Dakota Beacon

How we think about K-12 education we remember from our early years when we were in school. For example, if we graduated in 1960, we tend to think of school today as we knew it then.

Times change. President Jimmy Carter federalized public education in 1979 by establishing the Department of Education as a reward for the National Education Association’s (NEA) help with his campaign. Local control of education has since dissipated. Teachers, parents, and school boards have little to say over federally mandated programs and policies imposed on schools nationwide. Controlling the distribution of dollars gives the Department of Education enormous leverage.

On October 24, 1972, the world lost a hero. Fifty years ago today, Jackie Robinson passed away at the young age of 53. In this article, author Gary Scott Smith pays tribute to Robinson and his remarkable life. He writes, “Robinson is rightly revered as the trailblazer who smashed the color barrier in Major League Baseball, helping pave the way for people of color to play not only baseball but also professional football, basketball, tennis, and golf. Less remembered is his pioneering role in the civil rights movement and his creation of several businesses to employ African Americans.”

This month marks 60 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis. This anniversary is marked with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric that Russia is ready to use its nuclear arsenal in the war with Ukraine. Can Russia’s threat be averted? In this article that first appeared at National Catholic Register, Dr. Paul Kengor looks back to the Cuban Missile Crisis and details the harrowing days and the steady leadership that ended the crisis. He writes, “Sixty years ago, it took the skill and resolve of key statesmen to pull the world back from the precipice. Do we have such men with such abilities in those posts today?”

With Halloween upon us, progressive elites continue their attempts to scare Americans with their manmade climate change prank. Those who buy into this drivel are like little kids listening to ghost stories. Unconscientiously, they want to be frightened.

Doom-and-gloom environmentalists pushed their climate change silliness as early as the 1960s. Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” and Paul Ehrlich’s “The Population Bomb” pioneered the environmental movement setting the scene for manmade climate change activism. Chicken Little’s mantra “the sky is falling” still echoes through the media today.

The centerpiece of liberty—freedom of speech—cannot yield to the new use and abuse of public accommodations laws like the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act

With the stock market down nearly 20% year-to-date in 2022, investors are paying close attention to the financial performance of their portfolios: seeking to protect 401Ks, looking for safe havens, and trusting that their fiduciary asset managers are making the right decisions with ever-shrinking nest eggs. The last thing any investor would want now is for asset managers to be investing in companies for any reason other than to maximize financial return.

Defund the police. Cut the force. Criminals prevail. 911 is unreliable. Soros-backed District Attorneys release offenders. We live in an unsafe nation in decline.

The national media routinely covers atrocious murders. Seldom, however, do they report episodes of armed citizens effectively defending themselves. Many local radio and TV stations along with small newspapers do report armed citizen stories. The National Rifle Association (NRA) (of which my wife and I are both life members) publishes “The Armed Citizen” column to highlight a few of the many stories each month. Without the local reporting of these stories, the NRA would have a difficult time gathering the information. It must be noted that the NRA offers firearms training and gun safety courses across the nation. Here are some of their stories.

With news that Israeli intelligence has detected an “irregular presence” of nuclear-capable Russian bombers near Finland and retired general David Petraeus casually saying NATO would likely sink Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea fleet if Russia used a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, it’s perhaps time for a few questions:

First, can we discuss a situation that could very well result in thermonuclear war — and the end of life as we know it — intelligently and rationally? Or must all questions about our Dr. Strangelove policy be met with childish name-calling (e.g., “stooge of Putin!”) designed to silence debate?

Second, is it a good idea to essentially tell a man who controls 6,200 nuclear weapons, and who our pseudo-elites may label “crazy,” you want to kill him? This is what Joe Biden’s and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for Russian “regime change” really amounts to, mind you.

With harvest underway and kids in school can autumn be far behind? Shorter days and cooler nights signal summer’s end. It’s not too soon to think of autumn as the grand introduction to the Holidays that follow. It’s only a matter of time before the first frost descends.

What better way to conclude the summer than by browsing through the poems of James Whitcomb Riley. I’ve written about him before. Few writers capture the sense of nostalgic Americana than does Riley. Themes of nature, seasons, family, and friends make Riley one of America’s most recognizable poets. His sentimental style and countrified lingo recall a simpler, bygone era.

The intellectual climate in America today may be measured by academia’s focus on sexuality and sexual fads -- gay marriage, gender studies, and do-your-own-thing promiscuity. Little wonder families increasingly seek alternatives to government schools.

Again, what should be taught? Contemporary education could incorporate the latest shake-and-bake theories of education laced with politically correct themes of ethnicity, gender, self-esteem, revisionist history, adulterated literature, and dumbed down math and science.

Or, education could embrace classical themes on which Americans built a vibrant beacon to the world including mathematics, natural and physical sciences, logic, rhetoric, classical literature and poetry, history, philosophy, economics, and music.

Military wokeness as an ideological movement starts at the top, the White House and the Department of Defense (DoD), before being imposed on the troops. It fills a vacuum in young people who were never taught sound American history. Liberal leftists and progressives see wokeness as a good thing. It enhances a person’s "wakefulness" to so-called “social injustice” allegedly widespread in the US. Under the pretext of wokeness they proceed to tear down longstanding institutions woven into the US social fabric and intend to replace these elements with an artificial social and political concoction.

A Book Review of 

Give Speech A Chance: Heretical Essays

on What You Can't Say or Even Think

by

Harley Price, Ph.D.

(hardcover, FGF Books, 2022)

A few days ago, the Honorable Ken Starr died of complications from surgery. Starr was a legal giant for decades in Washington, D.C. and later entered the world of higher education. In 2015, while he was president of Baylor University, Starr came to Grove City College to give an address at the inauguration of the Honorable Paul J. McNulty ’80. In this tribute, McNulty reflects on over 30 years of knowing Starr—a mentor, a colleague, and a friend. McNulty writes, “If life was baseball, Ken Starr was Albert Pujols and I was a September call-up. Yet in every interaction I had with him, he never made me feel small or unworthy. He was unfailingly gracious, even to the point of seeking my thoughts on challenging issues.”

This piece is dedicated to some of a younger generation short on wisdom who are perpetually offended by imaginary transgressions in the name of the “social justice” fairytale.

In George Orwell’s classic “1984,” the inhabitants of Oceania were encouraged to adopt Newspeak, a language inhibiting speaking, writing, and thought opposed to the ruling dictate.

In the US, some favor WokeSpeak while others reject it. To the Right, WokeSpeak endeavors to control people's thoughts and actions. If you don't conform to WokeSpeak, you will be canceled. On the other hand, Liberals see "Wokeness" as a good thing. It enhances your "wakefulness" to so-called “social injustice” all around.

What to do about the intrusion of WokeSpeak? Be kind responding with satire and comedy. Gently ridicule with a laugh. Portray WokeSpeak as the farce that it is. And remember, the pen and the internet video are mightier than the sword. English is too rich a language to cavalierly pollute.

Recently I read an essay in the “Claremont Review of Books,” a journal published quarterly by the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy, a steal for $19.95 a year. The essay “Voting Rights and Wrongs” by Charles R. Kesler, editor of the Review, was too rich not to share.

In a word, Kesler traces the history of voting rights from the end of the Civil War up through a disturbing trend promising an ill future for democratic elections.

What follows is a digest of Kesler’s article. He identifies a first, second, and third generation of voting rights measures to denote a manipulative progression of change overtime.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, died yesterday at the age of 91. This morning, the media is covering his passing with tributes to his political career and his involvement in ending the Cold War. In this article that first appeared at The American Spectator, Ronald Reagan scholar Dr. Paul Kengor discusses something often overlooked: Gorbachev’s faith. Kengor writes, “I have written so much about Gorbachev, in so many articles and books, that it’s just impossible to try to sum up the man’s life and legacy. Where to begin? It’s a daunting task, but I think I can add two worthwhile things that others will ignore or get wrong in their tributes to Gorbachev.”

When does political bias become bigotry and racism? And how do we recognize it? In this article, Dr. Luke Conway discusses recent political attacks that appear to have crossed the political bias line. To illustrate what is going on, Conway details two recent studies that shed light on the alarming trend.

President Biden’s administration with its Open Borders policy solidified its partnership with Mexican cartels. Cartels are the Democrat Party’s new best friend making billions of dollars from drugs and human trafficking while Biden’s administration grooms new voters by not enforcing the law.

Indeed, the US faces a crisis of unprecedented proportions at the southern border. Overwhelmed by adult and underage migrants, cabinet-level Democrat officials knowingly forfeit control of the border. Illegals from 160 different countries are released into the US with a “promise” to return some day for a court hearing. US officials cannot track the illegals once released. But cartels in the US can. They regularly extract payment from illegals’ wages for unpaid transit debts. Meanwhile, deadly drugs flow across the border in a deluge killing over 100,000 Americans last year alone.

Are Christians too nice? Is being nice just a cloak for cowardice? Many popular Christian pastors, professors, and writers have recently been debating these questions in the public square. In this article, author Lewis Waha outlines the debate and argues that all Christians share common ground: kindness. He writes, “Kindness always admits of speaking hard truths in love. At the same time, not every effort to avoid offending others is cowardice. As the proverb goes, discretion is the better part of valor.”

Recently, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has brokered a “compromise” on one of the most controversial issues of the day: which sexual expressions the churches in the Anglican Communion should allow. In this article, Dr. Joseph Horton asks, “How does one compromise irreconcilably different positions?” Horton examines the solution proposed by Archbishop Welby and argues that Biblical teaching is the only standard by which any doctrine should be judged.

Americans (and probably most Europeans) are finding themselves dependent upon a medical establishment that does not have their health and well-being as a primary focus anymore.  The medical  business has morphed from a humanitarian, service-oriented profession of skilled practitioners who truly sought solutions and cures into a money-grasping colludor with giant pharmaceutical companies and their partners in government, to fleece the public while skipping the health-care part.  I have run into some argument from people when I have said this, but just like the evidence that the vaccines* are not safe or effective, the evidence is mounting that the medical establishemtn couldn't care less - as long as they stay on the right side of government and Big Pharma.  It is a tragedy, to be sure.  But where once doctors consulted the science and sought remedies and cures for people's ills, now they evaluate them on a political expediency scale.  If they are complaining about after-effects of COVID vaccines* they will more likely be shamed and cast out than helped.  When hospitalized for COVID, patients are generally denied helpful and proven drugs like Ivermectin, but forced onto ventilators and given Remdesivir, which many experts are now claaiming is killing the patients who take it.  Doctors who take excpetion to these protocols are very likely to be severely punished.  

How should Americans regard the January 6 so-called “insurrection” and the hearings conducted by the very, very select members of the US House of Representatives? The official committee title comes pejoratively billed as “United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.” Of the nine committee members, Nancy Pelosi selected seven Democrats and two Republicans. She nimbly stacked the deck selecting Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who had voted to impeach Donald Trump. Watch this investigation vainly search for a crime.

This hearing is not the first hoax. Context helps. What follows takes us down memory lane.

You know the old joke: How can you tell when a politician is lying? When his/her lips are moving. That extreme cynicism about politicians is reinforced by the recent passage of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In addition to being the most egregiously misnamed act in memory (more on that below), the dishonest statements made by its supporters have been breathtaking in their brazenness.

Question: Do federal departments or agencies exist to support the citizens? Or is it the other way around?

From the number of federal agencies operating within our constitutional government there has emerged a crossbreed or amalgamation of sorts called the administrative state. This hybrid combines the legislative, judicial, and executive functions within individual entities in opposition to the principle of separation of powers.

I have been reading Alexis De Tocqueville “Democracy in America”.  I have a confession to make, “I am distressed because the America Tocqueville writes about is on the verge of extinction”.

Why, you might, ask? When he wrote about America in the early 1830-40’s he compared the result of America’s revolution to that of France.  Democracy in America was built on everyday people’s involvement and decision making (bottom up), while France was monarchial/king (top down).

Bottom line: A corporation can’t be all things to all people. To survive and to prosper, corporations need to focus on satisfying their customers and those to whom they have fiduciary and moral responsibilities, i.e., their shareholders and employees. To get swept up in the latest CSR or ESG fad is bad business. By pursuing partisan political goals instead of traditional business goals, business leaders offend some consumers, demoralize or anger some employees, and poorly serve their shareholders. Since consumers, employees, and shareholders are the members of society that a business affects most directly, it follows that sacrificing their welfare in the name of certain activists’ cause hurts society. In practice, ESG can be very antisocial.

If we are looking for someone to blame for the murder of our Constitutional government, we should not stop with the chiefs.  We need to look further.  We need to understand that without the complicity of the so-called "little guys" there would be no tyranny.  It is just the same as it was in Soviet Russia, in the France of Louis XVI and the same as it is in China today.  If the big shots can't get the complicity of the bottom feeding plebians, in other words, the FBI agents, the IRS agents and their ilk, who do the door-kicking, they are out of business.  It really is that simple.  And that complex.

Well, it's not your Granny's Elliot Ness anymore.  The FBI, now infamous for its part as agent provocateur in the January 6 protest in Washington, it's abuse of prominent conservatives and Trump supporters like Peter Navarro - whom they put in leg irons at an airport, raided former president Donald Trump's home in Florida this week, kicking out him and his family and his attorneys, presumably so they could plant "evidence" and have fun fondling Melania's underwear.  How long are we going to tolerate this?  We have a KGB organization ranging about now, terrorizing American citizens in their own homes.  Domestic terrorism, it turns out actually is our most urgent threat, but the terrorists are our government.  Time to put an end to this.  Our so-called "three-letter agencies" are creating havoc wherever they light - the CIA is stirring up World War III while our EPA is shutting down our industry.  Our FBI is now front stage center with its Gestapo tactics.  If we don't stop them they will be on our own doorsteps - depending upon whom we support, of course.  The Clinton, Biden, Pelosi and Obama crime families are untouched, of course.  That's what is meant by "weaponizing" our government.

As stated previously, we owe it to ourselves to value good reasoning, spot bad reasoning, and avoid being taken in by those who would use us for their personal gain. Last week we looked at two major categories of logical fallacies: 1) avoiding the question and 2) making assumptions. Each had their respective variations.

Two additional categories of logical fallacies require consideration: 3) statistical fallacies and 4) the broad category of ordinary, everyday propaganda.

Upset and disappointed, many felt betrayed when Senator Joe Manchin cut a deal with ultra-left-wing colleague Chuck Schumer and created the laughably named "Inflation Reduction Act." Yet anyone thus aggrieved should consider a simple fact: As of June 2 of last year, Manchin had voted with Joe Biden 100 percent of the time.

That’s 100 percent — as in voting with Nancy Pelosi every time.

And he has voted with the Democrats over his career’s course approximately 80 percent of the time.

Oh, don’t be surprised. Here’s the reality: No matter how conservative or liberal a politician seems on the campaign trail, no matter compelling his rhetoric, no matter how outside-the-box he appears, he’ll virtually always vote with his party the vast majority of the time. (This is especially true of Democrats.)