Last Word

​Obituary: The Show Hall in Rocklake, North Dakota

August 8th, 2018

Rocklake's Show Hall was torn down a week ago, on August 2, 2018.

By Mark Rodenbiker
mrodenbiker@gmail.com   

The first brick building had just gone up on the corner of the block. The government built that to house the post office, so it didn't mean so much. Not like this one; for a person to have the ambition to build a brick building of that size was an acknowledgement that Rocklake was no longer a railroad siding. Now, in 1907, Rocklake was a town.

The post office may have made it government-official before that, but the show hall made it…

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​Trump to Republicans: “Wave the Flag, and Waive Your Conscience”

August 8th, 2018

“Hell… is the suffering of being unable to love.”
– Fyodor Dostoevsky

“I and the public know, what all school children learn; those to whom evil is done, do evil in return.”
– W.H. Auden, September 1, 1939

“To my knowledge, America has never known any enemy children.” 
– Senator William Langer (R-ND), March 29, 1946

“We ask ourselves what kind of world we live in, but it’s too painful to face the truth. Maybe our worst fears have already been realized -- maybe the…

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More on the ‘Families Belong Together’ Rallies

July 11th, 2018

By Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu

Recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Good on everyone who rallied in such large numbers on behalf of keeping families together. I will generalize and break down the participants into three groups. The first was composed of folks who may have participated in their…

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​Davis Refinery update

July 11th, 2018

“Davis Refinery permit approved.”

That was the headline in the paper last week, telling us that the North Dakota Department of Health has approved an air quality permit and issued a permit to construct an oil refinery three miles from Theodore Roosevelt National park.

Yikes! What kind of monsters would want to do this—put an oil refinery right next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park? And what kind of state regulators would permit that to happen?

And who, at the highest level of North…

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​A new watchdog group for the Badlands

June 27th, 2018

Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands

North Dakota has more than a million acres of public land, most of it in western North Dakota, our Little Missouri National Grasslands, managed by the United States Forest Service.

Most of it is grazing land, although it’s grazed by more than cattle. Pretty much every creature that lives in North Dakota has a presence there. For some—mule deer, sharp-tailed grouse, sage grouse, prairie dogs, coyotes, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, and countless species of birds, including our state…

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​Keeping FM C.L.E.A.N

June 20th, 2018

By Paul Jensen

Fargo, as the most populous city in the state with 120,000 inhabitants, added nearly 6,000 20-to-34-year-olds in 2015, just over five percent of the total population. Fargo is attracting well-educated young professionals due to its clean air, strong economy, low unemployment, safe environment and affordable real estate.

Sustainable growth is only possible if we don’t cut corners on our infrastructure, energy use and other forms of sustainability. We have unfortunately…

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​Paper Towels for Puerto Rico; Family Separations for Refugees of Color:

June 20th, 2018

Daily Trump Cartoon

Negligent Homicide - the term that describes a killing without any intent to kill but occurs when a person is acting in negligence.
– Black’s Law Dictionary

"In the [19] twenties and [19] thirties denaturalization and denationalization were increasingly used by governments as ways of getting rid of citizens they deemed undesirable…As the stateless refugees entered the countries of the West…it was soon discovered that these were people who could neither be repatriated nor granted…

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​Ending Poverty Is A Moral Imperative

June 6th, 2018


Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu

“Rev. William Barber is the closest thing to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that we have in our midst.”
Prof. Cornell West on the Poor People’s Campaign Co-Founder, Rev. William Barber

Recently, I was privileged to be among the thirteen people arrested for civil disobedience at the first Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) rally at our state capitol building in Harrisburg, PA. The campaign, modeled on Dr. Martin Luther King’s original movement from 50 years…

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​Sinclair promotes propaganda with mandatory message threatening democracy as we know it

May 30th, 2018

By Ty Danks
ty.danks@ndsu.edu

With “Fake News” and “Alternative Facts” becoming a large and influential topic since the 2016 Presidential election, many people have become more aware and concerned with the spread of misinformation. The spread of “Fake News” and “Alternative Facts” has impacted all news organizations, but recently, Sinclair Broadcasting Company has come under scrutiny involving a broadcast message.

Sinclair and their Message
Sinclair Broadcasting Company…

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​Gateways to history are best kept open

May 23rd, 2018


By Ken Smith
kelandsmith@gmail.com

When the State of North Dakota decided to sell the campus of the Ellendale Branch of the University of North Dakota following the disastrous January 1970 fire that destroyed the two main buildings, the town prepared a big color glossy brochure to attract potential buyers of the campus. That brochure listed every single building, and evaluated their condition. The Armory (built in 1905) ranked lowest on the list in terms of its condition. It was the only…

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