Dakota Beacon

I find intriguing the role of the Dakotans in the Trump agenda. First and foremost is Sen. Cramer’s close relationship with Trump since 2016. Never has a North Dakotan had such access to the White House.

Burgum’s new role as Interior secretary will be instrumental in the development of our natural resources but even more telling will be his role as chairman of the newly formed National Energy Council. Burgum chairing this committee alongside Chris Wright, the new Energy secretary, will be exciting to watch. Burgum and Wright are both very pro-environment and yet pro-energy, which will pay dividends for all citizens of the world.

Pamela Jo Bondi, an American attorney, served as the 37th Florida Attorney General and now serves as the 87th United States Attorney General. Born November 17, 1965 in Tampa, Florida, she grew up in Temple Terrace, Florida. Bondi received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in criminal justice from the University of Florida in 1987 and a Juris Doctor from the Stetson University College of Law in 1990. She was not always a Republican. Like President Trump, she affiliated with the Democrat Party. In 2000 she switched parties to become a Republican.

Vance took the stage, confronting an audience he knew would be hostile to his message and did not flinch while standing strongly for truth and democracy at the Conference.

So, no, President Trump doesn’t have to obey blatantly unconstitutional court opinions. This said, with how he’s shaking up the system and busy draining the bureaucratic swamp, it’s perhaps politically prudent to remedy the current judicial adventurism through the higher courts, as he’ll almost assuredly win on appeal. At some point, though, it will be time to drain that fetid judicial swamp and address the real constitutional crisis: the rule of judges who would be kings.

Move fast and break things. This seems to be the modus operandi of President Donald Trump on several fronts. Nothing wrong here. Makes sense – like General George S. Patton’s charge across Europe or General Tommy Frank’s 100-hour dash to Baghdad during Iraqi Freedom.

President Trump’s second term does not reflect business as usual. At home, he is tearing up the deep state and woke bureaucracy. Using the leftist’s own jargon, federal departments and agencies are being “reimagined” -- or abolished. Abroad, allies and adversaries are experiencing a new US economic alignment through tariffs.

I don’t usually weigh in on specific bills because I believe that exercise is for the citizens. My TV show on BEK has served as an outlet for information for the purpose of giving an informed electorate a fighting chance.

“The Legislature Today” has not been a place to argue the finer points of a piece of legislation. It is meant to have a factual bent to help those who want to be informed.

However, as a former chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party, I feel I must weigh in on HB 1446. It has the marks of an act meant to do more than reform a process, procedure or method. Revenge by any other name is still revenge.

An executive order is a presidential action that directs federal agencies on how to operate. It carries the effect of law if it is in keeping with constitutional powers. Executive orders can also revoke or amend previous orders. Presidential actions also include memorandums and proclamations.

The constitutional basis for the executive order is the President’s broad power to issue executive directives. According to the Congressional Research Service, there is no direct “definition of executive orders, presidential memoranda, and proclamations in the U.S. Constitution; there is, likewise, no specific provision authorizing their issuance.”

How many executive orders did President Trump sign? By what authority does he execute executive orders? Are executive orders even constitutional? Here are some answers.

It’s funny, the discussions we never have, even when they involve that proverbial elephant in the room. Here’s one:

Since the U.S.’ population is only increasing because of immigration, when do we decide we have enough people and end it?

You may wish to do your own investigation into the deviation in total votes cast for the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Or not… History will likely provide the answers… if you visit any of the 2020 swing states, listen closely to the bar talk…. and jot down names if it answers any of your questions!

As of this writing, President Trump has been in office four days and has done more to set America on a course greatness than his predecessor did in four years.

Time and space do not allow a tally of Trump’s Executive Orders. Verification will be found and discussed in other than the dominant media. However, as Rogers and Hammerstein composed for The Sound of Music, “…here are a few of my favorite ‘things’” (i.e., executive orders - EOs).

Sousa once said, “If you read of Sousa retired, you will read of Sousa dead.”  He worked tirelessly all his life - a life dedicated to music.  He was to America of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries what the Strauss family was to Vienna a generation earlier.  

Cancer – a powerful word that raises concern and alarm. The emotional power of this single word conjures thoughts of deadly malignancies, interminable suffering, and death. “Skin cancer,” however, sounds more benign because of its visibility and by not being hidden within the body.

I speak from experience on this topic, so let me offer words of encouragement to the would-be skin cancer patient.

If Donald Trump wants as his legacy the title of The Great Negotiator, he is missing the boat with his demands that Israel act stupidly in order to bring a temporary hiatus in the Hamas war.  It is the first principle of any negotiation that you come out with the value you seek.  In Trump’s case, all he seems to want out of this is that everyone over there just shut up, and if this means to placate the bullies, it is a pretty flimsy end.

There is so much disgust with the Biden administration that people are resisting slamming Trump, but we can’t let Biden become the excuse for poor performance by the Trump people.  If we are going to compare everything to Biden’s behavior as President, we might as well have elected Daffy Duck.  

My Golden Years lie at hand. Entering that realm proves to be a feisty adventure. Obviously, I have not been here before, but I’ve observed enough of this time in life from relatives who have walked the path before me. They imputed an education not gleaned from books.

My parents, rest their souls, were examples to me as they wended their way through their seventies and eighties although they probably didn’t realize it. They unconsciously pursued their parental duties instructing me via their actions.

My dad was a great planner. Some people are just that way. With obvious foresight, he visualized events as they probably should take place. His ability to anticipate any number of circumstances was both a blessing and a curse.

Raising vegetables and feeding the livestock takes time, planning and investment. There are always people who want short cuts and who put little in and expect results. Maybe that is why I thought of the county fair and the legislature.

There are always a few who opt for a sound bite over an extra session to work over a bill. Maybe they want free money from the state, or an advantage that can help a specific piece of legislation, or the approval of a pet project.

But there are also those (probably the majority) who know the value of hard work and patience through the process to get things done.

Throughout his book Hegseth details more, much more, about the domestic assault on the American military. How did diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as well as critical race theory (CRT) become so prevalent at all military service academies? Why the push to place women in the infantry while denigrating men – especially white males? On the answers to these questions and more Hegseth waxes eloquently. His book offers great insight into the thinking of the person who, with Senate confirmation, will be our next Secretary of Defense.

In years past, as the old year ended, The Passing Scene posted, with comment, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Ring Out, Wild Bells.” The same held true for 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 renders a tip o’ the hat to Father Time.

The attempted use of federal funds to pay off the college debt of individuals was perhaps the most flagrant example of the degree to which the current administration is out of touch with United States citizens. The waste of federal money and manpower is the only outcome that remains due to the relatively prompt rulings by the Supreme Court confirming the unconstitutionality of these obvious attempts to bribe young voters.

To her (although she’s not afraid to tell you what she wants this year), Christmas begins with Christ and who He is and why He came as a tiny human.  

To her, it seems there are so may other messages out there that detract from the purpose of the holiday.  She would like it better if it were different. I had to admit to her that I felt much the same way and we both decided there might be away to share with those who hadn’t thought of Christ in Christmas or if the birth of Christ was an afterthought.  

The conversation got me thinking as to how I would approach some of my friends and colleagues.  I think the discussion might begin with a question or two of them to draw them out of the chaos for a few moments.  Maybe something like “What do see in people at Christmas that you don’t notice at other times of the year?”

A central bank/consumer debt earthquake and associated economic Tsunami are looming worldwide. Solutions will apply “simplicity” toward easing the massively stressful lives of earth’s inhabitants. And those that lead the transition from COMPLEXITY to SIMPLICITY will be remembered in history books far more than those who caused the complexity in the first place. What, on Earth, am I talking about?

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s bring the best of times -- and the worst of times. Family and friends gather to socialize -- and drink. People celebrate and exchange gifts -- and drink. Folks ring out the old year and ring in the new -- and drink.

Alcohol consumption throughout history was always integral to human experience. Over millennia cultures routinely produced and consumed alcohol for religious or social reasons. If a substance could ferment, it has been distilled and consumed for its exhilarating effect. Grains, fruits, even milk, ferment to render an intoxicating liquor.

During the Holiday Season alcohol consumption climbs precipitously. Office parties, house parties, bars, and lounges afford many opportunities to imbibe.

As the North Dakota Legislature begins the 69th session, I would challenge legislators to pass bills through a grid with the question, “Is this the best outcome for the citizens I was elected to represent in the long term?” in the forefront of their minds. 

As any legislator will tell you it is easier when there is NO money, because the answer is an easy NO.

But since the state is flush with cash and there are big balances in all the accounts it will more difficult to just say NO. It will be tempting to give in and spend like liberals.

We are being lied to again.  There should be criminal penalties for all involved in this scam and for all who are acting against the interests of the American people.  We must demand answers amd immediately.  We should insist that our military shoot down these aircraft or else explain what our government is up to.

Dylan Thomas credits his love of reading as follows. “My education was the liberty I had to read indiscriminately and all the time, with my eyes hanging out.” Christmas ‘tis the season for giving! What better way to say “I love you” than with the gift of a book? Books as gifts may be edifying, instructive, or just plain entertaining. Suggested books which follow are all quite readable but are not superficial.

We are not “a nation of immigrants” and should instead see ourselves as one people under our Constitution.  There is and should be no guilt in this.  We have a right to our country.  What we might disagree about amongst ourselves notwithstanding, we are a country of our own.  No other nation is expected to throw open its gates.  

“Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.” - Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels