January 15th, 2015
A political philosopher many years back dropped this gem about Washington: “You can lead a man to Congress but you can’t make him think.” Cuba, with its 11 million mixture of nationalists, communists, revolutionists, and feudal landlords, has been the center of our Stupid Virus pandemic for over a century.
As a Marine Corps officer back in the middle 1950s I spent about five months circulating in and out of Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico,…
December 23rd, 2014
Dick Cheney, the architect and godfather of our policy of torture after 9/11, appeared on Meet the Press last Sunday and assured the public he was the man who casually tossed over 200 years of American history and morality into the Potomac trash can. We were a moral nation at birth. During the Revolutionary War General George Washington developed a series of policies regarding the care and treatment of British…
December 17th, 2014
So This Is A “Culture?”
What is a culture? Right-wingers like to acclaim the myth that America is an “exceptional” country—the “shining city on a hill” and all those wonderful, marvelous cultural images. Dictionary definitions of culture include these statements: “The sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another. Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, a way of thinking, and art, from…
December 10th, 2014
At our Pelican Lake home we have about 30 wild turkeys show up occasionally to spend a half-hour or so cleaning up under our bird feeders. Blue jays and marauding squirrels have terrible table manners, spilling sunflower seeds, millet, and corn all over the place. If we let the dogs out while they are feeding, helter-skelter results. Some fly 70 feet to the top of trees, some run for the woods and bushes while…
December 5th, 2014
The Egyptian government estimates that 91% of Egyptian women between the ages of 15 and 49 have had their genitals operated on for physical, mental, and cultural reasons. Among young teenagers 15 to 17 the rate is 74%. The practice of cutting off external parts of genitalia of both males and females probably started in Egypt in the time of the pharaohs according to historians.…
November 25th, 2014
Every day we learn more about death, whether its from old age, disease, accident, murder, war, religion, suicide, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We don’t seem to handle death very well in most instances, although it is inevitable. In Shakespeare’s epic, Hamlet is debating whether he should kill Claudius, the killer of his father who has married his mother, or whether he should avoid the whole mess by…
November 19th, 2014
As Syrian children go to schools and playgrounds in Raqqa, a provincial capital now controlled by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (commonly known as ISIS), they walk by spiked fences topped by the decapitated heads of the followers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Many heads belong to relatives of the children. The headless corpses were left on Raqqa streets as further warnings to Shias and Alawites,…
November 12th, 2014
This world is getting discombobulated again. Here we have the deadly disease ebola circulating in three central African countries and around the world, killing thousands of people. One touch may give a person a death sentence. But here in the United States we are also deluged with ads for the cure of toenail fungus. I have never heard of anyone dying of toenail fungus. No one in our large extended family has ever had it to…
November 5th, 2014
This country is acting as if dementia is just around the corner – or maybe we haven’t been taking our Prozac lately. We have about 19 million underemployed and unemployed in this country but the Polaris Company of Roseau is flying low-paid Mexican skilled workers from their Mexico plant to Roseau so they can continue to sell small recreational and work vehicles at a “double-digit” rate. What is going on? Have we succumbed to…
October 29th, 2014
Since the Republican Supreme Court decided to dump parts of the Voters Rights laws passed almost 50 years ago, most states controlled by Republican legislatures and governors, including North Dakota, have attempted to pass hundreds of restrictive voting laws, particularly the requirement to have a photo voter ID. Some have been successful. After all, a great deal of fraud has been committed in voting precincts!…
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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.…
Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, Hjemkomst Center202 1st Avenue N., MoorheadLet’s be real, Irish culture is on everyone’s mind in mid-March, so why not expand your horizons and…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com 2025 marks us halfway through the roaring 2020s. Boy, am I glad I didn’t bob my hair for this go-around. It feels like we’re off to the wrong roar, opening Pandora’s box of what-the-Fox…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comLennon: “Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can!”On January 8, 2025, Timothy W. Rybeck of “The Atlantic" magazine published “How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days” with the…
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 As a food enthusiast, there’s nothing better than attending a local event featuring hotdish. And as far as hotdish events go, no place does it better than the fine folks at Brewhalla and Drekker…
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.comBong Joon-ho’s highly anticipated follow-up to the game-changing Oscar-winner “Parasite” was set to arrive in theaters last year, but the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike pushed the date. Was the…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Everyone has heard the adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” However, it is safe to say there are far more than a thousand in Mickey Smith’s photographs. When one hears…
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 Gilbert Kuipersgilbertkuipers@outlook.com I live in North Dakota District 24 and have been challenging the district Republicans about their understanding of climate science for years. There has been no serious response to my…
