Dakota Beacon

Earlier this year, the social media application Parler was removed from all major app stores rendering the app unfunctional. Quickly, debate began about big tech censorship and calls to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—an act that protects websites for deleting content, even where that content is protected by the First Amendment. In this article, Dr. Brian Dellinger examines the situation and argues there may be a better solution than repealing Section 230. He writes, “Perhaps the best of a set of bad options is to reconsider the role of antitrust laws. At issue in all the cases above is the ubiquity of the big tech firms: that decisions by a small group of companies can render information meaningfully unreachable or invisible.”

Yesterday we finally heard the verdict of the jury in the case of Derek Chauvin, who allegedly killed George Floyd.  Yesterday we also learned of another unfortunate killing of an individual in Columbus, Ohio.  The latter was also a case of a white police officer acting, this time to save the life of an intended stabbing victim.  The question - which should not even be a question at all - is whether we want to discontinue the custom of "innocent until proven guilty" - the backbone of our system of justice and a pillar of our society.  

Rules governing the conduct of elections, which are constitutionally entrusted to the various state legislatures, should remain the prerogative of the states.

H.R. 1 would micromanage the election process at the federal level imposing unnecessary, unwise, and unconstitutional mandates on the states. It would reverse the decentralization of the American election process essential to our liberty and freedom. It would implement nationwide the worst changes in election rules that occurred in 2020 and further damage or eliminate basic security protocols. Given the vulnerabilities and security weaknesses in the U.S. registration system, HR 1’s automatic registration threatens to make this problem much, much worse.

THE CHESS GAME CONTINUES; A YEAR TO AN ANSWER; CAUTION; LOTS OF MONEY SEEKING A HOME; VACCINE SHY; STAND YOUR GROUND; SOUTH DAKOTA HOMICIDES; CHRIS MAGNUS; NATIONAL OFFICE FOR MAGNUS; CRYPTO CURRENCIES; DAKTOIDS

Pinocchio’s nose grew long when he lied, a telltale sign. So does the collective nose of the legacy media. Mainstream media (MSM), left wing media, corporate media, big media – whatever you wish to dub the elitist press -- regards itself as the fourth estate but acts like a fifth column. CBS, NBC, ABC, CNBC, CNN, NPR, PBS, New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Times. Add Vox, Axios, Slate, and Huffington Post to the list as wannabes.

We once had a president who was not afraid of the media. He called them out when they misrepresented, when they omitted, and when they conjured. He did not cower before the press as do some “moderate” Republican toadies who are scared to death of news stories critical of themselves.

More and more people are seeing the truth. Many have known it for decades – the media and their elected Democrat sycophants are not to be trusted.

Recently, yet another hedge fund, Archegos Capital, was forced to liquidate huge amounts of blue-chip stock holdings. The damage was severe: causing several large stocks to plummet and leaving at least three banks with financial hardships. In this article, economist Dr. Mark Hendrickson asks: Are hedge funds rogue institutions that should be banned? He writes, “Hedge funds have an enormous image problem. We only seem to hear about them when one blows up or when a headline trumpets that a hedge fund manager paid a record-breaking price for some property.”

TOUGH TIMES FOR FARGODOME; VIRUS CASES CENTERED IN FOUR LARGEST ND CITIES; ND TAXABLE SALES AND PURCHSES DOWN; DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR ND LEGISLATORS; THE BASTIAT CAUCUS; FARGO-MOORHEAD SURGE OF WORKERS; JAMESTOWN BUFFALO CITY PARK; JUSTICE IN INDIAN COUNTY; WILLISTON DURING THE OIL BOOM; CHEATED!; A LITTLE SLOWING; DAKTOIDS

A recent article published in the journal Nature, highlighted disturbing research at the University of Pittsburgh: skin, taken from aborted fetuses, was grafted onto rodents to produce rat-human skin hybrids. In this article, Dr. Paul Kengor asks: Doesn’t anyone care about ethics anymore? Kengor writes, “It isn’t a pretty picture. If it offends you, well, it should. That’s all the more reason for me to report on this and you to know about it. Silence in the face of this can serve as acquiescence.”

The Trump administration created a policy called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). This was a workaround to a choice between separating minors from adults (bad) or allowing a policy that created an incentive for evil doers to convey kids on a dangerous journey (worse) where violence was commonplace and upwards of two-thirds of women and girls were raped.

The MPP, also called the Remain in Mexico Policy, stated that adults crossing with related children would be placed in Mexico instead of the US. This allowed the families to remain together while removing the incentive for bad people to use children as tickets into the US. Under the MPP, if adults were bringing children who were determined to be not related, often trafficked, the unaccompanied children would still be housed in the US but the adults would be forced out.

The result of Biden’s rollback of MPP was entirely predictable. Once again children are pawns used as tickets into the US through a dangerous journey.

MYSTERY MINE BUYER; A CONTRARY VIEW ON CARBON CAPTURE; A LOSS IS A LOSS; TAPPING THE LEGACY FUND; CAUTIONS FOR THE LEGACY FUND; FARMERS ARE BULLISH; POINTING A FINGER AT BASKETBALL; PICKING UP THE  PIECES; THE DETROIT PIPELINE; WAY TO GO DARRELL; VERN PETERSON; ESCAPE HATCH; VICTIMS OF THE PANDEMIC; DAKTOIDS

In a few days we will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But for Christians, the week leading up to Easter Sunday—Holy Week—holds tremendous significance. In this article that first appeared at The American Spectator, Dr. Paul Kengor reflects on Holy Week and the hope that it ends upon. He writes, “And alas, though the week is filled with sorrow, we must above all remember how it ends. Even as we share in Christ’s agony, including that cold Saturday when he was in the tomb, the week ends with hope.”

A wayward and rebellious people could be restored to a right relationship with their Creator if only the kingdom of Self would be replaced by the kingdom of God in the hearts of people. Sin and the sin nature of rebellion against God, of “doing one’s own thing,” could be expunged and replaced by Christ’s nature. All sense of placing one’s self first above God would be displaced.

And Jesus said, “…The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21-22) Paul’s definition: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17) If permitted, Christ rules in that kingdom. In this way God the Father may be glorified by each believer through His indwelling Son made manifest day by day. The resurrection of Jesus Christ signifies more than just going to Heaven in the sky in the sweet bye-and-bye. It starts now!

This should not be offensive to anyone. It’s what Easter is all about. May the reality of the indwelling Christ be genuine this Easter in the life of all believers.

Things and people are not always what they seem or what they wish to present to us.  Ben Shapiro has been trading on a conservative persona, preaching about the Constitution, his devotion to John Adams and the other Founding Fathers, the principles of freedom, blah, blah, blah.  But scratch the surface and you find . . . a surprising echo of Nazi Germany.  Don't pass this off, don't feign outrage that he should be called out for this strange resemblance to a despised regime.  What was it the Nazis did, again?  Oh - they performed ghastly medical experiments on human beings, captive human beings who had no self-agency and with no "informed consent".  It's why following their defeat in WWII, the whole world agreed to a code of ethics that this would never happen again.  The Nuremberg Code.  Check it out.  Fast forward to young Ben Shapiro, known to us as the world's youngest syndicated columnist.  Well, he's been at it now for quite some time.  He's written numerous books about American values and freedom and all that stuff.  Yet here he is.  Pushing with all his might for UNIVERSAL FORCED VACCINATION.  Go figure.

BRANSON BOCHENSKI; A LOST DECADE FOR GRAND FORKS; GF NOT ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT FEDERAL RECLASSIFICATION; IS THIS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM?; TAPPING THE ND LEGASY FUND; PERFECT ACT SCORES; A HIPPO AND 99 MORE; RED RIVER FISH STORY; DID SD WIN IT BET?; WHY SOMALI IN MINNESOTA?; DAKTOIDS

Earlier this month, Rev. Dr. John C. Polkinghorne—theoretical physicist, theologian, and Anglican priest—died at the age of 90. In this tribute to Polkinghorne’s life, Dr. Glenn Marsch recalls his time studying with Polkinghorne at Calvin College.

A few random quotes illustrate a society cascading downward to a new cultural low ground. Should we laugh – or should we cry? Take a look.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of two students who sued their public college over restrictive free speech policies on campus. Many national groups who work for free speech and religious liberty celebrated the ruling. In this article, Constitutional scholar Dr. John Sparks looks at the case and the wide range of support it garnered. Sparks’ writes, “Just how widespread the support is for allowing nominal damages cases can be seen by examining the political diversity of the organizations filing amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs in this case in support of the petitioning students. Seldom does one find organizations like the ACLU, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, and the Institute for Justice joining together in a single brief supporting the position of the Alliance Defending Freedom.”

Just like clockwork, another mass shooting crops up as an underscore for the demented gun laws proposed - no, threatened - by the illegitimate Joe Biden administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress.  This isn't even news.  It's old news.  We see this every time.  And it's never the fault of the killer or the fault of people who, like accessories during the fact, stand by and let the shooter have free rein.  It's always the law-abiding citizen who wasn't even there, or worse, the gun used, that is at fault, never the person who pulled the trigger.  In the case of the instant Boulder, Colorado, incident, blame should go to Al Issa, the shooter.  A large portion of blame should be reserved for George W. Bush, under whose failed administration this perpetrator was admitted to our country, and a few crumbs of blame should be sprinkled liberally over those who might have stopped this jerk with a bullet but instead stood by or cowered behind the canned goods.  Shame on them all.  

Worse by far than COVID have been all of the things our governents and society have done in response to it.  We have spun a mere virus which causes illness with near 100% recovery rate into the dissolution of most of our freedoms.  Now there is evidence that the PCR tests are a cancer risk.

A reprobate woman worth $30 million must be protected from criticism, apparently. Twitter really had to reach for a violation rationale, though, as it sent me the following message:

You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.

For the record, I didn’t actually call the esteemed singer a “slut,” but wrote that she was acting like one. But I’m befuddled: Into which of the above categories does “slut” fall?

NDSU V. UND; NUND HOCKEY; BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED; KEYSTONE XL; FOUNDING FARMERS; FARMING TURN PROFITABLE; THE MINIMUM WAGE; A CHRISTMAS TREE?; PERMANENT DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME; PERCEPTION OF HURT; GRANDMOTHERS OPPOSED TO LINE 3; DAKTOIDS

Today we honor one of western civilizations most prolific artists, a man who profoundly influenced all who came after him in the tradition of western music.  Johann Sebastian Bach was born 336 years ago today, on March 21, 1685.  Here is his story and links to some of my favorite Bach music, from introspective and contemplative pieces to the magnificent and awe-inspiring.  Let's celebrate!