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How Chip Roy won the speaker fight

Republicans looked like they were heading for a no-win debacle on the House floor in their fight over speaker. Instead, Kevin McCarthy got over the top, achieving a long-held ambition after a daunting feat of political endurance, and his opponents got nearly every assurance and rule change they were seeking. Of course, some of those changes come at the expense of McCarthy’s power, and the current honeymoon mood among House Republicans after the dayslong deadlock won’t last. But both McCarthy and his internal adversaries look better in light of the resolution, and among the ...

Join us at the State of the City on Feb. 9

Dear Minot: It’s early January at the City of Minot, which means we’re in the middle of making preparations for our annual State of the City event. This year’s State of the City is scheduled for Feb. 9 at The Depot (15 Main Street North). The State of the City is open to the public, with my speech scheduled to start shortly after noon. You’ll need to purchase tickets if you want to join us for lunch, which will start shortly before noon. Details on tickets will be coming soon. The rest of the event is free to attend. The State of the City was created with a simple ...

Tinfoil hats and conspiracy facts

When I was in my early teens, I often dealt with bouts of insomnia. My options were either to turn to one of the many sci-fi paperbacks and dusty hardcovers in my parents’ library as I tried fruitlessly to summon sleep, or to secretly play Pokemon under lamplight. Since rest was hard to come by, I’d sometimes even resort to listening to AM radio, primarily the gonzo conspiratorial stylings of “Coast-to-Coast AM” hosts George Noory and Art Bell. I’ve proudly worn a tinfoil hat ever since I first got caught up in Coast to Coast’s discussions of high strangeness and ...

Remembering good old days

Ninety-two is old. I can document that. Been there, done that. At 92, you end up looking at all of life’s questions that were not solved during your term of life. Therefore, you must pass them off to the next generation where they will be kicked around some more but never solved.  As for my family, I had 10 siblings so parents were too busy dealing with crises from meal to meal. Life’s real problems were always pushed to the back of the stove until the potatoes were done. Dealing with dumplings Sometimes Mom would make dumplings. Hard dumplings were made with flour and ...

No magic behind making America great again

It wasn’t true but it was effective. As a former advertising agency guy, I can appreciate the genius of the Trump campaign when they came out with “Make America Great Again.” There was no time in history when the United States was greater than it is today. Just about everybody has some source of income — including all of those people in the service industry who disappeared while we were wearing COVID masks.  Our economy was never stronger; our world power was never greater. We can now build a super bomber for only $800,000,000 after discounts. If North Korea shot it down, ...

ND needs to make good choices about taxes

Let’s face it, taxes are not popular. North Dakota’s Gov. Doug Burgum said in his State of the State address on Tuesday that he eventually wants to work toward eliminating the state income tax. Release the balloons; let’s schedule the parade; it is time for some hoopla. Are you ...