press they attract may have contributed to their fear and the fear experienced by a large segment of our population. The reality is that our freshmen have never experienced global warming in their lives.

Growing up is sometimes painful. Some folks never finish the task. In time, I understood more clearly the relationship between integrity, trust and close personal associations.

Don would have been 84 by now and that is hard to imagine. I cannot picture an 84 year-old man doing a hand stand or a back toss on the parallel bars. However, I understand from a fellow teammate that Don recently passed away. Who could ever forget how he built integrity into his team and led young athletes into manhood.

FORMER MICROSOFT EXECUTIVE DOUG BURGUM; THE TERM “MAN CAMP”; HUH!; UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES; WE DON’T WANT TO PAY; THE STATE BOARD PUNTS ND’s; CLIMATE CHANGE; MINNESOTA SOMALIS; DAKTOIDS

No declarations of war were approved regarding subsequent wars in Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan and more - and the U.S. didn't win any of those contests.

But alas, we now learn that this problem continues to fester: The Government Accountability Institute is back with a new report revealing that President Obama has missed over half of his briefings in his second term, obviously learning little (literally) since the first term.

All of this tells us much about liberals, but it especially reveals the phoniness of their claims to “tolerance.”

From the far corners of our vocabulary comes this seldom heard word. In an age dominated by pop culture and high tech entertainment, “honor” is a word finding little use in conversation much less as a concept in practice.

Too bad. If ever there was a time to stress honor in conduct, that time is now. From the macrocosm of the political to the microcosm of the family, the absence of honor leaves a chasm of ruptured relationships.

The fact is, general opposition to Common Core is mounting steadily and more people are becoming aware of its dreadful implications.

Instead of expanding the $30 million conservation fund to $80 million, the governor should say "we already created a fund to do this, but the Measure #5 folks weren't happy about that because it wasn't set up exactly the way they wanted it to be set up with unlimited tax dollars to spend on special interest programs."

At some point in the future, this state is going to see a budget crisis - it won't be next year, or the year after, but some day, these decisions to grow government so massively will come back to bite the people making the decisions.

Leadership requires decisions to be made, and that doesn't always translate into spending other people's money.

Growing government to fight other liberal attempts to grow government even more will not be a winning strategy for Republicans in the long term.

There are very strict and restrictive guidelines to follow as to the qualification of those appointed to the citizen’s accountability board that will be created to govern the entity created by Measure 5.  Read the fine print.  Most North Dakota citizens, of any educational level, would not qualify to serve on the board.

Good Sense says - Vote No vote on Measure 5.  Leave the decision for the spending of these millions of dollars to the vote of the legislators who we can vote out of office.

THERE’S GOLD IN THEM THERE . . . ; “WHAT THE GRIZ LEARNED IN FARGO”; NO THANKS; THE WEST WANTS THE MONEY; AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION . . . ; IS SOMETHING ROTTEN IN MINNEAPOLIS?; OF COURSE, THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE ALL DISMAYED; PROPAGANDA WAR IN THE TWIN CITIES; FAMILY FIGHT, AMTRAK DELAYS; AT LAST SUBWAY IS OUT; AN ECONOMICS LESSON IS NEEDED FOR REPORTER; EASY FOR YOU TO SAY; 

TEX HALL IS DOWN; MINNESOTA HAS A SPECIAL CONCERN; LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE; WELCOME THE PEOPLE WE NEED; SHIRVANI WAS RIGHT; ND COLLEGES WEAK REGION; LOOKING FOR BLACK LUTHERANS; A SMALL CASH PROBLEM; WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER; DAKTOIDS

Today, ISIS’s ultimate goal is the destruction of America and the establishment of a global caliphate. If ISIS’s jihadists are not stopped, their path can easily be predicted. Initially they are targeting regimes in Damascus and Baghdad. From there it’s on to Amman and Cairo, Dubai, the wealthy Persian Gulf countries and Riyadh. Israel, seemingly abandoned by the United States, will be overrun despite its nuclear arsenal. Simultaneously, or shortly thereafter, the caliphate will use subversion and terrorism to consume European social democracies.

As long as public education is the "law of the land" and those controlling it have virtually unlimited access to our pocketbooks, we cannot fix this failed system

So how can you tell if you are a liberal? Political party affiliation does not help. There are liberal and conservative Democrats just as there are liberal and conservative Republicans. Calling oneself an independent doesn’t help, either. An independent is still inclined to lean liberal or conservative or a mixture of both.

There are ways to measure a person’s tendency toward liberalism. Review the following array of beliefs of modern day liberals. For every statement with which you agree, give yourself one point. The more points you acquire, the greater your tendency to think like a liberal. Here goes.

The reason why heavyweight boxers have always received more money and exposure (satisfied the market more) than lightweights is because the heavyweight world champion is the world champion. This is the same reason men’s professional sports command greater revenue and exposure than athletic arenas for juniors, the handicapped or collegians — or for women. The best male athletes are the best athletes. Other sports categories exist to provide other people with opportunities to compete, have fun and build character. They are not jobs programs.

The truth is that not just sport but all of nature’s and man’s world is a place defined by varying degrees of quality, not equality. This is no doubt why the Bible barely mentions the notion, except when referring to weights and measures. It’s also why I tend to doubt that anyone who has ever pondered equality deep

There currently appears a rather lengthy article in “GQ” (formerly “Gentleman’s Quarterly”) titled “Son, Men Don’t Get Raped.” The article opens with a few eye-opening statements. Sexual assaults in the military are becoming more common. More than half the victims of sexual assault are men. “GQ” alleges that 38 men are sexually assaulted every day. More military men are assaulted than women. The article further alleges that Pentagon figures indicate that almost 14,000 men were sexually assaulted in 2012.

For the record, new recruits have never been allowed to question the authority of their superiors. Even seasoned subordinates seldom challenge the boss. There has always been a power structure in every military organization from time immemorial. If the military culture itself were at fault, then how do you account for the spike in male-on-male sexual assaults if not for the fact that sexual norms and mores are being forcibly changed? In fact, how do you account for an increase in male-on-female assaults if not for the same reason? All military organizations are authoritarian to the core. If this disintegrates, there is no military – period.