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What's going on with America's political parties?

National Columnists

As Donald Trump's Republicans look askance as he launches what looks to some like another long-term war in the Middle East, and as the anti-Trump Democrats hold up Homeland Security funding in what looks to some like prioritizing illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens, one is tempted to ask, what's going on with America's political parties? Something close to self-harm, you might answer. And yet it is apparent that the U.S. parties, the oldest and third-oldest in the world, are not in as much trouble as many old parties abroad. In Britain, both Conservatives and Labour are ...

Facts about energy policy

National Columnists

Given the energy disruptions in the Middle East and the topsy-turvy fluctuation in the price of crude oil in recent weeks, here are a few facts about the energy scene. First, "drill, baby, drill" is working. America today is producing more oil and gas than ever. Over the past six years, we've produced more than any other nation, including Saudi Arabia. The best way to inoculate ourselves from foreign supply disruptions is to generate every barrel of oil we can here at home. And we have many decades of abundant supply given ever-improving shale drilling techniques. Second, the ...

Our government is spending too much

National Columnists

Wherever you look in American politics right now, you'll find legislators saying the government still doesn't tax enough — especially when it comes to the wealthy. California progressives are pursuing a wealth tax on billionaires, advertised as a method to raise $100 billion in a single stroke. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing for sweeping new taxes on the wealthy to fund a vast expansion of city services. And Washington state politicians are treating a preventable budget problem as a failure to sufficiently tax corporations and the rich. The same is true on the ...

What if those Iranian bombs had nuclear warheads

National Columnists

Criticism of President Trump's bombing campaign against the Iranian regime continues from most Democrats and a few Republicans. There was a time in America — unknown to younger generations — when once American troops were involved in a war the nation mostly unified behind them. Today, there are no restraints as a war is seen as merely a continuation of politics as usual. Criticism emboldens the enemy and puts more American military personnel in danger. That appears to be of little concern to the critics. A new poll by NPR/PBS News/Marist found 56 percent of those surveyed oppose, ...

Occupants of two separate crashes identified

Local News

The North Dakota Highway Patrol has identified those involved in two separate crashes, one in the Burlington area and the other near Belfield. Paul Hauser, 60, Foxholm, died of injuries received when the off-highway vehicle he was driving went off the road and rolled northwest of Burlington. The crash occurred Sunday, March 8. In the crash near Belfield, Christopher Klevenberg, 36, driver of a Chevrolet Silverado pulling an enclosed trailer, and Steven Klevenberg, 62, a passenger, both of Tioga, received injuries in a crash with a Volvo truck with flatbed trailer. The driver of the ...

We need to fix what is broken at home

National Columnists

In 2024, for the first time in almost a century, the United States spent more financing its national debt than it did, as a percentage of GDP, on national defense. In 2024, interest on our national debt expenditures came in at 3.1% of GDP and defense spending at 2.9%. This has been the case through this year, although it's too soon to say what the picture will finally be for 2026. But it's very close. Hoover Institution scholar Niall Ferguson notes that this is an ominous sign. He quotes what he calls Ferguson's Law, after 18th century Scottish political theorist Adam ...