May 16th, 2021
by Ed Raymond
What Hath Trump Wrought?
Dan Rather at 89 has been directly involved with the history of the United -- now Divided -- United States of America for one-third of its life. He spoke truth to power at all levels of government. He asked penetrating questions to dog catchers and presidents alike. He took on the paranoid Tricky Dick Nixon with both humor and wrath—while increasing Nixon’s paranoia.
Dan got into trouble when “Big Daddy” President George…
May 10th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
What Are Our Biophysical and Religious Limits?
Scientists are studying the effects of the world’s ever-expanding economic growth, increases in population, consumption of our natural resources, and our limited ability to decrease or store our waste. To describe the studies they use the inclusive term “collapseology.”
A report from Future Earth emphasizes that “extreme weather events, food insecurity, freshwater shortages, and degradation of…
May 3rd, 2021
By Ed Raymond
30 April 2021
Oliver, David, and Madame Defarge Knew About Economic Inequality
Charles Dickens wrote about real history, not fake, in his novels. In Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities and ten others,he wrote about debtor’s prisons, workhouses for the young, poor houses for the old, and the perversions of economic inequality illustrated by the estates and the magnificent mansions of the rich. Think of…
April 25th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
24 April 2021
The Longest Civil War in History: Yankees vs. Planters
The American Civil War actually started in 1619 when 20 slaves were brought to the shores of New England. By 1860 there were four million slaving in our economy. Our first eight presidents were slave owners and many signers of the Declaration of Independence that declared “all men are created equal” owned slaves. George and Martha at Mount Vernon owned 125. George declared he…
April 19th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
18 April 2021
What Are Our National Goals?
I imagine that every person who has lived as long as I have feels that they have lived in transformational times that may change the world. At 89, I get up each morning eager to get to the TV and computer to see what has happened in the 24-hour news cycle.
Sometimes I like what I see, sometimes I curse. Yesterday, in an article about aging, I saw that the odds I will not reach 90 is one in six. So today I hope I…
April 12th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
Sam Harris: “At Some Point It’s Going to Be Too Embarrassing to Believe in God”
After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Jerry Falwell, Sr., the leader of the Christian Right “Moral Majority,” blamed the attack on “the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and lesbians who tried to secularize America.”
Such an attack aroused the interest of atheist intellectual Sam Harris, perhaps the leading critic of religions in the DSA,…
April 4th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
Why Can’t Whites Jump?
In 1946 I graduated from Morrison County District #54 with two others, a German boy and a Polish girl. I’m French. I graduated from Little Falls High School in 1950 with 241 other lily-Whites. Oh, it’s possible that some might have had a drop of Black or Hispanic blood or two in their genome. The ethnics were more interesting. There were three Roman Catholic churches in town. The German and French were on the east side of…
March 28th, 2021
The only cure for our firearm pandemic is to reduce our number of firearms to the rate held by the 37 most developed countries, limit their power and capacity, and track all ammunition.
By Ed Raymond
Why American Kids Need More School Active-Shooter Drills Than Fire Drills
The Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area has a population of about 250,000. The Divided States of America has 330 million. The best estimate of the number of usable firearms in the country is 425…
March 21st, 2021
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
21 January 2021
What Job Pays 90 Bucks an Hour and You Just Have to Keep Repeating “NO”?
There evidently is a great deal of truth in the old adage: “Those who don’t know history are bound to repeat it.” The Divided States of America are beginning to look more like the Roman Empire and the Vatican each day. The power of Rome grew and died over a thousand years because only sometimes it acted like a real empire.
Modern life is quicker and…
March 15th, 2021
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
The Only Way to Defeat Trumpistan Is to Pass the Democratic Party’s Platform
Since 2013, when Chief Justice John Roberts declared the election of Barack Obama had proven that racial discrimination no longer existed in the United States, the Republicans have closed 1,688 polling places.
Texas alone has closed 750 while Arizona and Georgia have closed hundreds in counties where there are lots of colored people. In Texas counties that had gained the most…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonLocal groups will speak out against current and projected federal budget cuts in downtown Fargo this Saturday, April 26. The Red River Valley chapters of Fearless and Indivisible will lead a protest from…
By Prairie Rose Seminolems.prairierose@gmail.com I was a child who walked behind my parents into classrooms and kitchens, spaces of song and prayer, where teachings lived in the air and settled on my shoulders. I didn’t yet have…
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Saturday, May 3, 7 p.m.-MidnightPlains Art Museum, 704 1st Ave. N., FargoDon’t miss the art party of the year! What goes on at the gala? There’s a silent art auction with music by Low Standards and DJ Star IV, hors d’oeuvres…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIt’s no secret that there are folks among us who make our communities a more vibrant place through both their actions and means of creative expression. Heck, you could be one of them yourself.…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comThere is a big difference between ears and legsOur 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…
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 After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…
Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comRyan Coogler goes big and bold with “Sinners,” a sweaty, bloody vampire movie set in 1932. The filmmaker stuffs this universe with enough ideas to serve a limited-series season of episodic…
By Raul Gomez Modern Man was a gentle soul. If you were down or just wanted a friend, he’d be there for you. I remember the first day I met Modern Man. It was Jeremiah Fuglseth and me. He wanted to write about this legendary…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
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 Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com I remember when I was young, probably 11 years ago. One morning I was not feeling well because of my period. After I got ready to go to school, I went back to bed and it was hard to get up…
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.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…
