This guest post was submitted by Rod St. Aubyn, who served in the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1991 to 1994, and the state Senate from 1995 to 2000. He has also worked as a lobbyist. The Legislature is ignoring a potential problem. For many years now, the Legislature has delegated authority to unelected…
Rod St. Aubyn: The Pope And The Separation Of Church And State
The media has been enamored with Pope Francis’s visit to the United States and in particular with his stops in Washington DC, New York, and Philadelphia. His every move has been closely watched and analyzed by the media and the public. Even though there are a lot of Roman Catholics in our country and the…
Rod St. Aubyn: Is The Iran Deal The Next Obamacare For Democrats?
With the recent vote on the Iran Nuclear Accord I was reminded of the many similarities with ObamaCare. Time will tell whether other similarities come to reality. Public Support ObamaCare did not have the public’s support when it was presented to Congress for a vote. Even now after it has been fully implemented, it still…
Rod St. Aubyn: "A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand"
On June 16, 1858, Abraham Lincoln made a speech before Republican delegates in Illinois for the selection of the Republican US Senate candidate for Illinois. With the backdrop of proposals to end slavery in the United States, there was constant racial conflict. Partially based on a bible verse, Lincoln stated the following as part of…
Rod St. Aubyn: Lessons Learned From WDBJ Shooting
After tragic incidents like the killing last week of a reporter and her cameraman in Virginia, it is typical for the public to review the situation to see if anything could have been done to prevent such a tragedy. As you may recall from last week, Vester Flanagan, known professionally as Bryce Williams, shot and…
Rod St. Aubyn: Politicizing Justice
I cannot recall another administration politicizing justice as much as the current one. Justice should never be subjected to political whims or preferences. Lady Justice is often portrayed as being blindfolded and holding a pair of scales. As I recall, Lady Justice sits above the Grand Forks Courthouse. The image of Lady Justice is supposed…
Rod St. Aubyn: It Ain't Over Until It's Over
Former New York Yankee great, Yogi Berra, has been credited with some great lines, but the one that he said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”, definitely applies in the political world as well. As political debates occur candidates’ poll numbers shift dramatically. Carly Fiorina’s poll numbers didn’t qualify her in the first tier of…
Rod St. Aubyn: Will Bumps Dump Trump?
Donald Trump’s campaign for the Republican nomination for president has hit several bumps this past week. In the first Republican Presidential Debate hosted by Fox News, when asked if the candidates would commit to supporting the winning Republican endorsed candidate and not run as an independent, Donald Trump refused to make that commitment. This announcement…
Rod St. Aubyn: The New Form Of Public Lynching
While channel surfing on the TV I caught an episode of that old western called Gunsmoke. In this particular episode, some cattlemen caught someone that they thought for sure was part of a group of cattle rustlers and they proceeded to hang him. It turns out that the poor victim ended up being innocent and…
Rod St. Aubyn: Obamacare Has Been A Friend To Big Business
Do you remember the Obama administration and Democrat leaders touting the benefits of Obamacare once it was rammed down our throats through late-night backroom deals? There were promises of lower prices and more choices for all US citizens. We were promised that each American family would realize a few thousand dollars of savings each year.…