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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — An Open Letter To Governor Doug Burgum, On The Occasion Of The Greatest Threat Ever To The Little Missouri State Scenic River

Posted on by Jim Fuglie 2 Comments on JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — An Open Letter To Governor Doug Burgum, On The Occasion Of The Greatest Threat Ever To The Little Missouri State Scenic River

Dear Gov. Burgum, Let me quote from the conservation easement you signed for some ranchland you and your friends own in southwest North Dakota’s Bad Lands six years ago: “The Protected Property possesses agricultural, scenic, and historic, and cultural values. The Protected Property is located in the heart of the only Ponderosa pine forest in North Dakota, south of Teddy …

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MARTIN C. FREDRICKS IV: Four The Record — N.D. Dem-NPL, It’s Time to Stand Up

Posted on by Martin C. Fredricks IV 1 Comment on MARTIN C. FREDRICKS IV: Four The Record — N.D. Dem-NPL, It’s Time to Stand Up

And, Please, No More “Republican Lite” Byron Dorgan once got my ass kicked. That’s not literally true, of course. I can’t remember the name of the kid who actually trounced me in a back alley half a block from Jamestown (N.D.) Junior High when I was in the seventh grade, but it did start with our future senator. It was …

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TONY J BENDER: That’s Life — My Appliances Are Against Me

Posted on by Tony J Bender

I just realized my microwave popcorn is actually popping out Morse code — in Russian. If I’m translating correctly and, admittedly, my decoding skills are rusty, Pootie wants me to drop some d-CON into someone’s latte. Or maybe the word is DEFCON. I may have missed a dot or a dash. Probably no big deal. Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe. I’ve become suspicious …

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TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — Budget Cuts? Middle-Class Taxpayers Take It on the Chin

Posted on by Tom Davies

Not that this will surprise any nonbelievers, but the absolute and total lie by POTUS 45 — that President Obama ordered some sort of wiretapping or surveillance on him or his administration — has now been revealed by all the government agencies involved in security to be false. (Or as that idiot Sean Spicer, 45’s official press spokesman, would say: …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — How Long Will Trump Last? Make A Guess!

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

OK, at first it was just a sly hint, a trickle of wishfulness, but it’s become a pretty serious subject of open discussion now, both on social media and on the street: How long do you think Trump will last as president? Some say he’s going to commit an apparently impeachable offense, and Congress will go after him. If that’s …

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RON SCHALOW: Just Say Nyet To Cro-Magnon Cramer

Posted on by Kevin Grinde

It did not go unreported that Kevin Cramer might run for Senate in 2018, but the news was largely lost in the fog of the scandalous AMC miniseries, “The Case of the White Pantsuits and Other White Outfits,” based on the true story of a primitive male, with a bad combover, and his faithful miniature poodle, Port, named for the …

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NANCY EDMONDS HANSON: After Thought — No, The Checks Aren’t In The Mail

Posted on by Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Sorry to disappoint you, but no checks are in the mail. A standing-room-only crowd showed up for Rep. Kevin Cramer’s Fargo “Coffee with Cramer” town hall last week. Let’s call them “lively.” Trouble was clearly brewing. They packed a local coffeehouse to pepper him with comments and questions about health care, the bungled travel ban, the Great Wall of POTUS …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Beware The Ides Of March

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

An apology to my readers. I was born with a weak spine. Literally but not figuratively — I hope. So, I’ve had these recurring back problems since I reached middle age. They’re usually fixable, but it takes some time, and I’m in one of those time periods right now. The doctors started working on it in early February, and they …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Rerun

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

I think I’m just going to rerun this column from the Unheralded.Fish website from two years ago about this time of the year in every odd-numbered year from now on. Nothing seems to change. Why should I spend a bunch of time writing something new? Nobody seems to be paying any attention anyway. JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — …

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TONY J BENDER: That’s Life — Kretschmar On The Sidelines After 40 Years In Legislature

Posted on by Tony J Bender

After serving four decades in the North Dakota Legislature, William “Billy” Kretschmar no longer has a seat in the House chambers. What the Venturia resident does have is perspective and more than a few thoughts on the state of politics today. Kretschmar (on left in above photo), who was first elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican in …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — My Wish List For Gov. Burgum

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

I know, I know, a bunch of my readers have been waiting for me to do a little North Dakota post-election analysis. I’ve been waiting to see how the new governor starts out. He’s started. Here’s what I think. So far. Doug Burgum is a lot smarter than me. So I’m not going to use this space to tell him …

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PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot the Rapids — Dogs, Politics And Refugees

Posted on by Paula Mehmel

My dog disappeared for a few days this week. Marti is beagle terrier cross, with the energy of a terrier and the intelligence and roaming instincts of a beagle.  She’s a sweet little dog who is terribly anxious, because she was abused before I got her from the Humane Society in Willmar, Minn. (my hometown — where my first dog, …

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TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — ‘Shut Up’? Stand Up and Voice Your Opinion

Posted on by Tom Davies

One who writes for the Fargo newspaper (not to be confused with Moorhead’s No. 1 publication, The Extra) had some sharp advice to citizens who have issues with laws being proposed in North Dakota. Apparently, he believes those who oppose some legislation coming before the North Dakota Legislature as a “waste of time” are typical groaners and usually “lightly informed.” His advice: …

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TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — POTUS, Give Or Take A Couple Of Letters

Posted on by Tom Davies

Many people don’t know that POTUS is short for President of the United States. Well, it is … and for the current president-elect, we can shorten it even better: POS. (Since this is a family newspaper, use your imagination about what that’s short for.) After the election was over, I waited for Diaper Donnie to enter the world of adults. …

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PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot the Rapids — Bridging The Gap

Posted on by Paula Mehmel

I have a conundrum. Everyone who knows me is aware that I am a dyed-in-the-wool progressive. I wrote my first political letter in 1969. I was 5. It was to Richard Nixon, suggesting that the Vietnam War was not a good idea and perhaps we should get out of it. A self-starting child, I addressed it on my own, to …

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LIZ FEDOR: Will The Trump Tide Spur Klobuchar To Enter The Governor’s Race?

Posted on by Liz Fedor

Nov. 8 was a rude awakening for Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Her hope for a U.S. Senate controlled by Democrats was destroyed. More surprisingly from Klobuchar’s perspective, Democrat Hillary Clinton failed to shatter the presidential glass ceiling. Klobuchar would need to come to terms with Donald Trump, a populist and unorthodox Republican, as the next president. Now that Klobuchar’s shock has …

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TOM COYNE: Back In Circulation — Is It Senseless To Seek A Consensus?

Posted on by Tom Coyne

It’s been just over one week since Americans went to the polls to elect a president. Somehow, it feels like much longer. In the hours and days that followed, some have despaired. Others rejoiced. There have been protests in the streets. We should have seen this coming, regardless of the outcome. For months prior to the election, there were articles …

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NANCY EDMONDS HANSON: After Thought — Minnesota Election History Foreshadows Tough Lessons

Posted on by Nancy Edmonds Hanson

No Minnesotan would ever be so unhumble as to brag, “As goes Minnesota, goes the nation.” Nor as wrong-headed. After all, if that were even marginally true, the United States would have elected President Walter Mondale in 1984 instead of Ronald Reagan. But Minnesota has clearly been ahead of the curve in a couple of the least savory trends of …

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CLAY JENKINSON: Concession V. Concussion

Posted on by Clay Jenkinson

When Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams in the presidential election of 1800, Adams was bitter for several reasons. First, he was an important American patriot and revolutionary who believed he deserved to be re-elected by the American people. He could not understand why someone of his historical significance would be retired after a single term. He had the notion that …

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RON SCHALOW: Where We Are Now — Our Sad State Of Affairs

Posted on by Ron Schalow

I could start this Fish thing with something less nauseating, but political talk is required this close to an election. It’s a rule — or something. There’s no point in adding more words to the Trump and Clinton compost pile, but I will anyway. One is a grabby psychopath pig, that smells like an ugly 4-months dead squid. Or so …

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DAVE VORLAND: It Occurs To Me — Dealing With Political Comments

Posted on by Dave Vorland

Now that the Republican and Democratic national conventions have ended, expect to see even more politics on Facebook. For example, your otherwise reasonable friends may begin to post comments about your favored candidate that get on your nerves. One solution is to “de-friend” the offender, which should be a last resort because you may lose that friend in real life …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Crossing Over-Thank You, Dick Dobson, For The Reminder

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

By most measures, Dick Dobson should be about 150 years old. He’s got some hard miles on him, but at 81, he’s still got his memory and his health, and at that age, you can’t ask for much more. For those of you who don’t remember him, Dobson is the former editor and publisher of the Minot Daily News, and …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — What The Hell Just Happened?

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

WTF? Nobody — not me, not you, not Doug Burgum — could have predicted that outcome. Some predicted a Burgum win. Not me, although I had this nagging feeling every time I saw Ed Schafer on TV that maybe, just maybe, it could happen. But too many times I have predicted an election outcome because I wanted that outcome, not because I …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — High Praise

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

Well, high praise from Pat Finken on Monday, in the form of an email from the Brighter Future Fund. Finken’s superpac, Brighter Future Fund (yeah, right) is a big supporter of Wayne Stenehjem. Finked created his superpac in 2012 with money from the North Dakota Republican Party and a bunch of big GOP donors like Jim Roers, Steve Scheel and Jim Arthaud …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Voting For Burgum: A Primer For Democrats

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

It was late afternoon on an dreary late October day in 1990. I was stopped at the Fifth Street railroad crossing in downtown Bismarck, waiting for a train to go by on the tracks in front of me. I looked to my left and there, in the car beside me, was Ed Schafer. He spotted me about the same time. He …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

One of Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s favorite things is to challenge laws passed by other governmental bodies, especially the federal government (and now, it seems, local governments, too). One of Kathleen Wrigley’s favorite things is to see her picture in the paper. One of Odney Advertising’s favorite things is to collect nice commissions on ads placed on behalf of political …

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TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — The Constitution Guarantees Rights To All

Posted on by Tom Davies

It’s becoming difficult to determine whether many people are the new “normal,” bigoted, uninformed, fully informed, hateful, uncaring or just plain stupid. I’m referring to the uproar surrounding the U.S. attorney general taking action to enforce the constitutional rights of transgender people. Unlike the uninformed believe, being transgender is an act of birth, the same as being gay or lesbian. …

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DAVE VORLAND: It Occurs To Me — A Medical Analysis Of Today’s Politics

Posted on by Dave Vorland

Early in my career as the University of North Dakota’s director of public relations, I mentioned to the late School of Medicine Professor Helge Ederstrom that I was looking for more insight into what it was that motivated human attitudes and behavior. I was especially interested in those individual PR people — then rather naively described as “opinion leaders” — …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Turns Out Nobody’s Looking Out For The Little Missouri

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article here about the Little Missouri State Scenic River Commission and how important it had been to protecting the integrity of North Dakota’s only “State Scenic River” during our first oil boom in the 1970s and ’80s. If you missed it, you can go here to catch up. Well, we’ve had another boom …

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LORI NITSCHKE: The Rural Urbanite — Really, Canada? Can You Stop Showing Off Already?

Posted on by Lori Nitschke

First, it was the fact that he existed. Then, it was the full-body plank off a committee room desk. And now — an accurate description of quantum computing that the average person could understand. Canada, I love you, but when are you going to stop rubbing your prime minister’s ridiculously handsome face in our face? You’re like a new fiancee sporting …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — The Accidental Senators

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

They’re going to bury Jim Pomeroy today. Former State Sen. Jim Pomeroy. Jim was a lot of things in his life. A minister. A carpenter. A musician. A counselor to the aged, sick and infirm. A husband. A father. A grandfather. A volunteer. A loyal Democrat. A cousin to a U.S. congressman. He was those things on purpose. He was a …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — A Couple Of Reasons Why I Like Politics

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

SPEAKING OF NEW DRESSES Wednesday, I wrote a long story about lieutenant governors, mostly, and in it, I poked some fun at my friend, Jim Poolman. If you missed it, click here. But here’s another addition to the story, and it demonstrates why I like Jim Poolman. He has a sense of humor and a thick skin. Last night, I was sitting in …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Doug Burgum: We Are Facing New Economic Reality In North Dakota: Fed Data Shows N.D. As One Of Worst-Performing States

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

Note: In Monday’s article, I discussed the North Dakota governor’s race, in light of the economic downturn the state is suffering. Today, one of the candidates for governor, Doug Burgum, discusses the state’s economic plight in an op-ed he e-mailed to the North Dakota media late Monday.  — Jim Fuglie By Doug Burgum The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia for …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Oh, Woe Is Me, I’m A Democrat

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

What’s a Democrat to do? Just when the North Dakota Republican Party appears more vulnerable than it has been in almost 25 years, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party has retrenched into a hole so deep that it’s unlikely Democrats here will be able to climb out of it in time to compete in an election about 280 days hence. The …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — For Wayne Stenehjem, It’s Campaign Decision Time And It Will Be Fun To Watch

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

The first decision of Wayne Stenehjem’s soon-to-be-officially announced campaign for North Dakota Governor comes today, when the three-person Industrial Commission, of which he is a member, decides to give the Oil Industry a big wet kiss on the lips or a tiny slap on the hands. At issue is whether the commission will stick to its guns and enforce its …

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NANCY EDMONDS HANSON: After Thought — Keep Your Pants Zipped

Posted on by Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Way back when I was a mere news puppy, wise old editors counseled us on all the news that was — and, specifically, wasn’t — fit to print. “Remember that our subscribers read the paper over breakfast,” they’d caution. “The kids are at the table, too.” Those were the words we lived by. Today’s edition of our local daily newspaper …

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JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — President Clinton, Gov. Stenehjem

Posted on by Jim Fuglie

Two comments on the state of politics today: John Hoeven lied. Start practicing now, so you are ready, in 2017, to say “Gov. Stenehjem” and “President Clinton.” First John Hoeven. I am glad that it took me a few days to get around to writing this because last week I was walking through a dusty parking lot in the Bad …

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LINKS TO NEWS YOU MIGHT FIND INTERESTING: Politics, Outerwear And Other Cool Things

Posted on by Kevin Grinde

Our new political system has America in disarray Tom Engelhardt has written a history of the Cold War, runs TomDispatch.com and is co-founder of the American Empire Project. His latest musings are about a new kind of government being born “right before our eyes.” “Let me make my case, however, minimally, based on five areas in which at least the fain …

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