April 5th, 2017
Where is a Socrates when you really need him?
I was born in 1932 during the Great Depression. I was brought up in a tiny farmhouse without electricity or plumbing. I walked two miles to a little country school for eight years, uphill both ways, of course. So many fascinating things have happened in my 85 years, I wish I could live at least another twenty.
We have just found 15-foot-square footprints of dinosaurs in Australia that lived 130 million years ago that make Ty Rex look like a…
March 29th, 2017
What does a comma cost? Sometimes, $10 million
We may be in the middle of March Madness basketball in the United States, but nothing can surpass the madness we are dealing with in national and international politics, particularly since King Donald ascended the White House throne.
After months of hard investigative work, the FBI has found out who stole a football jersey with the number “12” that you can buy online for $100—one that was probably “manufactured” in Bangladesh for $2.…
March 22nd, 2017
How can we be so stupid?
So here we go again with healthcare costs. Doctors once were paid pigs, chickens, and veggies for delivering babies. But now we have $10 Tylenols, $1,000-a-day pills, $10,000-a-day hospital rooms, $100,000 surgeries, $300,000-a-year drug protocols, and $500,000 organ transplants.
We are the only industrialized country that does not have health insurance for all its citizens—and sometimes even visitors. A visitor to Paris who ends up in a hospital has the bill…
March 15th, 2017
Living in the eye of the wealth hurricane
An old Cree Indian prophecy may outline what our future looks like: “When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters have been polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money.”
Here is one view by C.J. Polychroniou in a Truthout article, “Socialism for the Rich, Capitalism for the Poor: “The United States is rapidly declining on numerous…
March 8th, 2017
Is it really high noon all over the country?
The inconvenient truth of unintended consequences has struck again. The National Rifle Association, under the leadership of top-gun Wayne LaPierre, once described by New York newspapers as “the craziest man on earth,” has been pushing for every kind of gun-carrying scheme, with or without permits, with or without any kind of firearm training, whether the carrier is completely nuts or not, and whether the firearm is concealed, open, or…
March 1st, 2017
Onward, science soldiers, marching off to war -- to fight ‘alternative’ facts
After just a month of the reign of King Donald the First, about 1,800 of our top scientists registered their frustration with the unscientific mess in the White House and Congress by publicly protesting the administration’s actions in Boston’s historic Copley Square on Sunday, February 18.
Most of the protesters were members attending the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of…
February 22nd, 2017
North Dakota bigotry, a national one-week strike, and plutocratic plundering
First, a rant about the Republican North Dakota Legislature. There’s no doubt there are about 70,000 North Dakotans you consider to be second-class citizens. They are your gay brothers and sisters, your aunts and uncles, your neighbors, your co-workers and your bosses, your sons and daughters, your nurses and rehab therapists, and the people sitting next to you in the pews of your church.
Because they are…
February 15th, 2017
The game is rigged
Last year 25 American hedge fund managers, whose income tax rate is about half of what their secretaries pay, made enough billions to fully pay the salaries of over 450,000 teachers.
Thirsty and hungry at Super Bowl 51 this year? A glass of beer was $12 and a hot dog $8, a soda and a few pretzels were only $17, a bottle of water sold for $6, and a parking spot three blocks away charged $50. Want to watch the game from a stadium seat? Seats averaged $6,250.
The research…
February 8th, 2017
Congress diddles while the Earth wobbles
The first real study of the changes in the earth’s climate took place at Camp Century in Greenland, in 1960, which was supposedly built by the United States to test Arctic construction methods and carry out “other research.” Scientists from the engineering school of Toronto’s York University drilled the first ice core samples in order to study the earth’s climate.
Have you ever heard of Camp Century? It’s a big deal. It had a mobile…
February 1st, 2017
Dear Mr. President:
I was born in 1932 during the Great Depression on 180 acres of sand and rocks near Little Falls, Minnesota. I played Anti-Over and Pump-Pump-Pull-Away with my 20 schoolmates from surrounding farms in a little country school for eight years. I thought I was living in a great country.
My four older brothers and sisters and I milked 20 cows before breakfast and milked the same 20 before supper. We read books by kerosene lamp. We warmed and cooked by a wood-coal stove in…
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By Bryce Vincent Haugen By his own account, Edwin Chinchilla is lucky to still be in the United States. As a 12-year-old Salvadoran, he and his brother were packed into a semi with a couple dozen other people and given fake…
By Michael M. Miller Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was…
Wednesday, March 25, Group lesson 7 p.m., Dance 9 p.m.Sons of Norway, 722 2nd Avenue North, FargoCare to dance? If you don’t already know how to dance, the Northern Lights Dance Club can show you a thing or two about social…
By John StrandDisclaimer: This editorial is the work of someone who’s spent most of his adult life working in the media — most of those years co-owning this very entity, the High Plains Reader, since 1996. The notion that folks…
By Ed RaymondBernie Sanders is on the world’s longest and oldest walkaboutAdolescent Australian Aboriginal males often volunteer to challenge the transition to adulthood by performing well (that means staying alive) in a…
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 GionFor those folks with busy lives who can’t afford or attend culinary school, community cooking classes are a good way to learn new tips and tricks in the kitchen. Cookbooks, instructional online videos and watching…
The Slow Death at The AquariumSaturday, March 21, doors at 7:30 p.m. The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe Slow Death is a punk supergroup led by Jesse Thorson, with members and collaborators that include…
By Greg Carlson A number of critics and media outlets have already noted the variety of cinematic antecedents that have influenced writer-director Amy Wang’s movie “Slanted,” pointing out how the story of a frustrated…
Saturday, March 7, 4-8 p.m.Swing Barrel Brewing, 814 Central Ave., MoorheadEmpty Bowls is a nationwide, grassroots, artist-led movement to support hunger related organizations in their communities. On March 7, prepare to fill your…
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 January 2026, the 2026-2030 dietary guidelines for Americans were released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They are supposed to be revolutionary and a “reset” from the previous ones.…
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 Vern Thompson Benjamin Franklin offered one of the most sobering warnings in American history. When asked what kind of government the framers had created in 1787, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Few words…
