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…
July 19th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
“We Are Swamped in the Wake of Yachts and Chopped Up by Propeller Blades”
In the final episode of the TV series “Succession,” which is all about the desire for power, the power theme is based on this truism: “Human nature yearns for one morsel, and then one more, and then eventually wants the whole world.”
Too often the spirit of the common good of Aristotle turns rapidly to excessive greed, egomania, and abuse of political power. Think of…
July 17th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
The Supreme Court Is the Only Political Party in a Time Machine in Reverse Gear
In his Book 1 of Politics more than 2,300 years ago,Greek philosopher Aristotle claimed – correctly – that man is political by nature. And to achieve “common good,” citizens had to participate in a political community to achieve community safety. The citizen must also actively engage in politics, whether as a soldier or ordinary citizen, if a society is going to serve…
July 1st, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Maybe Someday Orcas Will Be Able to Tell Us Why They Attacked Our Boats
In the first two weeks of June, each of the continents of America and Europe had maritime disasters in deep seas, one at 12,500 feet in the Atlantic Ocean and the other at 17,000 feet in the Mediterranean Sea.
A submersible on a sightseeing trip filled with one captain and two billionaire fathers and sons imploded near the wreck of the Titanic, an “unsinkable” ship carrying…
June 24th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
In the DSA of Traumatized Homo Sapiens an Illiterate Sociopath was President
According to experts, the Bible contains several versions of an old proverb (Luke and Matthew) that resembles an old English proverb written by John Ray in 1678 that states: “A man be better half blind than have both eyes out.”
Germans have a proverb that says: “Those that rule and be deaf, must see and be blind.” My French ancestors came up with “When a blind man…
June 18th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Modern Rastafarianism, Ancient Ultra-Orthodox Jewry, and Today’s Protopia
According to Donald Trump’s current “Big Lie,” we once lived in Utopia. He is the man with policies that will return our current life in Dystopia back to Utopia--where we were great. The Donald pledges to “Make America Great Again,” better known on bumper stickers as MAGA.
He stole the phrase from Ronald Reagan. Futurist and co-founder of “Wired” magazine Kevin…
June 12th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Why Is the Divided States of America the Most Unequal Society in the World?
I have hundreds of favorite poems that mean much more to me than long-winded prose. My absolute favorite is T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” It contains the most depressing line about the human condition: “I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floor of silent seas.”
My top short poem is by Ogden Nash in “Reflections on…
June 4th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Can Someone Tell Me Why Sneakers Sell for $1.5 to $2.2 Million a Pair?
It has to be something other than quality. I shop for used books in thrift stores because I have discovered thick books given as gifts usually have not been read. Last week I picked up a new Microsoft ENCARTA Dictionary—the first dictionary for the Internet age--for $2.50. It was priced at $24.95 U.S. and $36.95 Canada. It’s the first dictionary published in about 30 years, so it…
May 27th, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Question for 2024: Will a Billion Guns and a Quadrillion Bullets Make DSA Safer?
Ever since Lucy fell out of an African tree 3.2 million years ago, animals have been designing new ways to kill each other. For the last 300,000 of those years, Homo sapiens have been inventing more efficient methods.
If we are still around in a few years, one can predict that nuclear weapons will be obsolete. The machine gun probably won the trench warfare of World War I,…
May 21st, 2023
By Ed Raymond
Fargo Superintendent and School Board Know Right from Wrong
Back in the 1950s when Corky and I lived under Jim Crow laws in Virginia and North Carolina, we were angered to see our Black Marines and neighbors forced by law to walk in the streets of Jacksonville and Parkfairfax instead of on sidewalks.
By that time the southern slave states had passed more than 200 racist laws known as Jim Crow. Southern states passed laws making it a crime to teach Blacks…
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By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comNorth Dakotans will take part in a nationwide civil rights rally on Thursday, July 17. Protests, marches, rallies and acts of service are scheduled in Bismarck, Bottineau, Devils Lake,…
Back-to-school season is on the horizon, but there's still plenty of summer left. Check out our favorite August attractions and events in North Dakota and western Minnesota. And if if you missed them, here are a few excellent May…
July 18-19, 25-26 and August 2-3North Dakota Horse Park, 5180 19th Ave. N., FargoLadies and gentlemen, prepare to place your bets — racing season is upon us! Not just horses will be racing this year; word on the street suggests…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com On July fourth, Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest took place at Coney Island. The winners, Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo, reigned victorious. Chestnut earned his 17th title by…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWhy doesn’t the world require politicians to leave office at 60?Most of the leaders of countries, whether gods, fascists, democrats or socialists, are not doing very well these days. David Van…
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 Gion and Simone Wairickgion@gmail.com The Red River Market returned to downtown Fargo on Saturday, July 12. The event will take place every Saturday except July 19. (That date will be moved to Sunday, July 20, due to the…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Moorhead Public Library will offer three free, all-ages outdoor concerts featuring regional bands this summer. The series begins on June 12 with the Meat Rabbits, a group that blends…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comPhoto by Sabrina Hornung Wing, North Dakota is a town of 132 located about an hour northwest of Bismarck on Highway 36. There’s a shiny new Cenex on the intersection of the highway and the high…
By Deb Wallworkdwallwork@icloud.comI first met Catherine Mulligan at a party at her house. It was a small gathering, spontaneous, just a few people over for dinner. Directed toward a stack of plates and bowls and a big pot warming…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comPhoto by Yvonne Denault There is something intimate and personal about plays. Even in our age of multimillion dollar Hollywood productions and droves of streaming services, watching actors…
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…
The drug that keeps re-purposing itselfBy Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There is a drug that is getting a lot of attention nowadays all over the world. It has various commercial names (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), but…
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…
