Gadfly

Women as Leaders

April 23rd, 2022

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

What Do Republican and Democratic Women Stand For?

Have we lost our way? What are the values of a democracy?

In February of 1994, after many years of Russian subjugation, the president of Estonia listed the following values in a speech in Hamburg, Germany: ”(The values are) Freedom of every individual, the freedom of the economy and trade, the freedom of the mind, of culture and science, are inseparably connected.” In broad terms, with the two…

Read more...


​Miranda Was Half Right

April 9th, 2022

By Ed Raymond

fargogadly@gmail.com

Zebras Are Half Black and Half of Humans Are Above Average

In Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, Prospero’s daughter Miranda has been sheltered much of her life. After a storm maroons them on an island, she is exposed to some of the residents. In her naivety concerning humans, she exclaims, “Oh, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in it!”

Her father, who has seen many…

Read more...


​Some Zebras Are Black on White While Others Are White on Black

April 2nd, 2022

By Ed Raymond 

fargogadfky@gmail.com

Some Fetuses in the Uterus Are Female, but Are Born With Visible Male Parts

Almost 2,400 years ago Thebes, Greece formed a military organization called the Sacred Band to assist in battles against Sparta. It was made up of 150 pairs of gay lovers. It performed very well in the field, often defeating the enemy when outnumbered two to one.

According to myth, the god Hercules…

Read more...


​Transolosophy

March 26th, 2022

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

Whatever Happened to Real Conservation, Family Values, and Honest Debate?

With the word “transgender” in the headlines lately, which describes the power of the brain over the organs of the body, I thought I would come up with a new word describing the flip-flopping knuckle-dragging philosophy of Republicans lately.

That word is “transolosophy.” It describes the “translating” of the old philosophy of conservation ( the saving of the status quo…

Read more...


​Sunburned White Dominion

March 19th, 2022

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

Breaking World News! Trump Told His First Truth and Only Truth Five Years Ago!

It’s been a terrible week. The Vikings signed their narcissistic quarterback Kirk Cousins to two more years of mediocre play at the most important position on a football team. He thinks only of himself and his personal records. God wouldn’t give him COVID-19 so he refused to get vaccinated to help protect his teammates. He has just enough talent to win the little games…

Read more...


​Abortion: Economics, Religion, Politics

March 16th, 2022

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

What Can We Do To Limit Population When Each Female Can Have 39 Births?

This is what happened in 1967 when Lorraine Saulino-Klein of Laramie, Wyoming was an 18-year-old student nurse at Kings County Hospital Center School of Nursing in Brooklyn:

In a hospital room with a half-dozen doctors watching a pregnant 16-year old girl rolling her eyes, thrashing on a bed, yelling in pain, it was her job to keep tracking her temperature. The girl had been brought…

Read more...


​Is History a Nightmare or a Dream?

February 27th, 2022

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

Will a Political Party That Burns Books Ultimately Burn Who Reads Them?

My choice for second-worst political party in modern times is the Monster Raving Loony Party organized in Great Britain by Davis “Screaming Lord” Such. His platform had two major goals: (1) tow Britain 500 miles further out to sea to improve its climate, and (2) put glowing phosphorescent material in all dog food so that pedestrians walking in the dark would not step in doo-doo…

Read more...


​The Genesis of a Liberal

February 27th, 2022

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail,com

Three Men Who Turned Me Into a Social Liberal and a Moral Capitalist

My political beliefs were not forged by Greek philosophers, Nobel economists, politicians, and historians. They were born and matured by words of steel by three writers of fiction: Howard Pyle, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William Shakespeare. In District #54 in Morrison County we averaged about three kids per grade, give or take (I graduated from Eighth Grade with Jim and Adeline). Our…

Read more...


​To Pee, or Not To Pee?

February 19th, 2022

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

Should That Be a Question on the Job in the Richest Country in the World?

Back in the 17th century, Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play mused about life and death, heaven, purgatory and hell, religion, and whether suicide might be an answer to all of life’s problems in the greatest soliloquy ever written. Here are a few lines:

To be, or not to be, that is the question; whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,…

Read more...


​Will It Be by Bang or Whimper?

January 29th, 2022

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

The Roman Empire Lasted About 600 Years

How long will the American Empire last? The English historian Edward Gibbons covered the rise and fall of the Roman Empire in six volumes published in 1788 and 1789. He covers 98 AD to 1590 AD in his epic work. Among his six volumes he has an excellent summary of why Rome failed in just one sentence: “The Roman Empire succumbed to barbarian invasions in large part due to the gradual loss of civic virtue among…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstWest Tracker Pixel for Entry Empire Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL2 Tracker Pixel for Entry staveq1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird

Recently in:

By Bryce Vincent Haugen There are three Fargo Park Board seats up for election June 9. Park Board President Vicki Dawson and long-time member Dr. Joe Deutsch announced their reelection bids, but board member Aaron Hill is vacating…

By Michael M. Miller Francie M. Berg, native of Hettinger, N.D., edited an impressive book, “Ethnic Heritage in North Dakota,” published in 1983. She grew up on a ranch near Miles City, Montana. Her son, Richard Berg, is…

Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m.Fargodome, 1800 University Dr. N, FargoHeralded as "The Nicest Man in Stand-Up" by The Atlantic, Nate Bargatze is also one of the top-grossing comedians, breaking both streaming and attendance records. Now…

By Sabrina Hornung In the last week of March, we heard about an AI education droid visiting the White House as the first lady made a pitch to replace teachers with androids. In an interview with conservative commentator Benny…

About the leader who sits so far-right from God he can’t see Him I have been reading Harvard PHD Heather Cox Richardson for more than a decade because she knows how important Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is in the study…

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 Gion A brand new food event called the "ONE BITE Challenge" will launch in downtown Fargo on May 23. Rocky Schneider, executive director of the Downtown Community Partnership told us more. HPR: Hi Rocky. Thank you for…

By John ShowalterAs hip-hop started to make its way into the national spotlight in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was largely split into two camps, “East Coast” and “West Coast”. Not content to be left out of a…

By Greg Carlson Veteran documentary filmmaker Marina Zenovich has chronicled a number of powerful men in entertainment, politics and popular culture, including Roman Polanski (twice), Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Lance Armstrong…

Friday, May 8 - Sunday, May 10, 2-8 p.m.Brewhalla, 1702 1st Ave. N., FargoAmarok Tattoo is working with our pals at Drekker Brewing/Brewhalla to celebrate ink and everything odd and a little macabre. See some of the best in the…

Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…

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 Liverani In November 2025, the FDA initiated the removal of the “black box” warning from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The “black box” warning is a FAD safety warning for healthcare providers and patients…

January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…

By Jim Fuglie Okay, here I go again, warning (whining? complaining?) about another threat to the North Dakota badlands. Sorry. Please put up with me for a few hundred more words. Now, some folks I don’t think want to put a…