Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC) has apologized for his reprehensible behavior against two college students last week who attempted to ask him if he supported President Obama’s agenda. When they asked Etheridge this question on a public sidewalk, Etheridge appeared to hit one student or attempt to grab the video camera, then grabbed a cell phone away from the other student and forcibly held him by the wrist, demanding to know who the student was.

The South Dakota Republican Party requested today that Rep. Herseth Sandlin, Dr. Kevin Weiland, and other political players release all correspondence and records related to Herseth Sandlin’s Health Care vote deal. Dr. Kevin Weiland admitted in a Sunday news article that he struck a deal with Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin.

This is pretty disturbing to watch. In this video taken last week, Rep. Bod Etheridge (D-NC) assaults a college student who asks him a question on a public sidewalk. He then holds the student by the wrist and demands to know who he is before then grabbing the student by the neck. When the student breaks free, Etheridge walks off.

Jon Lauck, author of the newly-released book “Prairie Republic: The Political Culture of Dakota Territory, 1879-1889,” published by the University of Oklahoma Press, will be appearing on June 18th at Borders in Rapid City at 4:30 pm. “Prairie Republic” explores the settlement of Dakota Territory during the late 19th-century, notes the successes of the pioneers and the institutions they built, and discusses the broader meaning of this historic moment in American history.

We’re in the midst of a transaction wherein we’re expected to trade in our freedom for cradle-to-grave security and individual liberty for bureaucratic regimentation.

Most of us hardly need to be told that the frayed fabric of our communities’, our state’s and nation’s civic life urgently needs repairing. Violet crime, broken families, drug abuse, a debased popular culture, neglected children and assorted other social maladies all testify to the imperative requirements of rebuilding our civic life. Nor do most of us need reminding that this civic renovation is largely beyond the ability of Washington. In fact, it has often demonstrated a perverse, if unintentional, knack for making things worse.

The Shad Olson Show launches on KIMM radio in Rapid City (and other stations in Belle Fourche, Valentine, NE and Sundance, WY) on Monday, June 14. Olson’s talk show will feature news you won’t get elsewhere on topics that are hot in South Dakota and nationwide. The former KOTA anchorman already has several exciting and controversial interviews lined up right out of the gate, so be sure to tune in!

The best of the best at Dakota Voice last week, including: General warns of Iranian/Hezbollah preparations for attack on Israel; And This Be Our Motto: ‘In God is Our Trust’; Surprise Poll Results: Obama Oil Response Worse Than Bush Katrina Response; Rep. Michele Bachmann to Obama Administration: Man-Up!; Liberal Drunk on Koolaid Expects Tea Party Support; The Greatest Threat to America; Illegals Run for the Border…Any Border; and more!

Make no mistake; there is indeed a malevolent force that has overtaken Western civilization, a force that has undermined authentic Christian faith. I’m talking about modernism. Postmodernism offers the first serious challenge to modernism since its emergence from the eighteenth-century Enlightenment; thus postmodernism warrants serious consideration as an ally to Christian faith.

Liberals loved it when former South Dakota gubernatorial candidate Gordon Howie reminded folks that pastors have a constitutional freedom to tell their congregations about good candidates and bad ones. Though many liberals accused Howie of making this statement purely out of self-interest for his campaign, and Howie’s campaign is now over, Howie is far from done pursuing freedom for pastors and churches.

This is Glenn Beck “Founders Friday” on Samuel Adams, the “Father of the American Revolution.” It reveals the faith and commitment of the man without whom there would have been no American Revolution. Also debunked is the liberal myth that the founders were all just a bunch of rich, white slaveowners.

It’s probably not a big surprise, but the Rapid City Journal is reporting that Senator John Thune (R-SD) will not even have thin opposition to re-election to the United States Senate this year. The petition of a potential independent challenger fell more than 400 signatures short of the requirement to get on the ballot.

In Glenn Beck’s excellent continuing series of “Founders Friday’s,” yesterday he examined “Father of the Constitution” James Madison. Colleen Sheehan, author of “James Madison and the Spirit of Republican Self-Government,” and James D. Best, author of “Tempest at Dawn,” joined the discussion of Madison, the Bill of Rights, checks and balances, the amendment process, the power of the states, the 17th Amendment and more.

Is Christopher Hitchens right? Have we traded in what was once our great “meritocracy’ for what he describes as a “kleptocracy?” Has our government shelved the principle of equal justice for all” in favor of programs that provides preferences for the highest bidder? Is our constitutional republic in danger of becoming a banana republic?

While our current crop of leaders in Washington D.C. are intent on spending trillions of taxpayer dollars on programs not authorized by the Constitution, they are equally intent on gutting one of the few budget items authorized by the Constitution: national defense. A Democrat task force recommends $1 TRILLION in defense cuts over the next ten years.

There’s one thing you can be sure of when dealing with semi-competent liberals (there are no fully competent liberals; if they were fully competent, they wouldn’t be liberals): they’ll always follow good Marxist advice like that articulated by Rahm Emanuel: never let a good crisis go to waste. So it is that in the middle of the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Marxists in the White House see this as a great opportunity to further cripple U.S. access to energy.

PJTV’s Bill Whittle has a commencement address for all the graduates now preparing to go out into the real world. Whittle points out that while American young people have grown up in one of the most “cooperative” societies in the world (a state that might otherwise be known as “domestic tranquility”), that is a fairly unique experience in the world. While that is good, it can tend to insulate young Americans to the reality that most people in the world have grown up in an aggressive, domineering and frequently hostile environment.

The Constitution Party of South Dakota is sponsoring a free public workshop on June 19 by Mary E. Webster, author of “The Federalist Papers: In Modern English” and “The United States Constitution: Annotated with the Federalist Papers.” The Federalist Papers and various subjects on the Constitution will be discussed.

Remember the liberal narrative about the Guantanamo Bay terrorist prison camp prior to President Barack Obama’s election and for some time after–how they were misunderstood and innocent goat herders caught up in our terrorist dragnet? Now an Obama-appointed task force, the Guantanamo Review Task Force, has issued its final report finding that all but 5% were clearly involved in hostile activities.

Rep. Michele Bachmann may be a woman, but she’s telling President Barack Obama to “Man up” against the terrorist thugs and stand with our ally Israel. Sometimes a good woman can man-up better than some men.

Glenn Beck recently examined the important book “The Road to Serfdom” by F. A. Hayek and discussed it with Yuri Maltsev, an economics professor who defected from the old Soviet Union. This is someone who has seen the serfdom that Marxism brings on, up close and personal.

There’s been more of that race-based violence from those nasty Tea Party people. One of them came up to a group of people of a different race, started harassing them, using profanity, threatening them with violence, and then punched one of them several times. The police were eventually called and identified the perpetrator.

Almost a month and a half ago, we learned that illegal aliens were self-deporting themselves from Arizona after the passage of Arizona’s tough new illegal immigration law. Now USA Today reports illegal aliens are fleeing Arizona as implementation of the new law is only seven weeks away.

Dennis Prager is one of the relatively few people these days who understands completely what America is about, and about the responsibilities that come with being worthy of being called “an American.” At this event at the University of Denver, Prager powerfully addresses the issue of Americanism.

The horror of what has been seen and cannot be unseen…