Last Word

​One Man’s “Deep State” is Another Man’s “Deep Doo Doo”

February 21st, 2019


“…the root cause of the poverty of Third World peasants is their powerlessness—their lack of power to alter the social structures responsible for their poverty. By buttressing these social structures directly (as in Chile and Guatemala) and indirectly (through national and international aid organizations), the United States has perpetuated rather than alleviated…”world hunger”…The failure of aid programs to narrow the gap between rich nations and poor is that…aid has been…

Read more...


​Portals, Blue Laws, and Roller Skates

February 13th, 2019

Roller skate - photograph by Cara Cody Braun

By Cara Cody-Braun
cara.braun@wyndmereschools.org

I am not much of a science fiction fan, but I’m a sucker for a story with a portal. Who hasn’t dreamed of entering a different world? Alice’s fall down the rabbit hole in “Alice in Wonderland” led to the most intriguing encounters. For me though, the idea of going to a different time period is most attractive. That’s why I have Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series on my need to read list. Like most people, I loved the…

Read more...


​What Left Wing Conspiracy? What Left Wing?

February 6th, 2019

Nazi armband in Valley City, ND - photograph by C.S. Hagen

“(Søren) Kierkegaard…has opened our eyes to the shallowness of much of our pseudo-Christian life, and to the outright deception in politics which Christianity has been made to serve.”
- William Hubben

“The people starve because their superiors eat too much in taxes. The more laws there are, the more thieves and bandits will multiply.”
– Lao Tzu

“I thought it went without saying that when the Soviet Union collapsed and the eastern states opened up, we would be plagued by a…

Read more...


​“Affordable” Education and Health Care trump Nihilism and Reaction

January 23rd, 2019

“And now what is better, that our fatherland should be a Republican or a monarchical state?...Ask the rich for the solution, and they will love an aristocracy best, ask the people and they prefer a democracy; only the kings prefer a monarchy. How then is it possible that almost the whole globe is governed by monarchs?... But, truly, the real reason is…that men are very rarely worthy to govern themselves.”
– Voltaire, 1745

“…once fascists came to power in Germany and Italy, they…

Read more...


​The Infantile Politics Of Compulsive Trump Bashing

January 16th, 2019

President Donald Trump in Fargo - photograph by C.S. Hagen

By Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu

"People spend so much time mocking Trump or waiting for him to be impeached. And the danger with this kind of obsession with a single person is that you don’t see the system that produced him."
— Arunhati Roy

National Security Adviser John Bolton is criss-crossing the Middle East to engage in damage control, or what The New York Times derisively termed “clearing up after his boss.” Washington’s war crimes’ partners are being told that Trump…

Read more...


​If You’re Going To Talk Like Teddy, You Better Act Like Teddy

January 16th, 2019

An oil well pad just yards from the bank of the Little Missouri State Scenic River - photograph provided by Jim Fuglie

I’ve listened to a few State of the State speeches by North Dakota Governors–probably somewhere between 15 and 20—and even had a hand in writing a few of them, so I think I’m qualified to offer a few comments on the one Doug Burgum gave the other week to the North Dakota Legislature.

As they go, his was a pretty good one. I thought his speechwriters (likely Mike Nowatzki and Jodi Uecker) did a pretty good job. It was hopeful and optimistic, as is Burgum’s nature, and he threw…

Read more...


A Child’s Christmas in Fargo

December 19th, 2018


by Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu

It’s mid-December and as wintery conditions and the Christmas holidays approach, I’m reminded of a story my mother told me about my Norwegian grandmother. In December 1882, as a sixteen-year-old, my Grandma Emma traveled a considerable distance on XC skis from her rural village to the port city of Bergen. Alone and with only a backpack, she had to leave her new Christmas gift skis at the dock before boarding ship for the perilous transatlantic…

Read more...


What Left Wing Conspiracy? What Left Wing?

November 28th, 2018

“(Søren) Kierkegaard…has opened our eyes to the shallowness of much of our pseudo-Christian life, and to the outright deception in politics which Christianity has been made to serve.” - William Hubben

“The people starve because their superiors eat too much in taxes. The more laws there are, the more thieves and bandits will multiply.” – Lao Tzu

“I thought it went without saying that when the Soviet Union collapsed and the eastern states opened up, we would be plagued by a…

Read more...


RIP, North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party

November 14th, 2018

For all intents and purposes, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party is bankrupt. North Dakota is now a one-party state. That’s sad. Because it wasn’t so long ago that we had an active two-party state government. Now the Democratic-NPL Party has ceased to exist. It is no longer competitive in elections. It no longer plays a role in governing North Dakota.

This is the party created by some visionaries and patriots when North Dakota’s Democrats merged with the Nonpartisan League in…

Read more...


2018 Election Notes

November 14th, 2018

With Senator Heidi Heitkamp’s loss in last week’s election, Republicans now hold every statewide elected office. Democrats have none. I don’t know if there’s ever been a time when one party held every state office. I doubt it. So what happened to Heidi?

Well, as the Beatles sang in their 1964 hit, “Money Can’t Buy Me Love,” Heidi’s millions of dollars collected in the wake of her vote against Trump Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh weren’t enough to sway North…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry Seven Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL Tracker Pixel for Entry Concordia1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Empire Tracker Pixel for Entry Empire

Recently in:

By Bryce HaugenNot everyone detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is an undocumented immigrant. After a Jan. 12 scuffle at a local Walmart, Tim Catlett, a resident of St. Cloud, Minn., was held at the Bishop…

By Kooper Shagena Just off of I-94 and Highway 83 on State Street in Bismarck, an abandoned Kmart sits behind an empty parking lot, watching the cars roll on and off the interstate exchange. It has been standing there quietly since…

Saturday, January 31, mingling at 6:15 p.m. and program at 7 p.m.Fine Arts Club, 601 4th St. S., FargoThe FM Symphony is getting intimate by launching a “Small Stages” chamber music series and it's bringing folks together via…

By John Strand If you are reading this editorial and you too are worried sick about the state of our country, keep reading. Maybe we can inspire each other. It was near closing time. We were discussing our values crisis. So this…

By Ed RaymondA mind that snapped, cracked, and popped at one hundredI wasn’t going to read a long column called “Centenarian: A Diary of a Hundredth Year” by Calvin Tomkins celebrating his birthday on December 17 of 2025…

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 GionSince the much-dreaded Covid years, there has been much ebb and flow in the Fargo-Moorhead restaurant scene. In 2025, that trend continued with some major additions and closings. Let’s start the New Year on a positive…

Saturday, January 17, doors at 7:30 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe Slow Death is a punk supergroup led by Jesse Thorson, with members and collaborators that include members of The Ergs!, Dillinger…

By Greg Carlson There is a great scene in the middle of Kelly Reichardt’s excellent movie “The Mastermind” when protagonist James Blaine Mooney (Josh O’Connor) is chastised by criminally-connected wheelman Jerry (the…

By Jacinta ZensThe Guerrilla Girls, an internationally renowned anonymous feminist art collective, have been bringing attention to the gender and racial imbalances in contemporary art institutions for the last 40 years. They have…

Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…

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 Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com At the beginning of the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas," the Grinch is introduced as having a smaller than average heart, but as the movie progresses, his heart increases three…

January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…

By Vern Thompson Benjamin Franklin offered one of the most sobering warnings in American history. When asked what kind of government the framers had created in 1787, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Few words…