Ed Raymond

Ed Raymond is a former Marine officer and school board superintendent, and resides in Detroit Lakes.

Content By This Contributor:

Teaching History, Grading Papers–And Driving For Uber

Ed Raymond

The corporate headquarters for Wells-Fargo, the largest bank in the country, is in San Francisco. It recently paid a fine of $185 million for setting up fraudulent accounts for depositors. It fired 5,300 bank employees for establishing these accounts

A Collection Of Stuff

Ed Raymond

During the campaign for the Democratic nomination for president Senator Bernie Sanders called for a free college education for all Americans, following the pattern set by some Scandinavian and European countries.

Income Inequality, Wars, and $400,000 Helmets

Ed Raymond

Christianity has been around 700 years more than Islam, so thinkers such as Voltaire and Rousseau raised questions about the tolerance level of Christians who reject all other religions.

When Will The Door Of Mercy Open To Gays?

Ed Raymond

Gay people are “demonic, seek to abuse children, and are similar to terrorists.” Gay legislative victories will “lead to forced homosexuality and another civil war.” Staver continues to praise foreign countries that outlaw same-sex relationships

For The Common Good?

Ed Raymond

Nothing wrong with making profits, but sometimes greed overwhelms commonsense—and the common good. Government does the unprofitable stuff, like building airports, bridges, flood diversions, roads, sewers, water treatment plants, dams, wells

Old and New Normals

Ed Raymond

Warren Wiley of Duluth wrote this revealing letter to the StarTribune: “I am a white male licensed to carry a gun, and I’m scared. Recent events make me wonder how I am supposed to react when pulled over by an officer of the law.

Patriotism And A Very Uncivil Race War

Ed Raymond

Patriots don’t pander to divisiveness, racism, sexism, homophobia, or religious and ethnic divisions. They strengthen, confirm, and celebrate the “we” in “we the people of the United States.” Compare the political platforms

Warning: This Sex Column May Endanger Medieval Thinking

Ed Raymond

Sex is very important to life on earth. We do have the irresistible urge to multiply. We have over 1,750 slang words for “human sexual intercourse”—and only 1,000 for the word “stupid.”

Dog Bowls Made Of Silver And Instant Diamonds

Ed Raymond

The loss of well-paying manufacturing jobs in the United States has created a situation where 80% of the metropolitan areas experienced drastic income declines in the middle class. The middle class has shrunk in 203 of 229 cities in the last 15 years

A $3,456,789 Lunch For The Homeless

Ed Raymond

“Wealthy working people have earned their right to live in the city. I shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, and despair of homeless people to and from my way to work.”

Building Walls Of Ignorance

Ed Raymond

The NRA’s latest push? They want felons to be eligible to purchase firearms as soon as they are released from prison. But they don’t think felons who have served their time should ever be allowed to vote again.

Are Robots Becoming The Scabs Of The Labor Market?

Ed Raymond

Stephen Hawking and other eminent scientists have been worried that AI will overpower human intelligence in the future. Even Albert Einstein, before the development of modern computers

A Pandemic of Toxoplasma Gondi Parasite

Ed Raymond

The American columnist H.L. Mencken had a way with words when it came to voters and politics. His theory of democracy is illuminating: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”

An Evidentiary Hearing: Is Sex Between The Ears Or Between The Legs?

Ed Raymond

“I love you with all my heart!” doesn’t make biological and scientific sense anymore. The heart doesn’t think. It just pumps blood. That’s important to life, but it’s the brain that makes us human and drives all of our “functions.”

Of Cruise Ships and Homemade Rowboats

Ed Raymond

Because of the invasive investments of Silicon Valley billionaires it now has the most expensive real estate in the country. On the sidewalks, driveways, and lawns of this very expensive property are tent encampments and many rag-covered homeless

Euthanasia and Will Shakespeare

Ed Raymond

I have a feeling that Pope Francis and Shakespeare would have similar views about the power of love and sex. Shakespeare’s plays are loaded with eroticism, desire, ecstasy, and ballads made to eyebrows.

America – A For-Profit Democracy

Ed Raymond

The U.S. Treasury estimates that it would collect about $124 billion ($36 billion from individuals, $88 billion from multinational corporations) each year in additional taxes if we eliminated tax havens and other financial schemes to hide money

The Difference Between Tolerance of Ambiguity And Moral Purity

Ed Raymond

There is some evidence in the study that liberals have qualities which make them more creative than conservatives: “Liberalism, novelty-seeking, and creativity all share the tendency (or the ability) to think in ways that differ from established

How To Keep People From Voting? Let Me Count The Ways!

Ed Raymond

In 2013 in a 5-4 vote the five justices on the Supreme Court appointed by Republican presidents suddenly decided that we no longer had any racial discrimination or voting problems in this country

Does Money Unite Citizens? Some Say No

Ed Raymond

As an example, the Internal Revenue Service has approved Karl Rove’s creation, Crossroads GPS, as a nonprofit social welfare group, the same tax-standing as the American Red Cross, the Humane Society, and the Little Sisters of the Poor.

America: A Land of Warts

Ed Raymond

There are many unappealing jobs in society, whether it is picking up garbage or keeping the sewers flowing, but if people are paid well enough they will see that society values their jobs. There is no doubt that, if work is meaningful and worthwhile

Do You Live In An Iceberg?

Ed Raymond

In order to have safe bridges by 2028 we must spend $20.5 billion a year, but we are scheduled to spend only $12.5 billion. I haven’t heard any of the Waltons pledge to pay their fair share of taxes. Maybe it’s difficult when all of your U.S. profits

A Case of Confirmationus Interruptus

Ed Raymond

“He was a three-dimensional justice with an often two-dimensional worldview. History will remember him as someone who was gloriously, powerfully on the wrong side of so many important questions. But history will surely remember him.”

Shouldn’t Everyone Carry Blood Red Poppies?

Ed Raymond

“Blood red poppies sway over silent fields where birds no longer sing/ Once big guns roared and young men suffered terror in the mud/ Chaplains searched the carnage for God finding him gassed and bloody crucified upon the wire/ One poppy lost among

Gladiators In The Colosseums

Ed Raymond

Dr. Joseph Annibal, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst whose specialty is brain function, has been a life-long fan of football, but now believes football, particularly at the professional level, is unethical.

Of Elephants and Men

Ed Raymond

Some bankrupt elephant owners have sold their workers to Asian businesses, elephant shows around the world, and resorts touting elephant rides and “treks.” Many of the new owners do not have the experience or training to handle elephants.

Living In The Promised Land

Ed Raymond

The line about Americans clinging to “backwardness out of sheer stubbornness” was particularly noticeable in the Republican debate after Obama’s “State of the Union” address.

Medical Miracles, Maladies, and Morality

Ed Raymond

Three drugs have been developed to treat age-related macular degeneration, a disease which causes blood vessels under the macula to leak or bleed, which destroys sight. These three drugs have been proven to treat this disease equally, but the prices

Are We Ever Satisfied With “Enough” or “More?

Ed Raymond

Somehow we have been captured by a culture of greed and consumption, so we demand larger servings and all-we-can-eat buffets, bigger boxes of popcorn at movies, bigger cups of coffee laced with chocolate, and 30-ounce sugary drinks with half pounders

A Perfect Political Fit

Ed Raymond

The Donald: On The March For God, Country, And The American Sheeple

Some Of These Economic Sinners Have Many Coats

Ed Raymond

The Social Security Administration just announced that over half of Americans make less than $30,000 a year. The Alliance for a Just Society has estimated that it would take both parents in a family of four, each making a living wage of $16.87

Evidence Says “Thoughts and Prayers” Won’t Cut It

Ed Raymond

Since Congress is as useless ( as my farmer dad used to say about politicians) as “teats on a boar,” and the Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Buddhists, and other mainliners indicate their prayers only remind us of Congress my last desperate attempt

Who Is In The Middle East Lineup Card?

Ed Raymond

But one could expect that somewhere in the bowels of the Pentagon some lowly Army colonel would have read a book about Arab tribes and cautioned his bosses about invading Iraq.

Of Toilets, Planned Parenthood, And Life-Saving Cell Research

Ed Raymond

About 95% of women who have had abortions say they made the right decision. By the way, the death rate from Viagra is about ten times the death rate suffered by women having abortions. Shouldn’t we also ban Viagra?

What Happens When A Woman “Sculpts Her Universe?”

Ed Raymond

About 95% of women who have had abortions say they made the right decision. By the way, the death rate from Viagra is about ten times the death rate suffered by women having abortions. Shouldn’t we also ban Viagra?

This Is The Way Our Empire Ends—Not With A Bang But A Whimper

Ed Raymond

Politicians such as Ted Cruz state the same-sex marriage decision “is some of the darkest 24 hours in our nation’s history.” Tell that to the 700,000 lesbian, gay, and bisexual millennial parents who are happily raising adopted children.

The Personal Question At 6 P.M.: “Are You Healthy Enough For Sex?”

Ed Raymond

Politicians such as Ted Cruz state the same-sex marriage decision “is some of the darkest 24 hours in our nation’s history.” Tell that to the 700,000 lesbian, gay, and bisexual millennial parents who are happily raising adopted children.

Can The Vatican Hold Up The Entire Sky?

Ed Raymond

“It is conservative men making damn sure women get punished for failing to keep our legs together… for daring to pursue intimacy and sexual pleasure on our own terms and without their permission…we don’t want to be pregnant and (they are) denying us

A Sex And Marriage Manual

Ed Raymond

Both the Bible and the Quran are loaded with heavy breathing sex, whether it is about the 1,000 wives and concubines of Solomon or the ISIS (Islamic State) interpretation of sharia law when it comes to rape and sexual intercourse with captives

Lower Animals Kill To Live, Uppermost Animals Kill To Dominate

Ed Raymond

And the savagery used by all sides is a reminder of all of the horrible things Uppermost Animals have used against each other for all time. The Middle East is now a Muslim holocaust. The question of who has the bigger God has not been answered yet.

Best of Times, Worst of Times

Ed Raymond

Many young people are waving goodbye at the passing American Dream because they can’t afford higher ed and crushing oppressive debt. Some politicians admit that many working graduates cannot afford to buy homes and cars and must live with parents

Animal Friends and Enemies

Ed Raymond

So out of our thousands of species, what is the mass killer of the humans that are killed each year by species on earth? Sorry to say, other humans kill 1.6 million of their own species in an average year, so we are the most dangerous to our friends

A Man For All Seasons

Ed Raymond

Many people felt that the election of a mulatto president in 2008 signaled that the problems of white on black racism was over. After living during Jim Crow days and before civil rights legislation for three years in the South, I knew it wasn’t