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…
April 27th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
There is a big difference between ears and legs
Our English language adds words to dictionaries every year because there are more than 6,000 languages on earth and we do communicate with friends and enemies. We now have more than 600,000 words in the most complete dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary. This year we added 42 words from other languages as well as words created by new developments in many scientific fields. The dictionary added the…
April 7th, 2025
By Ed Raymond
The wizards and kleagles in whites now wear blue suits and red ties
A hundred years ago, more than 30,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan from virtually every state in the Union wearing their white sheets and pointy hoods marched by the White House and down to the capitol before thousands of cheering Americans. They came by foot, horse, steamboat, train, bus, car, taxi and perhaps plane. Rumor was the New Jersey KKK wanted to have a plane carry a huge…
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By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comDairy Queen restaurants across the country will raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals during Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, July 31. At least one dollar from every Blizzard…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comFM Pride Week returns to the Fargo-Moorhead metro August 3-10. A snapshot of events are listed below. Discover event descriptions and locations as well as volunteer opportunities online at…
September 12-13Brewhalla, 1666 1st Ave N, Fargo Hold onto your hats and step right up to the main event! DrekkerFest 11 kicks off with Timebomb Pro Wrestling on Friday night from 8-10 p.m. Enjoy an evening of suplexes, steel kegs,…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I’m going to go ahead and say it. I have trust issues with a lot of things and artificial intelligence (AI) is one of them. Yes, it’s a tool that can sit shotgun and make your everyday tasks…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comIf a child is drowning in a ditch, will you get your shoes muddy? “Big Moma” Leah Drumwright was a Black slave in the 19th century who had one of her numerous babies and was nursing an infant.…
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 There seems to be a renaissance in Italian restaurants in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. It’s a welcome change from just sporting an Olive Garden as a lone option. No offense to Marilyn Hagerty’s…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Bluegrass is a genre of music that is often associated with the American South. Many people would express incredulity at being told there is a thriving bluegrass and folk music community…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Now available on HBO after a theatrical debut earlier this year at Tribeca in the Spotlight Documentary section, “Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print” considers the groundbreaking impact of the…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com 2025 marks three years of the Annual Vergas Area Backroads Art Crawl. The art crawl is sponsored by the Vergas Arts Club. The Arts Club also happens to be part of the Vegas Community Club and both…
Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comPenn & Teller are returning to their roots. The legendary magic and comedy duo will appear on the Crown Stage at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, where they first…
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…
By Dr. Marc Sapir, MD, MPHjessica@pellienpublicrelations.com Across America, families are quietly struggling with a rising challenge: how to care for aging parents, siblings, grandparents, neighbors and friends. Most seniors want…
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…
