Dawn is breaking on this Sunday morning. I should not be writing anymore. Don't be concerned if I just stop. Maybe it's time. So this morning I must note that even thought Minnesota is a "blue" state, things look bleak for the flagship education/research institution. Of course that's the U of M which incidentally has an institution here.
The leadership class of Morris about did cartwheels at one time trying to get the U here. Sometimes dreams do come true. So it happened.
Right at the present, the headwinds are fierce for the U. Just think how much worse the situation would be if Republicans were in charge in Minnesota. What if the Republicans could come up with a decent U.S. Senate candidate one of these years, rather than someone who says "the bad guys won World War II."
In the old days such a person would be described as a fringe candidate or just as a lunatic. But this is Trump's Republican Party. Even if video came out showing DJT having sex with an underage girl, his supporters wouldn't care. Our congressperson probably wouldn't care. I mean, she would not dare utter a single skeptical word about Trump. So that's the way it is.
I feel increasingly isolated as a critic of Trump. Will I end up totally condemned? Maybe that has happened already. So why am I writing his morning?
I will proceed to write that the U of M, in case anybody cares, has experienced major cuts in Federal research funding. Plus there is a definite cloud over the future of Federal funding and international student enrollment. And I'll say again that my estimable UMN-Morris friend Michael Lackey has continually pointed out that foreign students have been UMM's "cash cow."
The visitors from China are from well-to-do families. They pay their bills in full, Lackey says. Meanwhile we have Native Americans getting the benefit of not paying tuition, this in spite of the Supreme Court absolutely striking down affirmative action.
Has anyone of high standing noticed that UMM is continuing its Native policy? Do we have to cross fingers? Are we so small and remote here that no one will care or bother? Is that it? Seriously, maybe it is.
Our state representative and senator are both Republicans. Well, you wouldn't expect them to be Democrats, would you?
Any Democrats in Morris must be viewed as oddballs now. An endangered species? Don't we have a lot of seniors locally? And Republicans at the national level are on the warpath vs. entitlements for seniors. And the senator from Iowa just said we have to accept the inevitability of death, so don't expect the Federal government to do much if anything to help keep you alive. You'll just have to pay your bills on top of all the other bills you're paying.
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Chuck Grassley |
Now Sen. Ernst just shrugs about death. So, older people can be a burden for the taxpayers. You of course all know how health care bills can be exorbitant. Then again, "we all die," as Ernst asserted. Her later apology was just sarcastic. Something like "I apologize for assuming that you all knew about the inevitability of death."
The problem of course is that we keep electing people like this, or nominating people who are on record saying "the bad guys won WWII." Could such a person be invited to a Memorial Day or Veterans Day program? Well yes I suppose they would be, because people out here where the coyotes howl just love Republicans.
If you really think the Nazis were the good guys of WWII, then I'm sure you're cheering all that Trump does now. He is literally establishing a "secret police." People have been trying to resist this in California. There were people trying to resist the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. Then they started disappearing.
Am I to be condemned just having certain opinions? Well yes I probably will be. Probably has already happened. I am isolated. I should not be writing anymore.
Good money after bad?
The two main recipients of my charitable giving over the past few years have been 1) the U of M, and 2) First Lutheran Church. Both are fading fast because of the onslaught of the far right and MAGA. The U of M is proposing a seven percent cut to its academic programming and a massive hike in tuition fees in the face of a stark and uncertain financial future.
First Lutheran Church? In the science world they say that when a certain species of animal no longer exists in the wild, it is extinct. That creature will never again be the same if it merely exists in captivity. A species is only viable if it has to deal with natural selection.
In the case of a church, it is only viable if it has a weekly Sunday service at its building. If it can't cut it on that, it's over. First Lutheran is dead. It had a long and proud history. It was mainstream as could be. But today the ELCA is stigmatized as "liberal." And that is the kiss of death out here where the coyotes howl and country music reigns.
"Country club" Republicans have been overwhelmed by the "country music" Republicans. I am merely an observer.
There is only one recipient of my $ giving that has remained viable. That is the MAHS band activity fund. So, "one out of three isn't bad." Well, that's really no consolation. Was gay rights the catalyst for everything that I am seeing and writing about now? Stop and think of the consequences, really.
Addendum: I may have to discontinue my online writing because my eyesight is deteriorating rather badly. But the overriding problem is that I'm just overwhelmed by MAGA. Maybe a friend or two will say "don't lose the faith." But I doubt it. We're all supposed to listen to the Joni Ernsts of the world.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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