September 29th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Is Cruelty a Part of Nature—or Is It Just Part of Human Nature?
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has been my economics guru for many years for his pithy columns in The New York Times. In his September 14 column he used a word that I believe he has never used before when discussing economic issues. That word is “cruel.”
His statement: “I’ve been writing about economics and politics for many years, and have learned to keep my temper.…
September 23rd, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Eighty Million Eligible Voters Did Not Vote in the DSA in 2020. Why Not?
In the first week of February, 2023, Deborah Daub, 59, shot and killed her husband James Daub, 62, Morgan Daub, their daughter, then killed her mother Deborah, and then killed herself. Pennsylvania township police said the murders and suicide “appeared to be a joint decision from notes left behind.”
The fundamentalist Christian family was considered by neighbors to be…
September 22nd, 2023
By Ed Raymond
If Homo Sapiens Do Nothing About Climate-Change, We Will Be Dead Saps Soon
Animals started to develop from plants 1.8 billion years ago, so that’s when our brains began to develop. The world’s politicians are currently experiencing climate change on every continent but haven’t come up with answers to control it so Homo sapiens can survive on Planet Earth. Our current three pounds of gray matter will not evolve enough to solve it in time. The…
September 16th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Art: José Guadalupe Posada, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Can Our Conjoined Democracy Be Separated and Survive?
A two-headed western rat snake is back in a pit at a Waco, Texas zoo after recovering from an injury that most likely was caused by an argument between its two brains.
The unusual snake with brains labeled Pancho and Lefty was discovered in 2016 by a family in its backyard. Now eight…
September 2nd, 2023
By Ed Raymond
At What Evolutionary Level Do Animals Make War on Each Other?
Many animals are territorial but only a few will kill brothers and sisters to maintain a predator area.
Foxes are known to kill chickens when they are looking for one to eat. Wolves kill a lot of sheep and eat some. Lions, often called the king of beasts, kill to eat—but not for the hell of it. Northern pike kill little northern pike to eat but not to force them to migrate.
Male grizzly, brown,…
August 19th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Linus: ‘I Love Mankind, It’s People I Can’t Stand’
On August 8, two brothers, 8 and 9, were shot to death as they played with kittens in their backyard in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and a 19-year-old boy who lived with the family, the real target in this mass shooting, was also shot to death at the same time.
On August 13, a smash-and-grab group of about 50, entered a Nordstrom high-end store in the Woodland Hills, California Westfield Topanga Mall,…
August 16th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
How Many Things in This World Do Not Have a Price Tag?
During my years at the Harvard of the Midwest I took a course in Russian history which emphasized the contributions of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Tzar Nicholas and wife Alexandra, Lenin the Liar, and Stalin the Slayer.
I ended up with the thought that the Russian people were like us. That idea led me to Russian literature such as Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novels “The Brothers Karamazov”…
August 5th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
In What State or Country Do You Want to Live – and in What Century?
In 16th Century Cambridge, England, Thomas Hobson owned a livery stable where he had 40 horses for rent. When customers saw 40 horses, they might assume they had a choice. No way. If the customer refused the horse in the stall nearest the door, he left without a horse.
Hobson insisted on this procedure so his horses would share in…
July 30th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Can You Imagine a Blabbering Nutcase and a “No Kidding—No Joke” Guy in 2024?
There is little doubt that the 2024 presidential election in the Divided States of America is probably the most important election in this country and the world for decades— possibly centuries, depending upon what happens in this country and the world in the next few months. Pick a few issues: economic and religious wars, climate change, economic inequality, civil wars, and…
July 22nd, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Sliding to Hot Maelstroms on a Cool Six Waterslides Aboard an Icon Reality Show
Las Vegas, Nevada, and its suburbs is the largest metro area in the Mojave Desert in the United States at 2.3 million residents and loves to call itself THE ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD—which it probably is.
It averages more than three million visitors a year, probably because “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” It is always in the top three destinations for…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
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.comWhat 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…
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.com Anchored by the dependable Florence Pugh, “Thunderbolts*” easily tops “Captain America: Brave New World” to make it the most satisfying MCU movie of 2025 — so far. The asterisk alludes…
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…
