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Articles by Dina Butcher
Letter: Elected officials must uphold the Constitution
The BadAss Grandmas for Democracy, a non-partisan group who have fought for public integrity in government in North Dakota since 2018, wish to publicly express our deep concern over the current constitutional crisis and the alarming overreach of Elon Musk in his role within the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Don’t let it happen here
Last Word | By Dina Butcher dina.wtba@midconetwork.com In 1938, when my parents were living in Germany, my father — along with 30,000 other Jewish men — was rounded up by Nazi Stormtroopers during an event known as Kristallnacht. He was taken to a concentration camp and performed forced labor until some relatives were able to secure his release. Shortly after this horrible experience, he began planning to bring his family to the United States.
Commission must honor the Ethics Amendment
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Ethics Commission must honor North Dakota's Ethics Amendment
Letters The members are five conscientious, non-political people of various backgrounds. Written By: By Dina Butcher, president, and Ellen Chaffee, vice president, North Dakotans for Public Integrity, Bismarck | 2:25 pm, Nov. 29, 2021 × North Dakota voters made it very clear by approving the Ethics Amendment to the state constitution in 2018: We expect state government to become more transparent, ethical and accountable.
Letter: New rules contradict North Dakota's Ethics Amendment
Letters Butcher and Chaffee write, "We have these concerns: The new rules contradict the ethics amendment, perhaps because the commission did not have accurate constitutional advice, and their scheduled hearing had no provision for citizens to talk with commissioners." Written By: Dina Butcher and Ellen Chaffee | 8:54 am, Nov.
Letter: Laws fraught with consequences
Letters As if denying women the right to make personal health decisions isn’t enough, the enforcement proposed is an outrageous violation of personal freedom: Citizen vigilantes are incentivized to bring civil action against anyone who performs an abortion or aids (knowingly or unknowingly) someone getting an abortion. Written By: Dina Butcher, Bismarck | 10:00 am, Oct.
Letter: Self-righteous zealots want to deny women their right to make health care decisions
Letters Dina Butcher cautions North Dakota legislators against passing an abortion ban similar to Texas. Written By: Dina Butcher | 11:00 am, Sep. 24, 2021 × North Dakota has spent millions of dollars to defend unconstitutional laws rammed through our legislature by self righteous zealots bent on making abortion illegal and unsafe while also ensuring that comprehensive sex education (which deters unwanted pregnancies!) is unavailable in schools.
Letter: Redistricting process must be transparent.
Letters The big problem with the Legislature’s redistricting proposal is language that exempts draft maps from open records. This means that politicians pick their voters in secret. It’s a sneaky way to protect their seats. Written By: Dina Butcher, Bismarck | Feb 27th 2021 - 12pm. × In the recent online piece by Forum Communications Co. columnist Rob Port, he said there is nothing wrong with the process in North Dakota. I beg to differ.
Letter: The issue with redistricting in North Dakota is transparency
Letters Redistricting isn’t a partisan issue as Port makes it out to be. Even the North Dakota Newspaper Association and North Dakota Broadcasters Association are against the secrecy part of the proposal. Written By: Dina Butcher | Feb 18th 2021 - 10am. × In Rob Port’s recent column about legislative redistricting, he said there is nothing wrong with the process in North Dakota. I beg to differ.
Letter: We must not give ND COVID relief dollars to out-of-state grifters
I recognize how important oil has been to the economy of North Dakota. But I am witnessing small businesses that have been stiffed yet again by big name exploiters, who like an absentee parent, swoop in at Christmas loaded with glitzy gifts and big hugs to assuage their guilt and then sneaks out on New Year’s Eve, leaving those kids bereft ‘til next time.
Letter: Books about the Holocaust should be required reading
Much is being written about Auschwitz, the “showcase” of the Holocaust where 1.1 million, mostly Jews, were killed, as 75 years have passed since the Russians liberated it. My grandmother, Goldina Schoenthal, was 65 when she was sent there from hiding in Holland along with her three daughters, son-in-law and two grandchildren in 1943. My father had begged her to sail with them when he, my mother and three siblings aged 7, 4 and 2 escaped from Germany in November 1939.
Letter: It's a great time to support high school civics programs
We need more people who actually read and study the U.S. Constitution rather than just carry it around in their pockets.
Letter: Shaw's column on the implementation of ND's ethics measure was spot-on
Jim Shaw’s May 25th column titled, “The Unethical Implementation of the Ethics Measure” was spot-on. It was not inaccurate as claimed in a letter published by politician Scott Louser, who was vice-chair of the House Special Committee on Ethics that intentionally gutted what citizens approved last fall as Article XIV to the North Dakota Constitution.
Letter: The citizens of ND want an ethics commission
A recent news article about Constitutional Article XIV implementation quoted the chairman of the House Ethics Committee calling proponents of the ethics measure, cowards for not appearing before his committee. His memory seems somewhat impaired as many proponents attended the hearings of both the House and Senate committees. Testimony was presented orally and in writing. Had he allowed more time, many more proponents would have testified.
Letter: Let's work together to frame a trustworthy government
North Dakotans came together across the spectrum last year to make a significant decision. East or west, regardless of party or ideology, we voted to improve transparency and accountability in state government. It was called Measure 1 before the election; now it is Article XIV of the state constitution. Implementing Article XIV begins with the Ethics Commission bill in the current legislative session.
Letter: This Republican supports Planned Parenthood
When an institution has served people for 100 years for cancer screening, family planning and in recent years for HIV testing with great success we should applaud that success. That is why I support the vital work of Planned Parenthood in North Dakota.Though not operating a clinic within our borders, more than half of the patients seen at Planned Parenthood's Moorhead clinic come from North Dakota. Many of these clients are students at Fargo andMoorhead academic institutions.
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