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 Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comDairy Queen restaurants across the country will raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals during Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, July 31. At least one dollar from every Blizzard…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comFM Pride Week returns to the Fargo-Moorhead metro August 3-10. A snapshot of events are listed below. Discover event descriptions and locations as well as volunteer opportunities online at…
August 28, 6-8 p.m.Plains Art Museum, 704 1st Ave. N., Fargo See this major exhibition firsthand and hear about Rimer Cardillo’s work from the artist himself at 7 p.m. Cardillo is an internationally renowned multidisciplinary…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I’m going to go ahead and say it. I have trust issues with a lot of things and artificial intelligence (AI) is one of them. Yes, it’s a tool that can sit shotgun and make your everyday tasks…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill the disappeared ever be able to appear again? Not likely!In dictionaries more than a decade old, the word “disappear” appears all alone. The definition: “to pass out of sight either…
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 There seems to be a renaissance in Italian restaurants in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. It’s a welcome change from just sporting an Olive Garden as a lone option. No offense to Marilyn Hagerty’s…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Bluegrass is a genre of music that is often associated with the American South. Many people would express incredulity at being told there is a thriving bluegrass and folk music community…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Shortly following its world premiere in January, first-time feature filmmaker Kate Beecroft’s “East of Wall” won the NEXT section’s audience award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. A…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com 2025 marks three years of the Annual Vergas Area Backroads Art Crawl. The art crawl is sponsored by the Vergas Arts Club. The Arts Club also happens to be part of the Vegas Community Club and both…
Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comPenn & Teller are returning to their roots. The legendary magic and comedy duo will appear on the Crown Stage at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, where they first…
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 Dr. Marc Sapir, MD, MPHjessica@pellienpublicrelations.com Across America, families are quietly struggling with a rising challenge: how to care for aging parents, siblings, grandparents, neighbors and friends. Most seniors want…
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@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…
