Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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The country is divided, in massive debt, and our future isn't looking so good– but thankfully, I have more immediate worries to consume my energies. Girl Scout cookies are back. I'm on a diet, you see– the same diet I'm on every year at this time as I struggle to lose the weight I put on during the holiday season. This year offers a far greater weight-loss challenge, however, because most of 2020 offered millions of us the perfect conditions to pack on the pounds. They don't call it "COVID-19" f...
North Dakota lost a good leader in 2020 upon the death of Jesse Taken Alive. I am writing this on Martin Luther King Day and contemplating what good leadership is all about. Out of the downward vortex of mistreatment, broken promises, darkness, anger and hurt on the Standing Rock Reservation, Jesse Taken Alive emerged as a strong and gentle leader. He led peaceful but relentless efforts to bring about change for his people. The person I came to know as Jay carried deep in his heart his Sioux heritage and culture and worked hard to better the...
A few New Rockford residents have inquired about the United State Flag that is being flown with blue field down in my yard. In article 4 of the U.S. Flag code this action is recognized as an international symbol of distress. I chose to take this action on 12 Nov 2020 as a result of thoughts of self harm that arose following the election on 4 Nov. I have not had these thoughts since 2010. The stem of this problem was my realization America is now headed to a full Socialism form of government....
On January 10, 1776, impassioned Americans – from the streets of the Colonies to private meetings in taverns – were moved by an anonymous pamphlet calling for independence and liberty from Great Britain. Today it is recognized as one of the most important rallying cries leading up to the Revolutionary War, and we know it as Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Eleven years after its publication, in 1787, the cries for liberty were answered when the Founding Fathers wrote and America ratified the U.S...
While the mainstream media is rightfully focused on the second impeachment of President Trump and the assault on the Capitol, right wing media is obsessed with “Freedom of Speech.” Right wing outlets are calling for action against the “censorship” of conservatives by big, liberal, tech companies after Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites banned President Trump, taking away his preferred megaphone. The radical social media platform Parler was shut down after Amazon refused to continue hosting the site. I run a newspaper syndica...
Let me get this straight. The news media in America are no better than the “Good Germans”. You know, the ones that remained silent out of fear when the Nazis came for the Jews. Actually, reporters in the major U.S. newspapers and virtually all the large news networks have “brainwashed at least half of America” every bit as effectively as the German press that enabled Hitler to come to power. Yep, you read that right. This is coming from a recent opinion piece written by Dennis Prager, a nationa...
Why should we be surprised that at a time when everything is supposed to be about race, from the skin color of certain newspaper editors forced to resign to whether we should capitalize the "B" in "Black," the most disturbing and consequential attack on our civic body in decades ends up being all about the color of the protesters/terrorists? After Wednesday's assault on the Capitol by desperate and angry Trump supporters, the conversation turned from "why did they do it?" to "who caused it?" to...
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible," President John F. Kennedy said in a 1962 speech, "will make violent revolution inevitable." Nearly 60 years later, two warring groups within the American political class seem resolutely determined to make "peaceful revolution" -- by which JFK seems to have meant orderly democratic decision-making -- impossible. Supporters of Donald Trump rejected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and, with his active if deniably worded encouragement, rioted in a tantrum intended to overturn that...
The older I get, the more I am turning into my father. You see, the world makes less sense to me every day. My fellow man puzzles me more every day. I cite exhibit A: crappy stone walls. I know a woman who recently paid $10,000 to have a stone retaining wall built along her driveway. Now I used to be a stonemason – I rebuilt close to 200 such walls during my college years – and I was shocked to learn that hers was a NEW wall. It was buckling and full of gaps. Not one stone was properly cut or...
Vaccines are the hot topic right now, as they should be. I believe effective vaccines will go a long way toward helping control spread of the COVID-19 virus. Does that mean over the next few months, we'll all get the vaccine and then life will return to normal? That question requires a two-part answer. The first answer is yes. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advice and recommending North Dakotans get the vaccine as it...
For end-of-the-year columns, it’s customary to recap the events of the past 12 months, usually highlighting a mix of the good and the bad. Because this year has been dominated by health, in particular COVID-19, and my beat is health, it seems fitting to reflect on where we are. Where we are is not good. A headline in the Los Angeles Times seemed to sum up the current state of the U.S. health care system: “Bodies pile up, patient care falters as COVID-19 devastates L.A. County hospitals.” In the Times’ story a hospital critical care nurse s...
Only a minority ignore the city's ordinances concerning pets and parking but enough to be annoying. Pets in city limits must be on a leash, kennel, or in a fenced yard. So why am I often seeing dog tracks around my livestock and doo-doo droppings all over. If I wanted to step in it I'd get a dog. And parking!! Vehicles can only sit on streets and avenues for 72 hours. With snow removal in winter and street sweeping in summer I see the city crew having to go around vehicles, boats and hunting trailers left parked for weeks. I think some ticket...
The zeros in 2020 symbolized by rolls of toilet paper—doesn’t that sum it up? Isn’t it great that we are at the END of it? Yes, the end of 2020 is a plus, but it’s not the good news of these holidays. That we can celebrate the birth of Jesus and the impact his life had on this world—is THE good news, for it is a source of hope that we desperately need now. I have no greater wish this Christmas than to see that hope reflected on not only the faces of my family and friends, but also on those so desperately impacted by illness and turmoil....
In case you (expletives deleted) missed the marketing campaign, on January 5 the noble public servants at Netflix will launch a six-episode series, "History of Swear Words," hosted by actor Nicholas Cage. The "proudly profane" program will be supplemented with historians, cognitive scientists, lexicographers and etymology experts. (The latter should feel right at home, after years of hearing, "When are you going to quit &^%$ and get a &^%$ REAL job?") I find myself with mixed emotions as I navig...
When Professor Elwyn Robinson wrote his comprehensive history of North Dakota in the 1950s, he coined a phrase that stuck. He called it the “too much mistake” because Dakotans in the 1880s had designed a state infrastructure that was greater than we would ever need. The political creation and location of too many colleges and universities became the classic example for proving his point. It seems that most rational people in the state now agree that we have too much higher education. How...
The end of this sad, strange, historic and transformative year is almost upon us. And like a lot of you, I found myself burrowing into ritual, structure, and obligatory loaves of sourdough to fill up those hours of social isolation thrust upon us by the COVID-19 pandemic. But of course, you can’t live on pandemic sourdough alone. So here’s a quick list of the books, music, and bits of culture that provided some peace and tranquility amidst the frantic hours of work, moments of mourning, and surprising intervals of joy and extreme gratitude tha...
The way my siblings and I responded to my family's chicken-pox outbreak in 1973 may shed light on Americans' responses to COVID-19 in 2020. I was about 10 and remember how differently my five sisters responded to that highly contagious bug. To prevent its spread, our family doctor ordered us to wash our hands regularly; keep all surfaces, devices and furnishings in the house extra-clean; and maintain our distance from infected siblings. "If you do come down with chicken pox," said the doctor, "d...
Feeling stressed? You're not alone. Stress levels are rising due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the numerous disruptions in our daily lives. The American Psychological Association recently reported that "we are facing a national mental health crisis that could yield serious health and social consequences for years to come." And it's not just adults who are feeling it. The report reveals that our children are "facing unprecedented uncertainty, are experiencing elevated stress, and are already reporting symptoms of depression." Although a modest...
Despite the grim economic news, the V-shaped economic recovery President Donald Trump has talked about may soon be a reality. The news that several novel coronavirus vaccines will soon be available may allow the lockdowns to end. If all goes as planned, Operation Warp Speed could lead to the nation recovering lost economic ground in months rather than years, even if the number of cases continues to rise. Retailers across the country are contributing to Operation Warp Speed by ordering freezers,...
Now that we are well into the month of December, my three teenage daughters have provided me with their extensive Christmas lists – both electronic and hard copies – in triplicate. Full of the typical objects of adolescent desires like designer clothing, electronics, jewelry, and luxury vehicles, their lists read like the inventory of Elon Musk's next yard sale. My list, on the other hand, is simple. All I want for Christmas is for life to return to the way it was in the good old days of 201...
The public response to the COVID-19 virus has been more harmful to society than the virus itself. It is reported that COVID-19 has caused 281,000+ deaths in the U.S. To have a better understanding of these deaths it is important to look deeper. COVID-19 has the biggest impact on the most vulnerable; specifically, the elderly (80+ years old) living in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Individuals who are obese or have underlying health conditions are also at greater risk. The World Health Organization has reported that only 6% of...
We all know Santa Claus as a “right jolly old elf,” but the man carries a well-stocked bag of regrets. He recently sat down with me to list some of the ways he wished his life had gone differently. “I don’t regret the Island of Misfit Toys real estate venture per se, but I sort of hate that we used an old atomic testing site. I’m cool with a water pistol shooting jelly – but not RADIOACTIVE jelly.” “I wish I had found a better business manager to protect my trademark. My FRIENDS have good busin...
Sorry, COVID-19, but you're not going to stop our Christmas cheer this year. You remind me of the Dr. Seuss Christmas classic, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." The Grinch, you see, is a miserable old grouch. He lives in a cave on a hill and hates the sound of Christmas festivities that take place in Whoville in the valley below. His only source of joy, he initially thinks, is to rob the Whos of their Christmas presents, decorations and feast. His wants to make the Whos as miserable as he is. An...
I collect my hate mail. Not because it makes me angry or because I want to obsess over it. It’s just so interesting and I want to understand it. I receive a lot of emails in response to columns, and most are generally positive. But the negative ones are really negative. This fascinates me. For example, in a recent piece on how the media will miss President Trump when he’s gone, and vice versa, a reader unleashed a stream of consciousness under the subject “Absurd!” He went on to call me “demented” and then took a shot at Kentucky, where I cur...
It may be the sort of birthday where someone shouts, “50 candles blazing on the cake? Are you crazy? Why don’t we just fill a pinata with cow methane while we’re at it???” I’m speaking of the 50th anniversary of the Environmental Protection Agency. President Richard Nixon proposed the independent executive agency on July 9, 1970 (fun fact: “EPA” was the only term on that particular Nixon tape with fewer than FOUR letters) and it began operation on December 2, 1970. (This was mere weeks before...
