June 24th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
We need Paul Revere on a Harley: “ants and autocrats are coming!”
The Asian needle ant has been nesting in the American South since at least 1932. It probably hitched a ride on a freighter from a tropical Asian country delivering some exotic lumber used in furniture. This ant loves warm temperatures and rotten wood, in which it nests. They have discovered that climate change in the Divided States of America is not a hoax. The biting ants have rather…
June 19th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
Why did Trump run for the White House? That’s where the money is!
Remember the story about the robber who, when asked why he robbed banks, responded: “That’s where the money is!?” Well, now we have the story of the 45th president of the United States who, when running for another term in 2024 after being convicted of 34 felonies associated with property and income taxes and illegal business practices, became the world’s champion grifter and…
June 9th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
The Fiddler on the roof was taking a big chance after two thousand years of hate
Cal Thomas, who seems to hate a lot in a journalistic and broadcasting career where he expresses his conservative views, wrote in a column that “you have to be taught to hate.” He has had a lot of terrific teachers.
He has been a political analyst and contributor on Fox Lies. He was a panelist on Fox Lies Watch, a Fox Lies Channel that critiqued media news coverage. He…
June 9th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
Our brave new world is now composed of Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia
Somebody in the Trump administration has read and liked the results in George Orwell’s “1984.” I suspect one is Stephen Miller, the Trump “policy advisor” who has a black cloud over his head and is always at the ultra-right shoulder of his Great Leader. Miller is very much like Joe Btfsplk, the guy in the comic strip “Lil Abner” who always had a black cloud over his head,…
May 28th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
For sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leeches
I suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is following the guidelines developed by the Hitler administration from about 1932 through the spring of 1945. The developers of Project 2025 have simply “translated’ the work of Hitler’s and his minions to fit the American political system.
There are two…
May 28th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
Three major religions — a trifecta of good and bad trouble for Earth
“Out of guilt or amnesia, we tend to treat wars, in retrospect, as natural disasters, terrible but somehow inevitable beyond anyone’s control,” is the opening sentence in Adam Gopnik’s New Yorker article “A Time To Kill.” At the present time, we have two major wars and a dozen minor ones supporting Gopnik’s point dominating the news. The wars between Russia and Ukraine,…
May 19th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
How many cardinals in red look at Michelangelo’s sexy ceiling?
Michelangelo finished painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in 1512. It is examined and admired by millions every year. The first conclave to elect a pope in the chapel took place in 1492, and since 1878, every conclave to elect a new pope has been held in its beautiful confines. He returned in 1536 to paint the altar wall and finished it in 1541. Michelangelo painted his famous Last…
May 15th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
Perhaps it was by IVF — the Know-Nothings are “concepting” notzees
In the middle of the 19th century the Republican Party morphed to the Know-Nothing Party for a short time. Members quickly threw off STUPID and were “born-again” to the Republican Party. It remained so until the rise of the second Trump, which is an attempt to emulate the rise of the Third Reich by Hitler. In a very short time, Trumusklicans are morphing to the Notzee Party,…
May 12th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
In which century would you love to live, the 14th or the 22nd?
History tells me we are in a period where Americans are fighting for their choice. Just 48 hours after Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933, several trade agreements were about to expire. With large lumber imports from Austria and a 200 million Reichsmark trade deal with Russia pending, Hitler’s finance minister Count Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, was told an…
May 5th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
What age has been determined to be the worst in world history?
Historians have estimated about one third of the population of Europe died of the bubonic plague, also known as the black plague, from the fifth century through the 15th century of the Middle Ages. The early years of this era are also often called the Dark Ages by historians. During this disastrous time, the Roman Catholic Church (with its denizens and popes in the Vatican) burned thousands…
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By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comNorth Dakota communities will join a “nationwide day of defiance” against authoritarianism and President Donald Trump’s policies on Saturday, June 14. A range of "No Kings" events…
Back-to-school season is on the horizon, but there's still plenty of summer left. Check out our favorite August attractions and events in North Dakota and western Minnesota. And if if you missed them, here are a few excellent May…
June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…
Fighting the good fightBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Over two thousand rallies took place nationwide June 14 as part of the “No Kings" protest. Ten of those protests were held in North Dakota, with thousands in attendance.…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWe need Paul Revere on a Harley: “ants and autocrats are coming!”The Asian needle ant has been nesting in the American South since at least 1932. It probably hitched a ride on a freighter from…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com The weather warmed up quickly here in the upper Midwest this spring, sparking prime eating season. This means burger battles, food trucks and lake-season food travel. The 2025 Downtown Fargo Burger…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Moorhead Public Library will offer three free, all-ages outdoor concerts featuring regional bands this summer. The series begins on June 12 with the Meat Rabbits, a group that blends…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The June 9 death of musician Sylvester Stewart, known much better by stage name Sly Stone, saw an outpouring of tributes, memorials and appreciations from some who knew him personally and many…
By Deb Wallworkdwallwork@icloud.comI first met Catherine Mulligan at a party at her house. It was a small gathering, spontaneous, just a few people over for dinner. Directed toward a stack of plates and bowls and a big pot warming…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comAct Up Theatre, in partnership with Minnesota State University Moorhead, will present “The Sound of Music” on June 10-14. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. at the Minnesota State Moorhead’s…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
The drug that keeps re-purposing itselfBy Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There is a drug that is getting a lot of attention nowadays all over the world. It has various commercial names (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), but…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…
