Have we really learned about misogyny?

The days of the "Big 3" TV networks gave us celebrities that grew into bigger-than-life figures. Today we have such a wide range of well-known entertainers across the infinitely wide spectrum of media. And following human nature, we have come to take our present state of affairs for granted. 

I have never let the long-ago times drift far from me. Understanding the past gives us great perspective for understanding our world. 

To understand the significant cultural changes, we need to put the past in front of us for its case studies. It has been said - and it's true - that our culture once tolerated a certain level of misogyny. Heck, there was a time when no one was heard using the term "misogyny," I doubt even college professors. Remember when "Professor Irwin Corey" created his whole comedic character which was a parody of college professors? 

There's another cultural change I might note: the decline of the truly pretentious, effete and out-of-touch professor with their "tenure." Am I correct in concluding that this has receded? And, that everyone employed by public colleges today (like our U in Morris) should be mainly thankful to be employed? No more people carrying picket signs on the outskirts of our campus? Am I correct in assuming that this annoying behavior has been laid to rest? 

Feel free to straighten me out on my conclusions. My idea of a brainy college professor today is my friend Michael Lackey who is totally engaged with reality. I'm sure the two of us would laugh at "Professor Irwin Corey." 

Cultural change is most noted in connection to gender relationships. People my age can get a shock about this. For example, to realize that in the workplace, to even say offhand that you have a "crush" on an opposite-sex person can be problematic. Why should I even specify  "opposite sex" for that matter? 

The "Big 3" TV networks of my young years had bigger-than-life celebrities who were talented to be sure - well, many of them were - but they had breaks also, connections, to get them into the truly rarefied air of "celebrity." So look at Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Andy Williams. We viewed them as bigger than life. 

Their TV Christmas specials were "appointment viewing." You had to tune in at the scheduled time to enjoy such shows - no thoughts of "re-runs" in any way, shape or form. Imagine trying to explain "YouTube" to the people back then. "YouTube" is but a small part of the entertainment world today. You can engage it at any time of the day or night. That would blow the mind of people in the bygone time. 

The mega-entertainers that I cited could clearly get away with misogyny. I would suggest not just mild misogyny, either. Am I correct in explaining misogyny as the objectification of women? That would be close, I assume. 

George Stephanopoulos

Today we condemn predatory behavior toward women, heavens. So, did our incoming president actually "rape" E. Jean Carroll? Was the very claim grounds for a successful effort to sue ABC and George Stephanopoulos? I guess this is a case where you cannot conclude as fact that Trump won. The legal people would upbraid you and say there was an out-of-court settlement. 

The regular people know what such settlements really mean. Trump won, George S. lost. But us regular people are left with the very germane question: Was Stephanopoulos wrong or not? 

An aside: I want to take the name of my Lord in vain every time I type the guy's last name.

Is this a classic case of a legal technicality? Well I'd suggest that is a rhetorical question. 

We can deduce such obvious things from this matter. Number one, I think, is that what sort of satisfaction does Trump really gain from this highly-publicized matter of taking on ABC News? Wouldn't a child conclude that all the attention just shows Trump in a horribly bad light yet again? 

Of course ABC was induced to give up a chunk of money. But if Trump gained no real relief or satisfaction by this outcome, then why should ABC News have been forced to make this move? Our legal system is about punishing or exonerating people. If that is not the point, then what is? 

And wouldn't a child be able to see that Trump looks like the victor anyway because, heavens, he won the election for president of the United States? So why does he even bother? He should be consumed by the awesome responsibility of being president. Correct me if I'm wrong. 

If Trump truly wants to be exonerated and viewed in a favorable light in history annals, he could solve problems and make our lives better. Shall we assume he is not focused on those things at all? How does investigating Liz Cheney and potentially putting this mother in prison further Trump's aims to help the American people? 

Are you all children? And did you not see right on your TV screen what happened on Jan. 6? The Dept. of Justice should have gone after DJT right away. Maybe history will judge that this was one of the great failures in American history: the negligence in this regard. To be bullied by the likes of Jim Jordan, James Comer and Laura Ingraham? Laura Ingraham? Why does she even have a platform? Tucker Carlson? 

You see, in the days of the Big 3 networks, such people would not have gotten the light of day. Along with all the blessings of the new media world come some real dangers. 

In researching the disposition of the E. Jean Carroll case, we run into disclaimers that warn readers "this story contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse that may be offensive to some readers or painful to survivors of sexual assault." Excuse me but we're talking about behavior by our incoming president of the U.S. He owns our western Minnesota in terms of allegiance gained. Trying to communicate with these people is like trying to communicate with zombies. I have tried. I now find it to be risky for my own welfare. 

So we have a guy moving into our nation's top position who has been found responsible for sexual assault. So I'd like to ask the simple question, "isn't sexual assault the same thing as rape?" And wouldn't it take a clever lawyer to try to distinguish between the two? 

Trump got a huge settlement from ABC because the word "rape" was used. But he surely assaulted E. Jean Carroll in a manner that is commensurate with rape, right? What satisfaction does DJT really get from this settlement? Oh excuse me, it's the money. Our legal system has failed us, again.

 

Emailing out and around

On this blustery Thursday morning it's nice to keep in touch with various friends about matters that may or may not be weighty! I am pleased to share as I often do. Perhaps some of these subjects could be bandied about further.

 

To Del Sarlettte:

Del - I was surprised by the weather this morning. At DeToy's I heard radio announcements of school delays. I didn't think weather was that bad. But, this is from "How to Speak Minnesotan," whenever anyone says anything like I just did, the response is guess what? "It's bad out in the country." Why should the city kids have to be at the mercy of the country kids? I have always asked that.

I haven't seen fishwrap this week. I'm getting less interested in it as time goes by. Dave Lonergan said there's an article about how City wants to build new liquor store out by Grandstay. Is "downtown Morris" slowly getting abandoned? I told Dave that the city had a pretty good "entertainment district" downtown with Old No. 1, Pizza Ranch, Don's for example. Parking gets crowded on weekends.

Also, didn't Coborn's want a liquor license for their new proposed store? City of Morris would not have even had to stay in liquor business.

Also, Dave said there's proposal to get rid of the dam and substitute with a "rock dam." Sounds weird to me.

I observe the old Stone's Throw and I wonder why a new owner couldn't move in there and establish a conventional restaurant rather than a tree-hugging one (for the NPR crowd). Everything is all set up there. Is this a sign that Morris is in economic duress? The "college business" must be much less.

I had a meeting with Erin Christensen the other day and we discussed lots of stuff, even including high school band. This was just a periodic meeting they like to have with donors. So, I can feel a little like a "big shot." I used to think "you know, I could be just like Helen Jane."

- BW

 

To Warrenn Anderson:

Hello Warrenn - The last time I emailed you, I forget to include the main reason I was emailing, it was to report to you that Don's Cafe did not have soup on Friday night. I have settled in there for Friday nights with a simple burger, bowl of soup and can of DIET Mountain Dew. I consider that a pretty conservative supper. On many days I don't even have supper per se.

I saw Larry Anderson later in the week and he told me he was at Don's Friday and inquired about soup also. Actually the business seems slow there Friday, maybe they'll stop being open at nights on weekends. DeToy's closed up for evenings after covid. DeToy's also killed the salad bar and the Sunday chicken buffet. Salad bars were wiped out everywhere. I think this has hurt the health of Americans. At DeToy's you could often get a cup of soup at the salad bar and also some pudding. So you could have a whole meal. No more. If I wanted to fill my salad bowl twice with green salad and French dressing, I could. Or even a third time.

The MACA girls basketball team lost Tuesday to Mayer Lutheran by a score of 86-26. Let's add that the Tigers beat Eden Valley-Watkins the day before, so all is not lost. But for crying out loud, 86-26? Was that necessary? Mayer must be at a considerably higher level than Morris. I think these games were in a tournament but it's hard to find info in the media right now. Media has slowed down for the holidays, except for me of course. Hell I'd write something on Xmas Day.

Did our athletic director know what we were getting into, in a tournament with the likes of Mayer? This was just too much. And could the Mayer coach have found a way to let up? Put the freshmen in for the second half? Make the parents of the freshmen happy, always something to be said for that. Wouldn't it be ugly to watch the video of that game? Morris should have been good enough to do better IMHO.

So the city is considering building a new liquor store out by Grandstay? Didn't Coborn's want a liquor license? That would have solved everything.

- BW

To Jim Morrison: 

Jim - So the stock market is declining over anger about how the Fed will cut rates only twice next year? Why does the market and the broad public always require such a long-time prediction from the Fed? Why can't we just wait and see how circumstances develop? Isn't this why the Fed goes into a "quiet period?" Why bother? So, we can be 100 percent sure that the Fed will be cutting rates over the next year at least? It's just a question of how many cuts? When would the Fed ever considering raising rates? Ever again? And how did we get into the situation where the stock market is entirely dependent on the Fed? It didn't used to be like this, and I think it's suspicious. But the way things have been going, I wouldn't be surprised if the Dow will be back at another all-time high within a week or two. Actually it should only take a week, because we have all been so drunk on how the Dow only shoots upward. It sure didn't do that when we were kids. It all seems too easy now.

Unless Trump is bluffing with his policy proposals, those proposals would have to spark inflation. It's like the law of gravity. If inflation goes up again, first of all it will drive Americans into a panic, and secondly it would force the Fed to change plans. But I'm just an ignorant fool out in Flyoverland, where nearly everyone votes Trump. Now we'll have the whole "government shutdown" thing happening. Will people ever wise up to Trump? Mitt Romney probably would have been the ideal president, like Reagan. A classy guy too.

- BW

 
Jim responds:

Brian,

The Wall Street Journal opined against yesterday’s interest rate cut before it happened. I agreed with that.

I wish the Fed would just do nothing for a while.

I also agree with your assessment of Mitt Romney. He is the only Republican candidate I voted for in the last five presidential elections.

- Jim

 

 

Well, and let me just add here that I'm proud of the Xmas lights out in my front yard. Best I've ever had, and I even have them on for an hour in the morning while I'm at breakfast at DeToy's.

  

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Gray, windy cloak for December

Gloomy conditions of late. Overcast and windy so much. Is the persistent wind an example of "extreme weather" that the climate change theorists talk about? The wind is the worst of what we have experienced. My strings of Christmas lights get blown from side to side. I have them strung up along tree branches. It's an improvised arrangement, does not reflect any sort of science. Use LED lights and the expense shouldn't be any hassle. Well, "you can't take it with you." 

The Christmas season is supposed to be about being selfless. What a genius Charles Dickens was, to give us his story "A Christmas Carol." Seemingly countless interpretations of that story done through the years. 

Sometimes I wonder about creative people: can they really foresee the impact a particular work will have? I really don't think they can. Creating a work of timeless popularity is what it's all about. "A Christmas Carol" is the epitome. I learned the story through the "Mr. Magoo" cartoon version on TV when I was young. So I learned the term "razzleberry dressing." 

The entertainment community has never been satisfied to sit back and accept one definitive version of "A Christmas Carol." The top creative minds seem always at work wanting to outdo each other again - yet another testament to the spark of creativity that Dickens felt. The 1951 version holds up very well. The Jim Carrey Disney version is top-notch. 

In my mind, though, Ebeneezer Scrooge will always equate with "Mr. Magoo." Alas, the character seems to poke fun at older people with vision problems. But of course in an earlier time we were less sensitive on such matters. We laughed at the Johnny Carson "Aunt Blabby" character. 

Now I have to address misogyny. Man, it is true that misogyny on a certain level was once accepted, could be fodder for entertainment. Top entertainers like Bob Hope and Dean Martin rode the wave of this norm. But who knows what their own personal thoughts were? 

You young people, you really ought to acquaint yourselves with the talent of Dean Martin. He was a natural as a singer and movie actor. He was a stylist as a vocalist. He has receded into the past but should never be forgotten. He did a fair amount of Christmas music. He and Frank Sinatra have a slam-bang version of "It's a Marshmallow World" on YouTube. That's a must to watch each Christmas for yours truly. 

When I was growing up, you had to make sure to catch the annual Christmas "specials" when they were first broadcast. There would be no repeats. 

Andy Williams was a staple for holidaytime TV entertainment. Up through 1963 he'd sing some Chrsistmas songs on his regular variety show. Then in 1964 he unveiled his bona fide "Christmas special" and had a dependable cast accompany him like the Osmonds. Andy's parents would make an early appearance on the show. His star-crossed wife "Claudine" could do a little stylistic singing. I always have to describe her as a stylist because my mom always described her as not really a singer! 

Andy was resilient with his Christmas specials over the years. The most popular holiday specials didn't seem just like TV shows, they seemed like "events." Each one pushed the holiday spirit up a notch. 

The grim side of reflecting on this is that the Vietnam war years were building up. How supremely ironic that we had such wonderful innocent entertainment on "the tube" simultaneous to the Vietnam tragedy that was horrific beyond words. Today nobody disputes the fact that the U.S. lost the war. 

In Korea we were at least able to accomplish the country being split in two. The U.S. must have been puzzled at how we could not re-create our WWII glory. 

We may be missing a big part of the WWII story. Oliver Stone the moviemaker has worked hard to impress this on us. I am surprised he has not gotten more blowback. His point which I fully appreciate is that Russia played a huge part in crushing the Nazis. The U.S. sought not to emphasize this in post-war years because the Soviet Union of course became such an adversary. 

"D-Day" was so horrific for the young men called upon to make their charge onto the beaches. I do not think of "glory" as I reflect on this. And why did we undertake such a bloody venture? The reason was that a western front needed to be opened up, to take some pressure off the Russians and spread out the Germans. I guess it worked. But oh what a cost. 

I did not need to see the movie "Saving Private Ryan" because I was fully aware, as all of us should have been, of what happened with our young men. Did you know that "The Battle of the Bulge" was controversial in the U.S. when it happened? Germany was supposed to be fading at the time. But they surprised us. Was our war effort mismanaged? In contemporary times we do not wish to ponder such questions. 

WWII in our memories becomes this big haze of glory, and the danger with that is that we have succumbed to the temptation of further military misadventure. Once the call for such a thing arises as with Iraq and Afghanistan, it seems a fool's errand to try to encourage restraint. I have observed all of this through the years. 

 

To the present

Here we go with Christmas in 2024 and I guess it's "the Christmas of the drones." What to make of them? After doing a deep dive, I have come away with the suspicion that they are being operated by the government and they are searching for a lost nuclear warhead. Boy, if this doesn't follow the plot of "Sum of All Fears," the movie with Morgan Freeman. 

We can pray that the worst does not happen. Really, just thank the Lord for each standard day in our lives that we can be blessed with. Your day-to-day problems must be viewed as very insignificant. Your money? Just start taking an attitude of Scrooge on the morning after he was visited by the ghosts. 

And wouldn't it be wonderful for Donald Trump to be visited by the ghosts. Imagine his demeanor on the morning after. People would faint.

Drones have been reported around Northfield

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Thunder Hawks come out like houseafire

Fortunes took a turn for the MACA Tigers Thursday. I should write that fortunes turned against the Tigers, at least on this night. So the Tigers learned they may have a few areas of their game to work on, this in spite of the steamrolling way they began their 2024-25 campaign. 

The orange and black lost for the first time. Well it's hard to maintain winning success indefinitely. So the bubble burst in the 70-62 loss that coach Jacob Torgerson's squad was dealt. They were dealt the loss by Montevideo. The Thunder Hawks came here to the Tiger Center for this contest. Prior to this game the orange and black had disposed of three opponents in pretty commanding fashion. 

The T-Hawks were unfazed by that. 

My report on the big 68-45 win over Eden Valley-Watkins is on my companion blog of "Morris of Course." I invite you to read with link below. God bless and happy holidays. - BW

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2024/12/maca-boys-own-night-vs-eden-valley.html 

 

"Minnesota Scores" has the wrong score of 75-62 for the Monte game.

MACA will seek to resume winning ways on Saturday, again at home vs. Dawson-Boyd. 

The Tigers really were staggered early in Thursday's game, I mean right at the outset. Holy cow we were down 31-7 at one point. Shiver me timbers. Monte was up at halftime 40-20. 

Four players finished in double figures scoring for the T-Hawks. That charge was led by Brody Dick who put in 19 points. He further contributed with eight rebounds and three steals. Griffin Epema was right behind with his contribution of 18 points along with five rebounds, four assists and six steals. Adam Binsbergen scored 15 points. Gannon Reidinger put in 12, plus he had ten rebounds and four assists. 

Jackson Koenen scored four and Nels Baukol two.

Really, all was not glum for MACA as we outscored Monte 42-30 in the second half. The first half staggered us. Monte and MACA both entered this game at 3-0. A re-match would be most interesting to watch. 

Our Tyson Grove impressed with his four 3-pointers. Uh-oh, the West Central Tribune has "Asmus" making four 3's also, but which Asmus? We have Riley and Alex to consider, both capable of making waves offensively. 

This is something you always have to watch out for as a sportswriter: siblings on a roster. I remember when the MACA girls had two "Holland" girls on the roster and it wasn't even enough to use first initials to separate them! Both had a first name beginning with "B." I caught the WC Tribune at least once using the "B" initial and of course it was no help. 

Newspapers gravitate to using abbreviations because they have limited space in their print product. It's an old ingrained habit. But, in the age of posting sports news online, there is no need to abbreviate anything! The space is unlimited! But newspaper people have a hard time wrapping their arms around that. They can go ahead and type first names of everyone! 

I saw a commentary about the old ways once, about how newspapers stuck with abbreviations even with classified ads when they're online. So we'd see "frplc" for "fireplace." No need to do that at all! 

The Stevens County Times newspaper has unlimited opportunity and space to put sports material online. Of course they don't do that, certainly not for MACA sports and I think that's a shame. Do you agree? You should know that many newspapers out and around are not behaving like this. When the Tigers play on a Tuesday night, why should we wait a full week for the next print edition of the SCT? 

Why don't the coaches get assertive about this, to demand better? Sometimes the explanation is political. If the newspaper publishers are popular around town, people won't listen to somebody like me. Our Morris has been absolutely notorious for this kind of a dynamic over the years. We're kind of a "Peyton Place." I think a lot of people are hardly aware of it. They just want life to proceed in "Petticoat Junction" in its predictable way. Don't make people think too much.

 

MACA stats

Grove and Mr. Asmus (first name not provided) each made four 3-pointers in the losing cause. Tyler Friesen made two shots from behind the arc. Tiernan made one. And it was Tyson Grove leading us in scoring with 16 points. Alex Asmus put in 14 and Riley Asmus 12. Friesen's contribution was eight. Then we see Jonah Huebner with six points, Tiernan with three and Jack Kehoe and Jorge Alejandro Rodriguez each with two. 

It's nice to see some MACA  numbers in the West Central Tribune report on this Friday in holiday-time.

 

Addendum: As far as rolling over and accepting the SCT policy of making everyone wait to BUY the Tuesday print edition, remember that if you're on the school board, you should observe everything from the standpoint of how it benefits the students. This, as opposed to attitudes of "we like the newspaper publishers so let's just allow them to keep raking in profits." Eventually the public sniffs out what's going on, I'll advise you, and there is precedent here in Morris. I won't name names but we had a superintendent long ago who had a gregarious personality but that didn't save him, as the board came to realize that he was too cozy with the local banks. 

I was filled in on the whole story by the late Harold Luthi. Harold and I would often sit at the counter at Atlantic Avenue Family Restaurant. 

Frankly I think the SCT staff should enjoy putting material online. Would build up good will. They shouldn't be scared of doing this. Instead they allow UMM to monopolize the sports link. How do they respond to people who might make this an issue? I have to believe some have. But remember, this is Morris.

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Our last holiday season before DJT (again)

Here we are in the Christmas season that leads up to the new DJT presidency. We will remember this Christmas for its unique flavor. We can't help speculating on what might happen.

We cannot assume that all of Trump's pledges will be borne out. How many of them are just posturing? How much of it is just "talking tough" because he sees his base salivating for it? So many people of that ilk are right here in the Morris area. They populate many of our churches and give those churches their defining quality. Are we celebrating the birth of DJT on December 25? 

Right now on this December 12, it's the time of year when love of all mankind should be overflowing. 

And then finally on Christmas Eve Day, life will slow to a crawl to recognize this spirit. That is the way it has been my whole life. 

DJT looms as a literal autocrat, a dictator. Such a person will surround himself with sycophants who fill positions and know what is expected of them. They will put their private thoughts aside, any private thoughts that are inclined toward skepticism or fear. 

And why is that? It is human nature for people to want to be close to power. The German autocrat of the mid-20th Century had a ring of people around him. Look at a photo of Martin Bormann. Doesn't he look like the most ordinary and reasonable person? The kind of guy who, if cloned into 21st Century America, might be your local State Farm agent? And he truly would be a responsible citizen. 

Human beings are vulnerable. Isn't this part of the essential Christian belief, that we are sinful, weak and flawed, needing to turn to our Savior as our ultimate hope? Our Savior today gets invoked at churches where He might share the platform of reverence with DJT. I know because I listen to these people often in the morning. This is at a local hospitality establishment. 

However, I hear much less of this talk since the election. Do these crusty older men realize that the sheer reality of a new DJT presidency might just bite them in the butt? That inflation will really truly come at them? That the U.S. will be dealt a terrible black eye in the world view because of mass deportation/detention camps? Trump says even people born in the U.S. will be deported with their families, even though this would contradict law. 

You see, DJT has managed to get his stooges appointed as high-level judges, making for a quite bastardized legal system. It of course goes all the way up to the Supreme Court. When the law is no longer interpreted for what the words of the law say, well then you know what kind of path we are heading down. 

As scary as anything: DJT's pledge that the media be regulated so that it "serves the public interest." Can't you knaves all see? DJT will get to decide what the public's interest is. The "Saturday Night Live" people are surely upset by such a thing. But they will not want to be the test case. Everyone will shy away from being the test case. I can hardly blame anyone for just wanting to look out for their own interests. We used to say "looking out for No. 1."

 

But what about. . .

As always the local drumbeaters for MAGA will come at me, wanting to almost scream about "Hunter Biden." I've heard it before: Democrats demonized as communists and socialists. Well we fought the Vietnam war because of this fear of the boogeyman. It will not go away. The deep pockets people of America fear collectivism so much. 

And do I have to say for the hundredth time that all advanced industrial nations are a blend of free market enterprise and socialism? Yes, socialism to ensure a plane of civility, decency and security. And right now we see our Congressperson Michelle Fischbach beating the drum for "anti-communism" as if there's a real strain in America that wants pure communism. 

Michelle Fischbach

What she's really saying is "go to hell Democrats." That's what most Republicans are saying in the age of DJT. 

Well you knaves, life is really more complicated and nuanced than that. People right now are bursting forth with rage at our health care system with its byzantine "insurance" foundation. The recent murder was a catalyst for the new uninhibited thought. You see, people really can break free from the shackles of Republican thinking, the kind of thinking that suggests the private sector is the answer to everything. Maybe it isn't. Well we had a chance to elect Bernie Sanders in 2016. It would have made too much sense.

No Christmas song

For the second year I do not have an original recorded Christmas song to share with y'all. Not that I don't keep writing them. Give me two days and I could write another new song. 

The song that I would have had recorded for 2024 is "So it's Christmas Once Again" and it has such a positive message. I don't think Stevens County wants to hear a positive message. Fischbach almost wasn't conservative enough for us. This fellow Steve Boyd hung around in the periphery. He'd fit right in at the place where I have breakfast most mornings. 

But like I said, those guys of late don't sound quite so fanatical about pushing DJT and demonizing Democrats as if Democrats were rats from out of the sewer. 

My song would have a theme that "red" and "blue" people really could come together in the Christmas spirit. Heck, this worked in World War I for a truce, right? But then the fighting resumed.

"Red" and "blue" are in totally separated camps. My song would ring hollow. 

Heaven help us all for what will happen when DJT gets power again. I wonder if yours truly would be at risk for getting sent to a "re-education camp." 

Here are my lyrics for "So it's Christmas Once Again," a wishful-thinking song. The melody would be notated "AAB." A nice melody, I might add.

"So It's Christmas Once Again"
by Brian Williams

So it's Christmas once again
A time of year we wish would never end
From the time when we were young
Our parents got it done
Such fun

They put tinsel on the tree
While giving us a raft of memories
We got time off from our school
Our home could be a zoo
It's true

So it's Christmas once again
You might feel like the kid you were back then
So go and build a snowman with his pipe
He might just come alive
Oh my!

So it's Christmas once again
A time of year that gets inside our heads
When the joy for all is tops
And Santa Claus is boss
He rocks

Let's put politics aside
And try to build a better frame of mind
Where the brotherhood of man
Takes over as the plan
We can

So it's Christmas once again
A time to put your conflicts on the mend
It does not matter if you're "red" or "blue"
The spirit will come through
For you

So it's Christmas once again
A full embrace is how it should begin
Unconditional it is
We see it from the kids
Can't miss

Though we may lean left or right
Can we just put these matters out of sight
Though you may hear "stop the steal"
It really is surreal
Not real

So it's Christmas once again
A time to contemplate and make amends
To focus on the truths before us all
And feel our maker's call
Hey y'all

So it's Christmas once again
So it's Christmas once again

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

"I Believe in Father Christmas"

Greg Lake

People of my generation are likely to remember the initials "ELP." It's for music, specifically a group that came to be known as "progressive" with its appeal. Today "progressive" can be shortened to "prog" as in "prog rock." 

"ELP" was most certainly progressive and they provided a backdrop for boomers. Such a catchy backdrop with the sound of something called a "sythesizer." It was quite the breakthrough then. Keyboard sounds that utilized electronic wizardry. Absolutely no novelty attached to that today. 

Is it fair to say ELP music has aged well? Because I think it has. This would show that the novelty or uniqueness of the sound (at the time) was not the main selling point. The main selling point? Well it was music and so the musical artistry was the selling point. 

Some people rained on the parade by claiming that ELP music was "pretentious." That was a meme in the age before anyone used the word "meme." I never really understood that criticism of ELP. Sophisticated music yes but not pretentious. 

It was just three guys making up the group. Only one is extant now, the drummer. 

We might remember ELP now because they gave us a significant Christmas tune. It was Greg Lake of the group who specifically gave it to us. "I Believe in Father Christmas," a title that might suggest it's a mainstream happy-theme Christmas song. 

We can have a quite legitimate debate now over whether the song was meant to be so positive and warm. Greg Lake gave us a video for this song which at the time was a rarity. Toward the end we see scenes of war destruction, bombs dropped etc. If the song was meant as a simple celebration of Christmas, why on earth is this included? 

I'll let you in on a little secret: a lot of the "deconstructionist" artistic values of the '70s were later spun by their creators as really being harmless or at least secondary. America rebounded from the deconstructionist values of the 1970s. 

A decade's traits do not begin and end on specific dates, so let's say the former zeitgeist got going in the '60s, most definitely. And then there was some carryover into the '80s. 

Not to glorify Republicans here but the election of Ronald Reagan was a turning point. We sailed forward as a much more positive nation. We did not want to wallow in the depressing thoughts about the Vietnam war any more. That was in the past. Certainly we could never forget it. But it was over. We were eager as a culture to feel some basic happiness again. Wasn't that logical to the max? 

We left behind a lot of the strident cynical messages that really did define us at one time. 

To cite examples of the transformation? One that I am fond of citing is the book "The Greatest Generation." The book was at least nominally written by Tom Brokaw. I smile as I remember a "blogger" at the time from when blogging was new and causing ripples with its effects on corporate media. This humble blogger seemed to rather state the obvious in how Brokaw most likely had little to do with the writing of the book. But his name was essential for marketing purposes. 

We have seen the same thing with Bill O'Reilly and his books. Mark Levin the famous conservative commentator known for his hair-pulling nature jumped all over O'Reilly, saying "he doesn't have time to write these books." Very clever: you'll see "co-authors" acknowledged so often (wink), the guys who do the heavy lifting. 

Heavens, I digress. But "The Greatest Generation" was like a clarion call for my generation to forget our skeptical past. I assure you my generation had serious issues with our parents. We thought they were too material in their values. Too clueless about the folly of the Vietnam war, in which incidentally about 58,000 young American men were killed directly. And beyond that number, so much suffering and further death. And, so many lives that were absolutely derailed because of boys having to deal with potential military commitments, as opposed to developing their talents for productive careers. 

Does all this depress you enough? But it had to end. We could have avoided it in the first place. But we didn't. Why? Because we are flawed human beings. The fall of Saigon happened in 1975. We 100 percent lost the war. Life indeed had to go on. 

I noticed signs that attitudes were shifting. The basketball movie "Hoosiers" had the strong message that our youth needed to follow the direction and discipline of our designated elders again. "Groundhog Day" the Bill Murray movie: for much of the movie he's in his smartass mood so representative of the boomers, their deconstructionist times. He seeks to avoid his old friend who sells insurance. What a drag when you're young, to listen to insurance salesmen! 

Murray covers "Groundhog Day" as a TV assignment. He's cynical and dejected as he sees the event as cliched and hackneyed. 

He's a different person at movie's end. He wants to buy insurance and he does his report on Groundhog Day like he truly respects and is fascinated by it! All this transformation. And the book "The Greatest Generation" absolutely lionizes the WWII generation of parents. Man, this book deposited the "generation gap" which was very real, in the dumpster. What generation gap? Well our parents had sat on their hands as it were with the Vietnam war. 

That was bad but at a certain point we have to stop dwelling on it. A truism is that we have to be inclined to be positive about the future. And in the case of the Greg Lake song "I Believe in Father Christmas," sure he intended a cynical message at the time he released it. In part it was a comment on the commercial nature of Christmas. Today? Today everything is commercial and we rather celebrate it, all us folks with our "401Ks." 

When I was a kid, people put aside money "in the bank." What a sea change we've had. 

In later years Greg Lake did the Tom Brokaw thing and expressed positive traditional values in connection with his song. It was "the thing to do." But if it was intended as such a sweet song, why the scary images of war in the last portion of the video? It was a commentary on the need for love instead of war, but that could be an edgy thought in the '60s. 

Love? Sounds kind of subversive. Greg Lake was always a commercial musician so he was likely to say whatever would help the exposure for his song. I can't blame him. And you can argue that there's never anything wrong with being positive. If only Lyndon Johnson had been programmed more that way. Vietnam was his war. And then it became Nixon's war. Crazy. 

But look how crazy we are today electing Donald Trump for the second time. History doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes. All we can do is pray. And we can "believe in Father Christmas." Greg Lake RIP. The synthesizer is boss. Pretentious? Well that's someone's opinion.

They were called a "supergroup," ELP

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Death in holidays, including Rev. Greg Garmer

Death during the holiday season carries an extra weight of tragedy. The gunning-down of the health insurance CEO in NYC has had the surprising result of picking off the scab of discontent so many of us have with health insurance. My, how this has bubbled to the surface over the past few days. 

So much of news is predictable. But occasionally we're surprised by something that raises awareness in a particular way. And of course we could have elected Bernie Sanders back in 2016. That option was clearly out there. Not only was that not followed, we went the completely opposite way. And then we did the same thing again this year. But now we're seeing an uptick in public comments on how health insurance companies are hosing us? Next we'll read the Pope is Catholic? 

And of course the most surprising thing are the people who unabashedly think the killing was good and appropriate. You'd expect such people to be shouted down in the arena of public comment. I mean, because of civility. The most significant thing to be noticed now is that this is not happening. Obviously there has been some condemnation of the gleeful voices. But not overwhelming, not enough to intimidate a lot of the people who it would seem "stepped over a line." 

No, the gleeful response has been countenanced by a great many. If you're among those who take seriously the factual claims about all the suffering and even deaths caused by insurance companies being cold and callous, well I think some understanding is called for. Understand the resentment that can be so bitter, many of us shrug and become glib addressing a cold-blooded murder. 

I can fully understand such thinking. May God have mercy on the guy's soul? Well, maybe those are the words that should be spoken. 

But we the public could have demanded changes to the system long ago. Don't we have the power through voting? The V.A. system provides the kind of health care that all Americans should get. Some of us even have trouble dealing with Medicare sometimes. While our government sends billions overseas to interests like Israel and Ukraine. I wish Israel would just dissolve. Think of the relief that would come for all of us. No more religious state of Israel. 

But it looks like no one is more pro-Israel that our incoming president. And why? DJT's own religious zeal? Make me laugh. A key base of his support is from the evangelicals who consider Israel the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. 

Now, DJT could well add eggbeater to troubled waters over there. Americans do not want their country drawn into another foreign maelstrom, I assure you. But we vote for the strangest things. We have now elected a president who not long ago called for the repeal of "Obamacare." Republicans were actually caught off guard by that, like Senator John Cornyn. 

But Republicans do not drift away much from anything their leader proclaims, their leader who has been found responsible in a legitimate legal proceeding for sexual assault. And God knows how many other infractions. 

This is our choice: someone who we all know is not going to be a friend to make health care more accessible and affordable. Even "normal" Republicans would not do this for us. But "normal" Republicans may have faded into memory.

 

Pastor Garmer

The Rev. Gregory Garmer

I'm writing this post inspired by death this morning (Sunday) because of sad news I heard at Caribou Coffee just now. We have lost a former pastor at Faith Lutheran Church of west Morris. I hadn't thought of Rev. Greg Garmer for some time. Warm memories come back now. 

I also remember his wife with whom I worked when I put together the "Voice of the Villa" flyer which you periodically found with your Morris newspaper. I like to remind people how active I once was as a journalist here. I left the paper in 2006 which in my mind seems not that long ago, but it surely is. I had the pleasure of knowing nearly all local pastors in my "halcyon days" as it were. 

Since 2006 I have made so few new friends, sad. My Christmas list for email greetings has become considerably shorter because people have left us for the hereafter. It used to be so fun exchanging emails with friends like Dave Wente, for example. 

I heard about Rev. Garmer's passing from Kelvin Tschetter at Caribou this a.m. So tragic how he died: ice skating in a bay along Lake Superior, falling through the ice. We must never underestimate the danger of water. And to have this happen so close to Christmas: especially tragic. 

Sometimes when you hear of an sold friend's death, your first thought is about some trivial little thing that happened between the two of you once. So I'm remembering a Glenwood Waterama parade. For years I'd take a few photos of Morris people there, publish them in Morris paper. I had a habit of walking along the parade route, looking around. So I came upon Pastor Garmer and we exchanged friendly greetings. Then he said with gimlet eye, "well Brian, I see you're workin' the crowd." 

Rev. Gregory Garmer, RIP. Season's greetings to his family and friends.

Pastor Garmer had such a breezy and relaxed nature, put you at ease.

  

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA boys dismantle Litchfield

MACA sports fans are in an awfully good mood as the holiday season sets in. Of course we should all be in a good mood anyway. But the objective in sports is to win. You might say "many are called, few are chosen." But that's the way we want it. America is a meritocracy. 

The MACA boys basketball team merits incredible support and enthusiasm now. Not only winning, but doing so with a commanding flair as we saw Thursday evening. Orange and black fans traveled to Litchfield. What could be better than to enjoy a 90-36 romp by the Tigers? Kind of had to feel sorry for the host Litchfield Dragons. 

My, how the Tigers turned on the jets! It was to the tune of a 52-19 halftime advantage. And then to win by the margin of 54 points! We outscored the Dragons 38-17 in the second half. 

All this happens while the joyous trappings of the season are coming into play. I plan on stopping by Dakotah Bank sometime today (Friday) which has special holiday accommodations. They say I can get my complimentary 2025 calendar today. I'm a decent customer there. 

It has become harder to find those complimentary calendars from businesses. When Willie's passes on this, it's a worrisome sign. I asked for the second time there a couple days ago. Normally Willie's has cartoon calendars - nice levity. Maybe Willie Martin will advise from heaven to get this service going again. 

But the emphasis in this blog post is basketball. Many players got into the scoring act. No one was super dominant in the scoring list. But we did see Riley Asmus put in 21 points to lead. Alex Asmus worked in tandem with the other Asmus and his point total was 20. Riley has been at it a long time on varsity but he's not even a senior yet. He's a junior and Alex is a sophomore. 

Riley made nine of 14 shots from the field. Alex's numbers were eight of 15. Ben Tiernan was our third double figures scorer and he put in ten, on three of eight shooting. A tandem of three Tigers each scored eight points. So we see Tyson Grove, Tyler Friesen and Jack Kehoe each scoring eight. Ozzy Jerome contributed seven, and Jonah Huebner and Drew Huebner each scored four. 

As a sportswriter it's important to remember there are two Asmus's and two Huebners on the squad. It's easy to get caught sometimes and forget something like this. You can never use a last name by itself, unless one of the siblings does not have stats to report. 

Our team shooting numbers were 35 of 67, 52 percent. Was our 3-point shooting good enough? I'm not good at judging this. Whatever, we made 14 of 32 for 44 percent. I'm guessing that's good. Alex Asmus made four long-rangers to lead. Then we see five Tigers each with two makes: Tiernan, Grove, Riley Asmus, Friesen and Jerome. 

We were six of nine in freethrows. Tiernan and Kehoe nailed both their tries. Riley Asmus and Jerome each made one freethrow. 

Our rebound harvest was 31 with ten coming offensively. Our most aggressive rebounder was Drew Huebner whose total was ten, five offensive. Alex Asmus collected five rebounds. On to assists: This was a balanced department with Drew edging out the others with his four. We had 22 as a team. 

Three Tigers each performed three steals: Grove, Alex Asmus and Jonah Huebner. We had 14 total steals. We had only two turnovers.

The lagging Litchfield attack was led by Gideon Boerdema who made four 3-pointers and scored 14 points. Noah Dietel put in eleven.

I invite you to compare my coverage of the Litchfield game with what you see on the Stevens County Times website.

 

UMM men's hoops

Our Cougars had the same foe in the last two games. That's Mayville State University. I don't know why some of these schools bother including the "University" term. We all know what they do. Our "state universities" of Minnesota could just as well have kept the "college" terminology. What difference does it make? 

Anyway, Mayville out-gunned our Cougars in both recent contests, scores of 93-54 and 78-73. The latter was here at the Gremmels Court. So, home court must be conferring advantages! The team will test that again on Saturday. That's when a very obscure opponent from way up north will play here. Shall we welcome Oak Hills Christian College? Maybe we shouldn't, seriously. The Saturday game presents a supreme irony. I'll explain this by quoting from Wikipedia about Oak Hills Christian: 

 

Homosexuality is prohibited at Oak Hills Christian College. Students must swear to give up "sinful attitudes or actions" including homosexuality and immodesty, and affirm that only heterosexual marriage is permissible. Employees of the college must sign a similar pledge. The college was granted an exception to Title IX in 2017 which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons. It is ranked among the "Absolute Worst Campuses for LGBTQ Youth" by Campus Pride.

 

Meanwhile, our U of M-Morris has a reputation of having been an all-out leader in the gay rights cause, going back to when it was a flashpoint. So, what an interesting meeting we will have on Saturday at the P.E. Center, n'est-ce pas? Game-time is 1 p.m.

I would say we have a good chance of winning. Maybe I'll even attend. Are pizza slices still available as concessions? I shudder though to think of the price inflation we may have seen. Inflation is everywhere, and the policies of the incoming U.S. president, assuming he is not bluffing, will make inflation considerably worse. Are y'all really ready for that?  

Is it worth it for setting up "mass deportation camps?" What a black eye to our global image we will get. Are you ready? Will we get into "tariff wars?" Will it be worth it?

Reaction to murder

Significant news reports this morning show that cheering for the outright murder of a health insurance CEO does not bring automatic condemnation, is bringing mixed thoughts and even some sympathy! Wow, this is an inflection point for America! To realize that the brutal killing of such a person would bring a shrug if not outright cheering from a significant number of people! 

Sometimes a sudden event in America confirms what a lot of us had been thinking anyway. A friend emailed me this morning making note of this phenomenon. He implied some sympathy with the hardened reactions. And so I answered:

YES I too am struck by the reaction to the murder. There's a commentator in the news whose name escapes me right now, who more or less said she was glad it happened and she was not instantly condemned by everyone. Wow! Maybe Bernie Sanders is right. And maybe the underlying problem is that our currency has been devalued so much, it's harder to get proper value for everything we need! That's because the stock market keeps demanding lower interest rates. I guess I'm ignorant but why should I put all my money in the stock market? How would I get access to it, like for buying breakfast next week? What am I missing? Inflation literally drains the value of our money. It is THEFT and it is a TAX.

 

- BW