Take a break, MACA Tigers

So Trump is in. It appears Republicans have no excuses now.

The break between fall and winter sports is going to be maximum for our MACA student-athletes. 

I will disclose that I continue to think the term "student athlete" has a faint sanctimonious ring to it. That's because it suggests these students are special in a way that suggests virtue. 

Are they special? Yes they are. They get into the limelight with talents that attract ticket-buying fans. People put down money to see it. Even though these are just kids in development. Their skills in sports would seem not to apply all that much to the adult life that awaits them. 

You can counter that by saying the kids make a time commitment that shields them from unhealthy temptations. Granted. Also, you might suggest they develop good time management skills. They need a certain degree of self-discipline just to maximize their sports talents. And we expect the local news media to treat these kids as super-special. 

The number of teams/programs has expanded exponentially through the years. Because the trend has taken a lot of time to be realized, we may not appreciate the burgeoning nature. The sense of importance it projects can bring pushback from certain people. OK I have an example. 

I remember when girls hockey was being "sold" to the school board. I'll use again the word "sanctimonious." I'm sure my characterization would irritate certain people. But some of us, I guess, would like to look out for the interests of kids who have very real talents and interests that are outside of sports. 

Look at the big school musical - it gets a boffo amount of public response. The overall media attention for this and other pursuits outside of sports is small. When girls hockey was on the drawing board for our school, the newspaper had an editor who actually wrote on how the hyperbole was spewing forth. Those are my words of course. I think it's an accurate paraphrase. After so many years I can only paraphrase of course. 

Remember it was not me writing the contrarian comments, it was someone else at the paper. This writer reacted to a final presentation that sought to "seal the deal" for the creation of girls hockey. 

The writer wondered: "Aren't we just talking about establishing a new sports team?" 

The answer: yes. But the rhetoric from the sport's advocates was over the top shall we say. These individuals "suggested that their proposal wasn't just for a new sports program," the writer continued, "it was for 'a life-changing experience for the kids.' "

That's a close paraphrase and I do specifically remember the words "life-changing experience." 

Indeed the zealousness of sports parents can on the whole be over-the-top. Maybe this is best supported by their expectations for local media. 

I used to cover theater by taking a few rehearsal photos leading up to the show, then maybe taking a couple of photos backstage during makeup application on the big night(s). Filled the bill, I felt, but was hardly comparable to the demands thrust on me for sports. 

 

Gateway, maybe?

The kids are very young and impressionable when they first get attracted to sports. They can't help but notice the adulation the best athletes get. They can't help but notice the thundering cheers from assembled fans when the local teams do well in the playoffs. 

Again, the growth of all sports has been exponential. Parents are being divided into more programs. Girls sports existed not at all in Morris until 1971. Organized hockey existed on a "sandlot" level before the Lee Center went up. Now hockey including girls hockey has the big-time trappings. 

I remember going out to the outdoor rink one year to get a photo or two of a playoff game: the game was cancelled because of the Vikings being on TV in a playoff game on that day. Kind of a ragtag arrangement. 

Back in 2012 I wrote a blog post with the heading "Remembering growth of hockey in Morris." I wrote that hockey was like "the little engine that could" here. Here is the link::

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/02/remembering-growth-of-hockey-in-morris.html

 

So hockey is nice but it does not need the hype of "life-changing experience." It's a constructive activity just like the school musical, band, choir and other things.

And what about this sea change: no more shop classes? Can someone explain why this went gone with the wind? Learning to "work with your hands": isn't that an asset?

Unfortunately, the shop class enthusiasts from when my generation of boomers was growing up had an image of being rather "ruffians." These were boys who shall we say were inclined to get in trouble sometimes. "My crowd" might even poke a little fun at them. And of course that was totally misguided. But we were kids. 

My perceptions of the "shop students" of old were reinforced by some YouTube-based commenting I came across. "Shop" tended to attract "troubled" students, the host opined. And might I add we're talking "boys," as girls didn't take shop nor were they in sports. They were in "home economics." 

My missive today began with the thought that our MACA "student-athletes" have maximum break time now between the fall the winter seasons. Might they be tempted to drift away from sports some? 

How do the football players feel? This team had such an outstanding regular season record, yet they played a mere one game in the playoffs. That's a head-scratcher. Our first game was against a mighty strong team: D-G-F. 

These football players began their journey in the sport when they were very young of course, impressionable. 

This is the thing I warn about with football all the time. The young kids respond to stimuli like the sense they can draw waves of cheers from a big throng of fans at a fancy football facility (like we have) if they are big, fast, coordinated and can outperform a team of opposing athletes who are just like them. Why must they be adversaries? 

Why do the fans of one team feel they must be adversaries of the folks of a rival town? Hey we're all the same. All my life I have seen these things get over-heated. I remember when an opposing school announced that the Morris fans were welcome to attend a pre-game gathering with snacks at the opponent's venue. I couldn't help but think "fraternization!" 

Hey, these fans were all going to cheer for their own kids knocking the opponents on their keisters within minutes! Isn't there a better way to offer nurturing activities to kids? Without the violence and the too-emotional rooting for "wins?" 

Bless the kids in the MAHS school musical. It is most uplifting and enriching. No "head injuries," that's for sure. So why do we put up with that in football? People would say "well, that's the way it's always been." Nice rationalization.

 

OK so why did Trump win? The unspoken truth IMHO is that America is not willing to elect a female president. This has been demonstrated twice now.

 

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

What does the calendar portend now?

Our fall has been quite acceptable, n'est-ce pas? Are you old enough to remember the "Halloween blizzard?" It's hard to rule anything out in Minnesota, weather-wise. We had a snowless winter last time around. Totally defies expectations. A very wet spring and summer, no "burning out" of our lawns. More law-mowing needed of course. 

Now the mowers are put away, and will we need snow blowers? Would I end up cussing if I made the plunge and bought a snow blower this year? The upcoming days will have me planting grass seed where the tree guy removed some trees. I'll name-drop: Craig Beyer. Does super work. I wanted the sun to reach the ground more on my property. I'm trying to re-establish grass in places. 

I told my neighbor that "my father got carried away planting trees." She responded: "I think we all did." 

We live semi-rural. That does bring some challenges like having to live with the wild world. 

My father had a wooden snow fence put up once. Problem in our neighborhood is that we can really be assaulted by the wind. Just a couple intense storms did a number on the fence. My father was well-intentioned with the project just as he was with tree planting. But over time these things can become rather a curse. 

Speaking of a curse we have the political campaign still going on. Election is one of several things on my calendar for the nest week or so. Can I take care of my voting business at the armory in a routine way, exchanging pleasantries with the election volunteers who I presume to be doing their duty without partisan passion? The big risk of course is if they'd be Trump-oriented. And what else would you expect here in the windswept "East Dakota." 

Our congressperson Michelle Fischbach voted against certifying the 2020 election results. Do you frown when I bring that up again? Why? Don't you think your own lives and your own financial security might be endangered by a full-on insurrection? Even Tom Emmer voted to certify the results. What was Fischbach thinking? Looking favorably on a violent overthrow of the U.S. government? Aren't you aware of just what a tinderbox that would become? 

In the old days of the "Big 3" TV networks, the news coverage would have been much more responsible as it would have worked from the assumption that the violent MAGA effort on the day was unacceptable. There were not going to be "two sides" on that. No Laura Ingraham who'd show outright sympathy for it. 

In this fall of 2024, it defies belief that the two candidates appear basically even, although I think many of the polls are tilted by their methodology to favor Trump. And will "Trump people" be hovering over people like me at the polling place on Tuesday? Will someone spot me and instantly think I'm inclined to vote Democrat? 

I always consider Republicans. I can turn on the political left when I think it lacks responsibility for dealing with government largesse w/ $. I'll turn toward the GOP in a heartbeat. And when the public employee unions like teachers (especially teacher unions) act like they're feeling their oats too much, I'll turn to the Republicans to rescue us. 

But to vote for Trump? Well I just can't. Right now Kamala Harris is the one who can rescue us, maybe rescue us as a nation literally, to keep us together as the USA. The situation is that stark. 

Am I hopeful? Not terribly. But if I do not feel harassed or threatened at the armory on Tuesday, I plan to cast my vote for Harris. My feelings on this are so strong, I'll probably vote straight Democrat. That's this year. 

The top DJT supporters have gone beyond pathetic with their loyalty. You can try to argue with them and it's probably laudable to at least try. But I am dumbfounded that people who I have always felt were intelligent have become zombie-like and non-amenable. 

The late Truman Carlson frustrated me, as I have written before. He commanded so much respect in his life. But he would just smile if you tried to point out areas of concern with Trump. A smile that says: "You fool, why are you talking like that?" 

I couldn't even talk him out of supporting Roy Moore in Alabama. I'm sure he'd support the puppy-killer governor of South Dakota. I'll repeat: We're "East Dakota" here on the prairie. 

 

On the med side

So the election is Tuesday. On the day before, I will have a doctor appointment which I only accepted "under protest." Two phone calls from a nurse made it clear I'd better come in. I'll have one of the new doctors, as my previous one went "happy trails." I was greatly displeased by my previous doctor and would be happy to elucidate with anyone on that, but this little missive isn't the place. 

My grievances are not even debatable. 

Let me just say re. SCMC that I have unbounded admiration for Dr. Sam, Dr. Barnstuble and the doctor whose last name is pronounced "Robby." Hats off to them. My thoughts are not so charitable outside of that. 

I could have died two years ago. The three doctors I just mentioned converged on me when I was in the emergency room and it was the most amazing experience of my life. It was Dr. Robby who diagnosed my diabetes, and "diagnosed" should be in quotes because he could tell just by looking at me! "You have diabetes" he abruptly said. I'll never forget how he wished me a robust "good luck!" as I was being taken away in a wheelchair for surgery. 

Dr. Barnstuble had been my mother's doctor. He arrived at the emergency room with a young intern-seeming person. 

Dr. Sam? My, he gave four hours of his life to do surgery pronto into the evening hours. 

Prior to all this, it was Dr. Unger in Willmar, now retired, who diagnosed my hernia. He just felt of me and said robustly "that's a hernia!" But later he said "do you think you can live with it?" Well the answer should have been "no." He relayed this info to my regular doctor but there was no follow-up. 

Finally there was follow-up in the form of pretty drastic emergency surgery after the hernia had become "incarcerated." A bowel obstruction. I came down with stomach flu-like symptoms. But the problem was much more serious. Dr. Sam saved my life and I became aware of the diabetes issue. 

Now I'll see a new doc on Monday. I am feeling happy and healthy at present. I felt "coerced" into accepting this appointment. It was a female nurse on the phone, and women can intimidate me.

 

Change your clocks

Tomorrow is Sunday and fortunately I'm aware of the switch from DST. Don't want to be embarrassed by showing up for church at the wrong time. My calendar also shows that our church's fall supper is coming up Wednesday, First Lutheran Church. That's the church where Truman Carlson attended until he decided we were too "liberal." 

The UMM HFA (my photo)

The big event on Nov. 9 is the UMM choir concert. Free admission y'all, 7 p.m. at the recital hall. A reminder that there is a Williams family fund to support music at our UMM, the "jewel in the crown." 

UMM music struggles with numbers these days. We're hardly alone as far as colleges are concerned. We're fighting for the survival of UMM music. If it dies, our family fund would still have a constructive purpose within the U. There are contingencies. The Twin Cities campus would be fine, as my late father got his undergraduate and master's degrees there. 

My father Ralph grew up in rural Glenwood but he later became a "big city" kind of guy. I have an old scrapbook that readily confirms that. I look at the items sometimes and I wonder "is this really my father?" So flamboyant. So "cool." He got pretty staid in later years. I often have the thought that a part of him never left the 1930s. 

People who were alive in the Great Depression picked up qualities that they never shook off. This is often noted in cultural histories.

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

Isn't "happy holidays" just innocent?

Soon we will discover if the Republican presidential candidate will succeed with playing on people's emotions. People who are scared, insecure, wishing we'd return to an America that never existed in the first place. And so the insecure folks feel we need to fear the expression "happy holidays." 

Let me insert that in the real world, which is the one that I assume most of us inhabit, there is no impulse to groan when hearing "happy holidays." An element of the Republican Party wants us to feel defensive about this, threatened by this. 

You know what I miss about Christmas? I miss going to the shopping mall in Alexandria like on the day after Thanksgiving. The atmosphere and ambiance (shall we call it) instilled cheer. It was therapeutic to be there even if you weren't going to be giving your checkbook a workout. 

I'm thinking of the days when we all routinely wrote paper checks, as a way of life. Today the plastic cards are out and about. It's a nice new norm and I'm comfortable with that. 

Actually I rather dread those rare occasions when I write out a paper check now. In this digital age when so much of our official business is handled in a neatly typed way, well we wonder why we ever put up with our physician's lousy handwriting on prescriptions. (Rim shot) 

Seriously, the pervasive nature of typed info with its obvious precision makes it seem almost risky to write things out in pen and ink. You find this to be the case? Writing checks used to be so routine. Today I'm worried if my cursive writing is really going to be reliable enough. And do you find yourself staring at a check several times to make sure everything is just so? Including the date? 

I think back when we wrote checks more routinely we kept track of the date better. A curious thought I sometimes have these days: Man, am I going to remember what year we're in? I have to think twice. As an absolute safeguard I'll call up "today's date" on my laptop to be totally sure of the date and the year. I'd be so embarrassed if I got something wrong. 

Simply writing cursive is becoming ever more a dinosaur thing. Schools don't even teach it now? Really? Well you'd have to know it if you're a U.S. Postal Service employee, or heaven help us. 

I find I have developed a "hybrid" way of writing with pen and ink. Some words or letters I'll write cursive and I'll print the others. For example, I feel more comfortable printing the capital "F". I wonder if people who read my writing even notice it. But I don't do it often, at least for others to read. I take notes and write first drafts of these online missives in longhand - I'm the only one who sees it. So you'd think I'd be comfortable with it. I'm really not. 

Some of my personal handwriting traits are idiosyncratic. Let's put it this way: my own personal shorthand sometimes. 

Remember "Herberger's?"

I have had occasion to visit Viking Plaza Mall a couple times over the recent past. It is absolutely a ghost of its former self, of what I remember from its public heyday. I look around and just conjure up visions of what it used to be like. Americana that has vanished? Well it appears to be the case. And Donald Trump will bring it back? Will bring us back to "the America we once knew?" A pining that is being expressed out and around? 

The digital world with its efficiencies and shortcuts has been a sea change obviously. And on the whole we must be better off because of it. People must want what it has to offer. Far less "brick and mortar" certainly. Far fewer of the "common labor" type of jobs. How do people feel who look back on a career of being so committed to a job, and then they find that tech has made the whole job obsolete? 

Think of the heroes of country music - those truck drivers with their "18 wheelers" who now look around and wonder how far the self-driving trucks will go. Such indispensable work they once did, such commitment that became the stuff of country music hits. 

But here's the deal: life goes on for all of us. We can pine for "the America we once knew." We overlook the warts of past times, remember instead the apparent sweetness. Ah, "doctors who made house calls." Our Dr. Rossberg in Morris was out of the old mold. Alas, I don't think you'd want your life to be in his hands. 

 

Andy Williams

Andy Williams sings

"Happy holidays" is the greeting that inspires what you're reading here. We grew up with such a happy gesture, never gave a thought to political suggestion. Not a thought. 

Didn't Andy Williams sing the song "Happy holidays?" C'mon he had no suggestive insinuation. Ridiculous to even have to point that out. (Side note: I just checked and the song's title was "Happy Holiday" singular.) 

Among the cultural changes we weigh in this most troubling year of 2024 is defensiveness and fear borne of a right wing political imagination. 

"Right wing" used to primarily mean lower taxes and focus on the simple business ethic. Along with that, high standards with your personal moral conduct. Morality means absolutely nothing now with Trump, his sons and surrogates being quoted in the news every day. They find fault with saying "happy holidays" because I guess there is no direct mention of Christ. 

The Trumps I guess set the absolute standard for what a devoted Christian is. I guess that's a "meme" but obviously a meme that runs headlong into logic. Donald Trump is an amoral lawbreaker. He bathes in harshness which might be directed toward anyone. 

Think back to Jimmy Carter a true devoted Christian. But we are most certainly in different times. 

I certainly cannot stop what is going to happen in the election. I would much rather take my chances with the so-called "far left" at least for a period of time, rather than have the dangerous amoral specter of Trump hanging over us again. 

I do fear Trump will win. They are talking about repealing Obamacare now. So much for universal health care. The U.S. gives billions for Israel which has universal health care. Heaven help us all. 

I recently submitted a comment to Yahoo! News about the "happy holidays" greeting and how it is assailed by the right wing, at least the kind of right wing that gets in the media all the time. My comment:

 

I'm 69 years old and the expression "happy holidays" has been around for a long time. Perfectly acceptable greeting for that time of year, safe, benign, etc. Christmas for Christians is the celebration of Christ's birth even though we don't know the date when that happened. Jewish people do not accept the Savior story. It's a free country and we can all think as we please.

 

"Russell" responded:

Same. I'm 60 and remember well people saying Happy Holidays as a kid, it's definitely not new.

"Larry" responded:

I happen to think that saying Happy Holidays is a sign of respect and not just assuming that someone is one way or the other.

"Steve" responded:

In honor of the Jesus God fairy tale I like to wish the believers a Merry Xmas and a Festivus for the rest of us.

"Marcia" responded:

When I was young, I lived in an area that didn't have a synagogue and I never met a Jewish person during my youth. When I heard the expression "Happy Holidays", I assumed that it was short for "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year". It never occurred to me that it was generic for "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Hannukah". At that time, nobody had ever heard of Kwanzaa.

 

"Joe" responded:

Well, the Bible says he was born around Passover, the shepards had their flocks in the field (spring), and the 25th of December was traditionally the birthday of Mithras a Roman god of soldiers. The holiday was hijacked by Christianity when Rome took over the religion and forced their own template for paganism on early christians (priests, bishops, nuns, the pope etc.).

 

"Ima Markin" responded:

I agree! It used to be perfectly acceptable to say "Happy Holiday." There was even a very popular Andy Williams song by that name. Someone decided to make it what is was never meant to be.

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

The end comes too soon for MACA

The D-G-F "Rebels" defeated our Tigers 31-27 last night (Saturday).

 

Such a bittersweet Sunday morning in this late October of 2024. Weather stays nice for being outside. I took my standard walk yesterday that includes a good chunk of the bypass east of town. It also covers a good portion of the biking/walking trail. I make new friends out there and by that I mean primarily the dogs that people are walking/running. Nice to be able to make new friends somehow. 

This morning is bitter too because of what happened last night (Saturday) at Big Cat. The Big Cat place was a magnet for fans again as playoff-time began. Oh my it ended much too abruptly. How deflating. It has to feel deflating because the Tigers played such a high caliber of ball all season. Not only winning but scoring points in abundance. 

I walked out to the facility to savor the atmosphere. I was wondering if the pep band would be playing this deep into the fall. Temperatures have dropped but not by that much. Hey, the band played on! 

Here's a good place to insert that the MAHS instrumental music program has a concert set for tomorrow night (Monday), 7 p.m. Directors Andrea DeNardo and Wanda Dagen are in charge. Andrea is a fellow morning customer at Caribou Coffee. 

Hey, I just got back from Caribou on this Sunday morning, Oct. 27. I have to be aware of when we go off daylight savings time. Looks like we have to wait one more week. Then we'll have more daylight in the morning which is nice in some ways. But we have to accept the curtain of darkness arriving earlier in the evening. A fair trade-off? People do debate this. 

The Tigers executed a very long dramatic pass near the end of the game. We were playing Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, the "Rebels." We knew the Rebels would give us all we could handle based on our regular season matchup vs. them. 

Seems almost unfair that we could lose in the first round of playoffs. Man, the Tigers seemed at times to show the kind of caliber that could get us to the state championship game! Well, maybe we'll see the Rebels reach the title contest.

Meanwhile, our student-athletes will now have the maximum possible break before winter sports gets going. Yawn. You see, our volleyball team lost in the first round too. We put up a battle but were on the short end 3-2. Seems a rather long time since our volleyball or girls basketball teams caused any real excitement in this community with a tournament climb. 

Oh there I go again, putting too much emphasis on competitiveness. We are so conflicted when it comes to that. There is a natural urge to want to "win," isn't there? But so many of us realize we shouldn't get caught talking in such terms. Because, we need to "support our student-athletes" no matter what, right? But I don't think chronic losing or under-achieving ever makes us want to diss the kids. It really makes us want to second-guess the coaches some. 

I have a very long history of observing the dynamics when it comes to this. School administrators everywhere have headaches dealing with what I'm sure they would call a "good old boy" dynamic with coaches. The coaches become friends with each other. They fan out and have friends outside of that, like in church. And when questions arise, it causes discontent with a lot of people who have to come up with ways of defending the status quo. 

We had school board members in the '80s - what a total mess of a decade for our Morris school - who would say to people "don't come at me about wins and losses." Oh really? It means absolutely nothing? There were issues outside of wins and losses and the W/L just became symptomatic. 

But you absolutely could not argue with certain people and you might be told, in effect, "lay off this if you know what's good for you." This was the epitome of the "good old boys syndrome" wielding its clout. Girls/women too of course. 

How do we assess our football and volleyball teams for 2024? How could we be anything but ecstatic about about the football boys? So much obvious talent, at times breathtaking talent. Some of these kids will no doubt ply that talent in college. Good luck to them. 

I'll add a big "however" here. . . Both our football and volleyball teams lost in the first round of playoffs. So I think it is perfectly legitimate to feel a little disconsolate about that and to ask some questions. I really think it's deflating.

Maybe some of you will question my cognitive health. That's a popular thing to do in the wake of Biden and Trump being at the top of the national news so much. What a country! Stumbling geriatrics even with incontinence as a symptom, commanding our attention seemingly 24/7. And we can't find a national leader closer to middle age with middle age robustness? There is one: Kamala Harris. 

Hah! Now that I've mentioned her, all sorts of people around our "red" Morris area would descend on me using the harshest language and cliche-filled putdowns, even making personal attacks against me. I have experienced this. 

Aren't you nervous about election night being so close? The possible ascendance of Donald Trump again could become more than a theoretical possibility. 

Our worst fears about DJT are always realized. So now we have to fear a truly Hitler-like person taking charge in America? You really don't care about this? 

Things could not have made it to this point without the support of crazed "Christian" zealots. In the end, Christianity is going to have an awful lot to answer for. Maybe the Christian faith is going to have to fade away so as to rescue us all. Can you all not see that DJT is a 100 percent charlatan and flim-flam man who has exploited the Christian faith? Co-opted it? When in fact one of his main reasons for running for president is to stay out of prison? 

You are all such fools. 

 

Sorry, but. . .

I would like to share here some details from the Tigers' last volleyball match. I'd like to type some players' names. Everything is different these days because 1) we are no longer in the West Central Tribune's coverage area, and 2) Brett Miller has left the radio station. When Brett was there I could actually type some paragraphs about Tiger cross country, now I cannot. 

I haven't typed any names of MACA volleyball players all fall. I'm thankful for the years when I could do this. It's fun staying on top of things and getting to know the players' names. But life goes on. We deal with the hand that we are dealt. Just like we'll have to deal with all the tension that will come with election night. 

Even if things look good for Harris, we know the other side will have a virtual army of lawyers and strategists ready to go to work. Many of these people are willing to sacrifice their own personal well-being to support Trump. I mean look at the pathetic Rudy "Hair Dye" Giuliani and Tina Peters. The latter was willing to accept nine years in prison to support DJT, the guy who shits in his pants. 

Herman Cain gave his life for DJT. He was talked into attending a crowded "rally" for Trump in Tulsa OK at the height of covid. Shortly thereafter we read on Drudge that he was on a ventilator. 

I have to give a shout-out to "Drudge" here. If we can suppress the menace that is DJT, some credit will have to go to the good ol' Drudge Report. It was once known as "conservative." But what does that word mean any more? 

Today I would call Drudge "honest," "unfazed" and hard-hitting. Same kind of journalist that I have prided myself to be. I took on the Morris teachers union in the 1980s. Ultimately all that caught up to me. But not until 2006.

Update: Someone told me at church coffee that the "play-in" games represented the real first-round games in football. Well, maybe. I'll dismiss that for now as a quibble. It would help if I could see some real brackets. The structure of prep sports these days can get a little confusing for people who are not the most ardent fans. I thought that since last night's game was the Tigers' playoff debut, it was first-round. Well it was first-round for us.

 

Media watch

Always a delight to hear from my old newspaper compatriot Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley. He and I share notes on how media is doing justice, or failing to do so, with our local sports teams. Shall I say Randy is exemplary with his approach. What would I be doing if I were still in the commercial media? Well I'd be trying.

An email from the always-energetic Randy this morning (Sunday):

 

Hello Brian, I'm seeing this at MN-Scores:

D-G-F 31

MA/CA 27

Final score.

Regular season game was decided in overtime.

I wonder if the Stevens County Times will get any playoff coverage posted online?

Here's how I cover sports playoffs!

https://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2024/10/friday-night-lights-ix-incredible-2nd.html

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

Apprehension as election nears

("minocqua" image)

How would the late Andy Papke be teaching civics today? How would this gentleman try to "sanitize" things? It really would be impossible in any manner that would be honest. We can ponder the many outrageous and dangerous things that Trump has said and done. We can ponder his absolute potty mouth. Many quotes from him could not be shared in the classroom for obvious reasons. Just watch a kid try to make statements like that. 

We are approaching a new Morris school board election. I offer my take on that on my companion blog of "Morris of Course." Here is the link:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2024/10/school-board-candidates-their-pretense.html 

 

On the national level it looks as though people like me are whistling past the graveyard with our state of mind. We have been assuming that in the final analysis, America could not really truly elect someone like Trump. But this is our third time around with him. 

We allowed him and his facilitators like Russia to win the first time around. He won despite getting three million fewer votes than the Democrat. Our electoral college system allowed him to wrest such immense power for himself, this as the pandemic would be on the horizon. So he said he'd use the Defense Production Act not for the manufacture and distribution of masks, but rather to order meat processing plants to stay in operation. Remember that. 

I won't dispute those who said the masks might not have been all that helpful. But their distribution would be in line with the purpose of the Defense Production Act. His direction to meat processing concerns was absolutely not in line. Dan Abrams advised right away that this order "opens a bevy of legal questions." Questions? Is that all? 

DJT's nature is one of confounding people with decisions that are on the edge of proper law. I wish the media could have made a stronger point about this. There is so much legal wrangling connected to all things Trump. This very phenomenon needs to be put under the microscope more. 

Look at Ari Melber of MSNBC, a lawyer with the most keen intelligence you can imagine. I admire him but he has really made a cottage industry of interviewing a parade of lawyers all very classy in their suits and ties. And they file "motions." They launch "appeals." All of this slogs on until hell won't have it. 

A president is supposed to try to win approval with his policies. He has to fight Congress sometimes, sometimes not. But politics and national leadership is supposed to be a much cleaner process than this. Legislation gets pushed through that purports to help the American people. 

Our government mechanisms do not exist to prop up a mere cult of personality. It does not exist to grease the skids for a would-be Mussolini. You aren't going to argue with me on that point, are you? The dictatorial urges? The scheming to surround himself with total sycophants like Aileen Cannon who is being spoken of as DJT's attorney general? 

Cannon has already so blatantly bent a knee to the orange man. And my God, the media is so timid when it comes to revealing this for us in direct terms. Scared of the "bias" charge or scared of DJT's people actually doing "oppo" on you. Any one of us could be in trouble with "oppo research." We'd get slimed. 

As if DJT himself presents such a saintly image. He in fact presents the exact opposite as endless factual recitations would readily underscore. It's in front of us every day. It begins to seem rather like "Alice Through the Looking Glass." 

John Kenneth Galbraith

I am writing this in Stevens County MN. More specifically from Morris which is home to UMM which historically has been a nice little nest for political liberals. And those liberals definitely felt their oats in this town. I learned to resent them in some ways. 

I came to resent what I would call "paternalistic liberalism." Think of John Kenneth Galbraith who said the common folk need to be protected from too much advertising. 

Well that epoch has rather passed from the scene. Stevens County has no fear of what UMM might represent because the right wing is just so powerful now, like we're an extension of the Dakotas. Yes I fear that, even though I'm inclined to support "Measure 4" in North Dakota to eliminate property taxes. An effort led by GOPer Rick Becker. So it's cause for "conservative" flag-waving, right? Oh not so fast. 

Politics is all about power and this can trump ideology. The likes of Doug Burgum actually oppose Measure 4! Can you believe it? 

Someone's ox is always getting gored. Take away the property tax and the obscenely rich folks like Burgum might have to cough up more? Ahem. Welcome to the jungle I guess. People need to catch up to Trump to realize whose interests are really being served. That's politics in a nutshell: Certain people's needs are being served, other people are told "sorry." 

All the red state people need to wake up and realize their spokesmen cannot be assumed to be pure as the driven snow. Progressive thinking can come back but it does not need to take the form of what we saw in the John Kenneth Galbraith days, that's for sure. 

Just probe through all the rhetoric and get what really serves your own needs, and would this really be a dictatorship led by Mussolini I mean Trump? And the communists caught up to "El Duce," executed him and then had his body hung up on meat hooks for abuse. That's what happens when the public wakes up to how the elite leadership has really been treating them. 

Forget terms like "progressive" anyway. Many of these terms are just massaged and used by people like Mark Levin et al. to scare us. My, how well this has worked for certain interests. Tucker Carlson, he's feeling his oats. And why do we allow this? Plain as the nose on your face, Carlson is an empty opportunist. But he has been accepted into the "club" of national media. 

Please understand your own interests in the final analysis. Stop listening to those who choose to talk about Kamala Harris' "cackle" laugh. I think it's a wonderful laugh. And doesn't the world need more of that? Isn't this preferable to DJT "shitting in his pants" which he reportedly does. 

The morning gang of guys at DeToy's Restaurant in Morris needs to wake up to all of this. C'mon, let women have their full rights. Can you look me in the eye and say that they shouldn't? 

Kamala could well lose. But is there anything she could have done different?

 

Here's a comment I submitted to Yahoo! News yesterday:

I had a feeling John Kelly had thoughts and observations in his head a long time ago about Trump. But it's only bursting into the news now with days remaining before the election. As a public service, Kelly should have asserted himself sooner. You might say it's a matter of national defense.

 

"Katerina" responded:

He may have been scared. Trump demands to destroy anyone who does not fall down and worship him, much like the devil would do.

  

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

Wind in the sails for this cause?

Easiest thing in the world to vent about property taxes. Or maybe any kind of taxes. If you think Republicans are your friend when it comes to keeping taxes down, oh think again. It's the Republicans who have floated the possibility of a 20 percent national sales tax. The sales tax is a regressive tax as is the property tax. 

Republicans know that the government needs to harvest a generous amount of money somehow. A regressive tax hits the middle class and poor especially hard. 

No wonder why Doug Burgum of North Dakota has spoken out against "Measure 4" in his state. This is a matter to watch with great interest as election day approaches. It should interest us far more than the size of the late golfer Arnold Palmer's genitalia. We weigh the latter topic thanks to the Republican nominee for president. 

You can point out all you want that such talk is an abomination in America, a clear disqualification to be president. But here comes Trump again down the same path as in 2016 when all this started. What started was a complete putting aside of America's loose set of norms for how our national leaders should behave. Should a child in school be disciplined for offensive language now? I shouldn't have to cite other examples of DJT's outrageousness. 

The examples have been flying at us. Affinity with all things Hitler? Lest there was any doubt, John Kelly is making that clear to us now. So we'll all breathe a sigh of relief now that all of this is in the open, right? We can be relieved knowing all the facts so that most certainly we could never weigh DJT being president again? We'll relax and allow our first female president who will be diligently trying to get full women's rights restored, right? 

The women of America have the chance to save our country now. 

DJT says if he loses it'll be the Jews' fault. Are there lessons from history on how this mere thought is dangerous? If people don't know this, what kind of job have our schools been doing teaching history? And I say if Trump wins - heaven help us - the Southern states can be blamed with their kneejerk reactionary bent. 

Mike Johnson of Louisiana absolutely refuses to concede any argument with Trump. We have too many national leaders from the Southern states, actually from the states of the old Confederacy. 

Aside from the national issues we have the fascinating thing of what is going on in North Dakota. 

 

The image shows Dr. Rick Becker, the No. 1 proponent of "Measure 4." He's a former ND state legislator.

 

The Dakotas have become ruby red which suggests they're skeptical about taxation to feed alleged "big government." Right? So why is Doug Burgum, the quintessential MAGA guy, saying vote "no" in the attempted property tax revolt. Well I will repeat: the property tax and sales tax are regressive and Republicans aren't so eager to tamp those down. They know as much as anyone that the government needs money. So why not try to get it from the common folk instead of the super wealthy who proclaim the pro-Trump message with a wink to each other? 

Soak the common folk? Well why not? Look at the outrageous national debt. I think this is why another inflation shock is ensured down the road. Inflation means the government can collect more in taxes. Somehow government is going to have to at least try to keep up with obligations. To hell with "deflation." Deflation is of course when prices would go down. I personally would like to see prices go down. But that's just me. 

 

Head-scratching, n'est-ce pas?

If you're a homeowner, well then naturally you've seen the assessed value of your home go up. Isn't that good news? Wait a minute, how really do you benefit from that? Skeptics of "Measure 4" would say "well, you can sell your home." Oh, what a nice thought, what an easy and routine thing to do. 

Is it OK to just be happy living in our current home? A home where we may have memories of raising children? 

No, there's little if any real benefit to having a higher assessed value of your home. You will be paying increased property taxes. I'm reminded of a quote from someone who addressed the great American privilege of "owning your own home." She said "I feel like I'm paying a fee to live here." 

Exactly. 

Costs for home upkeep escalate. We hesitate longer to arrange for contractors to come and do stuff. 

So in North Dakota we may be seeing the seeds of a true "property tax revolt" that will supply relief. Influential forces are against this. Lots of special interests will get interwoven for sure. 

Many will say of course that it'll be harder to fund our schools. Well on the surface yes. But, how much largesse is there in school funding now? Take a look at the demands of public sector employees, a class of people with way more advantages than the rest of us. And they have the nerve to cry "foul" so much. 

Perfect local example was when we saw the striking picketers with their signs around our UMM campus. I guess that was several years ago. Today we get the impression that UMM is fortunate to even be still functioning. Anyone want to question me on that? I would be astonished if the people who (still) work out there would be so audacious as to consider going on strike. To come at as with their signs in clusters around the campus. 

I told my No. 1 UMM contact person that if a strike were to ever happen again, I would never give another nickel to the U of M Foundation. 

Right now the people at the public teat garner power for themselves and then push it to the maximum degree. Because the system lets them. Homeowners and the public at large can be drained of more money. 

This continues until the public wakes up. And if the public votes accordingly, well then so many public institutions will almost certainly be forced to "make do with less." Amen and hallelujah.

The following paragraphs were originally on my Oct. 9 "Morris of Course" post. That's my companion blog. Thanks for reading. - BW

 

Keep an eye on ND

In North Dakota there's a proposal to eliminate the property tax! It's called "Measure 4." How would y'all like to not get a property tax bill each year? Oh but the various government entities would have to raise taxes in other ways? Well, then I say "just make them." Make them feel some pressure to cut out the largesse. I'd be thrilled to see that. 

Let's eliminate all public employee unions like even for schoolteachers. Maybe especially for schoolteachers. I have hated teacher unions more than I have hated anything in my whole life. 

Do we really need public libraries any more? In the digital age where you can call up anything to read for your enrichment on your "screen?" I never read anything "on paper" any more. Some people are hesitant to admit they are like me for fear of being seen as shallow or ignorant. Hell I'll proclaim from the rooftop. I'll proclaim as someone who developed most of his literacy from reading comic books, backs of baseball cards and "Hardy Boys" mysteries. 

Library employees are unionized too. A pox on them. 

If Measure 4 passes and government gets its back truly against the wall, let's see an unrelenting push for eliminating the public employee unions, teachers first on the list. Is there still a requirement of a four-year college degree for teachers? Ridiculous. Let's eliminate it. Teachers have become mostly caretakers now. Am I saying it's an easy job? Not saying that at all but it's a "job" like any other job. It should be easier if teachers are not expected to impart knowledge so much. 

I believe the highest priorities of our public schools today should be co-curricular like with the school musical and all such stuff. I include band/choir. Let the kids have fun and feel excitement. Do I really have to argue this?

 

Supporting UMM

Of course we simply want our U of M-Morris to survive through whatever adversity comes forth. Donald Trump has chased away our foreign students and these students were our "cash cow." UMM might be imperiled but I think our ace in the hole is the service we provide gratis to the Native Americans. 

Remember we're not North Dakota: There is no property tax revolt here yet. North Dakota is being watched oh so closely now. A vote to support "Measure 4" there could lead to a full-fledged property tax revolt across the U.S. I personally wish it would happen. It would put needed pressure on our public institutions to attack the largesse. 

And in some cases we'd have to break through legal barriers, like taking away the rights and privileges of unions to "bargain." Hey, we only have 'X' amount of money now, we absolutely have to make it work - we have to. No wiggle room for unions to behave arrogantly as they typically do. 

I remember the people with picket signs outside the UMM campus - their little "info tables" etc. Who are these people to try to turn the screws on the State of Minnesota? 

 

Set example at UMM

The community could be supporting our UMM better. But this community often gets a grade of "F" for such things. We don't even want to be informed about it. We're planning our next trip to "the Cities" or "the lake." 

I'm happy to share here an Oct. 19 email from my old newspaper compatriot Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley, a guy with pretty deep interest in UMM. He wants us to appreciate the UMM volleyball team more. I remember working with Sheila Perkins when she was the Cougars' coach. Heather Pennie will tell you I interviewed her a few times too. I watched Heather pitch for Minnewaska Area in softball way back when. 

 

Hello Brian,

Just 50.....FIFTY!! Attending today's UMM vs. Concordia-Moorhead match at Jim Gremmels Court today. Unbelievably bad attendance. Really embarrassing as an alumni.

For what it's worth, at UM-Crookston for D-II volleyball in the NSIC, the Golden Eagles hosted UM-Duluth and had 411 attending.

Last year when UMC was at UMD, their attendance for a mid-October match was 830.

I just can't believe the apathy of the town of Morris for its crown jewel they have at UMM. Later tonight for kicks, I'm going to look into the history of UMM volleyball attendance pre-COVID. I thought they had decent crowds when I brought my daughters up there for volleyball in 2017 and 2018. Then I felt it the trip/expense was worth it.

My how times have changed. 

Randy

PS - the Cougars won in a 3-0 sweep vs. their MIAC counterparts.

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