Last week I listed the first three reasons why I lean libertarian. First, centralized power in government corrupts. Less government power means less government corruption by special interests. Second, controlling another person’s life through force is inherently wrong. Third, government-supplied security is an illusion. By its nature, government cannot function in that role.

A debate is merely an argument dressed up in its Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes.? So whether we should call our current national dialog a debate or an argument depends upon the sensibilities of the writer and the reader.? For the purposes of fairness and inclusiveness I will therefore coin a new term, “Argubate.”

Nearly 30 percent of those released from prison here in South Dakota return within a year. There is an attempt to cut that percentage in half, primarily because of the cost of “re-housing” those prisoners. The attempt is certainly a worthwhile effort because of the economy. South Dakota needs to figure out a way to keep so many of its ex-inmates from going back to prison. No, it isn’t because I am some kind of a bleeding heart. I am thinking more about the economy of cutting the number of those who have to go back to prison here in the state.

The top stories at Dakota Voice last week, including: Why Marxists and Anti-Semites Come Together in Occupy Wall Street; Investigator: Lie Detector Software Vindicates Herman Cain; Herman Cain Raising Millions, Out in Front in FL Poll; Mississippi Personhood Vote was Sign of Our Dark Times; Amazing Grace on the Black Keys; Vote as if Your Country is at Stake, Because it is; Comparing the Tea Party and OWS; and more!

The GOP presidential candidates had a debate in South Carolina tonight focusing on foreign policy. The debate was moderated/sponsored by CBS and the National Journal. Candidates present were Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), businessman Herman Cain, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, and former MN Governor Mitt Romney.

President Obama and his fellow Democrats have told us that they are sympathetic to the Occupy Wall Street movement, and they support them. This is not a surprise, since we have been hearing many of the same things, though veiled and ratcheted down somewhat, from them for years. Some, like Obama, have even had the audacity to claim the Occupy Wall Street movement is like the Tea Party movement. Really? Let’s compare the two.

The Wall Street Journal calls the economic implosion now taking place in Europe “a crisis of the welfare state.” For America, this is a time for decision and definition. Not a time for splitting the baby. Are we going to continue in the direction of materialism and bureaucracy and share the fate of Europe? Or will we make the tough decisions to get back on the path of prosperity, the path of faith and individual freedom?

Virtually everyone in America has heard the old song “Amazing Grace.” But probably not many people know Amazing Grace was written by a former slaver named John Newton. Fewer still may know that it was written on the foundation of black spiritual slave songs. Some believe God engineered this to make it clear that we are ALL connected, all His children, whether black or white or slave or free.

This is a Veteran’s Day message from the Republican National Committee, and from veterans to veterans. Despite the RINOs and liberals in our midst, the Republican Party remains the only party that is still dedicated the defense and honor of America (sadly, though not all in its ranks have, the leadership of America’s other major party sold out over 40 years ago to defeatism and self-loathing).

The people of the Occupy Wall Street movement are a real piece of work. They go out in public, monopolize public areas that belong to all taxpayers, and when someone takes video of them, they get all bent out of shape. The actions of Occupy Wall Street protesters personify a value system antithetical to the traditional American one. Our choice as Americans could not be more obvious, and we should vote accordingly in 2012.

During the Vietnam era we were told that for every man in combat there were seven soldiers needed in non-combat roles to provide necessary support. Each of those soldiers, whether in supply, payroll, mess service, intelligence, transportation, entertainment, communications, security, training, etc., all performed essential parts in making the very complex military system work, which contributed to our country’s interests and security. Their contributions are no less honorable than that of the grunt rifleman who took watch behind the concertina wire of the Phu Bai airstrip night after lonely night.

As Newsmax reports, Rasmussen’s latest polling finds Herman Cain ahead of Mitt “RomneyCare” Romney 30%-24%. That’s very good, especially considering Romney is still getting a free pass from the “mainstream” media while the bloodhounds have been out for Cain going on two weeks now. Are people really stopping listening to the “mainstream” media and allowing liberals to pick the Republican candidate?

Up until now, Herman Cain has engendered the admiration of the American people precisely because he has been plain spoken and shown an aversion for the artificial political correctness that pervades so much of American civic discourse. He’s proven that he has the resilience to survive this ordeal and continue to build support, but only if he stays true to form and addresses accusations of sexual harassment with the same kind of straight talk that has characterized the rest of his campaign.

What about the other candidates for President of the United States? “What other candidates?” you might ask.The many candidates who are not being invited to give their ideas to the media or participate in debates are the ones to which I refer. I’m not talking about independent candidates or candidates who belong to smaller political parties. I’m talking about Democrats and Republicans who are running for President, but few people know of them.

This is the entire video, in two parts, of the GOP debate in Rochester, Michigan last night, moderated by CNBC. Candidates present were Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), businessman Herman Cain, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, Texas governor Rick Perry, former Massachusetts governor Mitt “RomneyCare” Romney, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

What was arguably Mississippi’s most important ballot initiative, Ballot Initiative 26, did not pass Tuesday. The legislation sought to correctly acknowledge that human life does begin at conception, a truth that used to be commonly understood even by 6th grade biology students. Since the awful Roe v. Wade decision, so many Americans have become desensitized to the barbaric truth of abortion that, as George Orwell said, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

The Vietnam War left an indelible imprint on America, for a number of reasons. The History Channel is doing a multi-part series on footage from the Vietnam War, telling the story in the voices of the veterans who were there and displaying digitized footage from the war. Some of that footage was shot by the soldiers themselves and has not been seen publicly before.

It seems the audience at tonight’s GOP debate didn’t think much of the media hit job on Herman Cain utilizing the vehicle of unsubstantited and initially anonymous allegations. There were plenty of boos and gasps when a questioner got on the gossip train instead of asking questions about substantive matters.

A local CBS news station in Atlanta is reporting that TJ Ward, a private investigator, uses some lie-detecting sotfware that has a$15,000 pricetag, and based on the results of looking at Herman Cain’s statement disavowing the claims of sexual harassment being made against him, he is telling the truth.

Another braintrust from the BoWeL Movement (aka Occupy Wall Street) heard from. This idiot in a what looks like a sports shirt (where people get paid millions of dollars for chasing a ball around, but he doesn’t seem to have a problem with those millions) says he doesn’t need to have a job to support himself. Everything he needs, he can just “take it from the erf.”

America is a forgiving nation. America has always rejected the notion of debtor’s prisons, and our bankruptcy laws reflect that spirit of giving someone multiple chances to get it right. However, it is perverse for politicians to try to use the money of those who pay their bills to fund the mortgages of those who they fear might not.

Frank Turek has written a column that every American–pro-American Tea Party patriot, Marxist occupationist, and in between–should read. These graphs point out the great strides in affluence much of the world has made since 1800, especially in the West. This informational also points out that even the “poor” in America have it better than the vast majority of the world. So what is the real problem? Is it capitalism? Is it Wall Street? Is it “Jew bankers?” No, it is sin. The sins of envy and covetousness being chief among them in this instance.

In California, environmental regulations are the law of the land, public employee unions have the upper hand and elected official’s progressive agenda rules all. To remedy the state’s myriad problems there have been suggestions to break up the state, since not every person or community in California is on board with many of the decision made by its elected officials. This would allow more conservative parts of the state that want less government to break off on their own.

Dr. Alveda King released a statement today defending Herman Cain against his attackers, stating that Cain naysayers want to slay the American Dream–and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. “These are political ploys by the establishment to attempt a high tech lynching akin to racial profiling in a vicious attempt to eliminate this man who has the courage to present life affirming solutions for America’s problems.”

The contempt these narcissistic Marxists in the BoWeL Movement display toward the nation that provides the freedom and affluence they enjoy is truly breathtaking. The one interviewed in this video said he hopes 911 happens 911 more times. He says this while wearing a pro-terrorist kaffiyeh around his neck.