August 5th, 2015
What’s Worse Than Being A Young Black Transgender Without Green In Red Religious Georgia?
In 2004 a young mulatto senator from Illinois by the name of Barack Obama gave an electrifying speech to the Democratic National Convention about the United States: “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is a United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America, a Latino America, and Asia America. There is a United States of America.”
In 2007 he…
July 29th, 2015
From black space to bright blue earth: a fragile thin lineAstronaut Sally Ride, our first woman in space, spent time looking at earth as the space shuttle hurtled around the earth, entranced by a bright day turning into a dark night in a single orbit: “I saw the blackness of space, and then the bright blue Earth. And then it looked as if someone had taken a royal blue crayon and traced along Earth’s horizon. And then I realized that the blue line, that really thin royal blue line,…
July 22nd, 2015
White Cotton, Brown Tobacco, Black Slavery--And Green Free Enterprise DollarsOur ancestors didn’t wait long. Slavery started in Virginia in 1619 and was “legal” in all British colonies to provide labor for tobacco, rice, and indigo plantations in the Western Hemisphere. I guess if slavery is legal the property on which slaves work can be called plantations instead of slave labor camps.
I see Andy Peterson, CEO of the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce, has the same…
July 15th, 2015
Capitalist Fracketeering: The Idea That Anything That Gets Between Them And A Dollar Is BadWe all know what fracking means in the oil industry. It’s the process of injecting water and mysterious chemicals at high pressures so that the last drops of oil and gas are forced out of rocks and shale so it can be recovered and sold. Now the high pressures in fracking are being used to separate the last drop of economic blood from the middle-class before it disappears. Ian Martin of The…
July 9th, 2015
There is evidence that fork-like instruments were developed thousands of years ago to facilitate eating barbecue by the fireside. But 10 centuries ago Roman Catholic Saint Pietro Damiani said such instruments looked like the work of Satan, who was usually portrayed carrying a huge trident in his right hand. The Saint said: “God would not have given us fingers if he wanted us to use that instrument of Satan.” That marvelous gay Catholic Leonardo Da…
July 1st, 2015
To Pope Francis: How About The Sciences Of Climate—And Sexuality?In his encyclical on climate prepared for one billion Catholics Pope Francis urged them — and the rest of the world — to study and consider what an overwhelming majority of scientists say about the condition of the earth we are supposed to have dominion over. The pope seems to have the habit of not mincing words about our home: “The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In…
June 24th, 2015
I’m a news junkie. It’s been a wonderful week to live in a world with instant communications dominated by presidential candidate The Donald-I’m very-rich with real hair, and the encyclical by Pope Francis which urges us to save the environment so the poor can survive in a world of hyperconsumption. Guardian George Monboit wrote a rather poetic article Why We Fight For The Living World: It’s About Love, And It’s Time We Said So:…
June 17th, 2015
Doctor Henry Jekyll Meets The Evil Health Insurance Agent Mr. Edward HydeRobert Louis Stevenson, author of many 19th Century action-packed thrillers such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped, wrote these suspense-filled stories from his sickbed, where he was plagued with “bloody lungs,” probably tuberculosis. While doing some research for a column about our bizarre, scam-filled, and often totally baffling health care “system,” I thought of another Stevenson novel, The Strange Case…
June 10th, 2015
Whatever Happened to the Idea of the Common Good?I have always been a faithful reader of Lloyd Omdal’s columns because he can pick a problem apart and submit a reasonable solution with a dollop of humor without preaching. But the former N.D. Lt. governor and retired UND prof was very serious in his May 24 Forum column “’Dream’, is Fast Fading.”
He wrote: “The American Dream is slowly fading as the size of our dependent population grows. North Dakota has thousands of…
June 3rd, 2015
Blood moons and blood days at the National Rifle Association corralThere is a blood moon “gospel” of sorts among Christian fundamentalists that prophecies the Rapture, or the End Times, will begin to take place if there are four blood moons (eclipses) within one and one-half years.
According to old records, four blood moons around 1493 supposedly marked the expulsion of Jews from Spain -- and the European discovery of America. Another four heralded the founding of the state of Israel…
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By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comIt’s been eight years since the Water Protectors were cleared off the banks of the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers. It was a bitter ending to a battle to protect the water; and for most of us…
By HPR Staff We’re all a part of building strong, healthy and inclusive communities. But the region’s non-profit organizations do a lot of the heavy lifting. Now it’s time for these organizations to step into the spotlight.…
February 15, 6-9 p.m.Miss Kitty’s, 5855 16th Ave SE, Braddock, North DakotaWhat better way to celebrate the day after Valentine’s Day than with a nut fry? Mind you, we’re not talking about chestnuts roasting on an open…
By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com As I write this article, it’s January, and the temperatures in North Dakota are negative. I’m living in a house and our furnace just died a forever death after years of quick fixes. Yet,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comHow billionaires with brain rot are creating bedlam in the USAOn January 21, 2010, the Republican-dominated United States Supreme Court approved a death sentence for American democracy of 250 to…
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 So far in 2025, announcements for new restaurant openings in the metro far outnumber closings. This is good news going into the new year for us hungry folk. In my opinion, the positive trend will…
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By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Now streaming on MUBI, Elizabeth Sankey’s essay film “Witches” morphs from what at first appears to be a feminist deconstruction of movie and television representations of the title…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIn 1974, the Jamestown Arts Center started as a small space above a downtown drugstore. It has grown to host multiple classrooms, a gallery, performance studio, ceramic studio and outdoor art park.…
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 Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…
By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On Dec 5, the Turning Point USA chapter at North Dakota State University hosted an event called BisonFest. This event featured Chloe Cole, a former trans kid, known for detransitioning and…
By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com A friend of mine, a well-known Bismarck liberal (I have a few of those), came up to me after church the other day and asked, “So, are you moving out of the country?” I knew he was referring…
