MINOT, N.D. — Pay for public officials, as an issue, has always been a handy can of gasoline for a certain breed of obnoxious populist ninny to pour on the fires of public discord. It is fashionable among the hoi polloi to dislike those in elected office (forgetting, I suppose, the identity of the idiots…
Prosecutor Sues Judge in Bizarre DUI Case Before North Dakota Supreme Court
MINOT, N.D. — Why would a state prosecutor sue a district court judge? Well, it’s complicated but in a nutshell, the prosecutor thinks North Dakota’s prisons are being too easy on repeat DUI offenders, and he’s undertaken a unique strategy to keep those offenders in county jails where they serve more time. In State of North…
We Cannot Let Children Be Hurt So That Priests Can Keep Their Vows
MINOT, N.D. — A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Bismarck is looking to change an exemption to North Dakota’s mandatory reporter law established for clergy. Sen. Judy Lee, a Republican from Fargo, has introduced Senate Bill 2180. Co-sponsoring it are two other Republicans (though at least one, Rep. Mike Brandenburg of Edgeley, has withdrawn his support) as well as two…
Trump Must Still Be Convicted
The conviction would still matter. Many Trump apologists would have us believe that the impeachment and pending conviction vote are pointless now that Trump has left office. They’d like us to believe that these things are just exercises in the sort of petty partisan politics that have become rote in Washington, D.C. They are wrong.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Hoeven, Cramer, Armstrong Are Wrong to Oppose Trump’s Impeachment and Removal From Office
MINOT, N.D. — Congressman Kelly Armstrong has already voted against impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives. In his floor speech, Armstrong referred to, but did not articulate, “serious constitutional questions about these articles.” In previous statements about impeachment, Armstrong has argued that impeaching disgraced President Donald Trump a second time is too “divisive” for a nation that needs…
Let’s Talk About ‘whataboutism’
MINOT, N.D. — Participate in a political debate long enough, and you’re bound to hear the term “whataboutism.” Or “bothsideism.” Or “false balance.” These are terms used to describe a situation when someone is trying to mitigate, in some way, something they or someone they support did by pointing out similar behavior from their opponents. It’s…