The North Dakota House of Representatives recently killed a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to create an ethics commission for North Dakota state government. I am not sure if an ethics commission is the answer, but I have a few bridges I would like to sell to those people who say we have no…
Resolution Requiring That Lawmakers Live In Their Districts May Get Death By Study
Way back in 2013 I broke a story about a number of lawmakers – Democrats and Republicans – not living in their districts any more. The impact of that news (I’m told that there are a lot of current lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who have this residency problem) has now manifested itself in…
House Shoots Down Resolution To Form Ethics Committee
It was entertaining today to listen to Rep. Corey Mock (D-Grand Forks) lose his cool on the floor of the state House today while arguing in favor HCR3060 to create a state ethics commission to oversee the Legislative and Executive branches. Why was it entertaining? For one thing, Mock was clearly auditioning for his next…
From the Left: Michele Bachmann Leaves Congressional Subsidy Behind
Tuesday morning, I was shocked to check my morning news feed and find out that Congresswomen Michele Bachmann (R-MN) would leave Congress at the end of her fourth term in office. This is a good thing for all Americans and a great thing for both Republicans and Democrats in Minnesota’s 6th congressional district. Bachmann has…
Congress Quietly Repeals Their Ban On Insider Trading
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act, was a law passed last year designed to prevent insider trading among lawmakers and government officials by requiring them to post disclosures of their financial transactions online. I use the past tense, because the current Congress has very quietly killed it: Both parties and both…
ND House Votes For Stronger Voter ID Law, Kills Democrat Ethics And Transparency Bills
In less than an hour the North Dakota House voted on ten bills related to voting, campaigns and legislative ethics. I’m glad Republicans voted in tougher voter ID laws, and voted to move up campaign disclosure dates, but I think they may have made a real mistake in not approving at least a couple of…
Every Single Democrat Ethics And Transparency Proposal Got A "Do Not Pass" Recommendation Yesterday
At the beginning of the legislative session Democrats introduced a raft of transparency and ethics laws. Some of what Democrats are proposing are very, very bad ideas that would do to facilitate partisan bickering, and hinder free speech, than promote ethics or transparency. HB1444, introduced by Rep. Gail Mooney, would require anyone proposing model legislation…
Fargo-Area Legislators Introduce Resolution Commending NDSU Bison Football Criminals
A group of Fargo-area legislators have introduced HCR3025 commending the NDSU Bison football team, as well as head coach Craig Bohl and NDSU President Dean Bresciani, “for achieving a rare level of dominance in NCAA Division I football.” I’ve never really liked these sort of resolution. These sort of symbolic pats-on-the-head are a waste of…
North Dakota Democrats Introduce Raft Of Ethics Reforms Both Good And Bad
Last year the Fargo Forum took a bribe from the George Soros-funded Center for Public Integrity to help produce a study claiming North Dakota was one of the states in the nation most at-risk for corruption. How much did the Forum take? They’re not telling, but this ridiculous study also managed to conclude that the…
40 Years After Roe Vs. Wade, 28% Of Pregnancies End In Abortion
Today is the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court making abortion a “right,” and since that day there have been some 55 million abortions in America. The United States marks 40 years of legalized abortion in all fifty states at any time for any reason throughout pregnancy on January 22nd, the anniversary of the Roe…