Last Word

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

May 16th, 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…

Read more...


​Of Swamps, Sewers, “Deep States” and Mixed Metaphors

May 16th, 2018

“Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater private security group and a close campaign adviser to Donald Trump, met a Russian financier with direct ties to Vladimir Putin's family in the weeks leading up to Mr Trump's inauguration, according to multiple people briefed on the talks.”
- The Financial Times, 04/01/18

“On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, released a report claiming that Viktor Vekselberg—a Putin-friendly Russian tycoon—and an American…

Read more...


​The University of North Dakota is not exempt from the rules of architecture

May 2nd, 2018

Wesley College - provided by UNDBy Andrew Alexis Varvel
mr.a.alexis.varvel@gmail.com

“This stuff? Oh, okay, I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select, I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world you take yourself too seriously to care what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact…

Read more...


​Memories Of A Darn Good Governor

April 4th, 2018

The late Governor George SinnerCalm was the day in late July

And bright was the sun across the sky

But inside his chest the calm had broken

Governor Sinner had started croakin’.

I laughed the first time I read that, and I’m still laughing every time I think about it. It’s a poem written by a sixth grader from Turtle Lake about Governor George Sinner’s heart attack in 1991.

Well, Bud Sinner has finished croakin’. There. I said it. Bud Sinner. That’s the first time I’ve called him anything but “Governor”…

Read more...


​Assaulting the Status Quo with Ballots instead of Bullets: 21st Century Version

April 4th, 2018

Emma Gonzalez at the Rally to Support Firearm Safety Legislation in Fort Lauderdale"I do not believe that a democracy must necessarily become something other than a democracy to protect its national interests…We can prevent and publish the abuse of liberty by sabotage, disorder and violence without destroying liberty itself."   
– U.S. Attorney General (later Supreme Court Justice) Frank Murphy, 1939

"We know what we want. We want gun reform. We want common sense gun laws…The people in office have failed us…We’ve had enough of ‘thoughts and prayers.’ So this is…

Read more...


​Putin’s ‘Pinocchio’ plays the peace card rather than face Mueller’s wood chipper

March 21st, 2018

“The thing to fear from the Trump presidency is not the bold overthrow of the Constitution, but the stealthy paralysis of governance; not the open defiance of law, but an accumulating subversion of norms; not the deployment of state power to intimidate dissidents, but the incitement of private violence to radicalize supporters…Trump gambled that Americans resent each other’s differences more than they cherish their shared democracy. So far, that gamble has paid off.”
– David…

Read more...


​Which airline is best for musicians?

March 14th, 2018

By Andrew Vait
https://www.facebook.com/andrewpaulvait

We made it to Austin! The sun and warmth feel good, but it was a hard day of travel and I think some of you guys might benefit from knowing what we learned today.

United checked our equipment in at SeaTac (Seattle-Tacoma International Airport) this morning and we were charged the full baggage fee of $120 for 4 bags and an additional $100 for an oversized piece of gear. Annoying but typical commerce transaction. At our gate, because of…

Read more...


A brief thought experiment

March 14th, 2018

By Gary Olson
olsong@moravian.edu

Recently, I’ve tried to make the case that only presidential aspirants who are vetted by and acceptable to the oligarchic elite, deep state, plutocracy or whatever nomenclature you prefer, have any chance of reaching the Oval Office.

Further, as the chief administrative officer for the bourgeoisie, they often implement policies characteristic of a psychopath and do not feel guilty about it. Harsh as it sounds, as political analysis Michael Hago…

Read more...


​The gun debate: fear, sin, and human nature

March 14th, 2018

By Robert Drake
robert.drake2@gmail.com

Fear excites us. It gets us going. Our brains and our bodies are wired to react to fear. It’s part of the reason we survived as a species. Look! It’s a bear! Run!

But fear can also become a potent tool of manipulation.

During this intense period of public debate about gun control and school shootings, we must recognize when someone is pressing all the right emotional buttons to incite the primal reaction of fear in our brain and body.

We are wired…

Read more...


​The Lamoureux sisters

March 7th, 2018

LamourexForty-three North Dakotans have been honored with the rank of Colonel in the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Riders since North Dakota began giving its highest award to its highest achievers in 1961. It’s time to make it forty-five.

The award was created by former Governor William L. Guy as part of North Dakota’s commemoration of the Dakota Territory Centennial, to recognize current or former North Dakotans “who have been influenced by our state in achieving national…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstWest Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry Aarp Tracker Pixel for Entry Hjemkomst1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Seven

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 Writer-director Naomi Jaye adapts fellow Canadian Martha Baillie’s 2009 novel “The Incident Report” as a potent and introspective character study. Retitled “Darkest Miriam,” Jaye’s movie stars Britt…

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…