Dakota Beacon

To help commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dr. Paul Kengor explores an often overlooked moment in the history of the wall: A powerful speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. In this intriguing article that first appeared in the Washington Post, Kengor discusses King's message and how it may have deeply impacted those who were there to hear it.

Charles Mills reviews a new book of essays on divorce and remarriage, Remaining in the Truth of Christ. It refutes some of the arguments made by Cardinal Kaspar at the recent Catholic Bishops Synod on the Family.

Herbert W. Stupp reviews Big Tent, a new book on the conservative revolution.

If WAWS cannot fulfill the public water needs, it has no business competing with private businesses for fulfilling the oil industries needs.

Dr. Paul Kengor helps commemorate Veterans Day in this feel-good piece that expresses gratitude to the men and women who have proudly served America. Kengor visits with a WWII veteran who recounts many amazing stories from his time serving our country.

World War I is often remembered as a brutal and futile war. The war certainly changed the political landscape of the world, but often overlooked is how WWI altered the religious landscape across the globe. In this comprehensive review, Dr. Robert Clemm explores Philip Jenkins' book, The Great and Holy War: How World War I Became a Religious Crusade, and notes that Jenkins' work "firmly establishes that WWI did not just reshape the political landscape, but it created the religious world we exist in today."

Midterm elections passed into history on November 4 resulting in a Republican tidal wave victory. Not only did they gain control of the US Senate, but they took additional seats in the US House as well as governorships and state legislatures. Once again the pollsters were befuddled. How could they have not seen this coming?

Leftists and liberals of all stripes share a strange mindset outside the normal pattern of thinking. Their line of thinking too often produces wacky results. Maybe this mindset helps explain the far ranging Democrat defeat that the pollsters could not measure. Here are some illustrations of how liberals think.

As I left the event, I picked up a “Save the Boundary Waters” advertisement openly laid on a table at the top of the stairs, noticing the presence of the Acting Chancellor of the University System who appeared cheery and pleased, as usual as he took his copy.

The back page of the advertisement stated:

“Now this special place is jeopardized by proposals for sulfide-ore mining for copper and nickel – a risky type of mining that has never before been permitted in Minnesota. By-products of sulfide-ore mining include hazardous pollutants such as sulfuric acid and heavy metals, which could permanently ruin the pristine water and unspoiled forests of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. While the proposed sulfide-ore mines are not within the Boundary Waters Wilderness itself, their pollution will flow into the Wilderness and directly damage the Wilderness.”

Several points must be made. First, nowhere on the poster was the “Save the Boundary Waters” mentioned. Secondly, the BSC-produced posters and the venue itself were taxpayer funded.

IT'S EASY TO SUM UP THE ND ELECTIONS; TIME TO REBUILD; MINNESOTA HAD ELECTIONS TOO; COMMON SENSE POLICIES; CIGGIES SLIP ACCROSS THE RED RIVER; HE I-94 MIGRATION; THE STATE OF RURAL MINNESOTA 2014; IS THAT SO?; THE HEAT IS ON TEX; THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE; VISITORS TO ND AIRPORTS; SAY NO MORE; BOASTING?

The Obama administration appears engaged in a purge of senior military personnel throughout the armed forces. The term “purge” is not insignificant. Last year at this time the count was 137. The number has risen to 231 and continues to climb. Years of military excellence and experience are shredded and cannot be easily replaced.

Sequestration, an Obama initiative, reduces the defense force structure across the board and serves to eliminate personnel up and down the ranks without distinction. However, senior personnel who oppose Obama’s social and political agendas can be removed for trivial charges.

CALIFORNIA REFINERIES; DISTURBINGLY VAGUE; TRUST ME; THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER IS DIFFERENT; MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL; OLE AND LENA’S PIZZERIA; THE METAL ARTS FOUNDRY; MARILYN HUDSON IS A HISTORIAN; WHAT THE CANDIDATES SAY; WILLIAMS IS TRIBAL ATTORNEY; ALL IN THE FAMILY; BYPASSES; 

Apparently, snuffing out people deemed unworthy of love and life has become the new norm in Belgium and that should alarm everyone.

This picture suggests that college faculty have expectations that are too low, and/or that college students put a low priority on meeting these educational expectations. It is likely that both of these factors are playing a role. Also, it is likely that the situation will get worse. In college admissions, it is currently a buyer’s market.

“He also reported on a new study showing that the suicide rate among transgendered people who had reassignment surgery is 20 times higher than the suicide rate among non-transgendered people.”

“Dr. McHugh further noted studies from Vanderbilt University and London’s Portman Clinic of children who had expressed transgender feelings but for whom, over time, 70%-80% ‘spontaneously lost those feelings.’”

“And so at Hopkins we stopped doing sex-reassignment surgery, since producing a ‘satisfied’ but still troubled patient seemed an inadequate reason for surgically amputating normal organs,” said Dr. McHugh.

DEVILS LAKE GIRL IS A WINNER; SAYANYTHINGBLOG; THE THREE AFFILIATED TRIBES; WILLISTON’S UNDERSIDE; THE COMMON GOOD; GALLOPING GROWTH; DAKOTA PRAIRIE REFINING; WHO WILL HAUL POTATOES?; THE NATION’S LARGEST LIBERIAN COMMUNITY; TOSS A COIN; MARMATH MONSTER; ONCE YOU’VE FIXED A FEW TIRES; DAKTOIDS 

In this case, air attacks absent a coordinated ground campaign cannot succeed and may do more harm than good.

Can anybody believe these people? No wonder Americans increasingly lack trust and confidence in their government.

One asks oneself, how long before ISIS takes control of the Mall and Capitol in Washington (it might appear to some that they have controlled the other end of the Mall for the past 6 years).  I would think that perhaps one deterrent is that in America, the guy buying the newspaper down on the corner might, just might, have a loaded gun.  You see, all of Canada is, for most intents and purposes, one of those “gun-free” zones, like Utøya in Norway. 

That something is this: What would my life have been like without him at all?

My two sons are adopted. Both of these boys were born to single mothers under the age of 17 in less than desirable circumstances. They could have easily have become statistics had these young women made different choices. When I look at the pictures of these young men on the mantle of my fireplace, I see two young men who have grown into adults.

Two lives.

I have a granddaughter who will turn two this week. She has a full head of beautiful blonde curls and is full of life. When she holds out her arms and runs to me, I can hardly contain myself! When she throws her head back and laughs out loud, I am completely undone.

One life.

These three lives were endowed by their creator with the unalienable right to life. No one has the right or the choice to deprive them of that right to existence. Without life, all other rights become irrelevant.

I am compelled to write to you today because I believe this to be true. I have three reasons in my life who keep this truth in front of me and remind me daily of the importance of life and my duty to do what I can to protect it.

This priest, however, was remembered, by the millions. When he didn’t show for 7:00 a.m. Mass the next morning, his parishioners were immediately alarmed. This wasn’t like the loyal and punctual man of the cloth. A search for his whereabouts quickly commenced.

A DECADE OF RAPID GROWTH; ND’S ECONOMY; CROSS-BORDER DIALOGUE; OVERNIGHTERS; MATTERS GOT WORSE; TUNE IN; CHAOS IN KENSA; IF PASSENGERS WEREN’T ALREADY CONFUSED!; YES, F-M MAY BE VULNERABLE; MORE I-94 MIGRATION; BE MY SISTER; GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS; ARE PHARMACIES DIFFERENT?; THEY’RE BACK In 2011; BOO!; DAKTOIDS

What do you call it when someone in power, with full knowledge of the effects and virulence of a disease, and knowledge of history and science enough to understand the effect of allowing that disease – no, encouraging that disease – to spread and become pandemic?

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.

THE CHIEF OF POLICE IN JAMESTOWN; ND SHOULD DO BETTER; A GIANT SUCKING SOUND - UND; IMPERIAL CASS; PESKY NORTH DAKOTA; BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR; GO FOR IT; FARGO SOMALI; GIVE SOMALIS MORE HELP;  A DIFFERENT VIEW; SURPRISING RESPONSES; MY FAVORITE WHINE; DAKTOIDS