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Toxic plumes, spy balloons and other spectacles

Last summer’s blockbuster slate was peppered with the usual uninspired dreck one can expect from the charnel houses of Hollywood, with the only bright spots being the nostalgia-fest “Top Gun: Maverick” and the latest social-horror from Jordan Peele, “Nope.” The long-awaited sequel to the ‘80s’ classic made it to the silver screen without the late Tony Scott or Don Simpson, but was nonetheless an inspired throwback that proved how starved audiences had become for some pure undistilled, unabashed, and unashamed blockbuster Americana. The other is about a giant white ...

Seymour Hersh, mockingbirds, other versions of the truth

A friend and I have recently been discussing the filmography of Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to ever take home the Academy Award for Best Director. After winning the Oscar for “The Hurt Locker,” she and screenwriter Mark Boal would go on to make the excellent though controversial “Zero Dark Thirty,” the CIA-approved retelling of the Abbottabad Raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. When I sat down to rewatch that particular film the other evening, I also got a notification on my phone reminding me that there was a new article from Seymour Hersh about the Nord Stream pipeline ...

Legislators’ proposals threaten citizens’ rights

First, legislators are proposing to require proof of citizenship from citizens who come to vote. This comes based on the premise that there is fraud in the North Dakota voting system, an idea promoted by Donald Trump even though millions of dollars were spent to find fraud and none was found. Secretary of State Al Jaeger has always run a tight ship so to suggest that there has been fraud is an insult to Jaeger. Then once again the perennial bill has been introduced to curtail the citizens’ right to initiate constitutional amendments. Here again, we have found no abuse of the ...

Democracy puts earth warming on ‘failsafe’

Back in the Cold War days Hollywood made a movie in which both the United States and Russia designed bombing systems in which the bombers could not be called back. It was called ‘failsafe.’ Some accident triggered a launch by both countries and doomsday started. Our bombers were headed to Moscow and Henry Fonda offered New York to equalize the destruction. After reviewing a considerable amount of material on earth warming in the last few months, I suggest that we are on ‘failsafe’ with earth warming. Our democracy is not up to the challenge for a variety of reasons. Can’t ...

It’s your community – get involved

ear Minot: Since being elected as your mayor in June 2022, I’ve learned a great many things. I’ve learned there is a lot going on in Minot that involves the mayor. I’ve learned residents want their voices heard. And I’ve learned that no matter how much I learn, there is always something new around the corner. But perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is that municipal government works best when members of the community are actively involved. In fact, it’s the only way local government can be successful. There are a multitude of ways to get involved in ...

We are seeing weaponization of the 4th Estate

Earlier this week I found myself cuddled up on the couch with my toddler watching a “Nixon”-movie double-feature. I needed a break from “Peppa Pig.” The first was “The Post,” a Spielbergian telling of “The Pentagon Papers” and its pseudo-sequel “All the President’s Men,” which carved Woodward and Bernstein into American history. Both are unintentionally hilarious, cast as they are in the present by a dark irony that only I really could laugh at. The Toddler laughed with me, but what does she know? I know many Americans saw Trump’s election and his ensuing ...