Gillette, the very expensive shaving blade company, has caused a stir with a new ad taking aim at mail behavior. If you have seen it, here it is: “Boys will be boys”? Isn’t it time we stopped excusing bad behavior? Re-think and take action by joining us at https://t.co/giHuGDEvlT. #TheBestMenCanBe pic.twitter.com/hhBL1XjFVo — Gillette (@Gillette) January…
Legislation Would Raise North Dakota’s Tobacco Age to 19, but Exempts Active Military Members
Currently North Dakota bans tobacco use for minors (vaping is included as tobacco use, even though it’s a much different thing). “Minors” means anyone under the age of 18. But legislation introduced by state Rep. Pamela Anderson (D-Fargo) would raise that age to 19, unless you’re an active member of the U.S. military. You can…
If the Longest Ever Government Shutdown Teaches Us One Thing It’s That the Federal Government Is Too Large
The current shutdown of the federal government is now the longest in the history of America. I’ll leave it to others to debate the circumstances of this shutdown, whether President Donald Trump is right to stand firm on his demand for border wall funding, or if Democrats are right to keep the government shutdown over…
Rick Olson: If We Can’t Eliminate North Dakota’s Pharmacy Ownership Law, How About Modifying It?
This guest post was submitted by Clarence “Rick” Olson, of Fargo, an occasional contributor to the Say Anything Blog. E-mail rickolson@midco.net. I write this column as a concerned North Dakota resident. I have been studying the unique pharmacy ownership law of this state for many years. For the record, I am representing no one but…
Public Health Officials Need to Stop Treating Vaping as Though It Were the Same as Smoking
Should we care that much if teen’s vape? It’s a question I asked in a recent print column – my conclusion is that the vaping “epidemic” is yet another in a long line of moral panics and that the rise of vape technology is a net gain for public health – and it drew a…
It’s Time to Stop Listening to the Legacy Fund Hoarders
In 2009 the North Dakota Legislature passed a constitutional amendment to create a fund out of a portion of taxes on oil and gas development. It was passed by the voters in the 2010 election, and the result is the Legacy Fund which has a balance of around $5 billion. Over the years there have…
This Time Anti-Discrimination Activists Hope to Bring Evidence of Discrimination to the Legislature
For going on a decade now Democrats have brought to North Dakota’s biannual legislative session an anti-discrimination bill aimed at protecting homosexual/transgendered citizens from discrimination. It’s been the same bill, over and over again, to the point where some (including this observer) have questioned how serious Democrats are about passing the bill. Did they really…
On Day of Heitkamp’s Farewell Speech, Democrat Leader in the Senate Trashes North Dakota
It’s pretty clear that Democrats don’t have much affinity for states like North Dakota. Even our liberal friends right here in North Dakota often talk about our state as though they wish they lived somewhere else. What’s kinda rare, though, is when Democrats come right out and admit this stuff. Today there was a remarkable…
Legislation Could End North Dakota’s Open June Primary, Which Is Good in Principle but Could Be Bad for Republicans in Practice
Do most voters understand how candidates end up on the ballot in November? I’m not sure they do, and perhaps they can’t be blamed. Here in North Dakota, the process is a little convoluted. The political parties – Republicans, Democrats, sometimes even the Libertarians – hold a series of conventions to endorse candidates. First there…
Public Service Commission Says North Dakotans Can Be Charged for Green Energy Policies in Other States
The Public Service Commission, in a split decision, recently gave the go-ahead to Xcel Energy to inflate power bills here in North Dakota to recover the cost of building wind energy capacity in compliance with green energy policy in other states. Commissioner Randy Christmann, who voted no, made it clear why this was a terrible…