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The pain of choosing a president

As disgruntled citizens grope for a solution – any solution – for the disarray in our “status quo” political system, they are grasping at structural reforms, abolishing the Electoral College, creating a multi-party system, designing new ballots and voting directly for president, to name a few. Every time a new cause appears, the social media are full of solicitations, some of dubious origins. Money is being gathered to abolish the Electoral College. Contributors should realize that this is a futile effort and they could make better investments at the Indian casinos. To ...

We are owed an apology from …

We are coming up on two years of dealing with COVID. More information continues to become available. The “science” is changing significantly, but the fear-mongering remains unchanged. I will say again, the political battle over COVID is not between pro-vaxxers and anti-vaxxers, nor between pro-maskers and anti-maskers. It is between people who want to impose mandates on others, and people who believe it should be a personal choice. With a great deal of moral grandstanding, the pro-mandators say that the anti-mandators are selfish with no regard for the well-being of others. ...

Volunteers are the heart of our community

Minot has long been a community known for taking care of its own residents in times of need. Volunteering creates ties within the community that make our city a better place. Volunteer efforts don’t have to be a grand gesture. Often the smallest contributions can make the biggest difference in someone else’s life. Every community offers a number of options – large and small - for residents to get involved. Minot is no different. The Norsk Hostfest has been a great example for decades of what can be accomplished through the power of volunteers. What started as a small ...

Leading the Horse to Water

While the rest of us are lamenting the ignorance of the electorate, the North Dakota Council on the Humanities and the North Dakota Newspaper Association are taking remedial action. They have been sponsoring a series of writings by President David Adler of The Alturas Institute in which he discusses the basics of the United State national government. Adler is well equipped to explain government, having written six books and 100 scholarly articles in the leading journals in his field. Adler Outstanding As a colleague in political science, I find his writing outstanding, ...

Political Realities Stall Biden Agenda

Has President Biden bit off more than our policymaking system can chew? The demographic melting pot that elected him is getting restless as the gap between the “progressives” and the conservatives becomes apparent to all policy wonks. For Democrats, it looks like a bridge too far. According to the Washington Post, “frustration is at an all-time high” accounting for Biden’s fall in the polls. Every minority group that supported him is disappointed that he hasn’t waved a magic wand to make all of their dreams come true. Disillusioned minorities The Post alleges the ...

Public participation makes government work better

It was nice to see a large crowd at the most recent City Council meeting. It means those residents are actively engaged in their local government, and attended the meeting to show support or opposition for a particular item. Unfortunately, the level of productive participation in our municipal government process seems to be waning. Sure, there are occasions when City Council chambers are crowded, buy there seems to be fewer and fewer of those meetings in recent years. Of course, not everyone is comfortable speaking publicly at a Council meeting. But there are other ways to let me ...