Bismarck speaks up: Letters to the editor for the week of Jan. 22, 2021
Our weekly round-up of letters published in the Bismarck Tribune.
North Dakota Rep. Terry Jones of New Town recently noted that Black communities are “glad their ancestors were brought here as slaves." His understanding of the Black community, as well as slavery, is alarmingly ignorant. The statement probably ranks as one of the most racist public comments ever made by a North Dakota legislator.
Jones followed this up by introducing a bill requiring state agencies, when collecting demographic data, to list "American" as the first option in the category of self-identified racial classifications.
Asking us to identify simply as “American,” is asking us to ignore and purposefully not name systems of racial classification that have oppressed communities of color since the birth of the nation. Calls for us to put aside our differences and identify as “Americans” first are reminiscent of calls for “unity” from the Republican party following the Jan. 6 insurrection. Instead of naming and addressing the harms caused by violent sedition, slavery, racism, and racial classification, Republicans want us to just move on and wipe the slate clean. Focus on “unity” for the country, and identify as “American” above all else.
This is not the way forward. It is our duty, as Americans, to address the harms perpetrated against communities of color by slavery and white supremacy. House Bill 1333 sweeps under the rug the centuries of structural racism and discrimination that are baked into our categories of racial classification. This is purposeful. By pretending to be color blind, we will be hurting Black Americans, Native Americans, and others of color.
Additionally, implementing a new and useless demographic category will be a data-collection nightmare for already resource-strapped state agencies and their partners.
Anti-racism is the only way forward, not erasing our differences. To be anti-racist, we must swiftly and decisively shut down racist policies like those introduced by Rep. Jones, and to continue to reflect on our own biases.
Brandi Hardy, Bismarck
Legislative coordinator, North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
As the first North Dakotan to serve on an Armed Services Committee, it was my honor to play a pivotal role in crafting this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which fulfills the federal government’s most foundational obligation of providing for the defense of our nation. Our bill, which became law on Jan. 1, contains several North Dakota priorities, including investments in North Dakota’s nuclear modernization; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions; space capabilities; and the livelihood of our troops.
Our nuclear deterrent has prevented world wars for 75 years, with North Dakota’s strategic location giving us the opportunity to house two of the three legs of the nuclear triad. Both legs are effective deterrents, but as they age past their intended lifespans, their maintenance costs have increased while their reliability has decreased.
That is why the NDAA provides almost $1.5 billion for the ground based strategic deterrent, the replacement for the Minot Air Force Base’s 40-year-old Minuteman III missiles. It also funds testing and procurement of the MH-139 helicopter, which will replace the Vietnam-era helicopters protecting our nuclear missiles.
Minot is home to our B-52 fleet, a critical part of our nuclear deterrent that is almost 70 years old. Through efforts to upgrade its engines and weapons to match emerging threats, this NDAA ensures the B-52 will be viable for years to come.
Bolstering our nuclear arsenal is not the only part of this NDAA that makes it so invaluable to our state.
North Dakota helps execute ISR missions around the globe, providing information to our leaders and protecting our troops. This NDAA includes language delaying any retirement actions of the RQ-4 Global Hawk until the Pentagon certifies the combatant commanders won’t lose ISR capability without gaining improved capability. The NDAA authorizes the purchase of 16 MQ-9s, like those operated in Fargo and adds $17.5 million for an improved operations center for the Happy Hooligans to make sure we can hold terrorists accountable at any moment.
An invaluable part of such intelligence efforts is space. Thanks to provisions in this NDAA, Space Force will grow to meet its rapidly evolving mission of protecting America’s space interests. North Dakota is an important asset for this new military branch, as we saw from visits by the first Chief of Space Operations General John “Jay” Raymond, the Commander of Space Command General James Dickinson, and Space Development Agency Director Dr. Derek Tournear. Their time at the University of North Dakota’s Space Studies program, coupled with NDAA language urging Space Force to look at university consortium research relationships, will help North Dakota stay on the cutting edge of defense and commercial space.
The NDAA also funds another critical space asset located in North Dakota, Cavalier Air Force Station. They’ll go toward operating the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System, an essential part of the Radar Warning System for detecting and warning of a missile attack against North America. It is also identifies and tracks objects in space, increasing its importance to Space Force.
Most importantly, this NDAA supports our troops who are not only protecting us from external threats, but also helping to fight COVID-19. It includes 3% pay raise, significantly increases hazardous duty pay, and reauthorizes over 30 other types of bonuses or special pay. It also ensures troops have adequate equipment, testing capabilities, and personal protective equipment, and the resources needed to keep the virus away from military bases.
North Dakota contributes greatly to America’s national defense, and our unique potential is unlocked through the NDAA. I look forward to working with state and federal partners to ensure we maximize our potential for years to come.
What has happened to the Republican party? The party that in the mid-1850s was created by a group of patriots/abolitionists who were as angry and motivated by slavery as many people today are about the issue of abortion. They nominated Abraham Lincoln as their first presidential nominee! How far this party has fallen to go from being the party of Theodore Roosevelt, Ike Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan -- to a mob of neo-nazis, white supremacists that want to shred our democracy. And to replace it with what? What a disgrace to the thousands of Americans who over the centuries gave their lives because they believed in America and all it stood for. They lie in place like Normandy (France) and at Arlington National Cemetery. How can any red blooded American support this garbage? If you don't love this country, do us all a favor, pack your stuff, get your passport ready and leave. We don't need this human garbage in our country!
Pat Crotty, Bismarck
With the new legislative session now underway, one of the most critical issues facing us will be how to deploy the Legacy Fund earnings to our best advantage. The governor, members of the Senate and House and others have all offered good ideas; so how do we choose? Since our most pressing needs will be always changing, I think it would be advisable to establish a process for the residents to regularly prescribe how the funds should be used. My suggestion is that rather than argue over the allocation of the earnings at every legislative session, the Legislature enact in this current session laws specifying the process to allocate how the earnings will be used -- and not actually to allocate the earnings.
The Legislature would establish a procedure for collecting input from the residents of the state and then each biennium the funds would be allocated accordingly. The process could work something like this:
- A list of possible funding targets is developed.
- A new funding target can be added by a petition of residents.
- Any funding target that does not receive some minimum allocation gets removed from the list.
- In the year preceding a legislative session, the residents fill a form with their income taxes which specifies their desired allocation to the funding targets.
- The tax commissioner compiles the data from the tax forms and submits it to the Legislature
- The fund's proceeds are distributed each year according to the allocation.
The advantages of this process are: it directly reflects the will of the residents; it is completely transparent with an auditable paper trail; it allows for regular and easy revision, and it is efficient and fair. I hope we give consideration to it during this legislative session.
Don Kopecky, Center
A policeman defending Kelly Armstrong in the nation's capital is dead. He was murdered by President Trump's thugs. The irony is Kelly Armstrong, along with John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer helped Trump incite this riot. The three representatives of North Dakota never refuted Trump's lies and conspiracy theories. They never stood against him the first time he could have been removed with impeachment. Instead they harvested his cult members to keep themselves in office. The real shame will fall on the people of North Dakota if they fail to hold Cramer, Hoeven, and Armstrong accountable for the role they played in this disaster.
Mike Quinn, Bismarck
Rebuttal to letter from Tom Hammerel:
When protesting turns to turmoil there is a reason of truth of unfairness. On Jan. 6, there was no truth, only rhetoric of false claims. Do not use MLK's words when you really cannot comprehend the true meaning of them.
White privilege reared its ugly head on Jan. 6, 2021. To compare the protests of this past summer to the treasonous act on Jan. 6 shows white privilege at its finest in modern American history.
Understand that each protest from the summer and Jan. 6 were incited by Trump. The difference is the reaction by law enforcement and the National Guard. The lack of their presence on Jan. 6, 2021, tells you that white privilege still prevails in our country.
Let us get real and tell the truth. It was a not political party that sanctioned any of these protests. They were sanction by the President of the United States Donald Trump. He is the only sycophant to blame. And it is sad that his lies have been embedded in his followers as false truths.
Our Capitol was attacked by his followers on the basis of lies and conspiracy theories. A treasonous act by all involved.
The difference is how they were handled and that in itself should tell you that white privilege is prevalent today. The big difference is some can recognize it. While others will continue to follow lies and conspiracy theories and put the blame on other people instead of the one and only true sycophant Donald Trump.
Casey Buchmann, Washburn
My First Amendment right to freedom of speech was taken away by Facebook because of a law that Congress passed. Why did I get banned for 30 days? I’m not sure why. Facebook will not respond to my repeated requests. I think it was for apparently posting pictures of the “North Dakota Capital Prayer Rally.” Not because of words I wrote.
It may have been due to pictures I posted of the Prayer Rally of people, flags, signs and a beautiful 10 foot cross that we signed and will be sent to Washington, D.C. I have reposted this page – to the best of my recollection - on a new “mewe.com” account I set up.
On Jan. 6 I posted, “I'm heading to the "North Dakota Capital Prayer Rally’ at the capitol grounds today at noon! And I'm going there again at 5:00 P.M. for a candlelight Prayer vigil. ‘These are rallies for praying - for our Nation, our State, and our communities. God be with us!’"
The First Amendment to the Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech…” When Congress passed this legislation referred to as Section 230, Congress gave these corporations such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., immunity. Congress’ legislation gave them the right to restrict my freedom of speech! It also restricted the freedom of speech of thousands or millions of other U.S. citizens.
One remedy is to remove Section 230 immunity. Thousands or perhaps millions of other U.S. citizens are being banned. I apologize to my 1,200 Facebook friends that I have built up over several years. I had set up an account on Parler, but I wasn’t able access this either. No due process, just this letter.
Gaylynn Becker, Bismarck
Our congressional delegation was very instrumental is fueling the misinformation over the last presidential election. After over 60 court challenges, 3 recounts in Georgia, certified election reports from each of the 50 states our delegation stood at a rally and supported the false information that there was a possibility that the election was rigged, stolen or was full of massive fraud. When Al Gore lost his Supreme Court bid over the famous hanging chads and when Hillary Clinton lost even when polls showed her winning she went on television the next day and conceded to President-elect Trump. This man has pressured state legislatures, state election officials, news channels and honest people who believed the lies that he was spreading to overturn the bedrock of our democracy -- a free election. Our own attorney general signed on to a lawsuit from Texas trying to tell other states how they should carry out their elections. Imagine if California tried to tell us how to conduct our elections. We voted by mail because of Covid. So did many other states for the same reason. Are we so arrogant that we think only we can do it right and nobody else can? Would you honestly believe that if votes were tampered with that they would only tamper with the president and turn control of the Senate over to the other party? Our state delegation and our State Legislature need to announce to the state that the election was indeed fair and that there was no evidence of fraud as 60 plus court challenges have ruled and that the electoral college has spoken. If you do not like the outcome that is your right. Trying to overturn an election and destroy the Capitol is no one's right.
Claudia Volk, Wilton
To Kent Conrad and fellow travelers like Bob Wefald and Steve Andrist: You aren’t interested in truth or justice.
Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution vests state legislatures (not governors, secretaries of state, judges, and not the states themselves) with the right to fix the manner with which each state appoints its presidential electors. Yet, for example, in Pennsylvania the State Supreme Court altered the election rules established by their legislature and allowed, over the objection of the legislature, voting without signatures, extended deadline for filing, etc. Other changes were made unilaterally by their Secretary of State. Why should the election results from this and other states who by-passed their legislatures or bent the rules be considered constitutional?
In each of the six battle-ground states, apart from votes which are arguably illegal because of procedural irregularities, we had votes from dead people, institutionalized people, felons, juveniles, ghost voters, non-citizens, nonresidents, double voters, and those gathered by illegal ballot harvesting. There were also over-votes, poll watcher abuses, and voting machine irregularities. It is alleged by the Navarro Report that the number of possible illegal votes in each of the six states vastly exceeds Biden’s margin of victory. Why are you so unbothered by this?
I would like to remind you that Trump’s election in 2016 was falsely pronounced by the Democrats to be illegitimate because his surprising win resulted from collusion with Russian and foreign influence. Why aren’t you bothered by election meddling by Soros, China, and Mexico in this election? Why aren’t you bothered by the enormous in-kind political contributions made by Big Tech and the corporate media to the Biden campaign?
After the 2016 election the Democrats got their “due process” with the Mueller investigation and more. Now 75 million Trump voters want theirs.
David Crane, Mott
Driving. Lets talk about driving. We have been blessed with clear roads this winter and yet there are still accidents. One tip would be for drivers to use the little lever on the left side of the steering column. That indicates which direction you will turn. Big help to those drivers around you. I have extra blinker fluid if you need it. At a traffic light, the kids and I look around and count how many people have their heads downs looking at their cell phones. Most drivers have their heads down. Pay attention to your surroundings and especially pedestrians. Lastly, cell phones are a distraction, but so are dogs. I know they are your "kids" and you love them. Get them off your laps. I love my kids so much I put them in the backseat and buckle them in so they are safe. I would hate for them to accidentally hit the little lever on the left side of the steering column and cause an accident. Cell phones you can control by putting them away, dogs you cannot. Lastly, if someone honks, just give them a wave and a smile. No one is perfect! Lets look out for each other.
Ryan Wilson, Bismarck
Citizens will bear the responsibility of bringing our country together again. It won't be politicians. We need to do it and we need to do it by truly informing ourselves with truth. Many swear they love the Constitution, but don't understand what it says. We need to start being informed about what our founding documents say, what the founders debated and discussed as they created them.
I am very disappointed in our North Dakota delegation and their reaction to everything that has happened in the last week. They haven't called on the president to condemn the actions of the insurgents, nor any of his lies or exaggerations, which led to it. Senator Cramer was in tears while talking to a local news station because the citizens' house was put under siege.
What happened at the Capitol was insurrection and the closest we have come to a coup. Impeachment or not, the president did encourage these people, never condemned what they did or why they are doing it, has never conceded the election, and is still selfishly concerned only about himself, not the nation. He and those that support him vocally or passively, like our delegation, are giving him the indication that overthrowing our democracy is right and good. For all of us who have sat back as he lied, bullied and called others names without demanding that he act like a civilized adult, we bear as much responsibility for this as those that stormed the capital. It appeased him to act more boldly through time. We were complacent and let it get to this point. To defend the Republic and our Constitution, we need to demand better. Talk to your neighbors who have different views and try to understand them. We are more alike than different and need to remember that.
Laura Forde, Bismarck
America has a twofold problem -- a weak civics education infrastructure and a rejection of fact-based information. We are in free fall because our democratic republic depends on both.
If we want to defend democracy, you have to be able to defend the ideas that construct it. The founders came to the Philadelphia Convention to draft the Constitution armed with study and contemplation in history, philosophy and economics. They did their homework. If we do our homework we will build a new framework to mediate the instant gratification too often found in the echo chambers we see rampant today.
An introductory civics course will guide people out of their silos toward the common good. Two examples: being banned from Twitter is not a violation of the First Amendment; the vice president does not have the power to overturn an election. We might be justifiably angry about the opaque decision-making and outsized communications power of the tech industry. Some may earnestly believe the president's repeated (and false) claims of election fraud. However, demanding constitutional rights and protections that don't exist does nothing to address the core problems from which these issues emanate. Arguments based on false premises only propagate more dysfunction. Wrapping oneself in the flag without seeking to understand the underlying constitutional principles that it represents is not true patriotism.
Democracy is fragile and can only exist in an ecosystem balanced by the rule of law and the vigilance and forward-vision of citizens who uphold its founding ideals. Misinformation and confirmation bias can overpower "We the People." Strong civics literacy, research-based inquiry, good-faith debate across ideologies, and genuine compromise are the obvious solutions to our current troubles. We should draw inspiration from those citizens and lawmakers who are trying to uphold these ideals.
As life coach Mel Robbins says, "Getting what you want is simple, but it isn't easy." In other words, the way to renew our democracy is clear, but the work will be hard, and we have to leave the comfort of their bubbles to do it.
We can do it. Today, I'm calling on my fellow North Dakota citizens to avail themselves of the free civics education opportunities open to them from dedicated nonprofits across the nation, including Humanities North Dakota. I'm calling on them to support local news and credible news sources. I'm asking them to seek out intellectuals from across the political spectrum for guidance as they form their own political opinions. I'm asking them to demand election reforms and congressional reorganization that will move us away from partisan deadlock. Americans have done it in the past, and we can do it again if we have the will and operate from a base of solid knowledge of the rights and responsibilities of city, county, state and federal citizenship.
