MINOT, N.D. — There are many undemocratic aspects of the American system of government. It was designed that way. These are not bugs, as a coder might say. They’re features. The Senate, for instance, is not a democratic institution. Senators weren’t even popularly elected until the 17th Amendment came along. It usually takes something more than a…
Biden Begins by Kicking Oil Country in the Teeth
Environmental activists may be cheering, but here in North Dakota, an epicenter of support for Trump in no small part because of the belligerence Democrats have shown toward the oil and gas industry, renewed hostility to pipelines means real harm for real people. Continue reading…
Legislature Should Say ‘no’ to Money-Grubbing Municipal Courts
Did you know that most municipal court judges in North Dakota don’t even have law degrees? Continue reading…
Lawmakers Tacitly Admit That Supreme Court Got District 8 Ruling Wrong
House Bill 1461 was introduced by House Majority Leader Chet Pollert and co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, the bosses of the Republican legislative caucus and two of the loudest voices backing Delzer’s not-at-all democratic return to their chambers. What does the bill do? It writes the statute the Legislature claimed, in their legal…
Legislature Should Absolutely Overturn Fargo’s (Already Illegal) Restrictions on Gun Sales
MINOT, N.D. — Some of Fargo’s city leaders need to be reminded that their community is not some autonomous city-state. Fargo is, in fact, a political subdivision of the State of North Dakota. I’m writing in the context of the debate over a Fargo ordinance outlawing transactions for firearms in private homes. We aren’t talking…
Let’s See Violent Pipeline Protesters the Same Way We See Violent Trump Supporters
The problem is not opposing pipelines and oil production, or believing the 2020 election was somehow stolen from Trump, though I, and I suspect many of you, find both positions to be equivalently wrong-headed. The problem is people who have concluded that their cause is so righteous they are justified in scaring and even hurting…
Conservatives Need to Get Out of the Ghetto
No longer feeling welcomed by Hollywood, or our nation’s campuses, or even the national news media, conservatives went and carved out their own space. In some ways, that’s healthy, a perfectly natural reaction to the sort of institutional gatekeeping that was locking conservatives out. It’s also had a curdling effect on the movement. Continue reading…
Mark Western: If I Were Mike Pence
This guest post was submitted by Fargo attorney Mark Western We are at the sunset of the Trump/Pence presidential term. Barring something unforeseen, Donald Trump will remain president until noon on January 20. Prior to getting booted from Twitter, the President made clear his intention not to attend the Inauguration ceremonies, as a final, shattered Presidential norm. …
Mask Mandate Expiration Is Burgum Protecting Emergency Powers
MINOT, N.D. — There is a movement afoot in the Legislature to, by way of various bills, to end Gov. Doug Burgum’s current emergency order, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, and to diminish the emergency powers of the governor’s office going forward. Bastiat Caucus founder and anti-masking zealot Rep. Rick Becker (R-Bismarck) is leading the charge with proposals ranging from…
Catholics Fighting Bill Requiring Priests Report Child Abuse
I cannot imagine a scenario in which any decent human being would, in any circumstance, want to withhold from the appropriate authorities evidence of a child being harmed. Doing so only prolongs the injury or exploitation taking place. Yet the Catholics are out to fight the bill. They’re concerned about priests being required to report…