Ed Felien

Columns by Ed Felien

Ed has been the owner and editor of Southside Pride since 1991, writing articles and essays.


So far, so what?

BY ED FELIEN Tulsi Gabbard Did you see Tulsi Gabbard’s takedown of George Santos, the pathological liar and newly elected congressman from Long Island, on Fox News?  Tulsi is a lot more complicated and harder to figure out than most of the noise on Fox.  Her anti-war votes and speeches against the…

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What does the FL in the DFL stand for?

BY ED FELIEN What does the FL in the DFL stand for? It stands for Farmer-Labor. In 1944 the Farmer-Labor Party and the Democratic Party merged. The Democratic Party was small potatoes in the 1930s and ‘40s. It polled in the single digits in statewide elections. The Farmer-Labor Party enjoyed…

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Support Ukraine

BY ED FELIEN As of November, 33,476 Ukrainian civilians have been killed by Russian bombs and missiles. And the unspeakable slaughter of innocents continued through Christmas Day and New Year’s. In contrast, the bombing of Guernica in 1937 by the German Luftwaffe that inspired Picasso’s painting killed only 1,654 people.…

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So far, so what?

BY ED FELIEN Kyrsten Sinema: Sinema’s great moment of fame came when she emerged as one of the principal architects of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. She suffers under the self-aggrandizing delusion that without her it wouldn’t have passed. It was a budget bill. It only needed 50 votes plus Kamala…

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How did they do that?

BY ED FELIEN What just happened? Did we get hit with an inflationary spiral that skyrocketed prices just before the election and then calmed down just before Christmas? It seems evident that a rise in gas prices began the action. This was caused—it was widely reported and believed—by the Saudis…

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Thank you, Andrew Johnson

BY ED FELIEN Thank you, Andrew Johnson—for being so polite and friendly and helpful. Thank you for always standing for the most progressive ideas, for standing for change when change wasn’t easy, and fighting for it when it was needed. Andrew Johnson has announced that he’s not going to seek…

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Police report

BY ED FELIEN What’s happening with crime? What’s happening with the police? The murder rate is actually down from last year. It feels a lot safer. There’s lots of chatter on Nextdoor about strange cars in the neighborhood and Ring camera videos of people stealing packages from front steps. The…

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Happy days are here again!

BY ED FELIEN Shout hallelujah and just get happy We’re going to the promised land We’re heading across the river Soon our cares will all be gone Forget your troubles, come on get happy You better chase all those blues away Shout hallelujah, c’mon get happy Happy days are here…

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Lock him up!

BY ED FELIEN No, not him. The other guy, Charles Koch. Charlie Koch loves doing what he’s doing. He did it to Carter in 1979. Remember the gas shortage, worrying about heating oil supplies for the winter? Then, Reagan promised a Morning in America. It was a clear manipulation of…

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A reader responds

BY ED FELIEN, PUBLISHER Bill Cottrell wrote to me, “What a one-sided newspaper you operate and write for. I am disappointed with your clear bias and lack of any effort to present a fair and impartial paper.” So I invited Bill to write 300 words to present his point of…

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What was the point of Halloween?

BY ED FELIEN Our ancient mothers and fathers spent a lot of time looking at the sun and the moon. They marked when the sun would be highest in the sky and when it would be lowest. They noted the days halfway between the darkness and the light, and they…

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Where should I send my money?

BY ED FELIEN If you’re concerned about Republicans taking the House in November, there are a couple of races where your contribution could make a difference. Angie Craig seems pretty safe. The 538 polls on Oct. 10 say she’s ahead by almost six points. Everyone is assuming the Supreme Court’s…

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Slow it down!

BY ED FELIEN Goran (the G is pronounced as a Y) Gustav-Wrathall is taking direct action to calm 32nd Street around Powderhorn Park. He’s created his own little traffic circle that forces cars to slow down to go around it. He puts it up every night at 6 p.m. and…

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Why it’s important to vote for Keith Ellison

BY ED FELIEN Why is it important to vote for Keith Ellison? Because he’s doing what’s necessary and right, and he’s being punished for it. He’s getting attacked for being soft on crime in the midst of a crime wave. But the attorney general doesn’t prosecute crimes. That’s the job…

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It’s time

BY ED FELIEN It’s time. “It’s time,” the people of the East Phillips neighborhood are saying. It’s time the city started taking itself seriously and started believing some of the things it’s been saying about the environment and equity. In 2019, Mayor Jacob Frey said, “Minneapolis is doing nation-leading work…

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