Energy, Agriculture, Finance, Culture & Faith on the Northern Great Plains SUMMER/FALL 2016 • VOLUME 1.2 • UNIVERSITY OF MARY 360 REVIEW magazine covers energy, agriculture, finance, culture and faith on the Northern Great Plains. 360 Review presents in-depth inquiry, analysis and reflection on important issues, trends and events happening in and affecting this region. There is a special focus on North Dakota, where we are located. More stories about surrounding states will published in future issues. “Magazine” derives from makhazin, the Arabic word for “storehouse,” which also soon gained military application as a “store for arms.” The world’s first print magazines began publication in England in the 18th century and sought to provide a storehouse of information and intellectual armament. 360 Review joins that tradition with the Christian, Catholic and Benedictine tradition of the University of Mary, which exists to serve the religious, academic and cultural needs of people in this region and beyond. As a poet once wrote: “The universe is composed of stories, not atoms.” 360 Review strives to tell some of these stories well—on paper (made of atoms, we presume), which is retro-innovative in a world spinning into cyberspace. There is also a digital version, available at: www.umary.edu/360. Publisher: University of Mary Editor-in-Chief: Patrick J. McCloskey Art Director & Photographer: Jerry Anderson Director of Print & Media Marketing: Tom Ackerman Illustrator: Tom Marple Research & Graphics Assistant: Matthew Charley Editorial Offices: University of Mary, 7500 University Drive, Bismarck, ND 58504 Signed articles express the views of their authors and are intended solely to inform and broaden public debate. They are not intended to aid or hinder legislation before legislative bodies at the municipal, state or federal level. ©360 Review at the University of Mary Printed in Canada The board is set, the pieces are now in motion, at last we come to it—the great battle of our age. Table of Contents J.R.R. Tolkien Letters to 360 Review 2 [Technology] Drones Illustrated 4 [Technology] Drone “Coincidenzas:” Marilyn, Reagan & North Dakota 6 [Military] A Generals Conversation 20 [Commentary] Closer to the Robo-Rubicon 28 [Art] Waxing & Waning of Light: Mike Paul 38 [Culture] Tribe, Time & Trait: German-Russians on the Prairie 48 [Economic Diversity] Winnebago & the Flying W(in) 60 [Benedictine] Walker Percy: Novelist as Cultural Physician & Oblate 70 [Bioethics] Multi-Parent Children? 75 [Essay] Where is the Wisdom We Have Lost in Knowledge? 79 [Education] Educating Students in Poverty 90 [Geopolitics] Why No Peace in the Middle East 100 [Book Review] Breaking the Line: Football, Civil Rights & Civility 109 [Book Review] Mercy in the City (& Town & Country) 116 [Movie Review] Fargo Movie & TV Series and The Revenant 120 Contributors 126 Great Plains Cartoon Caption Contest 128 1 Letters to the Editor “Iron Link” between energy consumption and standard of living? It’s amusing to see the old “iron link” between energy consumption and standard of living resurrected The leadership of the old Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) believed firmly in the link between electricity consump- tion and quality of life That was their rationale for predicting a future with thousands of nuclear reactors dotting the U S , and they had decades of data supporting that assumption Fortunately, what they were interpreting as an iron link was short-term elasticity Because of the nature of our energy infra- structure, it has a short-term elasticity close to zero However, events since the early 1970s have clearly shown that our energy system’s long-term elasticity is considerably higher There is a major omission in Mills’ analysis: the economic externalities of continuing reliance on fossil fuels to power modern society If we are forced to begin removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at rates comparable to its rate of release, in order to mitigate the increasingly destructive effects of global warming on the frequency and severity of natural disasters, on sea levels, etc , then it will substantially reduce the net efficiency and increase the societal cost of conventional technology It would be very interesting to see if Mills’ conclu- sions would be altered if he included this in his analysis David F Salisbury Senior Research Writer, Vanderbilt University Response: Mark Mills There is just no evidence that the global link between energy consumption and economic growth has ended It is, by the way, a “golden” and not iron link for the billions of people in emerging economies who seek to rise to even a fraction of the lifestyle casually enjoyed by the one billion people in mature economies Of course as economies mature, the character of the link changes: Mature nations can experience economic growth rates higher than electric growth rates—the inverse of poor nations But the link remains And even seemingly trivial growth rates of 1 percent, or a fraction of a percent per year in big economies, creates an incremental increase in energy demands that exceed the total national demands of smaller economies As for the notion that the “iron” link traces its roots to the old AEC, that organization was far from alone in citing the linkage And they were right 2 360 REVIEW It is a standard shibboleth to cite environmental “externalities” as if they are not priced into the use of hydrocarbons With the exception of carbon dioxide (well, until the contentious Clean Power Plan), the entire purpose is to internalize the costs associated with a legion of environmental regula- tions As for carbon dioxide, I have written elsewhere but note here briefly, that whatever the merits or accuracy of increasingly hyperbolic claims about global warming, the immutable fact is that the world gets 85 percent of all energy from burning hydrocarbons Over the past two decades, hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for alternative energy have not changed that fact There is simply not enough money nor any credible way with existing technol- ogies by which the world can replace hydrocarbons at the scale and price that matters I am in good company with this observation—none other than Bill Gates has recently and repeatedly observed the same reality The writer is correct, though—if “we are forced to begin removing carbon dioxide,” it would change my analysis I would then focus on the staggering economic destruction of civilization Journalism, Information & Democracy Thank you for reinstating a depth to journalism that is so lacking in today’s world of media soundbites 360 Review is a refreshing look at the cultural, economic, religious and geopolitical dimensions that make our Northern Great Plains great Your deep dives allow your readers to engage in meaningful discussions and even take action on issues important to them While reading 360 Review, I was struck by the similarity to an online endeavor I founded last fall, TheChisel com, where we delve into public policy issues important to Americans and to the country’s future Just as you are combating the decay of investigative journalism, we are heeding our Chief Inspiration Officer Ben Franklin’s admonition: “What have you done with our Great American Experiment?” Ben Franklin has much in common with our Northern Great Plains—a spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and invention, statesmanship, scholarship, independence, and patriotism Most importantly, he represents the tie that binds together disparate ideas, fusing them into a cohesive, flourishing whole At TheChisel com, we are taking back our democracy by giving citizens a unique platform to engage in public policy-making with experts from nonpartisan organizations and multi-partisan coalitions Then we’ll help send proposals to Congress This project can succeed only if Americans are properly informed, to which 360 Review is making a significant contribution Deborah L Devedjian Founder & Chief Citizens’ Officer, TheChisel.com 3 SENTINEL RQ-180 Use: Strategic Intelligence Gathering Max Altitude: Est. 40-60,000 ft Wingspan: Est. 130-165 ft Range: Est. 1,400-2,400 miles Top Speed: Classified illustratedDrones DRONE EXPLOSION The FAA rushed to have regulations in place before Christmas of 2015 to address the increase in consumer drones. Drones are being used increasingly in the energy, agricultural, sports, science and entertainment sectors. INSITU SCANEAGLE HERMES 450 Use: Military, Commercial Use: Military, Commercial Surveillance Surveillance Max Altitude: 18,000 ft Max Altitude: 19,500 ft Wingspan: 34 ft Wingspan: 10.2 ft Range: 125 miles Range: 1,500 miles Top Speed: 109 mph Top Speed: 92 mph Pilots are trained at the University of North Dakota 4 360 REVIEW GPS SATELLITES Drones link to the 32 Global Positioning System satellites to navigate and carry out missions. GLOBAL HAWK Use: Military Surveillance Max Altitude: 60,000 ft Wingspan: 131 ft Range: 14,000 miles Top Speed: 357 mph REAPER Use: Military Surveillance/Attack Max Altitude: 50,000 ft Wingspan: 66 ft Range: 1,150 miles Top Speed: 276 mph AR PARROT Use: Consumer Max Altitude: 328 ft Wingspan: 2.4 ft Range: Within Sight Top Speed: 25 mph 5 Technology Drone “Coincidenzas:” Marilyn, Reagan & North Dakota Grand Forks has become “Silicon Valley for Drones” for military and commercial applications Mark Mills Author, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute, and Faculty Fellow, Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering 6 360 REVIEW hat do Marilyn Monroe, President Ronald Reagan and Grand Forks, Above right, Norma Jeane North Dakota, have in common? For the cognoscenti of historical Dougherty (née Mortenson) W posing in the WWII photo coincidences and convergences, the answer is drones promotion that launched Let’s start with a remarkable World War II era photograph (above right) of her movie star career as Marilyn Monroe. She 18-year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty, aka Marilyn Monroe, in which she is worked 10 hours a day on holding a propeller at the company where she worked, appropriately named the Radioplane drone Radioplane, that built drones in Burbank, California, which were used as assembly line for $20 per week.