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| Kevin Wohlers (kmrs-kkok) |
Here I share the congrats email I sent to Kevin this morning (Thursday). So gloomy outside. Had expected some snow today. Enjoyed the church supper at Faith Lutheran last night.
Hello Kevin - Well, congrats on success from election.
I personally have soured on the city since the episode with the water treatment plant opening, so I'll be honest and say I only vote for non-incumbents. Nothing personal. I'm having a Christmas song put on YouTube soon and I'll send link to your mom. This might be last year for me doing this, because the novelty of online music has worn off.
Do you think the Morris paper is a little thin this week? And they're charging two bucks for it at the store. I looked at it at the library last night. The Morris paper seems to be a little careless and sloppy sometimes. Page 2 often includes marginal stuff that should be deeper in paper. The paper's website appears to be essentially dead. I often check the kmrs website but I now ignore the paper's site, except to check now and then to see if it's still "dead." Remember, the Forum was going to close the Morris paper. When you buy a subscription, you are "stuck" and it doesn't matter how much the paper might shrink in the next year. The newspaper business lawyers have this all figured out. Someone tried a "test" lawsuit a few years ago, after he'd sent in subscription $ and then the paper announced huge layoffs. No one expected the lawsuit to succeed, but it was viewed as "a shot across the bow." In other words, "we're paying attention."
I know you'll say the city was wise to act on the water plant when it did. But I think city was in a quandary as to what to tell people like me. I went to city hall, the person at the desk showed me to Blaine's office, and Blaine advised me "two members of the city council have disconnected their softeners." But I wasn't sure what guidance this was really supposed to provide. The paper had its notorious front page article and essentially told us we don't need softeners any more. "You are wasting money on salt." Really? If we don't need salt, we can't use softeners. But I don't think it was that simple. If the city was just trying to make the state happy, I loudly object, because your first obligation should be to city residents. Blaine himself told me he was keeping his softener but only because he was "offered a trade-in." You don't suppose that was a sweetheart deal, do you? I was not offered a trade-in. If you don't need a softener, you shouldn't have to concern yourself with a trade-in anyway.
OK, now we have the more current matter of Ms. Bezanson. Shall I assume you are aware that ADA crusaders can create absolute hell for a community? No one objects to accessibility as a basic principle. But then the law gets written a certain way, you know. I even remember the last name of one of these crusaders: Ketroser. Big article in Star Tribune once. My current post on my "Morris of Course" blog suggests that maybe we should all go back to accepting "porta-potties." Seriously. I write that any system that uses water is subject to breakdowns. So now we have restrooms at the softball complex: more risk. No one likes porta-potties but we don't need them that often, do we? You know, the perfect is the enemy of the good.
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| Blaine Hill (kmrs-kkok) |
When the city passed its water softener law, I bet the idea was to just let the public know there are "standards." But I don't think this is the way the law is meant to work. If I complain about required seat belt use, people will retort "it's the law!" See what I mean? I do not think a judge in a court of law would think it reasonable for the water softener law to be enforced without a proper grace period. It's a pretty big deal to make a decision about your softener. I spent $1500. But I really got stung by the "derecho." I'm wondering if the government at some level should have helped out more with that. My homeowners insurance does not cover trees. I had two big evergreens blow over in front yard. Lots of work to be done after that, including grass re-seeding and watering etc. I guess we all need a rainy day fund.
Well, good luck. You can't fight city hall sometimes.
- Brian Williams
More on city, ADA
Below is the link to my current "Morris of Course" post that addresses the recent issue of facilities/repair. At focus here: the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
Our political direction, the economy, markets
Did the mid-term election seem a little anticlimactic to you? Does it make you realize that Donald Trump created much ado about nothing with his election protests? That everything is actually fine with U.S. democracy, if we work to keep protecting it? Do you feel a little embarrassed by how much attention you may have paid to Trump's complaints? Below is an email I sent this morning to an old journalism associate, our own Jim Morrison. I start out on the economy and markets, then meander as is my wont.
Jim - What did I tell you a while back? If we were to get slightly better-than-expected inflation, the market would take off like a rocket. That's exactly what appears to have happened this morning. So it's a 7.7 percent figure now? So this is "good" news on inflation? Well like you said, as far as the market is concerned, "any news is good," or "good news is good news and bad news is good news." Will this continue all the way to the end of my mortal life? After I grew up being lectured on how the stock market is a risky place? Looks like Dow could be at 40,000 soon. Jason Lina was perturbed by all this talk about "points" in the market. Frankly, I think the rank and file people on the street are getting scared about rising prices. The "boiling frog" as it were.
So DFL is in control of state government? But it's so totally hopeless for DFL out here in the hinterlands. So hopeless, we may no longer even see DFL challengers, really. Remember the days of Chuck Brown? And of course Collin Peterson, who got absolutely torpedoed because he posed side-by-side with Nancy Pelosi for a photo?
Will UMM continue to get state's blessing if it just fulfills a nice little mission with 1000 students? Or if it just serves the Native Americans, even if they don't pay tuition? Remember the Indians in "Texas Across the River?"
Isn't the new Morris paper a little thin? Am I missing something? Was there a special section or something? I didn't see one at the library. I glanced at Canary and didn't see any of the old-fashioned car dealer display ads. I think car dealers have figured out they don't need print at all. I think the Morris paper is a little lazy and careless. And they only have one issue to put out each week. Their website is dead. Sue Dieter was going nuts talking about how we'd be so dynamic with the website, felt I'd work myself into an early grave. Life is strange.
I put up two blog posts on the BBE volleyball team last weekend that are probably better than anything else in the media about that team. So I can "still do it."
- BW
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