by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 30th, 2015
At last count the 7 billion descendants of Adam and Eve – or of Pithecanthropus erectus – who presently inhabit the earth try to communicate with one another through 7,000 languages.
Three billion use one of the top twenty languages in this order: Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, Arabic, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, Japanese, Punjabi, German, Javanese, Wu Chinese, Telugu, Vietnamese, Marathi, French, Korean, Tamil and Italian. In contrast the…
by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 26th, 2015
A few years ago conservative Republican judges on the US Supreme Court chastised their liberal counterparts for citing foreign legal cases in their written opinions because courts in other countries had nothing intelligent to offer American jurisprudence. We can learn nothing from civilizations that have lasted much longer than ours? The arrogance and resulting stupidity is absolutely astounding. The New York Times published an article recently that sanely and…
by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 15th, 2015
Memo to the North Dakota House of Representatives: The times they are a’changin.’
Science continues to rip away the shroud of ignorance surrounding religious beliefs. Perhaps baseball fans recall a player by the name of Billy Beane who played for the Dodgers, Tigers and Padres in his major league career. He has been employed by Major League Baseball to serve as an intermediary between the LGBT community and pro baseball. He came…
by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 8th, 2015
I love watching the top 64 college teams trying to win the NCAA basketball championship. I only miss a few games. But watching the North Dakota Legislature and the U.S. Congress commit March Madness governance is also entertaining and very maddening at the same time.
And watching the Middle East March Madness erupting into wars among dozens of countries, regions, provinces, tribes, groups, armies and whatever, reminds me of a demolition derby with…
by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 1st, 2015
It’s Time to Sharpen the Pitchfork Tines
The Walt Disney Corporation just raised the price of a day pass to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando to $105. This increase was made while one-half of our population is in poverty, and two-thirds of our families do not have savings enough to cover a $500 repair bill or a $1,000 emergency room charge. Over half do not have a month’s income on hand, and their retirement funds represent about four months of income.
In the last six years the median…
by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 25th, 2015
According to the Bible—and Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution—Adam and relatives of Pithecanthropus Erectus have dominion over all of the animals on earth. If Adam and Hannibal the Cannibal are the smartest of all the creatures on earth, why haven’t we learned the language of other animals? We usually try to teach other animals our language. Rarely do we try to learn theirs. In the song “Talk To The Animals” written and sung by Bobby Darin,…
by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 18th, 2015
It has come to pass that when a minority religious group rules a majority religious group disaster will occur. Look at conditions in Syria.
About 200,000 Syrians have been killed in the two years of that civil war and millions have chosen to be refugees in neighboring states such as Turkey and Jordan. Former English Prime Minister Tony Blair, who joined with former President George W. Bush to create a similar…
by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 11th, 2015
We have been at war for 13 years. Presently out of 320 million people we have 1.4 million on active military duty and another 850,000 in the reserves. At the very end of World War II we had 16 million in uniform, about 10% of the population. Most able-bodied men served along with a few women. Almost every family was familiar with the armed forces. Now we have over four million people living on the country’s 2.1 million farms. In…
by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | March 4th, 2015
Rudy Giuliani says, although Barack Obama was raised by a white mother and white grandparents, he “doesn’t believe that the president loves America. He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.” Yes, Rudy, it was a horrible thing to say — and horribly stupid. I found out through this kerfuffle that Rudy…
by Ed Raymond | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | February 25th, 2015
The Islamic State (ISIS) video graphically shows the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians by knife-wielding Muslim believers on a Libyan beach, soaking the sands with blood. The adult human body contains on average about 5.5 quarts of the life-giving fluid, so here went another 23 gallons of the red stuff wasted in the name of religion and Muslim testosterone. It has been ever thus. The Roman Colosseum built by the Flavian Dynasty between…
FARGO – The city is requesting help from the public to produce one million sandbags in preparation for the 2019 Spring Flood. There remains a 10 percent chance waters will rise up to 40.3 feet, higher than the flood of 2009. Two…
By Gabrielle Herschgabbyhersch@gmail.com“North Dakota (and Minnesota) nice” is an attitude, a stereotype, and a way of life that has permeated our region, as well as perceptions of the Midwest, since as long as people have been…
Friday, March 22, 6-8 p.m.Red Raven Espresso Parlor, 916 Main Ave, FargoDigital photos from North Dakota’s backroads. Hornung has been exploring the roads less traveled for close to a decade. Carefully documenting and collecting…
“North Dakota Nice,” is a phrase that I see getting tossed around more and more these days. Many are sincere and others display yet another facet of our disposition that’s not nearly as desirable. Yes, we’re professin’…
The Battle Between Extreme Capitalism And Democratic SocialismAfter Vice-President Mike Pence representing racial and extreme capitalism ended his scathing rant about democratic socialism at the Conservative Political Action…
The eighth week of this year’s HPR Cocktail Showdown was another tripleheader for our panel of judges. On this particular week, we found ourselves focused on a trio of downtown dining and entertainment establishments to visit…
In rural Minnesota, outside of Park Rapids, Amy Thielen was attempting to light her wood-fired oven. It is in her brand-new kitchen that she hopes to teach cooking classes out of, which is a far cry from what it was when she and…
The Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra has had its fair share of guest performances headlining its concerts over the years. They all have impressive resumes, their fair share of awards, and worldwide recognition. However, bringing…
FARGO – Most people know the Trail of Tears that followed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The U.S. government – under the direction of President Andrew Jackson – forcibly removed tens of thousands of Natives from their…
Hidden away in the tiny North Dakota town of Lefor I find Karen Valley, an author and an artist. She is without a doubt the artist’s artist. Her soul is art, talent and words. Meeting her is a true experience in finding a soul so…
To many people unfamiliar with the wide range of the musical genre, the word ‘opera’ conjures up stereotypical images of people in period costumes and large women in Viking garb singing in foreign languages. The truth, however,…
Stand-up comedy is traditionally a one-way exchange. Outside of the odd question addressed to a random audience member, the limit of the spectators’ contribution to the conversation is their laughter at the comedy stylings being…
By Gabrielle Herschgabbyhersch@gmail.comThink & Drink is coming to Fargo! Organized by Humanities North Dakota, Think & Drink is a happy hour series that hosts a facilitated public conversation about big issues and ideas. Lead by a…
I’m a big man, I’m tall and powerful, but this also causes some issues in the body department. I suffer from acute scoliosis in my lower back, and pain radiates from this area on a daily basis. I have only ever had one massage…
by HPR Contributor
by Devin Joubertdevinlillianjoubert@gmail.comIt’s that beautiful time of the year that’s filled with seasonal decorations, sparkly lights, warm family gatherings, and delicious feasts. I love everything about this time of the…
I’ve got a problem. I need to write a column that is going to be kind of critical of three people I like, and I’m trying to figure out how to do it without making them all angry at me. Their names are Sara, Doug and Marvin.…
