The mask rule has given me some extra exercise. Twice I have taken bike to a favorite restaurant in the morning, realized I forgot my mask, so decided to pedal home, get it and return. The governor supposedly requires this. Laws and regulations can be difficult to discern. To what extent and how should we expect enforcement?
What? You mean certain directives will simply not be enforced? Might there be a system whereby law enforcement issues "warnings?" They might make an exception to that if the violator is someone who they do not like.
We wondered at the start if the governor's announcement would result in police getting active all over. Enforcement surely does work, I mean when push comes to shove. I learned a while back about pickup-driving Trump supporters in the Fargo area parking their vehicles to block access to electric charging stations. It was a political statement. You know, anti-tree hugger or "woke" or however you wish to characterize such ignorance.
I learned of the charging station problem listening to WDAY radio. I gave our city manager a heads-up about this matter. One morning I brought up the subject with a restaurant counter acquaintance, a pretty wise person. (Such judgments are wholly subjective of course.) My friend said "just set a $500 fine for blocking. That'll take care of it." Indeed.
We saw the headlines about the governor's announcement and wondered how it would all play out. Previous to this, when restaurants were allowed to re-open for sit-down, we heard there were rules for social distancing or separation of customers, limited capacity in a place etc. Sounded logical in theory. One Morris restaurant re-opened with a potted plant on a table to ensure some distancing. A non-local restaurant made the news in an amusing way by having mannequins at some tables.
But soon after the re-opening, it became clear there'd be no enforcement, and not really any serious acknowledgment of recommendations. The nature of the business went back to the norm.
Are we considering accepting risk? Well, I suppose we do this every time we get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. We see articles in the press all the time about traffic accidents, injuries and fatalities. Are we literally courting death? I suppose. You can be a victim in an accident because of someone else's carelessness or negligence. A driver crosses the median because he's on meth, perhaps. Smash! Your life is extinguished.
What is the nature of our thoughts when we enter a hospitality establishment and pay no heed to recommended precautions? A place where no one else is, either? As if we're gravitating to some sort of home base of normal life. Are we that desperate for normal life? How will we know when government and law enforcement are really ready to crack down, to accost people, threaten citations or give citations. How are we supposed to know when government is serious?
"Warnings" are a gray area thing, by definition, because rules are supposed to be rules. Is a "warning" sufficient if it is judged you are endangering other people's lives? Confusion is most evident. Strong leadership from the federal level of government would have solved that. By kicking these matters further down, there's a crazy quilt of various efforts and means of overseeing/enforcing.
Enforcing? There's no enforcing. People at the lower levels of government, like down at the city level, are hesitant to take on the likes of certain "holdouts" - you know the type, nearly all male, nearly all proclaiming a macho sort of independence. Testosterone? They might block the electric charging stations too.
Trump in the early weeks of this, berated a reporter for "being politically correct" by wearing a mask. And, so many of the males I just cited take their lead from the president. I know guys around Stevens County who are offended if they merely overhear a skeptical thought about Trump.
Our radio station website reports that "two weeks ago, the Morris city council did not want to issue any mandate about wearing face masks."
Governor Walz laid down his rule. Odd, because one wonders that if this measure is so essential, why not have it from the get-go in this whole crisis? Getting people to obey would seem to be harder now. First the restaurants get the green light for sit-down customers, but then for the first time we hear of the state-level mask mandate. And what the heck kind of "mandate" is this?
Maybe there are places that have some teeth. There appears to be a pretty strong understanding that you should have a mask at Willie's Super Valu. But one of the carry-outs told me, as if somewhat defensive, "I'm not the mask police." Businesses are very concerned about not wanting to alienate customers.
Any social pressure at Willie's seems not to be duplicated elsewhere. Turns out, I didn't need to go home to retrieve my face mask this morning or yesterday. I was informed by an employee at the restaurant that "80 percent" of the clientele are oblivious. Is that good? Good question.
I have speculated on this site that we might see "secret shoppers" go around and then reprimand business owners that don't push for compliance.
This would be like the early days of seat belt enforcement as a primary offense. There was a plainclothes (sneaky) officer on main street identifying vehicles with drivers not belted in. A uniformed officer would then nail these poor souls. I guess warnings were common in those days but plenty of people got their "name in the paper" with a ticket too.
We see some B.S. from the city in the radio station web article about mask compliance. The city manager in knee-jerk fashion said he's been "seeing good compliance with the order by Morris residents." How do we define "good?" (That's actually a question for philosophy class in college.) The quote was delivered in obligatory fashion. What would you expect Mr. Hill to say? "Man, the compliance really sucks. Are people in this town stupid?"
Well, he wouldn't say that. The radio station website is the best local news source but it could be better. Way to go, Marshall. Remind us of your last name more often. Tucker?
Hill wasn't done spewing a sort of saccharine party line about it all: "Based on everything I'm hearing, I think everybody in Morris is doing a very good job of dealing with this because I haven't heard any problems yet." Oh, it's so important to monitor what you "hear" around town.
I hear little talk about it because people mostly don't respect it and aren't following it. Hill said the intent is "not to punish people." But with some laws, you actually are expected to follow them. Life can be strange.
Trump could have been assertive several weeks ago, would have moved mountains. We learn this morning from news reports that people around Trump were partly motivated by "wanting to punish the blue states." But then the virus, apparently without exercising any political inclination at all, plunged into some red states with a vengeance. I worry about UMM retiree Jim Carlson being down in Florida. Minnesota is generally considered a blue state.
Yet, even with the biases of Trump and the people around him, he has a legion of rock-ribbed support here. Makes it easier to understand how Hitler rose in Germany. If people can be so gullible, what's to say Jesus Christ didn't get by as a fraud and charlatan? P.T. Barnum would understand.
Visit my podcast
I invite you to click on the permalink below to access today's (7/31) "Morris Mojo" podcast episode:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Last-day-of-July-ehgbnh
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Friday, July 31, 2020
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Take seriously whether UMM should start
There will be no county fair but there will be a resumption of UMM classes. Is it outlandish that we should be skeptical about the latter? On the face of it, probably. UMM has been a cornerstone of this community. But our county fair, too, is a rock-ribbed asset. We could continue a list of things that have been suspended out of prudence and concern for community health.
I'm sure UMM will say it is mindful of the current health threat and will exercise precautions. Human nature can barrel right past these precautions. Consider the great relief we feel when we can put aside some restriction, take a deep breath and act for some moments like we have our cherished routine. We try to wish the pandemic away.
The state tries to bear down with mask requirements. We wondered if this time around, there would be pressure for real compliance. On Sunday morning at good ol' Don's Cafe I sensed a real commitment. I had begun having a mask available the day before. Were we at a turning point? I was skeptical. In the time since, we have appeared to slacken. You haven't heard of the police getting involved, have you?
There were rumors of how proprietors of establishments could get in trouble. Rumors about, perhaps, "secret shoppers" making the rounds. As I entered a hospitality place this morning, I noticed customers departing sans masks. As if no crackdown had happened at all. Maybe we have all taken our lead from the nation's president. Oh, here I go again: so easy to get on a roll with this topic. But Trump has been anything but a cheerleader for such measures as masks.
He occasionally speaks favorably but clearly not with his heart in it. It's a grudging capitulation, like the pressure just builds up too much at times, or the weight of sheer science which at certain junctures just becomes irrefutable. Then he'll "re-tweet" outrageous stuff outside the realm of science and reason, in line with the conspiracy crowd, and here we go again.
There is a widespread pattern of people "caving" to an irrepressible desire to do normal stuff and not be burdened by restrictive measures. Just caught two news items this morning from around the U.S. One was a concert in New York that was set up as drive-in. The plan totally broke down and people gathered en masse. The other item was about a rodeo where like behavior occurred. The lesson is that human nature is awfully hard to police.
People who feel healthy can be incredulous about it all.
How much thought have you given to the possible consequences of UMM opening up for a new semester on August 19? So, no county fair but a brand new year of UMM. No State Fair. But college plows ahead, including in our little pastoral community of Morris where we have been so proud to have our "unique" public liberal arts institution.
I can't help but think liberal arts is just not an "essential" endeavor right now. Just exercising my own personal logic, which is often an inconvenient thing to do in Morris MN. This is a town where a party line so often develops on difficult topics, and then you'd better "toe the line." God created me with an instinct not to respect this model.
It is hard to even define our community's leadership base right now. It almost seems ethereal. Who are these people? Well, in summer they probably spend lots of time at their "lake place." The death of Prairie Pioneer Days has been attributed to this.
We have a City of Morris with questionable leadership. An ounce of common sense would have suggested to city leaders that residents needed help adjusting to the new water treatment plant. My irrepressible instinct tells me the city should have appointed an individual to answer questions from the public about how to adapt. Instead we were devoid of the desired leadership, help and education, and instead got the blunt announcement of some sort of "law" where people would get reprimanded, presumably fined or whatever. And subsequent to that, the city clarified by tamping down worries about this, making clear they would not be going around to enforce.
All I felt was confusion. City leaders talked out of both sides of their mouth. They told us in sort of a "parsed" way that the new city water was going to be good enough - maybe not ideal but "good enough" - yet we discovered that some of them would keep their own softeners going, and in one case, involving a very key person with the city: purchase of a whole new softener. He said he only did it because he was "offered a trade-in." And yes, I'm sure the water quality company offered this individual a "sweetheart deal" because what could be better for them, than to have a key person with the city telling everyone he bought a new softener.
I take no chances with my house. My parents established the place and I owe it to their memory to have it ideally maintained. But I am profoundly befuddled now that the water issue has passed through my life. The city owed us at least a little more expertise. Its leadership was abysmal, absent.
The salt level in my new softener appears not to have gone down at all, since it was installed in December. I can give you the name of another person who has noticed his own on-demand softener apparently not using any salt. This is a highly credible person: Bill Storck. We exchanged notes on this some time ago, then recently I had occasion to say hello at the drive-through of a bank. I was on foot as I always am in these situations. Bill and his wife were in vehicle. I asked him for an update on the salt level in his device. Had the salt showed any sign of going down? "No," he immediately responded. So, mysteries continue.
And if community leadership can be negligent on this, can we trust on the matter of whether UMM should open for classes as usual? I have heard surprisingly little talk about this. I fear that as August 19 gets close, we'll hear considerably more talk, but by then it might be too late to lobby for a change in plans. I suppose we'd contact our state senator or representative, a couple guys I normally wouldn't defer to on much of anything. I do know that as a matter of principle, whether they'd admit it or not, they're skeptical of a whole lot of "liberal arts" studies - they'd see it as conducive to nurturing future political liberals. Oh, I know this.
To be blunt, I'm suggesting that UMM just stay shut down for one academic year. Drastic, yes. We are in a terrible tug-of-war between our natural impulses for "normality" - excruciating - and the steps needed to blunt and overcome the virus. The Morris area has a high percentage of senior citizens. I'm worried, aren't you?
I can illustrate from this past Sunday how powerful these impulses can be. I was among six people who arrived at our church parking lot expecting we might have the usual outdoor service. Conditions were overcast and rain was possible. We discovered the outdoor service was off. I questioned that judgment but so be it. It was yours truly who then suggested the six of us could just go inside to the sanctuary where the videotaped service would happen.
Everyone was agreeable. With distancing? Well, the two married couples sat as pairs of course. Afterward I felt some guilt about having done this. If six of us take the liberty of doing this, everyone ought to feel comfortable coming to church "as usual." But these are not usual times.
I'm glad I did it just once, so I could sit in the same soft chair in back where I once sat next to my parents. It was precious. God knows how long it will be before I can go back.
It doesn't feel right making out a check to my church if there's no real in-person fellowship. The outdoor services will have to end in about six weeks. Then what? A long cold winter? And, a winter in which we'll have 1500 or so UMM students mingling among us?
So heartwarming to think we could welcome the usual influx of students. That's our desired reality. Trump wants school doors to open everywhere. So many people are influenced by that dangerous ignoramus on at least a subconscious level. God created me with genes so I'd think for myself or acknowledge the proper background info, not politics either on the macro or micro level.
By not giving money to church, I'm "getting back" some of the money I spent on the water softener.
My podcast message for today
My "Morris Mojo" podcast for 7/28 includes thoughts on having to put aside our county fair for 2020. I speculate that an Obama presidency would have taken on the health threat so much better, maybe we could be looking forward to the fair now. We'd have to deal with short-term pain, yes. Please click on permalink below for podcast:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Bye-bye-county-fair-ehc0qa
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
I'm sure UMM will say it is mindful of the current health threat and will exercise precautions. Human nature can barrel right past these precautions. Consider the great relief we feel when we can put aside some restriction, take a deep breath and act for some moments like we have our cherished routine. We try to wish the pandemic away.
The state tries to bear down with mask requirements. We wondered if this time around, there would be pressure for real compliance. On Sunday morning at good ol' Don's Cafe I sensed a real commitment. I had begun having a mask available the day before. Were we at a turning point? I was skeptical. In the time since, we have appeared to slacken. You haven't heard of the police getting involved, have you?
There were rumors of how proprietors of establishments could get in trouble. Rumors about, perhaps, "secret shoppers" making the rounds. As I entered a hospitality place this morning, I noticed customers departing sans masks. As if no crackdown had happened at all. Maybe we have all taken our lead from the nation's president. Oh, here I go again: so easy to get on a roll with this topic. But Trump has been anything but a cheerleader for such measures as masks.
He occasionally speaks favorably but clearly not with his heart in it. It's a grudging capitulation, like the pressure just builds up too much at times, or the weight of sheer science which at certain junctures just becomes irrefutable. Then he'll "re-tweet" outrageous stuff outside the realm of science and reason, in line with the conspiracy crowd, and here we go again.
There is a widespread pattern of people "caving" to an irrepressible desire to do normal stuff and not be burdened by restrictive measures. Just caught two news items this morning from around the U.S. One was a concert in New York that was set up as drive-in. The plan totally broke down and people gathered en masse. The other item was about a rodeo where like behavior occurred. The lesson is that human nature is awfully hard to police.
People who feel healthy can be incredulous about it all.
How much thought have you given to the possible consequences of UMM opening up for a new semester on August 19? So, no county fair but a brand new year of UMM. No State Fair. But college plows ahead, including in our little pastoral community of Morris where we have been so proud to have our "unique" public liberal arts institution.
I can't help but think liberal arts is just not an "essential" endeavor right now. Just exercising my own personal logic, which is often an inconvenient thing to do in Morris MN. This is a town where a party line so often develops on difficult topics, and then you'd better "toe the line." God created me with an instinct not to respect this model.
It is hard to even define our community's leadership base right now. It almost seems ethereal. Who are these people? Well, in summer they probably spend lots of time at their "lake place." The death of Prairie Pioneer Days has been attributed to this.
We have a City of Morris with questionable leadership. An ounce of common sense would have suggested to city leaders that residents needed help adjusting to the new water treatment plant. My irrepressible instinct tells me the city should have appointed an individual to answer questions from the public about how to adapt. Instead we were devoid of the desired leadership, help and education, and instead got the blunt announcement of some sort of "law" where people would get reprimanded, presumably fined or whatever. And subsequent to that, the city clarified by tamping down worries about this, making clear they would not be going around to enforce.
All I felt was confusion. City leaders talked out of both sides of their mouth. They told us in sort of a "parsed" way that the new city water was going to be good enough - maybe not ideal but "good enough" - yet we discovered that some of them would keep their own softeners going, and in one case, involving a very key person with the city: purchase of a whole new softener. He said he only did it because he was "offered a trade-in." And yes, I'm sure the water quality company offered this individual a "sweetheart deal" because what could be better for them, than to have a key person with the city telling everyone he bought a new softener.
I take no chances with my house. My parents established the place and I owe it to their memory to have it ideally maintained. But I am profoundly befuddled now that the water issue has passed through my life. The city owed us at least a little more expertise. Its leadership was abysmal, absent.
The salt level in my new softener appears not to have gone down at all, since it was installed in December. I can give you the name of another person who has noticed his own on-demand softener apparently not using any salt. This is a highly credible person: Bill Storck. We exchanged notes on this some time ago, then recently I had occasion to say hello at the drive-through of a bank. I was on foot as I always am in these situations. Bill and his wife were in vehicle. I asked him for an update on the salt level in his device. Had the salt showed any sign of going down? "No," he immediately responded. So, mysteries continue.
And if community leadership can be negligent on this, can we trust on the matter of whether UMM should open for classes as usual? I have heard surprisingly little talk about this. I fear that as August 19 gets close, we'll hear considerably more talk, but by then it might be too late to lobby for a change in plans. I suppose we'd contact our state senator or representative, a couple guys I normally wouldn't defer to on much of anything. I do know that as a matter of principle, whether they'd admit it or not, they're skeptical of a whole lot of "liberal arts" studies - they'd see it as conducive to nurturing future political liberals. Oh, I know this.
To be blunt, I'm suggesting that UMM just stay shut down for one academic year. Drastic, yes. We are in a terrible tug-of-war between our natural impulses for "normality" - excruciating - and the steps needed to blunt and overcome the virus. The Morris area has a high percentage of senior citizens. I'm worried, aren't you?
I can illustrate from this past Sunday how powerful these impulses can be. I was among six people who arrived at our church parking lot expecting we might have the usual outdoor service. Conditions were overcast and rain was possible. We discovered the outdoor service was off. I questioned that judgment but so be it. It was yours truly who then suggested the six of us could just go inside to the sanctuary where the videotaped service would happen.
Everyone was agreeable. With distancing? Well, the two married couples sat as pairs of course. Afterward I felt some guilt about having done this. If six of us take the liberty of doing this, everyone ought to feel comfortable coming to church "as usual." But these are not usual times.
I'm glad I did it just once, so I could sit in the same soft chair in back where I once sat next to my parents. It was precious. God knows how long it will be before I can go back.
It doesn't feel right making out a check to my church if there's no real in-person fellowship. The outdoor services will have to end in about six weeks. Then what? A long cold winter? And, a winter in which we'll have 1500 or so UMM students mingling among us?
So heartwarming to think we could welcome the usual influx of students. That's our desired reality. Trump wants school doors to open everywhere. So many people are influenced by that dangerous ignoramus on at least a subconscious level. God created me with genes so I'd think for myself or acknowledge the proper background info, not politics either on the macro or micro level.
By not giving money to church, I'm "getting back" some of the money I spent on the water softener.
My podcast message for today
My "Morris Mojo" podcast for 7/28 includes thoughts on having to put aside our county fair for 2020. I speculate that an Obama presidency would have taken on the health threat so much better, maybe we could be looking forward to the fair now. We'd have to deal with short-term pain, yes. Please click on permalink below for podcast:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Bye-bye-county-fair-ehc0qa
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Happy "mask day" in Minnesota, 7/25/20
The state's mask mandate begins today (Saturday). I had to ask around to even get leads on where I might acquire masks. This shouldn't be necessary, because when the government totally mandates something, there should be no mysteries about compliance.
I got some masks at Town and Country in Morris: a sack for a little over $10. There are many people for whom $10 is not a negligible expense. The degree of financial stress is going to worsen for many people and families. I have wondered why the government cannot simply supply masks, make them available from a big laundry basket at the courthouse.
I want them "for free?" Well yes, as we all do pay taxes. We'd get a little more help if we were more receptive to electing a few more Democrats. But them is fightin' words in Morris, MN, it would seem.
I was at Willie's on Friday and mentioned to a carry-out person that I was aware of the new mask rule that would begin today. He quickly responded "I'm not the mask police." Indeed, the nature of enforcement is going to put us all in a quandary. I asked a restaurant employee if they'd "call the police" if they noticed someone without a mask. I was told no.
If the mask mandate is deemed so necessary now, we must wonder why it was not implemented when this whole thing started. Remember the specter of disaster that danced in our heads when all this began? I'm thinking of the word that went around about how the Appleton prison was going to be this huge Covid treatment facility. It seemed to be presented as fact. I actually asked a friend if a south wind might cause a hazard for us, coming from Appleton. I was told the virus didn't spread that way, although we're always told that there is so much we don't know about it.
Whoever made the announcement about the Appleton prison, as it turned out, was talking out of school. The OK hadn't been received from higher up. There are people out here groping and striving to make the prison viable again. I wondered who on earth would want to go and work at a big Covid treatment facility.
We had visions early-on of this disease cutting down perhaps a huge swath of the population. You might think of various apocalyptic-themed movies. And the change happened so suddenly. On the last Sunday when I attended regular church, no one had an inkling of what was coming. I remember who I sat across at church coffee that morning. That Sunday might have been the last time for a very long time that we could have a routine gathering at church.
I later heard that our church council was "50/50" on having a Sunday service the next week. I sort of wish we had. Considering the re-opening period that we went through, I hardly doubt the risk was any greater on that Sunday.
We went through a shutdown that did of course cause no small amount of frustration and grousing. I had bagels for breakfast several times at the picnic tables outside of Willie's - an adventure if there was a wind, but I developed skills.
People who were strongly inclined to be on the Republican/Trump side then agitated seriously for a re-opening. We had to rescue our economy which seems like a rather laudable aim. But then we got surprising "spikes" around the country like in certain sunbelt states. A close friend tells me "it was a mistake to let bars re-open." Quite spot-on. Bars are 100 percent frivolous with their purpose in society. And while we're on that subject, let's look at "spring break" gatherings of college students.
Which makes us wonder: should we not be feeling some sense of panic here in Morris MN as UMM plans a re-opening in mid-August? We usually hear the number 1500 as a ballpark for number of students. They come from a variety of places. They will begin to filter around. They are young so they may not be prone, themselves, to being cut down by the disease. The Morris area has a large senior population. Church is going to be the remotest of possibilities because of the high percentage of quite old people in the pews.
Sounds like UMM has contingency plans for if the virus gets worse in fall. As a supporter of UMM I'd normally love to see the wheels turning here again in fall, as per usual. Wouldn't you know it, I'm primarily a supporter of music at UMM. And wouldn't you know it, music activities like singing are among the riskiest activities now. We can't change reality. The UMM choir has already been deprived of its trip to Peru.
Don't we all have to wonder when we hear certain people say we simply "must" return to normal life soon, including sending kids off to their usual school? We seem too easily persuaded by these arguments. I had breakfast with a Morris businessperson Friday and asked him: "Are you willing to sacrifice your life to help the economy?"
Let's join hands, survive
The U.S. is a very rich country and we ought to be able to hunker down for a time without the usual business routine humming along. Without the usual billionaires raking in more billions, for a time. Maybe the billionaires could buy us all some masks. We have the resources to prevent widespread panic and desperation. It would mean a little more sharing - the very wealthy making some sacrifices while the poor are given guarantees of not being thrust out on the street.
How silly that just a few years ago, we thought "gay marriage" was so important. Also, how silly that the City of Morris got so carried away with a water softener law that made us think the softener police were going to be out and about. The city manager actually did a radio interview where he admitted "a rumor was going around" about enforcement. And, why would we not think there was going to be enforcement? It was on the front page of the Morris paper.
The city manager denied there would be any such door-to-door effort. So, the city passes a law, then its spokesman says it isn't going to be enforced. Just like now, we wonder to what extent the mask law is going to be enforced. For sure the police are going to get an occasional call about someone seen not wearing a mask. I doubt they will respond to these.
The bottom line, is that this nation needed strong and consistent federally-directed measures from the very beginning vs. the virus. A caring president would have formulated words to make us realize the strong sense of sacrifice we'd have to share. Naturally we did not get that. A concerted effort from the start would have left us in such better shape at present.
I am certain that Hillary Clinton would have called for such an effort. I have a "tea party"-oriented friend, initials D.P., who sniffed at the thought of Hillary being president by saying "she's just after power." Interesting comment, because we'd have to juxtapose this with what Trump is now doing dispatching federal police to various places. Of course Hillary wanted power because any person seeking the presidency wants power. Power is what that position is all about, presumably to be used for the public good.
Trump's self-centeredness is on display for us to see almost daily. Hillary? She would want to be remembered as a benevolent soul who lifted up the country. What else could possibly matter to her? We have the consolation of knowing she won the popular vote. That's all. Our reality now seems like it might be spiraling into hell. Wait until the dollar crashes.
Addendum: I am having a hard time staying informed because my access to newspapers is reduced. I haven't seen the Morris paper for about four months. Normally I see the Star Tribune at the Morris Public Library but that place is closed for all practical purposes. As time goes on, we'll have to start wondering if we should keep fully funding institutions like the library. My lack of access to papers might make me a little less informed for my online writing, sorry. I normally see the Morris paper at my church or the senior center, both in suspended animation.
My podcast for today: My "Morris Mojo" podcast looks ahead to next summer, hard as that might be at present, but maybe it would be good for us to start planning for our "Sesquicentennial," the 150th birthday of Morris. Please click on the permalink:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Talk-of-the-Sesqui-yet-eh7vr4
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
I got some masks at Town and Country in Morris: a sack for a little over $10. There are many people for whom $10 is not a negligible expense. The degree of financial stress is going to worsen for many people and families. I have wondered why the government cannot simply supply masks, make them available from a big laundry basket at the courthouse.
I want them "for free?" Well yes, as we all do pay taxes. We'd get a little more help if we were more receptive to electing a few more Democrats. But them is fightin' words in Morris, MN, it would seem.
I was at Willie's on Friday and mentioned to a carry-out person that I was aware of the new mask rule that would begin today. He quickly responded "I'm not the mask police." Indeed, the nature of enforcement is going to put us all in a quandary. I asked a restaurant employee if they'd "call the police" if they noticed someone without a mask. I was told no.
If the mask mandate is deemed so necessary now, we must wonder why it was not implemented when this whole thing started. Remember the specter of disaster that danced in our heads when all this began? I'm thinking of the word that went around about how the Appleton prison was going to be this huge Covid treatment facility. It seemed to be presented as fact. I actually asked a friend if a south wind might cause a hazard for us, coming from Appleton. I was told the virus didn't spread that way, although we're always told that there is so much we don't know about it.
Whoever made the announcement about the Appleton prison, as it turned out, was talking out of school. The OK hadn't been received from higher up. There are people out here groping and striving to make the prison viable again. I wondered who on earth would want to go and work at a big Covid treatment facility.
We had visions early-on of this disease cutting down perhaps a huge swath of the population. You might think of various apocalyptic-themed movies. And the change happened so suddenly. On the last Sunday when I attended regular church, no one had an inkling of what was coming. I remember who I sat across at church coffee that morning. That Sunday might have been the last time for a very long time that we could have a routine gathering at church.
I later heard that our church council was "50/50" on having a Sunday service the next week. I sort of wish we had. Considering the re-opening period that we went through, I hardly doubt the risk was any greater on that Sunday.
We went through a shutdown that did of course cause no small amount of frustration and grousing. I had bagels for breakfast several times at the picnic tables outside of Willie's - an adventure if there was a wind, but I developed skills.
People who were strongly inclined to be on the Republican/Trump side then agitated seriously for a re-opening. We had to rescue our economy which seems like a rather laudable aim. But then we got surprising "spikes" around the country like in certain sunbelt states. A close friend tells me "it was a mistake to let bars re-open." Quite spot-on. Bars are 100 percent frivolous with their purpose in society. And while we're on that subject, let's look at "spring break" gatherings of college students.
Which makes us wonder: should we not be feeling some sense of panic here in Morris MN as UMM plans a re-opening in mid-August? We usually hear the number 1500 as a ballpark for number of students. They come from a variety of places. They will begin to filter around. They are young so they may not be prone, themselves, to being cut down by the disease. The Morris area has a large senior population. Church is going to be the remotest of possibilities because of the high percentage of quite old people in the pews.
Sounds like UMM has contingency plans for if the virus gets worse in fall. As a supporter of UMM I'd normally love to see the wheels turning here again in fall, as per usual. Wouldn't you know it, I'm primarily a supporter of music at UMM. And wouldn't you know it, music activities like singing are among the riskiest activities now. We can't change reality. The UMM choir has already been deprived of its trip to Peru.
Don't we all have to wonder when we hear certain people say we simply "must" return to normal life soon, including sending kids off to their usual school? We seem too easily persuaded by these arguments. I had breakfast with a Morris businessperson Friday and asked him: "Are you willing to sacrifice your life to help the economy?"
Let's join hands, survive
The U.S. is a very rich country and we ought to be able to hunker down for a time without the usual business routine humming along. Without the usual billionaires raking in more billions, for a time. Maybe the billionaires could buy us all some masks. We have the resources to prevent widespread panic and desperation. It would mean a little more sharing - the very wealthy making some sacrifices while the poor are given guarantees of not being thrust out on the street.
How silly that just a few years ago, we thought "gay marriage" was so important. Also, how silly that the City of Morris got so carried away with a water softener law that made us think the softener police were going to be out and about. The city manager actually did a radio interview where he admitted "a rumor was going around" about enforcement. And, why would we not think there was going to be enforcement? It was on the front page of the Morris paper.
The city manager denied there would be any such door-to-door effort. So, the city passes a law, then its spokesman says it isn't going to be enforced. Just like now, we wonder to what extent the mask law is going to be enforced. For sure the police are going to get an occasional call about someone seen not wearing a mask. I doubt they will respond to these.
The bottom line, is that this nation needed strong and consistent federally-directed measures from the very beginning vs. the virus. A caring president would have formulated words to make us realize the strong sense of sacrifice we'd have to share. Naturally we did not get that. A concerted effort from the start would have left us in such better shape at present.
I am certain that Hillary Clinton would have called for such an effort. I have a "tea party"-oriented friend, initials D.P., who sniffed at the thought of Hillary being president by saying "she's just after power." Interesting comment, because we'd have to juxtapose this with what Trump is now doing dispatching federal police to various places. Of course Hillary wanted power because any person seeking the presidency wants power. Power is what that position is all about, presumably to be used for the public good.
Trump's self-centeredness is on display for us to see almost daily. Hillary? She would want to be remembered as a benevolent soul who lifted up the country. What else could possibly matter to her? We have the consolation of knowing she won the popular vote. That's all. Our reality now seems like it might be spiraling into hell. Wait until the dollar crashes.
Addendum: I am having a hard time staying informed because my access to newspapers is reduced. I haven't seen the Morris paper for about four months. Normally I see the Star Tribune at the Morris Public Library but that place is closed for all practical purposes. As time goes on, we'll have to start wondering if we should keep fully funding institutions like the library. My lack of access to papers might make me a little less informed for my online writing, sorry. I normally see the Morris paper at my church or the senior center, both in suspended animation.
My podcast for today: My "Morris Mojo" podcast looks ahead to next summer, hard as that might be at present, but maybe it would be good for us to start planning for our "Sesquicentennial," the 150th birthday of Morris. Please click on the permalink:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Talk-of-the-Sesqui-yet-eh7vr4
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
#MeToo, Judi Dutcher and the Strib (2000)
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| Judi Dutcher |
As a young child I remember thinking how "old" I was going to be for 2000. And that age would be: 45. Yes, rather old from the perspective of where I was then. I attended Longfellow Elementary in west Morris for grades 1-3.
My thoughts drift back to 2000 because I'm prompted to remember the Democratic national convention. The national conventions were still rather a "thing" then, so much more than today. The Democratic Party had much more respect in outstate Minnesota. It was not "on its heels." Anyway, the speakers for the 2000 national convention included Judi Dutcher.
Like it or not, the last name might make you think "basketball." Her father Jim had a long and pretty successful tenure as U of M men's basketball coach.
By the time Judi finished her run in politics, her identity was carved out pretty distinct. She has a dubious claim to fame: failing to know what "E85" was in a press interview. Now, I have to wonder why any politician really needs to answer a question about a product available in the marketplace. I mean, we don't claim to have a "command economy." People can consume products of their choosing. I guess the interests of farmers can supersede that.
So, Dutcher was supposed to be well-versed on E85 but unfortunately whiffed. It's unfortunate because I would have liked to see her ticket, headed by Mike Hatch, prevail in Minnesota government. Could the one episode of fumbling on the E85 question explain the loss? It is a valid theory to suspect "yes."
But the E85 thing is not the main reason I'm resuscitating these memories today. My focus is the 2000 national convention which was in Los Angeles and had Al Gore nominated for what proved to be a futile and frustrating run. If you want to cite a specific episode hovering over that one, let's point out the Clinton-Lewinsky thing. Yes, a "thing" for which no detailed historical account should be necessary because it would be untoward.
Untoward as it all was, it may at present be superseded by the almost daily outlandish stuff coming out with Trump as president, as we seem to descend further into an "Alice Through the Looking Glass" world. So, the president has fond wishes for a woman who is detained now because of credible charges in connection with sex trafficking with underage girls? Bill O'Reilly used to almost seem to want the death penalty for such infractions.
Right wingers in the media find ways to look the other way where the embarrassed people happen to be Republicans. Their talent at rationalizing is taxed to the max.
So Trump wanted everyone to vote for Roy Moore in Alabama. Meanwhile if I remember correctly, O'Reilly appeared to suggest during the salad days of his reactionary show that accused child molesters should not even have capable legal counsel. I seem to recall one of his troubling "ambush interviews" with one such lawyer. His most disturbing ambush interview - let's clarify that his associates were the ones that actually did these - was with the Syracuse University president. It was embarrassing to watch how crude the whole thing went down.
O'Reilly's frequent guest Bernard Goldberg said one night that he "really didn't care for" the ambush interviews. The O'Reilly associate who visited Syracuse, if I remember correctly, was Porter Berry, referred to by Keith Olbermann as "Porta Potty."
O'Reilly and Olbermann have flamed out in the sometimes carnival-like world of cable TV news. We're waiting for it to happen with Tucker Carlson now. Remember the days when Carlson seemed so much more civil? Like a different person, back when he'd spar with Bill Press. Quaint.
Behavior of Fourth Estate
Having teased the subject of Judi Dutcher speaking at the 2000 Democratic convention, I will cut to the chase. It was 20 years ago but I still remember the rather odd way the Star Tribune covered it. It's fascinating now from our new perspective of the #MeToo movement and the prohibition on objectification of women. The latter has really taken over as a new norm and I find it refreshing and belated.
The Star Tribune had an article in 2000 that noted right up toward the top, that Dutcher's appearance at the podium was greeted by wolf whistles. "Wolf whistles," yes.
Prior to writing today, I suddenly realized I should check "the Internet machine," as Rachel Maddow calls it, to see if there might be some actual video. You cannot rule out finding anything online. So yes, video did turn up on a quick search. It included the reaction to her introduction.
And what did I hear? Well, I heard sort of the usual pandemonium of sound from an approving audience like at a sports event. This comparison is pretty exact. So amidst all that there were some "whistles." However, I did not hear anything that came across as a "wolf whistle." We all know how distinctive that is. And, how offensive it is, certainly in today's #MeToo enlightenment.
Was it a case of a male Strib reporter having his own gushing admiration for Dutcher? His own hormones perhaps being activated? If so, of course it should have been kept a wholly private matter. But we must remember the culture of bygone times, as recent as 2000. Men got "cover" from our society for many untoward gestures toward women. In some cases women reacted as if they'd been flattered, but now I wonder about their deep-down thoughts.
A primary problem is this: by suggesting certain women are attractive, you are suggesting that others are not. This should have been plain as the nose on our face all along. Did we not care about women's feelings?
The old culture as epitomized by the old "Dean Martin Variety Hour" was so crude. And not only with objectification of women, but with finding humor in excess alcohol consumption.
Martin was the consummate entertainer and he delivered a product based on how he read the public, his audience. Were he in his prime today, I'm certain he could use his considerable talent to give us a different persona.
Dean-O was a member of the hugely politically incorrect "rat pack," remember? Rat pack member Frank Sinatra narrated at the start of the 1974 movie "That's Entertainment." He described "chubby chorus girls" in a piece of old cinema. Heavens.
A prime example from the career of Ol' Blue Eyes re. objectification of women, is the opening of his movie "Tony Rome." A woman in a bathing suit on a beach happens to bend over while Sinatra is in his car nearby, and. . . Oh, let's skip it.
#MeToo is literally wiping out the careers of various men in news/entertainment. Their past "ghosts" of unacceptable behavior haunt, most recently in the case of Fox News' Ed Henry. One after another these men go down like dominoes. Charley Rose. Garrison Keillor. Chris Matthews. Matt Lauer. How many middle-age men in the media are now whistling past the graveyard as they harbor their own memories? Like the guys at the end of the movie "Deliverance" knowing they'll be haunted forever by the possibility of the dead body rising to the surface in the river. Poor Ned Beatty.
Yes, there's a million stories in the naked city.
Your average politico in Minnesota does not remember Judi Dutcher for the convention anecdote I cited, rather it's totally the E85 thing, and here we can note there is a Morris connection. It was Morris native Corey Poppe who asked Judi the question about E85. Corey may have altered the course of Minnesota government. Thanks for nothing, Corey. (Just kidding, you did your job.)
All I really know about E85 is that it's a fuel with crop-based energy, ethanol or whatever? Again, if it's a product in the marketplace it should be allowed to rise or fall on its own merits, shouldn't it? Spoken like a Republican? Which I'm not of course.
Women are protected from objectification today, I would argue by the easy access to porn by men. Men get their "jollies" and can then put these untidy thoughts out of their minds. It's a bigger blessing than you probably realize.
Wasn't Jim Dutcher the Gophers coach during the Mitch Lee episode? Where that bad dude ended up celebrating his exoneration or acquittal by having the image of a champagne glass cut into his hair on the side of his head? Just imagine Barbara Streisand singing "Mem-ries. . ."
Hey, look at the zinnias!
I celebrate my zinnias starting to bloom on today's podcast. Please click on the permalink below to listen to my July 22 entry, and God bless.
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Zinnias-start-to-show-colors-eh3jf6
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Monday, July 20, 2020
Tighten rules? Loosen? Seems anyone's guess
A July 17 email from Caribou Coffee informed that face coverings are required beginning today (Monday, July 20). The requirement applies at Caribou Coffee company-owned locations. So I wondered if Caribou truly "owns" the space at our Willie's Super Valu.
When I last checked, many customers at Willie's had face coverings but many did not. Thus there was no requirement. I imagine that could change at any time. A friend tells me that it appears all the Willie's employees are wearing masks. At first it appeared there were only a few, then we noticed the glass or plastic panels going up.
As time went by, more Willie's employees seemed to be opting for the masks, and now it's reportedly 100 percent. But not for customers, not yet.
What an asset this store has been for all of us. What would we do without Paul Martin? Or Jay Nelson? Nelson has heeded my pleas to have Hostess cupcakes available in individual packages! As the first few weeks passed in this current troubling episode, I felt incredible admiration for all the Willie's employees, as they showed a yeoman's dedication.
If masks are now deemed necessary, we hope it reflects the best wisdom. We're largely "on our own" because the federal level of government does not want to be bothered much. It expends effort trying to restore "life as normal" as if there were no pandemic, as with using the Defense Production Act to keep meat processing plants going. And, to pressure schools all over the country, using the threat of withheld funds, to simply open in fall. Just open it up and have the kids pour in. Just do it. That's the Republicans' attitude.
The president wants the virus to just go away because this wouldn't require any special effort or expense by government. Don't you all realize by now how GOPers are programmed to think and believe? Republicans insist we need regular school (and sports I'm sure) to just "resume" because of, oh, how essential it is for our precious young people! The kids need to advance their learning. Or, horrors, we will have a "lost generation." One envisions illiterate young people wandering around as if zombies, 'cause they haven't been spoon-fed their normal "lessons."
Such admonitions come from a president who is so proud to say he "aced" a cognitive exam, so don't worry, folks, we have a president who can identify a picture of a camel. And an elephant. So don't worry, we can have faith in the man who heralds the essential nature of education. (Especially in private or religious schools, we might add.)
Today the news is reporting that the presidential daily briefings are returning. It's a bizarre world: it was in this setting where the president inquired about injecting disinfectant or shining UV light in the body. And Dr. Birx, instead of leaping to her feet and saying "you're a raving lunatic, Donald Trump, so just stop talking," she was restrained and courteous. She could have been a hero. We need true heroes right now.
Church muddles on
My church on June 29 announced its first "parking lot service." The email was a turn-off. People were asked to park in previously-marked spots. "Ushers will provide guidance on where to park." People were to maintain the six feet physical distance. Lawn chairs would be allowed. We were asked "not to meet outside our vehicles." I shook my head.
Too many rules and restrictions, too onerous, and this isn't to say I don't appreciate the logic behind them. I do. But it's just not fun or fulfilling.
This past Sunday, just out of curiosity, I pedaled bike over to the vicinity of my church, First Lutheran, just to see what might be up. There was an outdoor service. But rules appeared to have been loosened. A fellow parishioner waved me over and showed where I could grab a folding chair - very nice. Laurie F. came around with a communion cup that included a wafer. Printed programs were available but I didn't grab one. Through the course of the morning I'm sure I talked to one or two people within the six feet distance.
How do I assess it all? For the rest of the day Sunday my spirits were higher than they would have been otherwise. A great injection of positive spirit. But on the reverse side of the coin, September will come and the outdoor services will have to end. Can we keep our enthusiasm up over the next nine months? I strongly doubt that. Our ties with other parishioners and our clergy will diminish because they'll simply have to.
Don't we all dread the onset of cold weather. Many people will start coughing and blowing their nose as a matter of course. Anxiety will rise. Will the approximately 1500 (probably fewer) UMM students spread the dreaded virus here? We love having them here in normal times. We love them but do not want them to endanger us.
A UMM flute player was at the Sunday First Lutheran service, and I had the pleasure of getting to know her. Would you believe, she's a Catholic but just wanted to stop over and take part? She plays under Simon Tillier at UMM. How can band and choir possibly function at UMM this fall? We need to start getting some answers.
I smiled as I read the line in First Lutheran's email about how "last, but not least, plans are in place and supplies have been ordered (for communion)." I smiled because I remembered how Harley Hanke had gotten on me once for writing an article in the paper that used the expression "last but not least." He said it was an empty, useless phrase. I agree, Mr. Hanke.
"The Talking Rings"
My podcast message today, July 20, from my "Morris Mojo" podcast recalls the 1960 movie "The Time Machine" in which the heroic characters learn of past catastrophe from the "talking rings." You might remember. Recorded messages about our current anxiety with the pandemic might end up like this someday? To explain how our society began to suffer and break down? Leading to possible cataclysm?
We can pray against such a scenario. But the possibilities must be pondered. Here's the permalink for my 7/20 podcast episode from beautiful Northridge Drive:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/The-Talking-Rings-eh0jgl
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
When I last checked, many customers at Willie's had face coverings but many did not. Thus there was no requirement. I imagine that could change at any time. A friend tells me that it appears all the Willie's employees are wearing masks. At first it appeared there were only a few, then we noticed the glass or plastic panels going up.
As time went by, more Willie's employees seemed to be opting for the masks, and now it's reportedly 100 percent. But not for customers, not yet.
What an asset this store has been for all of us. What would we do without Paul Martin? Or Jay Nelson? Nelson has heeded my pleas to have Hostess cupcakes available in individual packages! As the first few weeks passed in this current troubling episode, I felt incredible admiration for all the Willie's employees, as they showed a yeoman's dedication.
If masks are now deemed necessary, we hope it reflects the best wisdom. We're largely "on our own" because the federal level of government does not want to be bothered much. It expends effort trying to restore "life as normal" as if there were no pandemic, as with using the Defense Production Act to keep meat processing plants going. And, to pressure schools all over the country, using the threat of withheld funds, to simply open in fall. Just open it up and have the kids pour in. Just do it. That's the Republicans' attitude.
The president wants the virus to just go away because this wouldn't require any special effort or expense by government. Don't you all realize by now how GOPers are programmed to think and believe? Republicans insist we need regular school (and sports I'm sure) to just "resume" because of, oh, how essential it is for our precious young people! The kids need to advance their learning. Or, horrors, we will have a "lost generation." One envisions illiterate young people wandering around as if zombies, 'cause they haven't been spoon-fed their normal "lessons."
Such admonitions come from a president who is so proud to say he "aced" a cognitive exam, so don't worry, folks, we have a president who can identify a picture of a camel. And an elephant. So don't worry, we can have faith in the man who heralds the essential nature of education. (Especially in private or religious schools, we might add.)
Today the news is reporting that the presidential daily briefings are returning. It's a bizarre world: it was in this setting where the president inquired about injecting disinfectant or shining UV light in the body. And Dr. Birx, instead of leaping to her feet and saying "you're a raving lunatic, Donald Trump, so just stop talking," she was restrained and courteous. She could have been a hero. We need true heroes right now.
Church muddles on
My church on June 29 announced its first "parking lot service." The email was a turn-off. People were asked to park in previously-marked spots. "Ushers will provide guidance on where to park." People were to maintain the six feet physical distance. Lawn chairs would be allowed. We were asked "not to meet outside our vehicles." I shook my head.
Too many rules and restrictions, too onerous, and this isn't to say I don't appreciate the logic behind them. I do. But it's just not fun or fulfilling.
This past Sunday, just out of curiosity, I pedaled bike over to the vicinity of my church, First Lutheran, just to see what might be up. There was an outdoor service. But rules appeared to have been loosened. A fellow parishioner waved me over and showed where I could grab a folding chair - very nice. Laurie F. came around with a communion cup that included a wafer. Printed programs were available but I didn't grab one. Through the course of the morning I'm sure I talked to one or two people within the six feet distance.
How do I assess it all? For the rest of the day Sunday my spirits were higher than they would have been otherwise. A great injection of positive spirit. But on the reverse side of the coin, September will come and the outdoor services will have to end. Can we keep our enthusiasm up over the next nine months? I strongly doubt that. Our ties with other parishioners and our clergy will diminish because they'll simply have to.
Don't we all dread the onset of cold weather. Many people will start coughing and blowing their nose as a matter of course. Anxiety will rise. Will the approximately 1500 (probably fewer) UMM students spread the dreaded virus here? We love having them here in normal times. We love them but do not want them to endanger us.
A UMM flute player was at the Sunday First Lutheran service, and I had the pleasure of getting to know her. Would you believe, she's a Catholic but just wanted to stop over and take part? She plays under Simon Tillier at UMM. How can band and choir possibly function at UMM this fall? We need to start getting some answers.
I smiled as I read the line in First Lutheran's email about how "last, but not least, plans are in place and supplies have been ordered (for communion)." I smiled because I remembered how Harley Hanke had gotten on me once for writing an article in the paper that used the expression "last but not least." He said it was an empty, useless phrase. I agree, Mr. Hanke.
"The Talking Rings"
My podcast message today, July 20, from my "Morris Mojo" podcast recalls the 1960 movie "The Time Machine" in which the heroic characters learn of past catastrophe from the "talking rings." You might remember. Recorded messages about our current anxiety with the pandemic might end up like this someday? To explain how our society began to suffer and break down? Leading to possible cataclysm?
We can pray against such a scenario. But the possibilities must be pondered. Here's the permalink for my 7/20 podcast episode from beautiful Northridge Drive:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/The-Talking-Rings-eh0jgl
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Friday, July 17, 2020
Let's cue up the song "Those Magic Changes"
Peter Leeds advises that we don't notice inflation because it happens so slowly. I would add that the ever-growing use of plastic cards makes us less conscious of the rate at which we spend money. I have backed off some on debit card use because of occasions where the process does not go smoothly. Haven't we all been aware of such incidents?
Inflation can reach a point where we definitely do notice it. Such was our world as the 1970s progressed. The 1970s! It fades back further in time. We might start viewing the decade as having been weirdly detached from anything that is real today. In this sense it's just like my generation when we looked back at the 1920s. And yet the previous reality was the total "real world" of the time.
As detached as these eras are from each other, they fade and give way to something new in such a slow fashion, it's hard to appreciate the change. If I have offered anything in my online writing, it's the point that significant cultural changes do in fact happen. Some of these changes might be termed "micro" while others are more far-reaching. Even the more far-reaching ones can escape our notice to an extent. We are all of course absorbed in the present - understandable.
When I was college-age, the "back to the '50s" craze happened with "Sha-Na-Na" and the like. If the '50s were so great, why did we let go of so much of it? Well, we relish aspects of the past that we think were endearing, never mind that "real life" had a great many inconveniences and bumps in the road.
The bad stuff doesn't lend itself to movies like "American Graffiti." Want an example? Well in any small American town, there was likely a man or more than one man with a reputation for liking children in a predatory way. Instead of doing anything about it, the reaction was for parents to warn their children.
Sha-Na-Na gave us the song "Those Magic Changes." Let's remember that changes are most often good for us.
One other common thread in my writing is the nature of the news media which influence us more than we care to admit. I use "media" as a plural term here, which is technically correct, although I do break down sometimes and follow a trend of treating it singular. Even Edwin Newman admitted that singular was becoming accepted just through general use. The English language is of course fluid. I once checked out the original Charles Dickens version of "A Christmas Carol" from our Morris Public Library, and found it almost unreadable. Of course the language was archaic.
The language evolves today so that when we hear someone say "I could care less" we hardly notice it isn't technically correct. Of course it should be "I couldn't care less." Mark Levin, the bombastic right wing radio talk show host, once said "I could care less," whereupon a later caller tried offering a correction. The caller did not seem motivated by wanting to harass Levin, though I'd suggest he deserved harassment, the guy rather just seemed sincere in wanting to clarify the expression. I smile as I recall how Levin "blew a gasket" in response. He couldn't take it.
I don't choose to listen to Levin's show but I read a thorough review of the incident on a media commentary site, I think the excellent "Mediaite." So if you all notice that I often use "media" as a singular entity, be aware I am aware of the technically correct plural form.
Whither stock market news?
Sometimes I refer to cable TV news and its oddities and trends. So today let me point out the trend of all these networks paying far less attention to the daily movements of the stock market, than they had for so very long.
Does "cable news" really have that much of a reach? Well, let me draw on the Jonathan Alter book "The Center Holds" in which he noted that, even though a tiny percentage of people consume this programming regularly, it very definitely has "reach" in the sense that it brings forward subjects that "leach" into the national conversation. Oh, and thanks to our Morris Public Library for having Alter's book available from their "new non-fiction" display. As I recall, the book reflected on the 2012 presidential race.
The political "center" did in fact seem to hold instead of veering right toward. . .Mitt Romney? Can you believe that Romney was the banner carrier for, of all things the Republican Party? That he led national Republicans at one time? Because now he has "descended" to criticizing Donald Trump unhesitatingly, which makes him a scorned soul in national Republican ranks. Aren't people amazing? Well, we were amazing when we all embraced disco music too, or the "Smokey and the Bandit" movies.
For a very long time, all the cable news networks, even HLN as I recall, had the up-to-the-minute stock market news at bottom-right on the screen. Even early risers could see the "futures" info before the market opened, I mean even at 4 a.m. Could you imagine the parents of my generation thinking for even a second about "stock market futures?" At 4 o-clock in the morning?
Over the past year or so, I have watched the fascinating trend of stock market news getting diminished on cable news. The numbers along with the little green or red arrows (for "up" or "down") are displayed not quite so much. And then, golly, they got really SMALL. These days if I'm curious I'll put on my reading glasses and crawl right up to the screen.
The media have struggled to perceive stock market fluctuations, to report on them as valid, cogent news. They have been "burned" repeatedly by reporting what seems to be a big stock market drop, like 800 points, and then within a week the market comes back up to new highs. So, the "drops" aren't really news at all? Very strange.
We can argue that the Federal Reserve always pulls whatever strings are necessary to at least keep the perception that the stock market and economy are doing OK. Experts on economics would warn on grave terms about this. Interest rates exist for a reason. Money-printing is always concerning.
A man consumed with himself
Donald Trump's fear of confronting the pandemic with immediate firm action was due to his expectation that the media would sensationalize any resulting stock market drop. Trump's concern is always ultimately about himself, as his niece is reminding us in her new book. So out of desperation to be re-elected, he and his many willing minions in D.C. are striving to keep the stock market and economy looking healthy at least on the surface, at least in a nominal way. It's buying time.
And the negative fallout of this, of course, is countless people literally dying and families shattered. Hillary Clinton would have put the scientists forward and called for sacrifice. But I guess she belongs in prison because of her emails, as so many residents of the Morris MN area feel. Am I concerned about how they'd assess yours truly? I couldn't care less.
Podcast message for today: I invite you to click on permalink below to access my "Morris Mojo" podcast in which, today notes how we on Northridge Drive have a wild turkey in our midst, a rarity! Nature can be a wondrous thing, indeed.
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Wild-turkey-in-neighborhood-egshjj
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Inflation can reach a point where we definitely do notice it. Such was our world as the 1970s progressed. The 1970s! It fades back further in time. We might start viewing the decade as having been weirdly detached from anything that is real today. In this sense it's just like my generation when we looked back at the 1920s. And yet the previous reality was the total "real world" of the time.
As detached as these eras are from each other, they fade and give way to something new in such a slow fashion, it's hard to appreciate the change. If I have offered anything in my online writing, it's the point that significant cultural changes do in fact happen. Some of these changes might be termed "micro" while others are more far-reaching. Even the more far-reaching ones can escape our notice to an extent. We are all of course absorbed in the present - understandable.
When I was college-age, the "back to the '50s" craze happened with "Sha-Na-Na" and the like. If the '50s were so great, why did we let go of so much of it? Well, we relish aspects of the past that we think were endearing, never mind that "real life" had a great many inconveniences and bumps in the road.
The bad stuff doesn't lend itself to movies like "American Graffiti." Want an example? Well in any small American town, there was likely a man or more than one man with a reputation for liking children in a predatory way. Instead of doing anything about it, the reaction was for parents to warn their children.
Sha-Na-Na gave us the song "Those Magic Changes." Let's remember that changes are most often good for us.
One other common thread in my writing is the nature of the news media which influence us more than we care to admit. I use "media" as a plural term here, which is technically correct, although I do break down sometimes and follow a trend of treating it singular. Even Edwin Newman admitted that singular was becoming accepted just through general use. The English language is of course fluid. I once checked out the original Charles Dickens version of "A Christmas Carol" from our Morris Public Library, and found it almost unreadable. Of course the language was archaic.
The language evolves today so that when we hear someone say "I could care less" we hardly notice it isn't technically correct. Of course it should be "I couldn't care less." Mark Levin, the bombastic right wing radio talk show host, once said "I could care less," whereupon a later caller tried offering a correction. The caller did not seem motivated by wanting to harass Levin, though I'd suggest he deserved harassment, the guy rather just seemed sincere in wanting to clarify the expression. I smile as I recall how Levin "blew a gasket" in response. He couldn't take it.
I don't choose to listen to Levin's show but I read a thorough review of the incident on a media commentary site, I think the excellent "Mediaite." So if you all notice that I often use "media" as a singular entity, be aware I am aware of the technically correct plural form.
Whither stock market news?
Sometimes I refer to cable TV news and its oddities and trends. So today let me point out the trend of all these networks paying far less attention to the daily movements of the stock market, than they had for so very long.
Does "cable news" really have that much of a reach? Well, let me draw on the Jonathan Alter book "The Center Holds" in which he noted that, even though a tiny percentage of people consume this programming regularly, it very definitely has "reach" in the sense that it brings forward subjects that "leach" into the national conversation. Oh, and thanks to our Morris Public Library for having Alter's book available from their "new non-fiction" display. As I recall, the book reflected on the 2012 presidential race.
The political "center" did in fact seem to hold instead of veering right toward. . .Mitt Romney? Can you believe that Romney was the banner carrier for, of all things the Republican Party? That he led national Republicans at one time? Because now he has "descended" to criticizing Donald Trump unhesitatingly, which makes him a scorned soul in national Republican ranks. Aren't people amazing? Well, we were amazing when we all embraced disco music too, or the "Smokey and the Bandit" movies.
For a very long time, all the cable news networks, even HLN as I recall, had the up-to-the-minute stock market news at bottom-right on the screen. Even early risers could see the "futures" info before the market opened, I mean even at 4 a.m. Could you imagine the parents of my generation thinking for even a second about "stock market futures?" At 4 o-clock in the morning?
Over the past year or so, I have watched the fascinating trend of stock market news getting diminished on cable news. The numbers along with the little green or red arrows (for "up" or "down") are displayed not quite so much. And then, golly, they got really SMALL. These days if I'm curious I'll put on my reading glasses and crawl right up to the screen.
The media have struggled to perceive stock market fluctuations, to report on them as valid, cogent news. They have been "burned" repeatedly by reporting what seems to be a big stock market drop, like 800 points, and then within a week the market comes back up to new highs. So, the "drops" aren't really news at all? Very strange.
We can argue that the Federal Reserve always pulls whatever strings are necessary to at least keep the perception that the stock market and economy are doing OK. Experts on economics would warn on grave terms about this. Interest rates exist for a reason. Money-printing is always concerning.
A man consumed with himself
Donald Trump's fear of confronting the pandemic with immediate firm action was due to his expectation that the media would sensationalize any resulting stock market drop. Trump's concern is always ultimately about himself, as his niece is reminding us in her new book. So out of desperation to be re-elected, he and his many willing minions in D.C. are striving to keep the stock market and economy looking healthy at least on the surface, at least in a nominal way. It's buying time.
And the negative fallout of this, of course, is countless people literally dying and families shattered. Hillary Clinton would have put the scientists forward and called for sacrifice. But I guess she belongs in prison because of her emails, as so many residents of the Morris MN area feel. Am I concerned about how they'd assess yours truly? I couldn't care less.
Podcast message for today: I invite you to click on permalink below to access my "Morris Mojo" podcast in which, today notes how we on Northridge Drive have a wild turkey in our midst, a rarity! Nature can be a wondrous thing, indeed.
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Wild-turkey-in-neighborhood-egshjj
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Strange bedfellows with education
A wolf in sheep's clothing? That's what our executive branch of government is, as it breathlessly pushes for a total re-opening of our schools come fall. Hell or high water? It appears to be encountering both.
People at the local or grassroots level seem to be raising all sorts of issues with the idea of opening up schools unhesitatingly. It is so rich to see the Republican Party of all things wanting everyone to roll over and accept our nation's monopolistic, bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all (basically) public school system.
The Republicans are suddenly against choice and local autonomy? I thought the just-cited traits were hallmarks of conservative or Republican thinking. So now the party does a complete reversal.
Schools would not be completely "normal" even if they are compelled via government threats to open in fall. Such would be all the provisions and restrictions, schools would become like prisons, if they were not already like that.
Our executive branch of government has revealed a philosophy all along of just wanting people to resume normal life all around. Republican governors have been cowed in a pathetic manner to push the party line coming from their masters in Washington D.C. With the result being, of course, spikes of illnesses and of course deaths.
Would anyone dispute my assertion that the re-opening of schools in fall would be about the worst thing for exacerbating matters? Will teachers have to accept becoming like collateral damage? I normally detest teachers unions, probably more than I have detested anything in my life, but if they push back on this one, then kudos to them. Will the wisdom behind grassroots thinking and assertiveness win out over the hovering hand of big government power coming out of Washington D.C.?
I have used the term "executive branch" in place of a personal reference to Trump, because once the name is dropped, you lose the attention of a swath of people out here in rural western Minnesota, home of the pickups with the "Hillary for prison" bumper stickers and the like. Make a skeptical comment about their "fearless leader" and you instantly lose the attention of lots of people. This includes people who I have considered long-time friends or at least pleasant acquaintances out here on the prairie.
Our slim population numbers mean we're so much happier if we can just get along. If we can just discuss some political differences without the immediate pigeon-holing of someone as a "Trump hater" or having "Trump derangement syndrome." The cult of personality is astounding, unprecedented.
Who among us really ought to care about Donald Trump on a personal level? Number one, we have no chance of ever actually forming a personal relationship with him, and secondarily, so what if his political fortunes fall? He's not in it to "have a job," is he? Although, he and his family would be happy reaping enormous riches as a result of occupying the office. His supporters shrug and say "he's a businessman" as if no line could be crossed in this regard.
Trump loses an election, fine, he's left to enjoy the rest of his life with presumably no financial adversity at all. So why worry about it? Why worry about his fate if we all can assume the man will live surrounded by comfort and opulence the rest of his life?
Fact of life out here
It appears we must sink or swim with the Republican Party out here because they have a lock on power. Jay McNamar broke through for the Democrats for a time, and even though he appeared to represent us in a classy fashion, was voted out of office. Our current representative along with our state senator echo the choruses of what so much of the Republican Party trumpets now. There has been a shift in our local churches toward that stance as well.
And leading the way is Trump, all the way from his office on the East Coast and with an agenda which anyone can see is intertwined with his narrowest personal interests. You can't persuade your typical Republicans about this because they'll just say "he's a businessman." Their attitude is antithetical to what Democrats believe which is that government exists to transcend the business world and to even keep an eye on it. "He's a businessman" is stated with a shrug as if ethical questions are automatically off the table.
Trump-ites have been proud to say "he's not a politician." We have a track record of four years to observe now, to see if the non-politician stuff really flies as being in our interests. Yes, Joe Biden has been in "the jungle" of D.C. for a long time. Therefore he understands the give and take of it all, how you must understand your adversaries as well as your allies, and to even work with the former to a degree. The ideal is for people in government to work together where possible. And it's needed more than ever on the pandemic, where Trump and his pathetic coterie around him have now struck out miserably.
These are all narrow self-interested people who keep an eye on their right wing money sources, and apply the whip to their lap dogs in the conservative media. So the conservative media, which for a long time has trumpeted "choice" in education and deference to local and parental issues, is pushing all of that aside. They are picking up the lexicon of the centralized argument, the idea that local school districts must respond to the crack of the whip from Washington D.C. These are conservatives! Let's pinch ourselves, maybe we're dreaming.
Trump literally is willing to sacrifice lives and allow unspeakable suffering so the U.S. can sort of move ahead with a modicum of normality. He sees such a fervent hope for normality, he hopes the modicum will make him a hero. For this is what he wants: to be cloaked in glory almost like someone with quasi-divine qualities. Or literally divine qualities, which I'm sure many people have pondered who are led along on a leash by the egotistical "evangelical" leaders/performers.
Stop and think about how so many of the charismatic evangelical performers are from the states of the old Confederacy. Is this a culture with which you really want to have affinity? I fear the loyal flock doesn't want to think about it that much. I'll repeat that many of these people now root for Trump the same way they root for their favorite professional wrestler. Maybe it has come to that.
I checked the website for Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Morris to see if there was a picture of Donald Trump on their home page. There is not. So, maybe there is hope after all.
Leaping what?
Oh, but here's an item on the web from "Bluestem Prairie" about our State Representative Jeff Backer, successor to Jay McNamar. And the item has the headline "Jeff Backer hates liberal homosexual money, solicits socially conservative campaign cash." Well, enjoy your cash, Mr. Backer, it comes from places that are in league with your ilk, like the conservative-leaning churches of the Morris area. Backer called McNamar "Metro Jay." The article continued: "Not just Metro Jay, but - leaping lesbians! - apparently a metrosexual funded by gay money because he voted to make marriage equality the 'law of the land.' "
"Leaping lesbians?" The flippance and disrespect are stunning.
These people project a sense of really knowing the issues on people's minds out here! Meanwhile the house is on fire with the pandemic spikes around the country, because Republican officeholders were scared to even consider contradicting their "fearless leader" on anything. The "fearless leader" tweets, and he could instantly bring down any naysayer. Never mind that local grassroots judgment has historically been a pillar of Republican/conservative thinking.
Are we acceding to an actual dictator? The fears are real. Day by day the absurdity of the Trump presidency comes forward on terms ever more stark and foreboding.
We here in humble West Central Minnesota had better realize there are times we must partner with metro interests, because we'll never be able to outdo them. Besides, we the people are all in this together, aren't we? Or is the suggested metro/rural conflict simply a necessity because that's how so many of us are programmed to think now? "Us vs. them." It's always "us vs. them." So it's the ELCA Lutherans against the rest of the world.
Addendum: The following was shared with me by a friend on the question of whether/how schools should open: "I’m really curious about how the start of school will be resolved. If they do open 'normally,' what happens if a teacher contracts COVID? Does he or she have to then quarantine for 2 weeks? What about the kids in his/her class(es)? Would a sub come into that environment? What if the teacher in question is a middle school/high school teacher who has 4 or 5 classes of 20+ kids each per day – do all the students then have to be tested? If so, who pays for that? If one of the students in one of the classes is diagnosed – then what? Lots of questions that are difficult to answer."
Addendum #2: Yes we're rural Minnesota so the following local story ought to prompt smiles among the old fans of a TV show mentioned here: "A funny 'Mayberry incident' the other day: apparently some cows got loose from their fenced-in area on UMM property, and strolled east. They trampled the newly seeded lawn in front of the DAC, then got wind of the water in the 'catch basin' ('holding pond?'), whatever that rock-fringed pool is called that’s in front of the new bus garage. So, the herd wandered down to the water to bathe, hooving up the newly planted grass at that facility. I wish I’d heard about that when it happened – would’ve been a great photo op."
My podcast message for 7/15
My "Morris Mojo" podcast has some additional thoughts as we ponder the kind of life we all will have come fall. Here's the permalink:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Fall-inches-closer-egpn0g
Below: Photo of the new and improved East Side Park in Morris. Suppose we could say this should have been done long ago. Many Prairie Pioneer Days memories here. The new configuration looks nice as the old slab of hot pavement is gone, but when will be the first time a performance will be held there? Even without the pandemic, one would have to wonder. Could we get some sort of music ensemble committed to playing weekly there? Maybe a group of high school kids, would be a delight.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
People at the local or grassroots level seem to be raising all sorts of issues with the idea of opening up schools unhesitatingly. It is so rich to see the Republican Party of all things wanting everyone to roll over and accept our nation's monopolistic, bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all (basically) public school system.
The Republicans are suddenly against choice and local autonomy? I thought the just-cited traits were hallmarks of conservative or Republican thinking. So now the party does a complete reversal.
Schools would not be completely "normal" even if they are compelled via government threats to open in fall. Such would be all the provisions and restrictions, schools would become like prisons, if they were not already like that.
Our executive branch of government has revealed a philosophy all along of just wanting people to resume normal life all around. Republican governors have been cowed in a pathetic manner to push the party line coming from their masters in Washington D.C. With the result being, of course, spikes of illnesses and of course deaths.
Would anyone dispute my assertion that the re-opening of schools in fall would be about the worst thing for exacerbating matters? Will teachers have to accept becoming like collateral damage? I normally detest teachers unions, probably more than I have detested anything in my life, but if they push back on this one, then kudos to them. Will the wisdom behind grassroots thinking and assertiveness win out over the hovering hand of big government power coming out of Washington D.C.?
I have used the term "executive branch" in place of a personal reference to Trump, because once the name is dropped, you lose the attention of a swath of people out here in rural western Minnesota, home of the pickups with the "Hillary for prison" bumper stickers and the like. Make a skeptical comment about their "fearless leader" and you instantly lose the attention of lots of people. This includes people who I have considered long-time friends or at least pleasant acquaintances out here on the prairie.
Our slim population numbers mean we're so much happier if we can just get along. If we can just discuss some political differences without the immediate pigeon-holing of someone as a "Trump hater" or having "Trump derangement syndrome." The cult of personality is astounding, unprecedented.
Who among us really ought to care about Donald Trump on a personal level? Number one, we have no chance of ever actually forming a personal relationship with him, and secondarily, so what if his political fortunes fall? He's not in it to "have a job," is he? Although, he and his family would be happy reaping enormous riches as a result of occupying the office. His supporters shrug and say "he's a businessman" as if no line could be crossed in this regard.
Trump loses an election, fine, he's left to enjoy the rest of his life with presumably no financial adversity at all. So why worry about it? Why worry about his fate if we all can assume the man will live surrounded by comfort and opulence the rest of his life?
Fact of life out here
It appears we must sink or swim with the Republican Party out here because they have a lock on power. Jay McNamar broke through for the Democrats for a time, and even though he appeared to represent us in a classy fashion, was voted out of office. Our current representative along with our state senator echo the choruses of what so much of the Republican Party trumpets now. There has been a shift in our local churches toward that stance as well.
And leading the way is Trump, all the way from his office on the East Coast and with an agenda which anyone can see is intertwined with his narrowest personal interests. You can't persuade your typical Republicans about this because they'll just say "he's a businessman." Their attitude is antithetical to what Democrats believe which is that government exists to transcend the business world and to even keep an eye on it. "He's a businessman" is stated with a shrug as if ethical questions are automatically off the table.
Trump-ites have been proud to say "he's not a politician." We have a track record of four years to observe now, to see if the non-politician stuff really flies as being in our interests. Yes, Joe Biden has been in "the jungle" of D.C. for a long time. Therefore he understands the give and take of it all, how you must understand your adversaries as well as your allies, and to even work with the former to a degree. The ideal is for people in government to work together where possible. And it's needed more than ever on the pandemic, where Trump and his pathetic coterie around him have now struck out miserably.
These are all narrow self-interested people who keep an eye on their right wing money sources, and apply the whip to their lap dogs in the conservative media. So the conservative media, which for a long time has trumpeted "choice" in education and deference to local and parental issues, is pushing all of that aside. They are picking up the lexicon of the centralized argument, the idea that local school districts must respond to the crack of the whip from Washington D.C. These are conservatives! Let's pinch ourselves, maybe we're dreaming.
Trump literally is willing to sacrifice lives and allow unspeakable suffering so the U.S. can sort of move ahead with a modicum of normality. He sees such a fervent hope for normality, he hopes the modicum will make him a hero. For this is what he wants: to be cloaked in glory almost like someone with quasi-divine qualities. Or literally divine qualities, which I'm sure many people have pondered who are led along on a leash by the egotistical "evangelical" leaders/performers.
Stop and think about how so many of the charismatic evangelical performers are from the states of the old Confederacy. Is this a culture with which you really want to have affinity? I fear the loyal flock doesn't want to think about it that much. I'll repeat that many of these people now root for Trump the same way they root for their favorite professional wrestler. Maybe it has come to that.
I checked the website for Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Morris to see if there was a picture of Donald Trump on their home page. There is not. So, maybe there is hope after all.
Leaping what?
Oh, but here's an item on the web from "Bluestem Prairie" about our State Representative Jeff Backer, successor to Jay McNamar. And the item has the headline "Jeff Backer hates liberal homosexual money, solicits socially conservative campaign cash." Well, enjoy your cash, Mr. Backer, it comes from places that are in league with your ilk, like the conservative-leaning churches of the Morris area. Backer called McNamar "Metro Jay." The article continued: "Not just Metro Jay, but - leaping lesbians! - apparently a metrosexual funded by gay money because he voted to make marriage equality the 'law of the land.' "
"Leaping lesbians?" The flippance and disrespect are stunning.
These people project a sense of really knowing the issues on people's minds out here! Meanwhile the house is on fire with the pandemic spikes around the country, because Republican officeholders were scared to even consider contradicting their "fearless leader" on anything. The "fearless leader" tweets, and he could instantly bring down any naysayer. Never mind that local grassroots judgment has historically been a pillar of Republican/conservative thinking.
Are we acceding to an actual dictator? The fears are real. Day by day the absurdity of the Trump presidency comes forward on terms ever more stark and foreboding.
We here in humble West Central Minnesota had better realize there are times we must partner with metro interests, because we'll never be able to outdo them. Besides, we the people are all in this together, aren't we? Or is the suggested metro/rural conflict simply a necessity because that's how so many of us are programmed to think now? "Us vs. them." It's always "us vs. them." So it's the ELCA Lutherans against the rest of the world.
Addendum: The following was shared with me by a friend on the question of whether/how schools should open: "I’m really curious about how the start of school will be resolved. If they do open 'normally,' what happens if a teacher contracts COVID? Does he or she have to then quarantine for 2 weeks? What about the kids in his/her class(es)? Would a sub come into that environment? What if the teacher in question is a middle school/high school teacher who has 4 or 5 classes of 20+ kids each per day – do all the students then have to be tested? If so, who pays for that? If one of the students in one of the classes is diagnosed – then what? Lots of questions that are difficult to answer."
Addendum #2: Yes we're rural Minnesota so the following local story ought to prompt smiles among the old fans of a TV show mentioned here: "A funny 'Mayberry incident' the other day: apparently some cows got loose from their fenced-in area on UMM property, and strolled east. They trampled the newly seeded lawn in front of the DAC, then got wind of the water in the 'catch basin' ('holding pond?'), whatever that rock-fringed pool is called that’s in front of the new bus garage. So, the herd wandered down to the water to bathe, hooving up the newly planted grass at that facility. I wish I’d heard about that when it happened – would’ve been a great photo op."
My podcast message for 7/15
My "Morris Mojo" podcast has some additional thoughts as we ponder the kind of life we all will have come fall. Here's the permalink:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Fall-inches-closer-egpn0g
Below: Photo of the new and improved East Side Park in Morris. Suppose we could say this should have been done long ago. Many Prairie Pioneer Days memories here. The new configuration looks nice as the old slab of hot pavement is gone, but when will be the first time a performance will be held there? Even without the pandemic, one would have to wonder. Could we get some sort of music ensemble committed to playing weekly there? Maybe a group of high school kids, would be a delight.
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Occam's Razor and Trump's virus response
Maybe it's time to apply Occam's Razor a little. When conflicting explanations or interpretations are presented for something, give weight to the simplest one. Let us consider the Federal government's hesitant and erratic response to the virus outbreak.
Context: the best possible response by our leaders would not have resulted in a trumpeting of praise for them. A well-contained virus presence would have been a low-key story in the media. The threat would have been solved or at least attacked in a manner preventing wide-scale tragedy. Not necessarily a huge story.
The government's job is to assess dangers and quickly act to minimize harm. If actions are taken to minimize airplane crashes, there are fewer crashes for the media to go and cover. Ah, the media doesn't go out to the airport to cover all the successful landings and takeoffs. Had our president overseen the ideal response with the "pandemic playbook" left for him, we might be on a steady path toward the kind of normality we are so desperate for.
The problem for our president, from his narrow perspective, is that prompt and firm action would have had the effect of causing a temporary scare. We do not appreciate hearing about a foreboding virus. We would not have wanted to make drastic compromises to our lifestyle, not even in the short term. Not even if we were to be persuaded that such a step was well-advised, sorry.
I remember Barack Obama once advising on a policy by saying we needed to "eat our peas." Did the Ebola threat ever materialize to the extent that could have been feared? No. How much do you remember about the Ebola threat? Seems now like rather a blip in the long scheme of news. That is how we want these health risks to end up.
And hardly anyone thinks of praising the Obama administration for the actions it took. Because, no real panic ever developed. Obama's usual critics continued their onslaught of brickbats. They found more ways to snarl than ever.
Hillary Clinton might have overseen the best possible response to the current virus phenomenon. Democrats are just wired that way, with a more basic sense of caring for people, attending to the intangibles. So, what are the "tangibles?" Glad you asked. Occam's Razor can be used to explain how Trump just wanted to avoid confronting the virus, or flail away when finally having to acknowledge it, by saying it might just go away. Which is what Republicans would want because it would not require the hassle or expense of government intervention.
Democrats by contrast believe that some expense is needed sometimes to just take care of people. Putting Trump under the Occam's Razor analysis, let's cite just one thing. After all, this is Occam's Razor, the idea that the explanation for many troubling things is right under our nose. We just need to calm down and not think so much. Stop thinking about things like the "grassy knoll" in connection to the JFK assassination, or the myriad other aspects in connection to that. Oswald acted alone.
So with Trump, what scared the excrement right out of him, was the specter of a stock market downturn, even a short-term one, as a result of an early warning to the nation about the virus. He was ready to spit on science. And he does that to this very moment as he refuses to work in concert with Dr. Fauci. Republicans have become averse to science, a trait that revealed itself previously with climate change. And now we see the likes of Trump expressing hope that the virus will simply go away. Oh, it's a wonderful thought.
I find myself on the defensive these days - just happened this morning in fact - as I try to advise people on the worst that can happen, and may well in fact be happening, with the virus. I must always tag on the after-thought "I hope I'm wrong" or "we can hope/pray it doesn't happen."
The Trump crowd thought it could wish away the bad stuff by just imploring us to "re-open." Yes, the hope was that we could magically bring our cherished routine back, and then - cross fingers - maybe the whole damn problem would go away, quit bothering us.
We are Americans and we are programmed to be optimistic. For two or three decades now we have come to believe the stock market basically only goes up. Or, if it does plunge for some reason - consider the 2008 financial crisis - well, it gets back on its feet pretty routinely.
People in the know are aware our economy is more fragile than the mass public believes. Trump gives speeches now indicating the economy was streaking to the stratosphere before the cotton pickin' virus came along. Strange. We had three straight interest rate cuts before the pandemic struck. The pandemic just caused another full-point drop, and is this the kind of thing that is supposed to happen when everything is coming up roses with the economy? Well, no.
Trump has openly banked on a continuing upbeat stock market as his absolute ticket for getting re-elected. And, why the desperation for getting re-elected? Look at all his associates getting in trouble with the law. Now Roger Stone gets his sentence commuted. The most outspoken Republican critic of that move has been Mitt Romney.
I actually feel Romney as president would have done the right thing when the pandemic first reared its ugly head. He may subscribe to most of what his party stands for, at least in the pre-Trump times, but as with Ronald Reagan, I see more than a flash of genuineness and caring in the man. It's like he's the designated sensible Republican now, as if most of his brethren have gone raving mad. And just think of all the pain and death spreading because of the virus on the loose.
With so many of Trump's associates now revealed to be so crooked, are we to believe that Trump is really the pure outlier? Look up "Pollyannish" in the dictionary.
Whither our Morris community?
Do we in Morris really want something like 1500 college kids moving in to our community next month, coming here from all over, like maybe from communities that have meat-packing facilities? Can we accept seeing a portion of our senior population literally die? For the sake of these kids getting liberal arts studies?
Hate to sound harsh but we're talking life and death. Excuse me if that jars you.
If Obama were president, he might smile and say we'll all have to become vegetarians for a while. And that would cause all the red-staters among us, here in this red 7th Congressional District, to get hair on fire. Can you imagine? Obama would say it's like "eating our peas." You can stay optimally healthy with a modicum of planning and adjusting, when cutting meat from your diet.
Some people might say "I'd rather die" (than to become a tree-hugger) but I don't think they'd mean it. Try a veggie burger. I personally eat meat because I've been too lazy to adjust my lifestyle. Had bacon this morning. Trump used the Defense Production Act in an odd move to force meat-packing facilities to stay up and running. He probably figures you have to eat meat to be an American. Employees at these places are sitting ducks for the virus. And of course they can spread it, just like all the kids who might be returning to school in the fall.
But will we really see regular school in the fall? We continue to be in the "suspended animation" of summer, in position to delay the reckoning on a lot of things. It's still July. Yes, we hope the virus will fade as if by magic. What could be better? But unlike Trump we should not bank on this mere hope.
Occam's Razor in connection to Trump: his inattentiveness and fear of truly deploying the Federal government and its immense resources was due to. . .fear of a jolt to the stock market, which yes might have happened. Markets are supposed to go both up and down if they are functioning properly. At present they are not, because of unprecedented activism by the Federal Reserve. We can hope and pray, Trump-style, that the Fed's actions will be more good than bad. But what if we get hyper-inflation? Then we're on a definite path toward 1930s Germany, even more than we are now.
A dip in the stock market? Trump was scared to death of that. And so there was foot-dragging. And then when we couldn't ignore it any more, he sought to point fingers all around. And will we buy it? In the Seventh Congressional District, maybe yes. Heaven help us all.
Addendum: Did you get the new flyer from that Republican 7th District Congressional candidate? Includes photo of incumbent Collin Peterson with Nancy Pelosi. Horrors! The guy probably feels this could be the kiss of death for the incumbent: posing with Nancy Pelosi. I'm inclined to agree with Bill Maher who used Occam's Razor in commenting on the House Speaker: "What's wrong with Nancy Pelosi?"
Visit my podcast: My "Morris Mojo" podcast has an entry for today, July 11, in which I remember the title of a Doris Kearns-Goodwin book. The title is "No Ordinary Time." The author had some IP (intellectual property) problems so I reflect on that, then I move on to the continuing question of what life is going to look like for all of us come fall. After all, it's "no ordinary time." Please listen with permalink below:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/No-ordinary-time-egk1c5
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Context: the best possible response by our leaders would not have resulted in a trumpeting of praise for them. A well-contained virus presence would have been a low-key story in the media. The threat would have been solved or at least attacked in a manner preventing wide-scale tragedy. Not necessarily a huge story.
The government's job is to assess dangers and quickly act to minimize harm. If actions are taken to minimize airplane crashes, there are fewer crashes for the media to go and cover. Ah, the media doesn't go out to the airport to cover all the successful landings and takeoffs. Had our president overseen the ideal response with the "pandemic playbook" left for him, we might be on a steady path toward the kind of normality we are so desperate for.
The problem for our president, from his narrow perspective, is that prompt and firm action would have had the effect of causing a temporary scare. We do not appreciate hearing about a foreboding virus. We would not have wanted to make drastic compromises to our lifestyle, not even in the short term. Not even if we were to be persuaded that such a step was well-advised, sorry.
I remember Barack Obama once advising on a policy by saying we needed to "eat our peas." Did the Ebola threat ever materialize to the extent that could have been feared? No. How much do you remember about the Ebola threat? Seems now like rather a blip in the long scheme of news. That is how we want these health risks to end up.
And hardly anyone thinks of praising the Obama administration for the actions it took. Because, no real panic ever developed. Obama's usual critics continued their onslaught of brickbats. They found more ways to snarl than ever.
Hillary Clinton might have overseen the best possible response to the current virus phenomenon. Democrats are just wired that way, with a more basic sense of caring for people, attending to the intangibles. So, what are the "tangibles?" Glad you asked. Occam's Razor can be used to explain how Trump just wanted to avoid confronting the virus, or flail away when finally having to acknowledge it, by saying it might just go away. Which is what Republicans would want because it would not require the hassle or expense of government intervention.
Democrats by contrast believe that some expense is needed sometimes to just take care of people. Putting Trump under the Occam's Razor analysis, let's cite just one thing. After all, this is Occam's Razor, the idea that the explanation for many troubling things is right under our nose. We just need to calm down and not think so much. Stop thinking about things like the "grassy knoll" in connection to the JFK assassination, or the myriad other aspects in connection to that. Oswald acted alone.
So with Trump, what scared the excrement right out of him, was the specter of a stock market downturn, even a short-term one, as a result of an early warning to the nation about the virus. He was ready to spit on science. And he does that to this very moment as he refuses to work in concert with Dr. Fauci. Republicans have become averse to science, a trait that revealed itself previously with climate change. And now we see the likes of Trump expressing hope that the virus will simply go away. Oh, it's a wonderful thought.
I find myself on the defensive these days - just happened this morning in fact - as I try to advise people on the worst that can happen, and may well in fact be happening, with the virus. I must always tag on the after-thought "I hope I'm wrong" or "we can hope/pray it doesn't happen."
The Trump crowd thought it could wish away the bad stuff by just imploring us to "re-open." Yes, the hope was that we could magically bring our cherished routine back, and then - cross fingers - maybe the whole damn problem would go away, quit bothering us.
We are Americans and we are programmed to be optimistic. For two or three decades now we have come to believe the stock market basically only goes up. Or, if it does plunge for some reason - consider the 2008 financial crisis - well, it gets back on its feet pretty routinely.
People in the know are aware our economy is more fragile than the mass public believes. Trump gives speeches now indicating the economy was streaking to the stratosphere before the cotton pickin' virus came along. Strange. We had three straight interest rate cuts before the pandemic struck. The pandemic just caused another full-point drop, and is this the kind of thing that is supposed to happen when everything is coming up roses with the economy? Well, no.
Trump has openly banked on a continuing upbeat stock market as his absolute ticket for getting re-elected. And, why the desperation for getting re-elected? Look at all his associates getting in trouble with the law. Now Roger Stone gets his sentence commuted. The most outspoken Republican critic of that move has been Mitt Romney.
I actually feel Romney as president would have done the right thing when the pandemic first reared its ugly head. He may subscribe to most of what his party stands for, at least in the pre-Trump times, but as with Ronald Reagan, I see more than a flash of genuineness and caring in the man. It's like he's the designated sensible Republican now, as if most of his brethren have gone raving mad. And just think of all the pain and death spreading because of the virus on the loose.
With so many of Trump's associates now revealed to be so crooked, are we to believe that Trump is really the pure outlier? Look up "Pollyannish" in the dictionary.
Whither our Morris community?
Do we in Morris really want something like 1500 college kids moving in to our community next month, coming here from all over, like maybe from communities that have meat-packing facilities? Can we accept seeing a portion of our senior population literally die? For the sake of these kids getting liberal arts studies?
Hate to sound harsh but we're talking life and death. Excuse me if that jars you.
If Obama were president, he might smile and say we'll all have to become vegetarians for a while. And that would cause all the red-staters among us, here in this red 7th Congressional District, to get hair on fire. Can you imagine? Obama would say it's like "eating our peas." You can stay optimally healthy with a modicum of planning and adjusting, when cutting meat from your diet.
Some people might say "I'd rather die" (than to become a tree-hugger) but I don't think they'd mean it. Try a veggie burger. I personally eat meat because I've been too lazy to adjust my lifestyle. Had bacon this morning. Trump used the Defense Production Act in an odd move to force meat-packing facilities to stay up and running. He probably figures you have to eat meat to be an American. Employees at these places are sitting ducks for the virus. And of course they can spread it, just like all the kids who might be returning to school in the fall.
But will we really see regular school in the fall? We continue to be in the "suspended animation" of summer, in position to delay the reckoning on a lot of things. It's still July. Yes, we hope the virus will fade as if by magic. What could be better? But unlike Trump we should not bank on this mere hope.
Occam's Razor in connection to Trump: his inattentiveness and fear of truly deploying the Federal government and its immense resources was due to. . .fear of a jolt to the stock market, which yes might have happened. Markets are supposed to go both up and down if they are functioning properly. At present they are not, because of unprecedented activism by the Federal Reserve. We can hope and pray, Trump-style, that the Fed's actions will be more good than bad. But what if we get hyper-inflation? Then we're on a definite path toward 1930s Germany, even more than we are now.
A dip in the stock market? Trump was scared to death of that. And so there was foot-dragging. And then when we couldn't ignore it any more, he sought to point fingers all around. And will we buy it? In the Seventh Congressional District, maybe yes. Heaven help us all.
Addendum: Did you get the new flyer from that Republican 7th District Congressional candidate? Includes photo of incumbent Collin Peterson with Nancy Pelosi. Horrors! The guy probably feels this could be the kiss of death for the incumbent: posing with Nancy Pelosi. I'm inclined to agree with Bill Maher who used Occam's Razor in commenting on the House Speaker: "What's wrong with Nancy Pelosi?"
Visit my podcast: My "Morris Mojo" podcast has an entry for today, July 11, in which I remember the title of a Doris Kearns-Goodwin book. The title is "No Ordinary Time." The author had some IP (intellectual property) problems so I reflect on that, then I move on to the continuing question of what life is going to look like for all of us come fall. After all, it's "no ordinary time." Please listen with permalink below:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/No-ordinary-time-egk1c5
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
A redux of Vietnam war-era thinking
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| "The Duke" |
One trait of Mad was for its various segments or chapters to have the word "Dept." in the title. You'll smile if you remember that. Everything was a department. So one day I saw "Put Up Yer Dukes Dept." It was a full-page photo of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, only it was doctored to have John Wayne's face for each person. This was both classic satire and biting commentary.
Weeks gave way to months which gave way to years during our tragic misadventure in Southeast Asia. Logic begged us to depart from it. Young people tended to embrace the logic. On the other side was a fog of illogic, broad brush statements about patriotism and having to "fight for our freedoms," as if an element of our population really wanted to jettison our freedoms.
All this fits a template that is reusable. And is surely in evidence now.
It becomes redundant to recite the absurdities put forward by our current president. It seems a distraction and a waste of valuable energy at a certain point. And it's futile because of the template that has a strong element of older Americans feeling they have to express themselves in a certain way.
There is no point in getting focused on the details, because logic gets shoved aside so much, as during the Vietnam war years. Nice little backdrop for my youth, right? "Body counts" from the carnage. There were no "front lines" so the suggested "progress" had to be judged by (alleged) body count numbers. (Why was General Westmoreland allowed to wear shorts so much?)
It just went on and on until it seemed like a drug that wouldn't let us go. Of course it did finally let us go. The old crusty patriots with their affinity for John Wayne basically dropped the subject. American young men who had fled to avoid the draft got "amnesty." At this point the John Wayne crowd had decided to basically retire from the fray. Not that they had really adjusted their world view. They just shifted their agenda to other fronts where they could behave like windbags again.
They are diminishing in number. Maybe their support of Donald Trump is like a "last stand" for this "America, love it or leave it" crowd. But we should never underestimate the damage these people can still do. I'm quite worried that this element of the population could have enough key people in power, like Attorney General William Barr, to effectively seize our elections. And then we might hurtle down a path like 1930s Germany, a scenario that I have suggested may have already begun. We disregard these risks at our peril.
It would be nice to assume that democracy can solve everything. We must hope and pray that democracy stays at the grass roots and not be impaired by nefarious, reactionary forces from higher up.
John Wayne was surely a symbol in bygone times. He was no more qualified to speak on politics from the right than John Lennon from the left. They were artists who had to adhere to very high standards in their artistic craft. They began feeding certain constituencies with political statements because it served their professional interests. Wayne looked and acted like a perfect symbol for the older, intransigent stuffed-shirt crowd. And Lennon sadly descended from his once endearing image to amoral stagnation ("Ballad of John and Yoko"). They became caricatures, Wayne especially so.
The real John Wayne seemed like a very nice and sincere person, probably more so than Lennon. Wayne's nature comes across in interviews done while he was filming his last movie, "The Shootist." In my opinion it was his best performance. It's sad that he felt he had to gravitate toward certain political ideas. He knew he probably had no choice after doing the movie "The Green Berets." Did you know that George Takei was also in the movie? We know George from "Star Trek."
One of the most obscenely offensive movies of all time, "The Green Berets" was a dose of pro-war propaganda. It came out in 1968 at the height of the tragedy. It was based on a 1965 novel. It was anti-communist. Oh, so that justifies everything. The people who bleed capitalism in our society, i.e. the people with the most personal assets to try to protect, are so afraid of any re-distribution of wealth. They decry "socialism" even though we're all quite content with Social Security and Medicare. They allow their most prominent spokesmen to decry "Obamacare" and to advocate for its end.
It's more symbolism than anything. Because heaven help us if this scattershot "symbolism" gets translated into action. It could well happen, as the door is swung open now for extreme "conservatives" to get the majority on the Supreme Court. There are rumors that a couple of the right-leaning justices could retire before the next election. This would allow Trump of all people to really put his wacky imprint on the court. Our whole nation could get thrown into convulsions. A revolution by the aggrieved could be attempted. It would meet the reactionary forces.
We got a mild preview with the military pushing aside protesters in Washington D.C. so Trump could do his stupid "photo op" with holding up the Bible (upside down). Again, this may have been a mild preview. For extreme conservatives or Federalists to take over the highest court in the land, appointed by someone who did not win the popular vote in 2016, is foreboding. America might fall into apocalyptic chaos. All because a wide swath of older voters succumbed to the psychological malady of embracing the John Wayne type of image.
I cite Wayne because it's what I grew up with. Can't forget the Vietnam war. It's analogous with what we're seeing now with the Trump crowd across the USA. So contrary to logic, science and disciplined thinking. We hear often that this swath is in retreat, it is in effect "dying off." Well, no one is going to root for dying, except maybe Trump himself who suggests we need to accept risks with the pandemic to get everything up and running again. Sacrifice the older folks I guess, the "Greatest Generation" that committed itself to stopping Fascism.
Not sure if the Nazis were really Fascists, as they've been described as a "death cult." Yes, just like the current lieutenant governor of Texas who says "there are more important things than living." He's fully invested in the Trumpian attitude: let's get the "economy" stabilized and most importantly keep the stock market looking good.
What would Jesus say? Is the Texas lieutenant governor a prelude to the type of attitude that will take over?
We are at a crossroads as I write this. I am 65 years old and do not want to be "collateral damage" in our nation's drive to get back to normal life. Families have older members who are loved dearly. Trump has practically bullied churches into assuming normal operations. But churches have a rather old and vulnerable demographic. So, what is Trump trying to accomplish?
This question is just as futile as wondering what the movie "The Green Berets" was trying to accomplish. Roger Ebert was revulsed and gave the movie zero stars. A New York Times writer wondered: "What has happened to the fantasy-making apparatus in this country?" A very cogent point indeed, as we wonder at present how far the faux conservative thought wave coming out of Fox News and like entities will go. People sit in front of cameras and assume a certain persona or attitude that they know will fly with a large enough audience to make the effort professionally rewarding.
It's like John Wayne with his moviemaking. I would say the "fantasy-making apparatus" is alive and well. Hollywood often fights back valiantly with truth-inspired movies like "Born on the Fourth of July" with Tom Cruise. All we are left with, is to root for good to prevail over evil and ignorance. Let's call it the "Fight for Truth Dept." of Mad Magazine.
I have a podcast addendum to share on this July 8, re. the question of how school should be approached in our rapidly-approaching fall. We have our president applying pressure now for fully in-person school. How much power should he have regarding this? What all are his motives? I invite you to listen to my podcast message from my "Morris Mojo" podcast:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Trump-pressuring-schools-egfpjg
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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| John Wayne in his best performance IMHO, in "The Shootist" |
Saturday, July 4, 2020
To what extent should we court risk?
Hi! My blog entry for July 4 is podcast-only:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Its-an-atypical-July-4-egahdn
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Its-an-atypical-July-4-egahdn
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
July 4 and an assessment of where we are
We were watching July 4 festivities on TV one year, out of Washington D.C., and for a few seconds we saw the cute scene of a girl perched on her father's shoulders, wearing a paper hat made from an American flag symbol.
I have flashbacks from my work years so often. Seeing this on TV reminded me of a time when I was covering the outdoor portion of the Memorial Day program. Always looking around for a nice feature photo, I spotted a 100 percent wholesome American family with a young daughter standing in front and wearing a hat just like I described.
Just to show you the kind of minefield I faced in my work, a totally innocuous photo-op like this led to some contention. The family was delighted to have me come over. I had known the father since my childhood. He was from the Alberta area. Moments after taking the photo, a well-known Morris resident, a man of course, accosted me and said "you'll get in trouble if you publish that." He explained that the hat was a violation of the proper handling of the flag symbol.
I should have told him (initials S.D.) to go sit under a cow. But of course I didn't, so I listened and feigned interest and then walked back to my friends and told them I'd been advised not to publish the photo. The father gave an expression of some chagrin. The TV show from the nation's capital had no problem with a scene like this.
This year we couldn't have the standard Memorial Day program. Or at least I assume that. We are conditioned to avoid public gatherings, although resistance is voiced to this.
We have Republican state legislators, of course, who appear to reflect the general skepticism about curtailment of normal activity. Republicans concern me greatly these days: their avoidance of normal and sensible critical thinking, their lack of restraint in lashing out against members of the other party who at least mean well - don't they? - and their allegiance to national figures almost irregardless of what those leaders are selling. Is this Germany of 1933? This would have been constructive speculation a couple months ago, now it seems nearly established fact.
Donald Trump is the biggest problem and this would be manageable if more members of his own party would be inclined to assess and opine with their own faculties. But they don't. It hardly matters at all what comes out now. Any serious blemish that comes out re. Trump is met with spin and a tortured defense or excuse-making by members of his political party. Exceptions are Jeff Flake and Mitt Romney.
Our Torrey Westrom argued that we should all be "disgusted" with Governor Walz - a Democrat of course - for not allowing normal graduation ceremonies. The language can be so confrontational and disrespectful. It's hard to deal with that way.
Republicans talk about government "regulations" as if these were just foisted on society with evil intent by Democrats. When I read of regulations being scrubbed, I want to know the details of them and with what rationale they were enacted. For certainly there are credible justifications for such things, although you can always argue that some are unnecessary. But the broad brush "cut regulations" cry is offered as if we should all just nod our heads.
I've had one email exchange with Jeff Backer. He gave me a preliminary comment on a particular matter and said he'd get back to me at a later time. He did not. If he thought I was inclined to support Democrats, that would explain it.
Did you get the flyer from Mr. Baldy recently? Nice to know his political party is the most committed to "making health care more affordable for families." And, "lowering your taxes." It must be nice having such a neat and simple world view as those of Backer's ilk have: Republicans are smart, valiant and intelligent. Democrats are the opposite of these things, period. No need to ponder further.
If you really believe Republicans are most likely to provide relief on health care, I have some land south of Florida I'd like to sell you.
I will listen to Republicans if they really have particulars on these matters. I am happy to talk with Republicans and conservatives at any time if they wish to talk in terms of real facts. How could I not be? There are definitely times when "real" Republicans like those in the Lincoln Project have truly constructive things to offer.
And I swear that if Democrats seize a majority of power, they can drive you crazy with their excesses too. Not enough vigilance with being prudent about the public purse etc. I feel quite irritated listening to Elizabeth Warren talk about "free college for everyone." It's folly.
What about taxes? What about property taxes? Don't you find the latter to be the crux of the matter? What would Backer and Westrom say about that? What about relief in the form of more state aid for local government?
A reasonable conservative might express caution because the more "aid" that gets thrown around, the more we see a runaway gravy train. Even well-known progressive Lawrence O'Donnell, a very wise person on MSNBC, referred to "conservatives, who play a very important role in our political system." I couldn't agree more.
I "discovered" conservatism in my mid-20s after having been denied such knowledge in my college years at a state college. It's nice to know that one of the two leading political philosophies in America is not simply one of pathology. So it was nice gleaning that background, then in subsequent years I found so much that was unpleasant about the conservative/Republican crowd. In defining this I need only cite Donald Trump. Secondarily, his sycophants on Fox News.
Rush Limbaugh was confronted about the national deficit and responded "there are no conservatives in Washington D.C. any more." Well to hell with Washington, Rush, isn't that a place people like you have decried for a long time?
How can Limbaugh complain about his Republican masters now, after having basked in glory with the "award" Trump personally bestowed on him? Talk about "the swamp." Limbaugh asks "what has happened to the Drudge Report?" Well Rush, Matt Drudge is in league with yours truly as a real journalist, seeking facts and using them as grist to advise the American people on what's going on. Journalism stands for nothing if not for this. So Drudge readers are advised constantly about danger signs being put forward from Trump and his sycophant crowd.
Germany 1933. Keep that in mind. Nuremberg-type rallies like the one in Tulsa, although we can feel heartened by the failure of that one. So there's hope? We must always put forward hope.
We obviously did not have the standard high school graduation in Morris. It was the safe decision.
Pandemic is hardly abating
The headlines now are all about the virus erupting around the U.S. to a degree we could not have expected. Yet there are "conservatives" who wish to diss Dr. Fauci. Why can't the more intelligent strain of conservatives like the Lincoln Project get more traction and take over in the debate more? Instead they are on the outside throwing stones.
Fox News is nothing but scared, scared that the American public is going to wake up to the true facts about everything. So they lead off a typical hour with a report on the "autonomous zone" in Seattle.
I covered the Morris graduations for countless years for the Morris paper. I was there when the earthquake happened - sounded like a train rumbling just outside. The student speaker at the time was Mr. Lopez. I believe he said later that he wasn't immediately aware of what happened.
My career lasted long enough that I covered one graduation at the new gym. I was struck by how much easier it was to hear at the new place. I had great difficulty for many years hearing well enough at the 1968 gym. Perhaps the administration should have rolled up its sleeves making sure the best possible sound equipment was employed.
I got exasperated to the point where I went to the school office just before graduation and asked if I might obtain the class speakers' speeches in writing. I got them, but there's always a risk of these kids "riffing" or departing from the script.
The graduation was on Friday and our paper came out Tuesday. We had lots of space in the paper to do justice. These were "the good old days" for consuming the Morris paper. When the paper became a mere weekly and came out Saturday, coverage of the graduation could not appear on Saturday so a whole week would go by. The Forum people tried fooling us by getting copies of the speeches to type in advance, but this all got processed before the event even happened. My heart is warmed thinking of the old way we did it.
My first year covering the Morris graduation was the last year the school even attempted to have a visiting "celebrity" speaker. It was our lieutenant governor and he did not show. He had an explanation deemed lame by many, having to do with weather, but we suspected that more important things came up for him. Last name of Wangberg.
There was no disappointment over his failure to show - we seemed actually to rather cheer that. Is that still our attitude? Or might we go back to the tradition of a celebrity visitor? Worth thinking about.
I was at graduation the year we had a student speaker - last name Korth as I recall - who got humor out of George W. Bush's tendency to abuse the English language. Remember "Bushisms?" I saw a whole desk calendar based on that once. I wonder if that portion of the speech had been approved by administration. Thing is, George W. Bush is no longer held in a favorable light by most of the Republican Party. He's more in line with someone like Mitt Romney.
So the crazed Republicans of today might not care if some disrespect was shown Mr. Bush. They show such vicious disrespect toward so many people including people who are inclined to wear masks. 1933 Germany yes. A cult of personality around Trump.
There is outward support toward Trump on both ends of my neighborhood, east and west. Those properties both have connections to the Apostolics. I doubt they will cool on their mania even with evidence that Trump is a horrible overt racist.
We should feel concern about the state of our Morris community in the year 2020. Trump was asked about the wonderful health care plan that he feels his party will bestow. Wouldn't it be wonderful to know the details about that? Wouldn't such details help the GOP in the next election? Given this golden opportunity, Trump responded: "Well, first we need Republicans to take back the House." Non-stop combativeness, finger-pointing and the like.
Barack Obama, America turns its lonely eyes to you. Rand Paul, go sit under a cow. My 2004 Malibu has a "Kamala" sticker on the back, for Kamala Harris.
Addendum: A headline from "Bluestem Prairie" about Backer has this headline: "Jeff Backer hates liberal homosexual money, solicits socially conservative campaign cash." My God, is THIS the kind of person we have chosen to be in the legislature?
I have a podcast episode to share with you today: a recitation of the July 1 devotional entry for my ELCA Lutheran church. This is on my new "Morris Mojo" podcast. Get a taste of how the supposedly "liberal" ELCA Lutherans view life and spirituality. We are the opposite of the Apostolics. Please click on the link below, and thanks so much.
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/A-July-1-devotional-message-eg6gmf
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
I have flashbacks from my work years so often. Seeing this on TV reminded me of a time when I was covering the outdoor portion of the Memorial Day program. Always looking around for a nice feature photo, I spotted a 100 percent wholesome American family with a young daughter standing in front and wearing a hat just like I described.
Just to show you the kind of minefield I faced in my work, a totally innocuous photo-op like this led to some contention. The family was delighted to have me come over. I had known the father since my childhood. He was from the Alberta area. Moments after taking the photo, a well-known Morris resident, a man of course, accosted me and said "you'll get in trouble if you publish that." He explained that the hat was a violation of the proper handling of the flag symbol.
I should have told him (initials S.D.) to go sit under a cow. But of course I didn't, so I listened and feigned interest and then walked back to my friends and told them I'd been advised not to publish the photo. The father gave an expression of some chagrin. The TV show from the nation's capital had no problem with a scene like this.
This year we couldn't have the standard Memorial Day program. Or at least I assume that. We are conditioned to avoid public gatherings, although resistance is voiced to this.
We have Republican state legislators, of course, who appear to reflect the general skepticism about curtailment of normal activity. Republicans concern me greatly these days: their avoidance of normal and sensible critical thinking, their lack of restraint in lashing out against members of the other party who at least mean well - don't they? - and their allegiance to national figures almost irregardless of what those leaders are selling. Is this Germany of 1933? This would have been constructive speculation a couple months ago, now it seems nearly established fact.
Donald Trump is the biggest problem and this would be manageable if more members of his own party would be inclined to assess and opine with their own faculties. But they don't. It hardly matters at all what comes out now. Any serious blemish that comes out re. Trump is met with spin and a tortured defense or excuse-making by members of his political party. Exceptions are Jeff Flake and Mitt Romney.
Our Torrey Westrom argued that we should all be "disgusted" with Governor Walz - a Democrat of course - for not allowing normal graduation ceremonies. The language can be so confrontational and disrespectful. It's hard to deal with that way.
Republicans talk about government "regulations" as if these were just foisted on society with evil intent by Democrats. When I read of regulations being scrubbed, I want to know the details of them and with what rationale they were enacted. For certainly there are credible justifications for such things, although you can always argue that some are unnecessary. But the broad brush "cut regulations" cry is offered as if we should all just nod our heads.
 |
| Jeff Backer |
Did you get the flyer from Mr. Baldy recently? Nice to know his political party is the most committed to "making health care more affordable for families." And, "lowering your taxes." It must be nice having such a neat and simple world view as those of Backer's ilk have: Republicans are smart, valiant and intelligent. Democrats are the opposite of these things, period. No need to ponder further.
If you really believe Republicans are most likely to provide relief on health care, I have some land south of Florida I'd like to sell you.
I will listen to Republicans if they really have particulars on these matters. I am happy to talk with Republicans and conservatives at any time if they wish to talk in terms of real facts. How could I not be? There are definitely times when "real" Republicans like those in the Lincoln Project have truly constructive things to offer.
And I swear that if Democrats seize a majority of power, they can drive you crazy with their excesses too. Not enough vigilance with being prudent about the public purse etc. I feel quite irritated listening to Elizabeth Warren talk about "free college for everyone." It's folly.
What about taxes? What about property taxes? Don't you find the latter to be the crux of the matter? What would Backer and Westrom say about that? What about relief in the form of more state aid for local government?
A reasonable conservative might express caution because the more "aid" that gets thrown around, the more we see a runaway gravy train. Even well-known progressive Lawrence O'Donnell, a very wise person on MSNBC, referred to "conservatives, who play a very important role in our political system." I couldn't agree more.
I "discovered" conservatism in my mid-20s after having been denied such knowledge in my college years at a state college. It's nice to know that one of the two leading political philosophies in America is not simply one of pathology. So it was nice gleaning that background, then in subsequent years I found so much that was unpleasant about the conservative/Republican crowd. In defining this I need only cite Donald Trump. Secondarily, his sycophants on Fox News.
Rush Limbaugh was confronted about the national deficit and responded "there are no conservatives in Washington D.C. any more." Well to hell with Washington, Rush, isn't that a place people like you have decried for a long time?
How can Limbaugh complain about his Republican masters now, after having basked in glory with the "award" Trump personally bestowed on him? Talk about "the swamp." Limbaugh asks "what has happened to the Drudge Report?" Well Rush, Matt Drudge is in league with yours truly as a real journalist, seeking facts and using them as grist to advise the American people on what's going on. Journalism stands for nothing if not for this. So Drudge readers are advised constantly about danger signs being put forward from Trump and his sycophant crowd.
Germany 1933. Keep that in mind. Nuremberg-type rallies like the one in Tulsa, although we can feel heartened by the failure of that one. So there's hope? We must always put forward hope.
We obviously did not have the standard high school graduation in Morris. It was the safe decision.
Pandemic is hardly abating
The headlines now are all about the virus erupting around the U.S. to a degree we could not have expected. Yet there are "conservatives" who wish to diss Dr. Fauci. Why can't the more intelligent strain of conservatives like the Lincoln Project get more traction and take over in the debate more? Instead they are on the outside throwing stones.
Fox News is nothing but scared, scared that the American public is going to wake up to the true facts about everything. So they lead off a typical hour with a report on the "autonomous zone" in Seattle.
I covered the Morris graduations for countless years for the Morris paper. I was there when the earthquake happened - sounded like a train rumbling just outside. The student speaker at the time was Mr. Lopez. I believe he said later that he wasn't immediately aware of what happened.
My career lasted long enough that I covered one graduation at the new gym. I was struck by how much easier it was to hear at the new place. I had great difficulty for many years hearing well enough at the 1968 gym. Perhaps the administration should have rolled up its sleeves making sure the best possible sound equipment was employed.
I got exasperated to the point where I went to the school office just before graduation and asked if I might obtain the class speakers' speeches in writing. I got them, but there's always a risk of these kids "riffing" or departing from the script.
The graduation was on Friday and our paper came out Tuesday. We had lots of space in the paper to do justice. These were "the good old days" for consuming the Morris paper. When the paper became a mere weekly and came out Saturday, coverage of the graduation could not appear on Saturday so a whole week would go by. The Forum people tried fooling us by getting copies of the speeches to type in advance, but this all got processed before the event even happened. My heart is warmed thinking of the old way we did it.
My first year covering the Morris graduation was the last year the school even attempted to have a visiting "celebrity" speaker. It was our lieutenant governor and he did not show. He had an explanation deemed lame by many, having to do with weather, but we suspected that more important things came up for him. Last name of Wangberg.
There was no disappointment over his failure to show - we seemed actually to rather cheer that. Is that still our attitude? Or might we go back to the tradition of a celebrity visitor? Worth thinking about.
I was at graduation the year we had a student speaker - last name Korth as I recall - who got humor out of George W. Bush's tendency to abuse the English language. Remember "Bushisms?" I saw a whole desk calendar based on that once. I wonder if that portion of the speech had been approved by administration. Thing is, George W. Bush is no longer held in a favorable light by most of the Republican Party. He's more in line with someone like Mitt Romney.
So the crazed Republicans of today might not care if some disrespect was shown Mr. Bush. They show such vicious disrespect toward so many people including people who are inclined to wear masks. 1933 Germany yes. A cult of personality around Trump.
There is outward support toward Trump on both ends of my neighborhood, east and west. Those properties both have connections to the Apostolics. I doubt they will cool on their mania even with evidence that Trump is a horrible overt racist.
We should feel concern about the state of our Morris community in the year 2020. Trump was asked about the wonderful health care plan that he feels his party will bestow. Wouldn't it be wonderful to know the details about that? Wouldn't such details help the GOP in the next election? Given this golden opportunity, Trump responded: "Well, first we need Republicans to take back the House." Non-stop combativeness, finger-pointing and the like.
Barack Obama, America turns its lonely eyes to you. Rand Paul, go sit under a cow. My 2004 Malibu has a "Kamala" sticker on the back, for Kamala Harris.
Addendum: A headline from "Bluestem Prairie" about Backer has this headline: "Jeff Backer hates liberal homosexual money, solicits socially conservative campaign cash." My God, is THIS the kind of person we have chosen to be in the legislature?
I have a podcast episode to share with you today: a recitation of the July 1 devotional entry for my ELCA Lutheran church. This is on my new "Morris Mojo" podcast. Get a taste of how the supposedly "liberal" ELCA Lutherans view life and spirituality. We are the opposite of the Apostolics. Please click on the link below, and thanks so much.
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/A-July-1-devotional-message-eg6gmf
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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