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‘Maybe it was the chocolate factory?’

Way back at the end of the bygone year of 2019, probably around November or December, I came across some concerning videos online coming out of the People’s Republic of China. In these videos, person after person was captured on CCTV footage collapsing in the streets for no discernible reason. Not too long after that, the world got the first actual reports about a kind of respiratory flu in Wuhan, China. In the years that followed, Americans and the rest of the citizens of the world may have forgotten how their leaders and institutions reacted to these developments. Let’s just ...

James Clapper: spy, spook, liar and hack

Two of the most vital works of non-fiction writing and documentary journalism in the 21st century are inexorably intertwined. They can’t really help it, seeing as how their authors were side by side and critical players in the events unfolding around them. As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the Snowden Leaks on the U.S. government’s domestic surveillance program later this June, the efforts of journalist Glenn Greenwald and documentarian Laura Poitras to detail those events remain painfully relevant and worth a revisit. If you have the time to sit down for a few hours, ...

Insurance practice hurts access to life-saving medicines

i live with a deadly chronic disease called Cystic Fibrosis. Thankfully, I also live a full life, because I take medications that keep my lungs healthy. Without all these medications, patients like me would have a completely different life. My medication and treatment plan allows me to live my life to the fullest, play sports, and plan for a jam-packed future. It was heartbreaking to learn that recently, health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are classifying medicines like the ones that have saved my life as “non-essential health benefits.” Calling the medicines ...

One-party system is worse than two parties

With absolute control of all branches of state government, the Republicans are enjoying the fruits of one-party government. The legislative branch has become dominant because Republicans have such a large majority it can override a governor’s veto so the governor is no longer able to protect victims of the ravages of a runaway one-party legislature. While on the university faculty, my major courses were State & Local government in America and Political Parties so I am very familiar with the consequences of one-party domination. The one-party Southern states became known as the ...

Security committee tackles citizen voting 

"I’ve been watching the legislature meeting in Bismarck…” started Little Jimmy when interrupted by Dorsey Crank. “Somebody needs to be watching them,” Crank barked. “They need their mothers with them.” “Well, the legislature is thinking…” Little Jimmy started again when Crank snorted, “’Thinking’ is a new verb around Bismarck.” The interruptions irked Little Jimmy. He didn’t have to put up with this. He was named the 2022 Outstanding Graduate of the Year at Omega University in northern Texas somewhere. “Dorsey, I have an important issue so quit ...

No snow days exist for emergency responders

We don’t always think about it until we are in need but when there’s a blizzard, then emergency responders often have to go out into these storms while the rest of us are safe and warm in our homes, waiting out the storm. The recent storm sweeping across the country appears to be missing the Minot area, but we have our share of blizzards each winter. These are times when law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics, snowplow operators, tow truck drivers and utility workers among others are called upon for help. They know being out in a blizzard comes with their jobs. But it’s ...