Dakota Beacon

If, as this opinion writer suggests, President Obama has no idea what Foley's murder and the violence in the Middle East is all about, then who does? And if President Obama's limited air strikes against ISIS are not going to stop the violence, what is?

An interview with Grove City College senior, Kayla Murrish . . .

Marriages can only be improved if people are humble enough to know they may need to develop some marriage skills.

Even the most progressive-minded people are beginning to realize that the New Morality has been a disaster, even on its own terms.   It has bred a generation of savages whom it is hard to blame but necessary somehow to control. The surest of social controls, an inner sense of honor, has been denied them by paternal neglect.

. . . A CULTURAL DISASTER; DOUG BURGUM; WATCH OUT! WHY IS HE DOING THIS? POWER FOR MINNESOTA; YOU WILL HATE TO HEAR THIS; THEY WANT TO SHARE; TEACHERS NEED HOUSES; FORTUNES REVERSED; EDSELS FOREVER; DAKTOIDS . . .

Too many Americans, from high school to college and beyond, lack basic knowledge about the history of communism in the 20th century. They are unaware of the crimes and horrors of communism, despite the ideology’s 100 million victims in the last century alone. To combat this unfortunate reality, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (a congressionally recognized organization) has released an important resource for high school students, “Communism: Its Ideology, Its History, Its Legacy.” This curriculum, developed by Dr. Lee Edwards and Dr. Paul Kengor, is intended for public, private, and home schools across the country and features nine key lessons about the individuals and events central to the history of 20th century communism.  

But there may be a snag in that calculation that is designed to make you think you are getting more property tax relief than you really are.

But there is nothing “JV” about ISIS’s methods. We have seen them before, in different clothing: beheadings, impaling, suicide attacks, dying for a higher cause (this time for Allah to establish a caliphate instead of for a Mikado to establish an empire), boundless contempt for others, and commitment to a way of war that, like “Bushido,” resembles a death cult.

SONGS FOR A SOGGY DAY; DAKOTA PIONEERS HAD TO BE RESOURCEFUL; WHAT WOULD ELWYN ROBINSON SAY NOW?; THE OIL BOOM INSPIRES MANY DREAMERS; NOT SO FAST!; REMAIN STEADFAST; WE KNOW WHAT’S BEST FOR YOU, 2014 ACT SCORES, WHERE’S MY LODGE?; LIFE’S NOT SO BAD; DAKTOIDS

Even if it were true that cell phones “cause” these accidents, there is no way to measure how many potential accidents were avoided because of cell phones. It is not sufficient to consider the added risks associated with cell phone use; one must also consider the possibility of added benefits of cell phone use.

What has happened to the black community is spreading like a cancer to the rest of American culture. What made America great -- self-reliance, individualism, and common sense -- is being abolished as public welfare, government bureaucracy, red tape, and government mandates are imposed by a growing swarm of government agents.

And we're not alone. Today Pope Francis has Catholics praying for peace in over a dozen time zones.

Huge massacres and persecutions of Catholics on several continents receive scant public attention as they are drowned out by the noise of the liberal universe.

Critics often remark that editorial writers are quick with condemnation but slow in providing helpful suggestions. This is not the case in this must-read article by Dr. Earl Tilford, who answers the question: “What is a savvy former community organizer and social-justice activist to do when faced with a determined former KGB thug?”

It is no secret that the U.S. economy has grown slowly in the years since the Great Recession of 2008-09. But just how slow has the growth been? In this article that first appeared at The Daily Caller, Dr. Tracy Miller examines nearly 70 years of economic data and points out that, “Over the first five years of Obama’s presidency, the U.S. economy grew more slowly than during any five-year period since just after the end of World War II.”

If it is not "white racism" which causes black-on-black crime, and it may be something other than racism which causes disciplinary disparities and the number of school drop-outs, the breakdown of the black family is a more likely cause for such disparities.

Lauren Bacall is being remembered as a glamorous actress, a star from Hollywood’s Golden Age, and the wife of Humphrey Bogart. These are valid and worth noting as the world reflects upon her life. But was she, like some have suggested, a brave fighter for freedom who confronted McCarthyism and anti-communist “witch hunters” in Washington? In this fascinating article that first appeared at American Spectator, Dr. Paul Kengor examines the facts and details what really happened in October 1947 when Bogie and Bacall went to Washington.

A cautionary tale for ND oil; Kildeer bypass accepted by business people; ND University president "striking out on his own"; South Dakota - #8 most corrupt?; Growing up in Mitchell; Former Fargo Police Chief emerges a s winner in CA; Twin Cities racial equity checklist; Sergeants-at-arms for polling stations, Noor beats the Somolis; Booze and no seatbelts...; ND 125th birthday; Prairie Roses for Uptown thinking; DAKTOIDS

Euphemisms become cynical when used to cover or conceal the misappropriation of funds, illegal behavior and unethical activities. Companies don’t fire people. They “let them go” or place them on “administrative leave.” Nor do companies engage in layoffs. Rather, they “downsize” or conduct “involuntary separations.”

Politicians employ euphemisms in the “gentle sell” to sway their audience and to endear them to voters. Consider the “Affordable Care Act.” Federal, state and local governments give euphemisms a bad name when they use language to obfuscate. As master craftsmen of euphemisms, government agencies tend to grind out verbal inversions of exquisite quality.

English is a rich and versatile language. Recognizing euphemisms can be fun. Understanding euphemisms may protect us from deceit.

Is ISIS an immediate threat to the United States? Can the U.S. stop ISIS without going to war? In this interesting article, Dr. Earl Tilford examines the current situation in Iraq and discusses what the global impact would be if ISIS successfully creates a caliphate in the Middle East.

Christopher Manion asks the bishops to focus on the real refugees - the Iraqi Christians who face the threat of death daily. "While they ignore the extermination of countless Iraqi Christians, our politicians scramble to welcome "refugees" from Central America."

There is a deeper reason. After 9/11, Dick Cheney led a campaign to convert our country's domestic life into a state of siege. The so-called "War on Terror" would last to the generation of our grandchildren, he said, and it required the phenomenal growth of the domestic National Security State. According to Frontline, Cheney even kept the most sensitive (and possibly illegal) surveillance programs from George W. Bush, instead directing his own lawyer, David Addington, to store the records in his private safe.

UND and Fighting Souix timidity; After North Dakota; Minnesota leads Upper Midwest in income, spending growth; Graves was a registered sex offender knowingly accepted by Reinke; Influx of oil workers has brought an increase in cases involving drugs and alcohol; Minnesota’s “arrogant overreach”; Sen. John Hoeven is attempting to arrange a $1 billion loan guarantee; ND Journalism Illuminati; $350 million project brings power from Minnkota’s western ND coal plants; Prostitutes play rough in Fargo; Ebola? in Mineapolis?; First American to die from Ebola resident of Coon Rapids, MN; Food filled backpacks - Harley owners of Jamestown; Jamestown street dance at the “World’s Largest Buffalo"; Daktoids

In fact, assimilation of many of these newcomers isn’t just unlikely, it’s impossible. This is because we have in our midst more than just an ethnic echo chamber — we have a burgeoning nation within our nation.

Indeed, we must find meaning in our retirement. Again, in “The Chosen” Chaim Potok writes, “A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one’s life with meaning.”

Are men and women truly equal? If not, should society continue to push to make them equal? In this must-read article, Dr. Jason R. Edwards examines the response to a recent domestic violence incident involving NFL star Ray Rice and observes that, “Either our love of equality or our embrace of civilization must give way.”

If there was humor in any situation, Phil was the man not only to find it but to magnify it to hilarious dimensions. I can't really describe him, but he was, to put it very pedantically, the functional equivalent of Sir John Falstaff. Think of a Falstaff who had gone straight, studied Aquinas, and retained his sense of humor and imagination, giving a wonderful twinkle to every occasion, and you've got at least the faint idea of Phil.

For California, the adoption of the Common Core standards represents a huge step backward which puts an end to its hard-won standing as having the top math standards in the nation. The Common Core standards will move the U.S. even closer to the bottom in international ranking.

Have we arrived at another new stage in the progressive march? In light of the reaction to the recent Hobby Lobby decision, it is time to revisit the progressive movement’s ever-changing stance on abortion. In this important article that first appeared at American Thinker, Dr. Paul Kengor examines a troubling trend in the evolution of the progressive movement—especially when it comes to vital matters of life and death.

Have you seen the new “short suit?”; Food and Drug Administration ordered all cheese makers to stop using wooden boards on which to age their cheese; Required Phillips to design cakes for same-sex ceremonies but to institute RE-EDUCATION CLASSES for his staff; Barney Frank is free, free indeed; World’s first “throuple.” Doll, Kitten and Brynn Young are now a married threesome; Meanwhile, congressmen and senators have returned home on vacation to win your hearts and minds

Boom is stabilizing and the mix of job openings is shifting, Oil tax money and ND "hub cities", Fargo - Forbes list of Best Small PLaces for Business in America, WSJ - Fastest-Growing Airports Are in ... North Dakota, Lloyd Omdahl - reluctance to accept huddled masses, Jack Dalrymple - hard work and integrity of the Norwegian people, Rob Port - ND's most conservative and liberal towns, Ralph Kingsbury - ND will consist of three "Dakotas", And - he had a friendly face, A quite man made his mark, Snooper's Tons of Fun - and handcuffs, Jesse Ventura - underdog