Gadfly

A Three-Week Graduation Ceremony

April 30th, 2023

By Ed Raymond 

fargogadfly@gmail.com

When a Spear and a Boomerang Equals a Computer and a Smartphone

Eighteen years ago I wrote a column “Graduating for Life” about Australian aborigine teenagers at age 13 either dying during their graduation ceremonies or surviving the dangerous environment and becoming an adult in their tribe.

With the battles about the role of parents in the education of their children roiling millions of…

Read more...


​Anarchy or Democracy?

April 30th, 2023

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

Will we goose-step backward with the GOP or stumble forward with Democrats?

Two hundred years ago English poet William Wordsworth wrote a 14-line sonnet “The World Is Too Much With Us” with these opening lines: “The world is too much with us, late and soon, getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; little we see in nature that is ours; we have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!”

A hundred years ago William Butler Yeats published “The…

Read more...


From Disaster to Chaos to Savage

April 15th, 2023

By Ed Raymond

fargogadly@gmail.com

Why Do Hospitals Charge $1,000 to $3,800 for CT Scans? Only the Shadow Knows!

When I typed this headline about healthcare costs, I thought of the old radio program “Shadow,” which kept us spellbound as we milked cows. The introductory lines got our immediate attention: “Who knows what lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” The conclusion of the 325 radio suspense programs ended with this truth: “The weed of crime bears bitter fruit!…

Read more...


Born-Again Know Nothings

April 6th, 2023

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

Who’d a Thunk It? The Reincarnation and Resurrection of a Third Political Party!

In 1853, a secret American society known as the Order of the Star Spangled Banner abandoned its secrets by transforming itself into a political party known at first as the American Party. Members refused to talk about what the secret society had accomplished, and were instructed by leaders to respond to questions with “I know nothing.” You get one guess what it was…

Read more...


Tolerate Waco Wacko? OK! You Jest!

April 1st, 2023

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

Can We Regenerate Our Country by “Rediscovering the Lost Art of Tolerance?”

Columnist Gary Abernathy says our enormous diversity of identity in our sweeping multiculturalism makes it difficult to agree with groups present in the Divided States of America.

We have hundreds of organizations, groups, and religions with which to cope, so Abernathy lists a few that may be very difficult to tolerate: Gays, MAGA Republicans, Nonbinary, Asexuals,…

Read more...


​The Forum Needs a Resident Proctologist

March 25th, 2023

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

Two ForumWhite Nationalist Trumplican Nincoms Have Pooped All Over Librarians

So it has come to pass that Scott Hennen and Ross Nelson have assaulted librarians in the state, accusing them of putting porn on the library shelves and in the arms and backpacks of innocent big and little children. At 91 I have been disgusted a few times in my life, but those two columns rank with the rankest I have experienced.

Having been a compulsive reader for much of my…

Read more...


​Christian Ideoruptcy

March 18th, 2023

By Ed Raymond 

fargogadfly@gmail.com

Has Christianity Gone Bankrupt Because of Evangelicals, Stupidity, and the Vatican?

The word “bankruptcy” refers to money because of the word “bank.” The word “bankruptcy” originated in Italy from banca rotta, which literally means “broken bank.” The term developed in the 16th century Renaissance, from Italian money changers and lenders sitting on benches behind tables in…

Read more...


Congress and Emancipation

March 13th, 2023

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

We Have Had a Mix of Disaster, Chaos, Rotting Capitalism and Socialism for 400 Years

Capitalism leads to a branch of slavery where men and women are in bondage to the plutocrats and oligarchs who have acquired monopolies—unless socialist programs are utilized to restrain economic inequality. We don’t have property deeds for humans as we did before 1865, but bondage remains the same.

Let’s look at the legal definitions of slavery: “Bondage to a…

Read more...


A Woman for the Ages

March 4th, 2023

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

The 14th Century Wife of Bath Would Appreciate a 21st Century Spa

So would her creator, Geoffrey Chaucer, a justice of the peace and customs agent who wrote the first novel, The Canterbury Tales, in Middle English, in the 14th century. It was his plan to write 120 stories told by 30 pilgrims traveling to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket, a chancellor at age 21 to Henry II, one of the volatile Henrys to serve England as king.

They were buddies when…

Read more...


The Gadfly: An Alternate State of the Union Address

February 11th, 2023

By Ed Raymond

fargogadfly@gmail.com

The Only Solution to Clean the Washington, D.C. Cow Gutter: A 50/50 Power Split

The only way our democracy will survive attacks by the Republican Party is to make sure they keep investigating what the Democrats in power are doing “wrong” instead of doing “right.” We sure as hell don’t want them to actually start governing because they have no clue how to govern a democracy. The national socialism model of Hitler, Mussolini, and Trump is no way…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL1 Tracker Pixel for Entry AARP1 Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL1 Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstWF1 Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstWF2 Tracker Pixel for Entry Empire

Recently in:

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 19-20, 8pm doors at 7pmSanctuary Events Center, 670 4th Ave. N., FargoIt’s no secret that Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome is Fargo’s hottest classic rock and horn band. This 12-piece band covers everything from Chicago to…

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 we move up from Homo sapiens to Human empathians? The big question is, will the world’s billionaires who are now Homo sapiens gain enough human empathy to save the world from themselves —…

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 Cinephiles who fell in love early with Chloe Zhao’s remarkable moviemaking gifts will point to the blend of unpolished performances, raw emotion and stunning visuals on display in “Songs My…

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…