The Bismarck Tribune, Dec. 22
We need the spirit of Christmas all year
The Lloyd Spetz Post No. 1 of the American Legion did what it’s been doing since 1930 on Friday and Saturday — helped the community during the holiday season through the Open Your Heart program.
Legion members and volunteers sorted food, packed baskets and delivered them to residents who need some assistance. It’s amazing that a program started during the Great Depression continues to serve the public.
It requires a lot of planning and work by Legion members. Like most military operations, it’s well-organized and runs on time.
It’s unfortunate the Open Your Heart program is still needed. Different factors contribute to people falling on hard times, such as natural disasters, economic downturns, war and illness. Even during good economic times there are some who fall through the cracks.
In 1930, the American Legion saw a need and responded. They show no signs of stopping. It’s an example of how people show they care during the holiday season. The Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle drive serves as a reminder to people to share as they are greeted at stores by volunteers.
Churches, schools and businesses, big and small, organize activities to help others. It’s that kind of sharing and caring that makes Christmastime uplifting.
We also need to remember there are people in need throughout the year. There are organizations that never quit working to help people have better lives. What’s encouraging is that there are more organizations dedicated to the public good than one editorial can acknowledge. Here are a few.
The Fargo-based Great Plains Food Bank recently announced plans to open a $1.5 million regional service center in Bismarck-Mandan next summer. The center will improve the food bank’s ability to help charitable feeding programs in central and western North Dakota. Without the program, there are many North Dakotans who wouldn’t have their basic daily food allowance.
The Heaven’s Helpers Soup Cafe in Bismarck has been expanding its services. What started as a simple place to go for a free hot meal now works to provide multiple services to people to help get them back on their feet.
The Abused Adult Resource Center helps those who find themselves in difficult domestic situations. They provide shelter and help people get restarted. The Bismarck Early Childhood Education Program gets children going in the right direction at an early age.
Community Action assists low- and moderate-income families and individuals get the opportunities for self-sufficiency. Charles Hall Youth Services provides foster children with shelter and treatment, and Aid Inc. serves Morton and Burleigh counties by providing assistance to low-income households and the working poor.
That’s a lot of valuable services by just a few groups. As we noted, there are many more serving our communities.
Everyone should have the opportunity to have a wonderful Christmas. We also need to remember the spirit of the holiday throughout the year and help, when we can, the organizations striving to make life better for others.
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Minot Daily News, Dec. 21
Space Force future up in the air
All too often, bad ideas never really go away in Washington. Congress merely reduces taxpayer funding for them, without insisting they be abandoned. That may be the fate of President Donald Trump’s “Space Force.”
Trump envisions the force as an entirely separate, new branch of the military, added to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.
He is correct that our national security requires a strong military capability beyond the atmosphere. Making it impossible for a potential enemy to control space is imperative.
But the president’s idea of a new branch of the military is not the way to go. If anything, it could hamper U.S. capability in space.
A perennial problem at the Pentagon is controlling inter-service rivalry. No one can say how many billions of dollars have been spent to ensure that one branch of the military receives funding, and often equipment, its generals and admirals demand merely to keep up with what other branches are receiving.
Coordinating missions that involve more than one branch - which almost all do, these days - is another challenge. Creation of a separate space force would aggravate such concerns.
A more rational approach is to have the Air Force handle space missions. That is a natural extension of its current mandate to control the skies.
It appears most members of the U.S. House of Representatives agree. A spending bill approved this week by the House reflects that.
Trump had requested $72 million to begin establishing his Space Force. But the bill includes “only” $40 million for that.
Why not just thank the president for his concern with security in space - but say no thanks to his request for funding? The $40 million and, probably, even more during future years of Trump’s presidency, will be frittered away without making any real gain - like so many other government programs no one wants, but that not enough lawmakers have the political will to scrap.
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