MINOT, N.D. — On June 28, the District 42 chapter of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL posted a pledge on their Facebook page to boycott Facebook ads during the month of July. “Facebook has shown that in the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks and so many others, they idly…
Friday Mailbag: ND Political Polling, Dems Attacking PPP Loans, Accountability for Cops, and the Dakota Access Pipeline
MINOT, N.D. — Remember that old Dick Van Dyke movie about the flying car? The one called “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”? It was one of my favorites when I was a kid, and I always thought the odd name referred to the sound old cars made when starting up. I recently learned the actual origin…
ND Democrats Dunk on Burgum’s Company for Taking a Small PPP Loan
Recently a federal court ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline shut down. That line carries nearly half of all of North Dakota’s oil output. The oil industry pays more than half of all the tax collected by the State of North Dakota. The North Dakota Democratic Party didn’t issue a statement about that, but they had plenty of…
…And That’s Why North Dakota Will Vote for Trump Again
MINOT, N.D. — Not so long ago, I wrote a column in which I wondered if President Donald Trump was losing political favor here in North Dakota. A place which has been, since the dawn of his presidency, one of most ardent bastions of his political base. Then a federal judge ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline emptied.…
Disgraced Fargo PD Officer Will Continue Getting Over $113,000 Per Year From Pension
This is not a good look for the Fargo Police Department at a time when, both locally and nationally, law enforcement is under fire for being reluctant to hold their own accountable. Continue reading…
In Another Blow to North Dakota’s Wellbeing, Judge Orders Dakota Access Pipeline Shutdown Citing Obama-Era Error in Federal Permitting
MINOT, N.D. — “The Court will nonetheless require the oil to stop flowing and 24the pipeline to be emptied within 30 days from the date of this Opinion and accompanying Order.” Those are the words of Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee who has been presiding over the long-running legal dispute over the Dakota Access…
Social Media Justice Seems a Lot Like Mob Justice
MINOT, N.D. — I can’t stop thinking about Kipp Gabriel. Before I read Chris Hagen’s article about his death, I’d never heard of Gabriel despite his regional celebrity as a Fargo-based hip-hop performer. He was found dead this week just days after a group of women took to social media to accuse him of sexual assault, something…
We’re Not Going to Get Much Justice From Cops Investigating Themselves
MINOT, N.D. — In early June, Todd Osmundson, then a deputy chief with the Fargo Police Department, made the astoundingly poor choice to infiltrate, in plain clothes, a rowdy protest inspired by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. As part of is ill-conceived cover, Osmundson chose to carry around what he initially claimed was…
Is Trump Losing Steam in North Dakota?
MINOT, N.D. — There is a growing national weariness when it comes to our president. RealClearPolitics.com runs a useful and widely-referenced aggregator of polling. Of the last 10 surveys it tracked in the 2020 presidential race, not one of them has President Donald Trump leading. Worse, more than half show former Vice President Joe Biden with…
The Defense for Democratic Insurance Commissioner Candidate Travisia Martin Is. . . Unlawful Voting?
MINOT, N.D. — Forgetting about the North Dakota constitution’s five-year residency requirement for statewide elected office is understandable. Lots of people forget about it. Late last year, I wrote a column about Fargo-based Republican Raheem Williams wanting to launch a campaign for treasurer. During my interview with him, he mentioned that he’d been living in North Dakota…