MINOT, N.D. — The modern dysfunctions of American politics are not the product of partisanship but rather a lack of it. I’m not talking about bipartisanship, a term we use interchangeably with “compromise.” It is a necessity to governing. Rare are the moments in our system of government when one political faction can govern without…
Print Column: Post-Shooting Hysteria Ignores the Reality of What Really Keeps Us Safe
MINOT, N.D. — What keeps you from being murdered on any given day? It’s a serious question, and one we should be asking as we grapple with what to do in the wake of mass murder attacks in Texas and Ohio. In the hysterical environment after one of these attacks — one inflamed by posturing…
Print Column: Why Do Democrats Feel Like They Have the Moral High Ground When It Comes to Hate?
MINOT, N.D. — North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer came under fire recently for comments he made in the context of the war of words between President Donald Trump and Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. “I could be a victim of racism, but I don’t offend easily, I just don’t offend that easily,” Cramer told a press…
Print Column: The Bank of North Dakota Is the Kim Kardashian of Financial Institutions
MINOT, N.D. — The term “famous for being famous” originated, more than likely, with British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge. “In the past if someone was famous or notorious, it was for something — as a writer or an actor or a criminal; for some talent or distinction or abomination,” he wrote in 1967. “Today one is…
Print Column: I Hope Rush Limbaugh Is Wrong, but I Don’t Think He Is
MINOT, N.D. — We haven’t had a governing majority in the federal government committed to fiscal prudence in a long, long time. We have had lots of politicians who like to posture themselves as fiscal hawks. Former North Dakota U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad did that, though he started his career in the U.S. Senate by…
Print Column: Why Are City Governments, Park Boards and School Boards Separate?
MINOT, N.D. — Over the years I’ve had several conversations with Gov. Doug Burgum talking about a phenomena in government he describes as “siloing.” This is the practice of treating each segment of government as a sort of sovereign entity which doesn’t share much of anything else with other government entities. Burgum sees this as…
Print Column: When Child Rape Becomes Just Another Political Football
MINOT, N.D. — Not quite as horrifying as the most recent news about Jeffrey Epstein, but still entirely nauseating, has been the rush to use the man as a political cudgel. The secretive financier who may or may not be a billionaire — his money management firm is based in the U.S. Virgin Islands and generates no…
Print Column: America Is an Idea That’s Greater Than This Ugly Moment
MINOT, N.D. — As we approach the most patriotic of American holidays there are reminders all around us that, for a certain faction of the American public, patriotism isn’t fashionable any more. The evidence is everywhere. Watch all the people using the ‘Murica slur on social media this 4th of July, a neologism invented to…
Print Column: Who Is to Blame When We Vote for Politicians Who Promise Things They Can’t Possibly Deliver?
MINOT, N.D. — The presidential campaign season has begun in earnest, though it would be hard to blame you if you felt like that season is never really over. Republicans have an incumbent in the White House, and the Democrats have an ant hill of candidates scrambling all over one another to draw the attention…
Print Column: The Socialists Started a Softball Team
MINOT, N.D. — The Red River Valley chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America have started themselves a softball team. Their goal is “raising visibility and connecting with the community.” This isn’t an uncommon tactic for social movements. Churches hold dances. Political parties hold pie auctions. Jim Jones, the infamous socialist who led hundreds to…