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October 31, 2019 Golden Valley News Page 3
Left winger wants
Some of the legislative leaders
have taken offense at my "left wing"
clarification of what the legislature
did to the new citizen-initiated ethics
commission.
First of all, I want to deny that I
am some kind of "left wing" radical,
even though I was born prematurely
and have been in a rush ever since.
"The proof is in the pudding," they
say but the only thing I ever found in
pudding was tapioca.
If believing that a Christian nation
ought to manifest the ethics of Chris-
tian teaching is left-wing, then I must
be a left winger.
If believing that all lives of all
people, including South Americans
on the Mexican border, are sacred is
left-wing, then I confess I must be a
left wing radical.
If fighting earth warming caused
by human beings threatens the lives
of future generations is left-wing,
then I admit I must be left wing.
If believing that the United States
should be a community within which
we all care for each other is left wing,
then I must be left-wing.
If believing that the lives of
school children are more important
than assault weapons is left wing,
then I must be left-wing.
If supporting the "have nots" in a
society dominated by "haves" is left
wing, then I must be left wing.
If fearing that polarization is
better ethics commission This science-based, guy believes in spirits
and 25 years of study and teaching I am a physician who believes in religions. It is also amazing to learn
N. D. Matters
By Lloyd Omdahl
going to be the end of our democracy
is left wing, then I must be a left-
winger.
When we tear apart such sweep-
ing exaggerations as "left wing" we
are hard pressed to find anything that
is more radical than the Bank of
North Dakota and the North Dakota
Mill and Elevator.
We were accused of presenting
numerous inaccuracies and misstate-
ments about their work in the legis-
lature even though our legislative
leaders enumerated none. Instead,
they glossed over this generalization
and went to the primary target of
their criticism: denying whistleblow-
ers anonymitywhen reporting
wrong-doing in government.
First, they denied that they framed
legislation so that the names of
whistleblowers would be in public
view where they could be fired, de-
moted and/or transferred by superi-
ors or interest groups until they
would be forced out of government
service.
In their understanding, whistle-
blowers would be evil people who
would lie about illegal government ac-
tivities or interest group exploitation.
After 40 years in practical politics
political science, I have lear~d to evidence-based science. I am also
read between the lines where the real old, approaching my own "last
meaning of discussion is hidden, chapter" from pancreatic cancer. I
Between lines oft-heir criti- share this, not to engender pity
clsm we find the basic truth: the leg- none. Rather, I share this in order to
islators don't want to know about give you a sense of my potential
corruption or conflicts of interest that bias as I write about the question;
may exist and if the ND Ethics Com- do we have a spirit or soul that is
mission doesn't protect whistleblow- more than a brain-chemical reaction
ers there will be no whistleblowing, that will go away at death?
Keep in mind that these legislators Of course, the ultimate answer to
in three previous sessions had voted that question is, nobody knows.
down the proposal for an ethics corn- Some archeologists believe that re-
mission. And most, if not all, of the ligion first began when someone
members appointed to the commis- wondered what happened to the life
sion voted against the measure when force or spirit of a young boy after
it was on the ballot. So implementa- he died. Where did it go? Archeolo-
tion by the legislators was assumed gists speculate that "job one" for the
to be treacherous. And it was.early church (and, for that matter,
In a flair of rhetoric, the criticiz- churches of today) was to reassure
ing legislators allege that the people and comfort the family after the
of North Dakota want honest gov- death of a dear one. However, just
ernment and fair politics. That's ex- because it reassures us, doesn't
actly the reason they voted for an prove the soul exists, but there are
ethics commission, other experiences that do.
A combination of polls indicated I remember my mother explain-
that North Dakotans have serious ing to me one night before prayers
reservations about governments and that there is so much more going on
the legislature, than we know, so much that cannot
The legislators claimed that the be explained by physics and chem-
people approved the ethics commis- istry. She described waking up in
sion because they trusted their legis- the middle of the night in Min-
lators to pass good laws to establish
the details. Now you try to figure out
what that convoluted claim means
when multiple polls proved otherwise.
Prairie Doc
By Dr. Richard P.
H o I m
rans d
The
'roirie
neapolis during WWlI, filled with
dread at the same moment that my
dad was landing on some Pacific Is-
land in full combat. That was some-
thing about which she could not
have known due to radio and mail
silence. How DID she know? Do
we have spiritual connections we
simply don't understand?
During my career, at least three
patients described a near-death-
experience with all it's typical rai-
ment including an out-of-body
experience, a warm and comforting
light, a life-review (like a movie)
and reassurance that there is noth-
ing to fear about dying. A recent
meta-survey indicated that this hap-
pens in 17 percent of people who
are resuscitated and in equal per-
centages throughout all cultures and
event
that the warm light is seen even by
people blind from birth.
Even as a stubborn science-
based guy, together with years of
experience as a geriatric internist
and hospice director, I truly find a
community faith with a loving and
inclusionary church very reassur-
ing. I have reason to believe that
there is a spirit within us that con-
nects us all and that doesn't die with
our bodies.
I have been at the bedsides of
many dying people, while their spir-
its lift from the body and pass
through the porthole of eternity.
Being there has brought me to be-
lieve that the soul is more than a
brain-chemical reaction that goes
away after death.
Richard P. Holm, MD is founder
of The Prairie Doc and author oJ
"Life's Final Season, A Guide for
Aging and Dying with Grace"
available on Amazon. For free and
easy access to the entire Prairie
Doc library, visit
www.prairiedoc.org and follow
Prairie Doc on Facebook, featur-
ing On Call with the Prairie Doc
a medical Q&A show streamed
most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central.
led at DSU
The most interesting political story
in North Dakota right now isn't a par-
tisan battle. This is no surprise since
North Dakota Democrats have pretty
much obliterated themselves. The re-
suit could be dull politics, but that's
not the case here. While Republicans
hold every statewide elective office
and occupy a large majority of chairs
in both legislative chambers, they're
hardly a unified force.
Not that they really need to be. De-
mocrats had a role in this story, which
involves the state auditor's continu-
ing pokes at Gov. Doug Burgum's
sense of political and personal privi-
lege. Josh Gallion announced his re-
election campaign as an historic
snowstorm struck the state, and so it
was largely overlooked. Even Bur-
gum seemed not to notice. Despite
professions of cordiality between the
two, there's obvious tension.
Gallion was first elected in 2016
and he lost little time asserting the
prerogatives of the office. Early in
2018, Gallion launched an audit of
Burgum's use of the state airplane.
This came after Burgum initially ac-
cepted transportation and tickets to
the Super Bowl, played in Min-
neapolis. No state money was in-
volved, and Burgum ended up paying
for his own trip. Nevertheless, Gal-
lion found what he called "excessive
use" involving state aircraft but not
related to the Super Bowl. One in-
volved a football game, UND's Po-
tato Bowl. Gallion also called out an
apparently cozy relationship between
a fornmr state legislator, a well-
placed Republican who became vice
president of North Dakota College of
Science, and steered contracts to a
firm that employed his wife.
Legislators struck back in the clos-
ing days of their 2019 session, pass-
ing a bill requiring the state auditor to
get permission for performance audits
from a legislative committee. A De-
mocrat carried amendments making
these changes on the floor of the state
House of Representatives, and every
Democrat voted for it. Not that it mat-
tered, of course, since Democrats
held only a small fraction of seats.
Still, the Democrats' attention to the
AUCTIOI LOCATION: Ramada Inn- )ickinson, ND
0il activity report
The following relates to oil and
gas well activity for the week of Oc-
tober 20, in Stark, Golden Valley,
Billings and Slope counties and is
from reports of the N.D. Department
of Mineral Resources:
Permit Renewals:
#90271 - R360 Williston Basin,
LLC, Marx SWD #1, SWSW 15-
143N-99W, Billings Co 'Confiden-
tial'
Temporarily Abandoned:
#15936 - Southwestern Produc-
tion Corp Tracy Mountain Unit 1-
16 NWSW 16-138N-101W, Billings
Co.
auditor's office was unusual. The last
time a Democrat ran for the office
was 2012, and the last time a Demo-
crat held the office was 1894.
The more interesting part of the
story is that a rump group of Republi-
cans voted against the bill, arguing
that the state constitution gives the au-
ditor the authority to conduct such au-
dits, that the bill was punitive and that
it wouldn't pass constitutional muster.
Burgum signed the bill anyway. The
attorney general, who lost a primary
race for the Republican gubernatorial
endorsement to Burgum, said the crit-
ics were undoubtedly right, but that
someone would have to challenge the
law in order to bring the case to the
Supreme Court, the arbitrator of such
things. No one has, and the auditor
continues to conduct the audits despite
a bill passed in the constitutional way,
with a majority vote in both houses
and a signature from the governor.
Most recently, Auditor Gallion
found that Bur.gum's office had erred
in not seeking competitive bids for a
new state motto and promotional
logo. The consultant his administra-
tion hired recommended a modest
change to "Be Legendary" instead of
the old tag line, "North Dakota: Leg-
endary." The typeface was changed,
too, emphasizing the legendary part
and downplaying the state's name.
As it turned out, the consultant had
worked for Burgum's private busi-
ness. Plus, the remake was accom-
plished in two separate contracts,
each just below the minimum thresh-
old that would have required a bid-
ding process.
In a normal state with two func-
tioning political parties, this would
have been an enormous gift for De-
mocrats, but their candidates can
hardly challenge the law limiting au-
dits since Democrats abetted its pas-
sage. Nor can they fault Gallion since
he's exposed an issue that likely res-
onates with voters, that is, guarding
the treasury. The party's 2016 guber-
natorial candidate, State Rep. Marvin
Nelson, conceded as much, criticiz-
ing the Commerce Department's
handling of the contracts. In 2019 he
introduced a bill - unsuccessfully -
that would have required a contest to
change the logo.
As we have seen, one-party gov-
ernment isn't dull, and it deserves our
continuing attention. The perils be-
came clear when the one-party land
board overlooked an error in alloca-
tion of oil tax moneys that should
have gone to a fund that supports
public schools. The board has five
members, all Republicans: the gov-
ernor, the secretary of state, the at-
torney general, the superintendent of
public instruction and the state treas-
urer. The mistake occurred in the
treasurer's office, and it remained un-
noticed for a decade. The treasurer
blamed ambiguities in the law, which
the Legislature passed, of course. All
concerned, including lawmakers,
have accepted the explanation.
A single member from another
party might have noticed and called
the oversight to public attention, per-
haps by alerting the press. Or an at-
tentive board member might have
done the same.
Too bad the auditor isn't a land
board member. Josh Gallion is the
closest thing to a government watch-
dog that North Dakota has these
days.
(Jacobs is a former editor and pub-
lisher of the Grand Forks Herald.)
The new library and technology lab atPrairie
School in Fairfield has established hours for
public use. Come check out library books or
use our state-of-the art technology lab. Public
hours will be Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. with bookmobile services, Thursday
evenings from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m and
t
Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p,m. during the
school year when school is not in session.
During the school year, the library at
DeMores School in Medora is also open to the
public Monday through Wednesday evenings
plus daytime Mondays with bookmobile
service. The schedules are posted at the
school libraries and on the Billings County
School District website.
EXIT #42
This service is sponsored by the Billings
County School District, the Billings County
Commission, and the Dickinson Area Public
Library.
DICKINSON, N.D. (Oct. 28, Richard Brauhn, former vice presi- this event for the last 15 years and
2019)- Dickinson State University dent for academic affairs at Dickin- is a military friendly university,
is proud to invite the community to son State, serves on the community proud to support the country's
attend a Veterans Day Ceremony organizing committee which has armed services and their veterans."
Monday, Nov. 11, in Dorothy Stick- coordinated this year's Veterans This ceremony has been made
hey Auditorium at 11 a.m. Day event. 'possible through the support of the
The special ceremony will in- "The Dickinson Veterans Day City of Dickinson, the Honor Guard
clude an address from Mr. Brian Ceremony is a community event of the American Legion Matthew
Davidson, pastor of Our Saviour's honoring area veterans of the armed Brew Post #3, the Prairie Rose Cho-
Lutheran Church in Dickinson, fol- services and recognizing their serv- rus, the NEA Big Read and Dickin-
lowed by an arrangement of musi- ice and sacrifice for their state and son State University.
cal selections and presentations by country," said Brauhn. "Dickinson This event is free and open to the
the Prairie Rose Chorus. Dr. State University has been hosting public.
I
Lone Tree School District honor
roll
First quarter
Grades 4 and 5: Sophia Gunkel,
Isabelle Zook, *Andrea Bosser-
man, Amya Gamble, Sawyer Noll
Grades 6, 7, and 8
Wesley Gamble, Slater Gunkel,
Gabriella Zook
An * signifies the "A" Honor
Roll
Fryburg Real Estate
Township 139 North Range 100
West, Billings County,
North Dakota
Section 9: Lots 4-5-6-7 BLK 1
Fryburg
For Details and Bid Packet
Russ Murphy
American Trust Center
(701) 483-7039
153.53 +/- Crop Acres.
69,65 +/- Pasture Acres.
Parcel 1:SWl/4 33-141-98.
30th St. SW
Parcel 2: NE'/4N1/, 1-140-99.
Creek, two dugouts & well.
Parcel 1 has excellent fences.
f7
OWNERS: Carol Syminow &
Barbara Keller
Belfield,
This sale is managed by Pifer% Auction & Realty. All statements made the day of the auction take precedence over all printed materials.
The seller reserves the right to reject or accept any and all bids. Pifer's Auction & Realty, 1506 29th Ave $, Moorhead, MN 56560. Kevin Pifer, ND #715.