February 15th, 2024
By Ed Raymond
fargogadfly@gmail.com
Politicians could learn a lot by watching dung beetles work for a living
The 400,000 species of beetles is the largest order of insects discovered on Planet Earth, so far. Insect researchers believe that the orders of bees, wasps and ants may be larger, but no one has counted them, so far.
Homo sapiens cannot live without beetles. More than 300 species of beetles are used for food by many animals, including humans. Some beetles are agricultural, forestry…
February 15th, 2024
By Ed Raymond
MAGA Throwaways: helmets, reason, masks, regulations, seatbelts, and books
There was a time when troops in trenches and foxholes moved from killing each other to recognizing the enemy was also a human being. Christmas morning during World War II in Europe was one time in between firing artillery pieces and machine guns at each other. After the war when countries were divided up or added to, there was an incident between American and East German troops…
January 18th, 2024
By Ed Raymond
There are signs 2024 is going to be a disastrous year
My favorite philosopher William Shakespeare was said to recognize 20,000 flowers and often used their qualities to complete a scene, to add meaning to plot and dialogue, and to put another hat or cloak on a character. He understood that the theologians of the time had created the Elizabethan Chain of Being so kings could claim a divine right to rule came directly from God. The chain stretches from…
December 27th, 2023
ByEd Raymond
Tevye: “Oh, Lord, You Made Many, Many Poor People. If I Were a Rich Man………
Whenever Corky and I get a chance to watch “Fiddler on the Roof” we make some popcorn. The short stories about Jewish life titled Tevye the Dairyman and His Daughters were written in Yiddish by the Jewish writer Sholem Aleichem between 1894 and 1914. They are about life in an area called the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine today,…
December 9th, 2023
A Mixture of Red, White, and Blue Can Be Ugly
by Ed Raymond
These Colors Can Produce Beautiful Flags or Ugly Bruises
As a football player playing guard in the middle of the line, I estimated at the end of eight years of high school and college that I had been hit approximately 14,000 times in 80 games alone, not counting scrimmages and practices. So, the beautiful red, white, and blue colors on the flag presented before the game mixed into some ugly bruises during and…
December 9th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
These Colors Can Produce Beautiful Flags or Ugly Bruises
As a football player playing guard in the middle of the line, I estimated at the end of eight years of high school and college that I had been hit approximately 14,000 times in 80 games alone, not counting scrimmages and practices. So, the beautiful red, white, and blue colors on the flag presented before the game mixed into some ugly bruises during and after the game. I had mixed purple, blue,…
December 2nd, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Donald Trump: A Social-Psycho-on-Path Reproducing MAGA Zombies
I have been asking members of the Make Amerika Great Again (MAGA) cult for years to identify days, weeks, months, years, decades and/or centuries when America was great, so I can know what the Orange Genius sitting to the far right of the Christian God is planning for the Divided States of America. Not a word yet.
Perhaps the genetic discovery that we share 99.9% of our DNA with chimps, great…
November 25th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
How Many of Napoleon’s Hats Will Save Planet Earth for Homo Sapiens?
Before I get into this week’s subject of why we need to double the number of college majors in English and Humanities if we are going to save Planet Earth for our grandchildren, I must admit I have a passing interest in mathematics.
I think I was hooked on math statistics when I read there were 635,013,559,600 hands I could be dealt if I played Bridge for all my lifetime. I have…
November 18th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
The Purpose of a College Education: Do We Work to Live or Live to Work?
Because of the increasing costs of college, the staggering $1.7 trillion of student debt owed by 45 million American students and parents ages 18 to 95, and the failure of states to support with taxes vocational, community, and two-year colleges, and public colleges and universities, undergraduate college enrollment in the DSA dropped eight percent between 2019 and 2022---and is…
November 11th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
“Trump Cabinet Member: ‘If a Document Has a Staple in It, Don’t Give It to Trump.’”
Among the most fascinating papers in the world would be the transcripts of Donald Trump from the elite universities he attended. What courses did he take? What were his major studies? His speech is free from literary allusions, classical images, historical facts, and intellectual musings.
When George W. Bush was president, I never really thought he was dumb, he…
_(1)_(1)_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)__293px-wide.png)
By Bryce Vincent HaugenFor the first nine months, the dysfunction of the Trump administration and Congress was a four-time-zone-away abstraction for a Moorhead native living in Alaska’s interior. But it became all too real when…
By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu I would like to recognize some of the scholarly Germans from Russia from Canada and USA shared on the GRHC website. There are additional names not included here. If you have suggestions…
December 17-21, 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and SundayThe Fargo Theatre, 314 N. Broadway, FargoCould this be the end of an era? After 26 years of doing the Holiday Soul Tour and 35 years together as a band, The…
By Sabrina Hornungsabina@hpr1.com I scroll through comment threads on the news stories in my social media feed and come across the retort, “You voted for this.” Sure the vote’s in…but when someone’s livelihood is at stake,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill the Vatican ever love LBGTQUIA+ with open hearts and minds? Christians have been hot and bothered by sex for 2,000 years and Catholic popes, cardinals, bishops, priests and nuns have been…
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 Mandy Dolneymandy@ksbsyndicate.com This cake will be on the menu at Nova Eatery through Thanksgiving served with maple crème anglaise Ice cream. It uses pumpkin pie pumpkins grown locally at Ladybug Acres and local apples grown…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com In “Hedda,” Nia DaCosta’s bold adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s celebrated 1891 play, the filmmaker reunites with longtime collaborator Tessa Thompson, who starred in DaCosta’s…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Gallery 4 downtown recently celebrated its 50 year anniversary, making it one of the longest consecutively running galleries in the country. With different membership tiers, there are 17 primary…
Press release“Shakespeare with a sharpened edge.” To launch its 2025 – 2026 season, Theatre NDSU is thrilled to team up with Moorhead-based organization Theatre B to perform a co-production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and…
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…
sBy Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com The holidays are supposed to be magical: party, presents, fancy food, lights and sparks. You are looking forward to it. You work very hard, you put in long hours at work as well as at…
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.comPersonal background and historical perspective My deep concern about tariffs stems from my background as a fourth generation North Dakota farmer. Having lived through the 1980s farm crisis…
