Last Word

Merry Christmas Joseph Campbell

December 25th, 2015

by Dan Francis

Or why the Star Wars queue at Christmas makes me smile

by Chris Fradkin, PhD

It’s in the theaters. Star Wars is cleaning up and breaking all the records. Which for scientists like me shouldn’t mean a lot, I know. But inside, part of me is smiling.

It’s the Christmas lights? you say. No. The children singing carols? Uh, uh. For me, the reason runs much deeper. It’s because a study I co-authored, just released and gathering interest, is indirectly tied to Star Wars.

George Lucas, the…

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Beyond Scrooge: The Golden Calf “Trumps” The Golden Rule

December 18th, 2015

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” - Exodus 32: 7,8

“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” - Mark 12: 31

“What you do…

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Republican “Weapons of Mass Distraction” drown children of science and democracy

December 9th, 2015

“See no Science, Hear no Science, Speak No Science” - Wealthy Republican Oligarchs before Party fundraisers at their Exclusive Club for Know-Nothings.

“I’m not a scientist either, but I can use my brain, and I can talk to one.” - Former Republican Governor Charlie Crist [D-FL], July 26, 2014

“It seems clear to me...that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation." - Pope Francis, Washington, D.C., Sept. 23, 2015

Despite the overwhelming…

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ND voter ID law violates federal law

November 24th, 2015

By Bob Valeu

North Dakota voter ID requirement is the most restrictive voter ID law in the nation. It is corrupted, violates federal law and threatens to disenfranchise thousands of voters in 2016.

In their zeal to gain political advantage, the Republican-controlled legislature managed to push through a new law without any significant vetting.

The law comingles voter ID procedures with driver’s licensing ID rules. Voters are required to “register” if using a driver license form of…

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Rider

November 20th, 2015

By Josh Boschee

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is new to most of us. It is a federal agency founded in response to the predatory lending practices that led to the 2007-2009 recession, with a mission to consolidate consumer financial protections authority in one place. The responsibility of the CFPB is to watch out for and protect American consumers in the market for loans and other consumer financial products and services from predatory lending and discrimination, and…

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Medical Marijuana: no armored cars needed

November 20th, 2015

By Rilie Ray Morgan

As Chairperson of the North Dakota Medical Marijuana Committee, I feel compelled to respond to my old college professor, Lloyd Omdahl and his column on Medical Cannabis. Omdahl’s comments have some fatal flaws.

In fairness he does have a couple of things right, the first being that the initiated measure was started because of the inactivity of the North Dakota legislature. Had the legislature even considered studying the idea, we would not even be talking about an…

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Election Fatigue

September 10th, 2015

By Samuel Bondy

When I pondered the idea of writing a political opinion piece my brain flooded with passion but also the fear of angry mobs. Being someone who challenges the status quo in a state filled with generational bias is similar to not understanding what the fuss is behind twerking or Snapchat. You aren’t in on the big party.

With the campaign already prematurely in full swing we are all probably sick of the constant pointless updates on every little thing. CNN is on its way to…

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​Get off my lawn!

July 29th, 2015

Someone said "SOMA" to describe to me the location of Island Park in Fargo and I couldn't stop laughing when I found out what it meant. In fact, I'm still laughing.

SOMA means "South of Main Avenue" for people too lazy to say all four words consecutively. I imagine the alphabet soup was brewed in some cauldron by three witches to describe a business and arts district as something intrinsically different than the hell gate that has become downtown Fargo.

Everyone will tell you that good…

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Charleston more complex than just gun debate

July 1st, 2015

By Dean Hulse

Dylann Roof, the alleged perpetrator of the recent (I dare not write latest) hate crime involving members of Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., is quoted as saying he killed nine black people in hopes of igniting a “civil war.”

While gun control is an expected topic for reaction to this atrocity, it’s not the only subject requiring further scrutiny. Before Roof aimed his weapon, he satiated himself on hatred. And conjuring that detestable surfeit was part of a…

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Family farms are the future of agriculture

June 24th, 2015

By Fred Kirschenmann

My family owns a farm near Medina, and we are now transitioning that operation to Steve Sund and his family. Our farm has always been, and will always remain, a family farm committed to serve the health of the land and the community.

In my career I’ve had the opportunity to directly observe the evolution of corporate-owned farms. Such farms operate by a single principle: maximum, efficient production for short-term economic return (especially return to the…

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