Dakota Beacon

Donald Trump's behavior has been puzzling to many of us, as has that of his adherents.  What, we wonder, as the indictments mount, are they thinking?  It's not that there is any merit in these indictments, of course.  Trump is being prosecuted for protected free speech under the First Amendment.  It is an honored American tradition for citizens as well as candidates to question election results and call for recounts.  There is never any excuse in indicting anyone for any statements, whether we agree or not - and, just for the record, a whole lot of us do question the 2020 election.  But it seems that no one anywhere is actually doing anything about any of this injustice.  Why not?  Is Trump running a different kind of campaign from what we have all assumed?  It's worth thinking about.

Ask any American what they value most about the US and they would likely reply with one word: “freedom.” This would be the freedom to live as one pleases without being monitored, persecuted, or manipulated. It is the freedom to express oneself without fear of retaliation and the freedom to earn a living based on one’s own merits.

This brings to mind the antithesis of freedom, namely totalitarianism. How does American culture today measure up to freedom versus totalitarianism? Here are a few instances to think about.

Much is being said right now about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. The reason, of course, is the new film on Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan. The film has opened old debates and wounds about Oppenheimer’s communist sympathies and loyalties. That’s something that I know a good deal about and should write about separately. But for now, I thought I could relate something altogether more unique and perhaps more historically valuable. It involves a man who was very critical and suspicious of Oppenheimer’s politics, and for daring to voice those concerns, has been vilified by leftists in a way that Oppenheimer never was. This man, too, was a brilliant physicist and likewise a founder of the bomb, a fusion rather than fission bomb; that is, the hydrogen bomb.

Of the nearly 80 people since Alexander Hamilton to hold the office of secretary of the treasury of the United States, my choice for the best of them is Andrew Mellon of Pittsburgh (1855–1937). From 1921 to 1932, Andrew William Mellon served Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover as treasury secretary. Only two other individuals in American history held the office longer than his 10 years and 11 months. Mellon’s business prowess before that was legendary.

Earlier this month the King’s College in New York City announced it was canceling classes for the fall semester, laying off most of its faculty and staff, and struggling to recover its recently revoked academic accreditation. The fate of Manhattan’s most prominent Christian Evangelical college — a school rooted in the political and literary canon of Western civilization — is uncertain.

Old school civility has expired. What better place to observe societal rancor than from the top down. Starting with our political leaders in their decision-making schemes and amplified through the media, their contemptuous behavior bodes ill for society in particular and culture in general. Everyday life at ground level smells of wokesterism. With the upsurge of social justice warriors and climate change activists, who needs good manners and civility? Who needs decorum and propriety when Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and assorted race baiters hold sway? No need. To be sure, the growing lack of self-control and blurred moral convictions combined with a greater polarization and secularization of society reflects a culture in regression.

On Aug. 2, 1923, President Warren Harding unexpectedly fell ill and died while visiting San Francisco. Five hours later, America had a new president: Calvin Coolidge, a man driven by humility, respect, civility, and compassion. At 2:47 a.m. on Aug. 3, 1923, Coolidge was sworn into the highest office by the light of a kerosene lamp in the humble sitting room of the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. A Bible belonging to his late mother, who took her final breath in a room just steps away, sat on the small table as his father, Col. John Coolidge, read from a copy of the Constitution and administered the oath of office.

The Dobbs decision striking down Roe v. Wade has led to shrill outcries by providers of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy. Both are lucrative, high-growth commercial industries enjoying increasing demand, thanks in part to rising infertility and late pregnancy among folk in income brackets able to pay for these services. Many of those involved in this industry are alarmed that their “market growth” and profitability are threatened by abortion restrictions and are willing to publicly say so. Others have argued that state bans will likely exclude abortion restrictions that will significantly impact these industries.

For casual reading on long summer days, here are some pithy quotes from familiar folks. They recall old-school values aligned to the traditional way of thinking.

The following selection of axioms bears reconsideration in light of today’s cultural environment. Humorous or serious, they offer wisdom gleaned from experience. With a little effort, anyone can find similar aphorisms by noodling around the internet. Suggested sites include brainyquote.com, rightwingnews.com, and refseek.com to name a few.

The latest abysmally low birth rates from North America, Europe, and Asia continue to alarm business leaders and policy makers, as well they should. Yet for decades, many of these same hand-wringing elites and policy wonks have been pushing contraception and abortion with the intensity of engineers shoveling coal into speeding trains. And not just to help married folk space, delay, or limit childbearing. No, they want every adult to be able to have sex with as many people as they want, as often as they wish, regardless of marital status, without having any babies they don’t choose.

One of the several reasons for writing The Passing Scene includes exercising my brain as I age. Medical literature encourages older folks to exercise their brain to help to stave off mental decline such as dementia. Solving puzzles, learning a language, reading, and writing all fit the category of mental exercise.

That said, many of you know I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I accepted Christ as a college freshman in 1962. Blessed with a curious and questioning mind, I soon asked, “What now? Is that all there is?” In retrospect I thought I had joined the “White Knuckle Club” – be good, go to church, hang on until I die, then go to heaven, and that is all there is. Boy, did I have a lot to learn!

There is no question that Donald Trump was a popular president.  He was going to be a breath of fresh air.  He was going to "drain the swamp".  That the election of 2020 was rigged is really not even a question.  We know it was.  We also know that Trump has been targeted - both by the Biden administration and by his own bureaucracy - politically.  Could it be that it's the one sure way to get him nominated?  One has to wonder, knowing what we do about backlash.  It's a possibility, at least.  He would be very unlikely, if elected again to do any draining.  The bureaucrats and the people who don't want the bureaucracy disturbed, but want to see it grow out of our reach, have nothing to fear from Trump.  It is DeSantis they really fear, not Trump.  Trump is their "good guy".  He proved himself the first time around.  If you doubt it, just take an objective, hard look at exactly what he did.

Should a serious candidate for the presidency really be required to know anything about the Constitution?  If he doesn't, why would he not go about violating it if elected?  This might be a good question to mull over as the 2024 campaign season begins to unfold.  Republicans have an opportunity.  The only real challenger at this point to the juggernaut of the Trump Resurrection Campaign is Ron DeSantis.  He has been roundly criticized by Trump supportes, and Trump himself, as being "disloyal".  After all, he supposedly owes his whole political career to one Donald Trump.  It seems that if Trump ever endorses anyone he believes he has bought them, like a new toy.  He is angered if for any reason the person does not become his vassal.  He displayed this when he told the world he would no longer support Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, not because she has not been a great governor overall, in Iowa, but because she did not endorse him before the campaign even started.  She dared to reserve her support for a candidate this early.  In the case of DeSantis, sure, he was endorsed.  He won by less than 7 points in that race.  But after a term in office, building upon his own success in that office, he was re-elected with a 20 point margin.  That 13 points belong to him alone.  You cannot buy a person by endorsing him.  In North Dakota, especially, we should be aware of that.  Conservatives who supported Kevin Cramer found that they had elected just one more neocon RINO.  It happens.  So Trump's feelings are crushed by DeSantis.  He must have some deep insecurities to attach such importance to this kind of "loyalty".  He must assume that these people owe loyalty to him, not to those who voted them into office.  Oh, well.  That is Trump.  Because he has no over-arching political philosophy.

Undoubtedly you heard that several days in early July were the “hottest days ever” for good old Planet Earth. The source of that story was an entity called Climate Reanalyzer, affiliated with the University of Maine. It is worth noting that even the federal government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which usually supports the global warming narrative, hastened to point out that the figures cited by Climate Reanalyzer were unofficial and based on computer climate programs, not actual measurements. Hmmm…

Liberals have little sense of humor when it comes to their pet issues. They simply cannot and will not tolerate any criticism. Liberals typically go berserk when anyone mocks, ridicules, or satirizes their cherished ideological treasures. Their gems range from climate change to animal rights to equal opportunity to government giveaways and much more.

That said, the Left should know better than anyone else the effects of ridicule and satire. One of their own codified ridicule. Saul Alinksy's Rules for Radicals encouraged the use of ridicule against one's enemies. Rule #5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.” For my discussion, however, “ridicule” might be too strong. Try synonyms such as parody, mock, or make fun of.

That’s where the Babylon Bee comes in.

Everyone is searching for a calling but no one knows why they work. What is the purpose of work? How does one find true meaning, satisfaction & fulfillment through employment? In this article, Dr. James Thrasher helps to answer those questions and more.

Last week NATO leaders met in Vilnius to make their pronouncement as to Ukraine's application for membership.  The choice was clear to them - either admit Ukraine to NATO membership and then commence World War III . . . or just postpone the whole miserable thing and kick it all down the road.  They chose the latter, to the wrath of the little goblin, Volodymyr Zelinskyy, who threw a tantrum at the news.  A better idea for that Vilnius conference would have been to dissolve the so-called "defense pact" then and there.  It is obsolete and worse than that, it is now an instrument of war-making.  Much as we saw at the inception of World War I, a treaty is the root of a possibly catastrophic world war again.  As for America, we have other fish to fry.  We have no business in Ukraine and never have had.  If we do all in our power to provoke our perceived rival, equal or superior to us militarily at this point in time, should we expect a good outcome?  What we are practicing with regard to Russia right now is nothing less than abject xenophobia toward the Russian people and mindless hatred of their elected leader.  It's insane and it will bring us down as it is already bringing down Ukraine.

At a recent conference, Pope Francis and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni agreed that birth rates need to increase, but why do they ignore the need to increase marriage rates? In this article that first appeared at Crisis Magazine, Dr. David Ayers examines the data and argues that today is the perfect opportunity for the message to be heard and acted upon. He writes. “Now is the time for the Catholic Church to step forward to promote marriage and childbearing together, in the land of the Eternal City, while the momentum, the cultural and political winds, are favorable, and before the situation becomes hopeless.”

America’s all-volunteer military force is 50 years old as of July 1 accounting for five decades without a draft. Defense of the United States has relied on that small 1% of our citizens who choose to serve in the armed forces. This in the face of an increasingly hostile and unfriendly world, i.e., China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and others.

Attracting new recruits to fill the ranks has become much more challenging. Recruiters face the twin challenges of historically low eligibility and low interest among young Americans. Just 9% of Americans aged 16-21 expressed a willingness to consider a military career in 2022 down from the pre-pandemic norm of 13%. A whopping 77% of young people in the U.S. would not be able to join even if they wanted to. Obesity, lack of education, and criminal or drug abuse records are the principle disqualifiers according to data from both the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Is the Supreme Court reestablishing respect for property rights in America? Two recent cases before the court examined protecting property owners from governmental overreach. In this article that first appeared at The American Spectator, constitutional scholar Dr. John Sparks reviews the rulings handed down in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency and Tyler v. Hennepin County. Sparks writes, “Thirty years ago, James W. Ely hinted that perhaps the Supreme Court was ‘poised for a significant revival of interest in property rights.’ He was right to have reservations about that happening soon. These two new decisions, however, may be a foray intended to begin to restore property rights.”

Once again Independence Day brought picnics, parades, and fun for all. After the soda and beer and hot-dogs have been consumed and after the last fireworks crackled in the night, what remained? The Dog Days of summer stretch before us and history closes the books on another Independence Day. A question nags, “Is that all there is?”

After 247 years following the signing of the Declaration of Independence many folks of an earlier generation still reflect on our nation’s quest for freedom and liberty. Eventually a contradiction arises in the minds of settled citizens. If the idea of freedom and liberty is so dear to us, then how do we account for an ever-expanding federal government and its control over our lives and property?

Pointless massacre of innocent people has become the norm.  In America we have daily slaughter in our cities, in our streets.  It has become a standard item now to tally the shootings in Chicago over the weekends.  Our subway stations and fast-food emporia are settings for slaughter.  Perhaps this explains how killing for its own sake seems to have become institutionalized.  Our Senate and House and our White House seem to condone this in many ways.  Our foreign policy reflects the violence we seem to accept here at home, as we continue to pursue a bloody path through Ukraine, led by mad dogs like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell.  That's right - a couple of entrenched Republicans.  Well, right alongside the Bidens and General Milley's military.   Now we know just how wicked this is . . . and how we've bee deceived.

Harari articulates the real views of his WEF fellow travelers. He maintains that human beings lack free will. In the Guardian he wrote, “Unfortunately, ‘free will’ isn’t a scientific reality. It is a myth inherited from Christian theology. Theologians developed the idea of ‘free will’ to explain why God is right to punish sinners for their bad choices and reward saints for their good choices…,” Thus, they reject free will as mere “Christian theology.”

To deny free will is to deny standards of morality as well as faith in God the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Denying free will ultimately becomes a precursor to immoral and hateful schemes that Harari and his ilk justify as answers to the human condition.

Thus, the culture war rages. Old norms don't die easily. They must be killed to achieve the elite’s reframing of freedom as in "Pride." And revolutionary change requires the imposition of cultural, governmental, and corporate power across the population to facilitate that change.

The foolishness in the leadership of our two major political parties calls into question their very relevance to us today.

When we vote selfishly for our and our friends’ benefit, we should expect selfish politicians that mirror such selfishness.  Government was and is necessary to regulate evil; it is an efficient vehicle to punish wrongdoing. Our societal culture of individual responsibility, including the obligation to perform good deeds for others in need, must be re-invigorated and replace our mistaken assumption that considers government to be what it will never be… a benefactor. The goodness that is America is derived from its individual good citizens inspired through “faith in something bigger than ourselves”. This “something bigger” is not an earthly central authority we call government… it is the inherent beauty that comes from within each of us. Some of us call this inner beauty “God”; others deem it nature. Either way, we are surrounded by goodness.

The godless Utopian Marxist concept of “Heaven on Earth” supposedly derived from government threatens to replace beliefs that previously motivated humans to be good on earth in order to receive the “Blessings of Heaven” thereafter. We are doomed if we do not wake up to our individual responsibility to society while discarding self-worship that only leads to the “Hell on Earth” that we are beginning to experience in the Marxist swamp.

Left-wing movements share at least one thing in common. (And LGBTQ is a left-wing movement.) More often than not they are totalitarian in thought and action. It is not enough for some people to freely accept and tolerate LGBTQ. Everyone must be required to celebrate and rejoice in lesbianism, male homosexuality, transgenderism, and queers. That is because no left-wing movement is a tolerant movement. Compliance must be forced – or else! As a minimum, LGBTQ demands celebration displaying the “rainbow” flag and performing publicly at the White House, Veterans Administration, and other federal agencies as well as corporations.

Those of us who came of age before the 1980s were raised in the Western Judeo-Christian tradition. That tradition, although abused and tattered, was still freely accepted as the prevalent view of our sexuality. It was a private matter and we believed that our bodies were our own property, meaning that we should not be touched or controlled sexually without our consent. A person raised with this worldview inevitably believed that this ability to control his or her body was the essence of their individuality. This physical individuality denoted the very opposite of an enslaved person who ultimately lacked control over his own body. Statist regimes, of course, cannot tolerate self-ownership, which is the very antithesis of the government’s control over individuals.

In a democratic republic, it is ultimately the people who take responsibility for their government's actions.  Nominally, then, we use "we" when we talk about our government and its policies.  Maybe this is not accurate in the America of today, where large numbers of citizens believe that our elections are corrupt - in other words, that "we" are no longer in charge of our nation's course.  "We" are no longer at the helm here.  If "we" aren't maybe we should be ashamed that we have let this happen.  If "we" are, then we need to accept responsiblity and get our foreign policy back to sanity and decent moral behavior.

Did you hear there was an earthquake in Fargo Friday?

There have been tremors for the past ten years and they have been intensifying - a foreshadow of the quake.

It was over 9.0 on the Richter Scale!

Generally earthquakes are geological, this one was political!

What happened?

With all the money and emphasis placed on contemporary K-12 education in the United States, where do we stand compared to other nations of the world? Over the past decade multiple research organizations place the United States variously below the top fifteen nations in reading, science, and mathematics. These organizations include the Pew Foundation, The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and The Economist Intelligence Unit associated with the International Business Times.

For a variety of reasons parents have suffered decades of disappointment and dissatisfaction with public education. A growing number of parents have withdrawn their children from traditional schools in favor of home schooling, private or parochial schooling, or charter schooling. This, in turn, has spawned the Classical education movement.

Right now much of Canada is an inferno.  Forest fires are raging in Alberta, Saskatchewan and in Quebec and the Maritimes.  While forest fires are most often normal in nature, part of the cycle, what is happening now is not.  True, we should all be doing more to keep our forests safe by clearing the kind of dead brush that ignites easily, but that won't save us from arsonists.  What is not normal is half of a large Canadian province bursting into flames overnight - and the government lying to citizens about its efforts to fight the fires.  When we see that, the first thing we should look at is the actual result the government seeks.  It is not implausible to suggest that what they want is another excuse to impose totalitarian protocols, using a fake "climate change" story on which to build.  When the smoke clears, what the government wants is a UN presence, a military presence.  Private property and human life be damned.  If this is happening in Canada (and it is) maybe we should be more vigilant at home, whether it is a fire or another artificially stimulated "natural" disaster.