Doublethink and doublespeak are a means of indoctrination in which people are expected to simultaneously accept two conflicting beliefs as truth. Orwell created the words in the most famous dystopian novel, “1984,” but we saw them on full display Tuesday night. The most egregious example was the horrific use of a child with cancer as a prop while at the …
It was hard not to be filled with despair Monday. Between watching the obviously orchestrated cut off of funds to Ukraine, the grift occurring with cryptocurrency at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer, the cessation of investigation of money laundering, the announcement that the Defense Department had halted offensive cyber operations against Russia and the instatement of tariffs against our …
British Virgin Islands is an archipelago of more than 60 islands, with 21 national parks. We stayed on Tortola (visiting the high point in Sage Mountain National Park). We took many taxi rides and two ferry rides and also visited Virgin Gorda (more of the BVI National Parks there) and Beef Island. Lots of swimming, rum, birding, exploring, eating and …
No. 1 On the Virgin Islands, they drive on the left side of the road. No. 2 There is on the part of drivers a lot of honking. No. 3 The tourists from the USA talk a LOT and listen a LITTLE. No. 4 The people who live in the islands are friendly and helpful and want to teach people …
From Red Hook, a ferry to Cruz Bay, St. John. Much of the island belongs to me (— and to all citizens of the USA — because it is Virgin Islands National Park. Cruz Bay seems like managed chaos. Taxis (trucks that seat multiple passengers, some call “safari taxis”) serve as transport for visitors. Some visitors rent cars — or …
So we arrive in the U.S. Virgin Islands via an eight-seater prop plane (flawlessly flown by a young woman) from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to St. Thomas. 3here we take many more taxi rides on the left side of the road, where my birding resumes, where we swim at Caribbean beaches, where we eat local food, where we spend a …
Also I saw more lizards and a tarantula and went swimming in the Caribbean and am now sipping on a Painkiller (sprinkled with nutmeg). I hope to bring little Lily here someday and my daughter, Chelsea. More birding to do. Oppenheimer ‘s daughter donated the house to the island of St. John.
No. 1 Don’t be a jerk. No. 2 Don’t be a drunken and loud jerk. No. 3 Don’t litter. No. 4 Wash your derned hands. No. 5 Rinse and repeat back to No. 1.
Buy local food and art and such. Wear sunscreen.
For most of the past 10 days, there was at least 100 degrees difference in the temperature where I was eating, sleeping and playing and the temperature in my backyard in Bismarck. The colors are different, too. White where I came from, green where I am now. That’s the reason Lillian and I came to the Caribbean in the dead …
Take a taxi or Uber or walk is my advice. Chat respectfully with the locals, etc. Thank the people who preserve the customs and language and places and critters. Obey the rules and laws. Don’t be rude.
Goodbye Miami. Biscayne Bay National Park Institute boat tour to Boca Chita Key. White Ibis. Sea turtles, manatees, Royal Tern, Iguanas, Prairie Warbler.
Owen McLaughlin score one goal and added four assists to lead the No. 17-ranked University of North Dakota men’s hockey team to a 6-1 win over the University of Minnesota-Duluth in National Collegiate Hockey Conference play Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Fighting Hawks (17-12-2 overall, 12-7-1 NCHC) defeated the Bulldogs (11-17-2 overall, 7-12-1 NCHC) 4-2 in the series …
The University of North Dakota men’s basketball team, behind Treysen Eaglestaff’s 27 points, defeated North Dakota State University 79-77 in a Summit League tilt Saturday afternoon in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Deng Mayar chipped in 13 points and Mambourou Mara 11 to lead the Fighting Hawks (20-10 overall, 9-6 Summit) over the Bison (11-18 overall, 5-9 Summit), who were led …
I remember the seismic shift that happened in a week five years ago when the pandemic began. Our world completely transformed in a matter of days. A similar seismic shift has occurred in the past week, with the shift in world order. The U.S. has gone from being on the side of democracy, standing up for the values that led …
One thing many Americans may not be aware of is how the recent transition in the U.S. is playing abroad. I think it is safe to say that any nation or leader who supports democratic values is horrified and in shock. The administration has aligned with Russia and the murderous Vladimir Putin, as well as the heirs of the Nazi …
Fifty years ago, I suggested to my girlfriend’s parents that we all watch this hilarious new show called “Saturday Night Live.” I tuned in this past Saturday, when NBC broadcast the show’s first episode. I wanted to see how cool I had been. The episode didn’t even hold up that well 50 years ago. Comedian George Carlin, surrounded by the …
Pasta Fagioli has been a favorite of mine ever since I came across a recipe for it in a Dom DeLuise cookbook several years ago. The recipe was pretty basic, containing only pasta, tomato sauce, garlic and beans. The other day, I came across a recipe on social media for pasta fagioli that looked pretty good. I saved the recipe …
It is coming up on three years now since my beloved Mom died. Long before then, she and I were collaborating on an essay about the family piano — and because I think it is a darned good story, I am finally getting around to writing it. The Gulbranson piano was purchased by my great-aunt, Dora, who was a registered nurse. …
It’s been a tough week. It’s been hard to watch the dismantling of democracy, the corruption unfolding or being ignored as guardrails are dismantled and justice denied. The graft and lies, the rejection of science and endangerment of our health and the loss of national security as we alienate allies, side with bullies, advocate ethnic cleansing and confirm incompetence, ignoring …
February 4, 2025 Mary Anderson, ED ABLE Inc. 1951 1st Street West Dickinson, ND 58601 Dear Mary, Thank you for contacting me regarding ABLE’s purchase of the Sullivan Apartments, in which my daughter, Rachel, has lived and thrived for many years now. I applaud ABLE for taking action to secure this, and other buildings in western ND, including The Landing …
But Tom Robbins lived a long time. He was 92 when he died Sunday. Still … I wish he’d written just one more book. I could never get enough of him. I never met Tom Robbins. But I came close. It was long ago, back in 1990 or ‘91, when I was North Dakota’s tourism director. My phone rang one …
I often joke that I am the healthiest unhealthy person I know. I have many chronic conditions, including diabetes, asthma and glaucoma. But thanks to research done by the National Institutes of Health, I have medications that, at 61, have me at the healthiest I’ve been in years. If you don’t think the cuts to NIH impact you and you …
Ben Strinden, Andrew Strathmann and Carter Wilkie (empty net) scored goals and netminder T.J. Semptimphelter stopped 24 of 25 shots as No. 16-ranked University of North Dakota men’s hockey team defeated Colorado College 3-1 in National Collegiate Hockey Conference play Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Tigers (14-13-1 overall, 8-9-1 NCHC) topped the Fighting Hawks (14-11-2 overall, 9-6-1 NCHC) …
I keep wondering if I am living some type of dystopian nightmare, and then I look at the news and see that this administration is prioritizing the refugee resettlement of WHITE SOUTH AFRICANS, and I know in fact it is not a nightmare but a waking brutal reality of white supremacy and Christian Nationalism. As someone who cut her teeth …
Back to my theme of women’s music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44eaMdnjDM0 Ahem, that’s my daughter, Chelsea, singing. I’m so grateful I was able to attend her performances, etc. Goodness knows, I attended countless school programs and recitals and lessons.
I’m delighted to announce that our play, “I’m Proud of You,” will be produced for the fourth time beginning March 22 at the Open Stage theatre in Harrisburg, Pa. In Harrisburg, playing the role of television’s Fred Rogers, will be my close friend, Michael David Gingerich. It is an inspired casting decision with great personal meaning. I met Michael and …
I read with dismay the reports that a Fargo legislator has introduced a bill in the 2025 North Dakota legislative session to zero out funding for Prairie Public. I have been listening to Prairie Public Radio and watching programs on Prairie Public TV since the day it launched, when I was a young and broke college student in western North …
In 1988, I had the incredible opportunity to travel around the world. I studied in Zimbabwe, built houses in Malawi, worked at a leprosy hospital in India and became embedded with anti-apartheid activists in South Africa, even smuggling documents for the ANC back to Zimbabwe. As I think back to that time now, as the U.S. is being turned upside …
Poems by members of Beta Stanza of the North Dakota Poetry Society. And tucked inside my copy of this gem of a book.
A few years ago, Lillian and her sister and her niece took a long trip to England, about three weeks, I think. About two weeks in, I was folding laundry one morning, and when I was done, I looked down and noticed the laundry was all mine. Not a single thing of hers. A wave of loneliness swept over me. …
Spaghetti Puttanesca has always fascinated me. It has many ingredients that I use in my spaghetti sauce. And several that are not. One of those I don’t use, anchovies, has always had a bad connotation in my mind. I remember a joke from my childhood when some of us talked about what toppings a pizza should have. Someone would always …
I don’t want to get out of bed this morning. I wanna pull the covers over my head and pretend like this dystopian nightmare does not exist. I don’t want to hear the latest news that tears down yet another brick as democracy collapses around me. But that isn’t an option. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Silence in the face of …
Saute chopped onions (until the onions are soft) and shredded carrots in a little butter. Add small pieces of chicken. Cook a bit, but don’t overcook. Add chicken broth. (I prefer Penzey’s concentrated chicken broth.) Simmer. Add a dash of lemon juice, a few grinds of pepper, parsley and a little bit of tomato paste (for umami). Maybe a little …
From the Dana Monroe Wright Collection at the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Dana Monroe Wright was born on Aug. 30, 1878, in Eaton Rapids, Mich. He moved with his parents to farm near Jamestown, N.D., in 1882, and left that area in 1898 to enlist in the North Dakota National Guard. Wright served in the military during the …
On Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Wednesday evening, Vice President JD Vance described what he called an “old-school, very Christian concept.” “You love your family, then you love your neighbor, then you love your community, then you love you fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world. …
