"Adventures in anti-lock brakes" indeed

It's Wednesday morning amidst a most gray and windy setting and we experience "adventures in anti-lock brakes," eh? It has surely been a while. Anyone who can just spend all day inside today is fortunate. Wind is a trait of our setting out here. One trait that was missing last year is snow. Not enough today to be much of a factor. But the overall conditions suggest "winter" as we head toward Thanksgiving. 

The idea is to eat on Thanksgiving. We're blessed having access to an abundance of food. Inflation worry you any? Or is it like the "boiling frog" thing where it happens too slow to shock us? Actually I think over the last five years or so, it has been concerning. And if you read the economic analysis now, we could really truly be heading into a "perfect storm" of inflation. 

Multiple factors at work. Much of this has to do with pledges made by the incoming U.S. president. But if I imply he's a problem in any way, shape or form, most people will tune me out instantly. We are in "red" western Minnesota where our congressperson has total allegiance to Trump. I could refer to DJT in a manner of levity as "the orange man" but again, people would scoff at me, would surely discontinue reading this piece. If you've gotten this far, bless you. 

Maybe you're one of those people who can react to Trump in a rational way, as you should with any president. But Trump gives meaning to the word "atypical." He is associated with the mainstream of the Christian faith in America. I would suggest that is a monumental irony. I shouldn't have to "suggest." 

It is abundantly clear on this stormy Wednesday morning that Republicans have no shame. They have "jumped the shark" to the point where Trump can suggest anything, nominate anyone, and then we see the likes of Lindsey Graham go on the Sunday shows and not only support it, but cast aspersions on all doubters. As if the doubters are clueless and blinded by some sort of left wing fog in their heads. "Far left" as Rudy Giuliani would put it. 

Giuliani must now know how he is going to be remembered. Ruining the lives not just of two people but of two women. Where's the chivalry? If he's expected to put forward evidence, why doesn't he just do it? Doesn't he know what evidence is? Does he know anything about the mindset of a prosecutor? Wasn't he a prosecutor once? And people like Graham think people like me are the ones who are deluded. 

Congressperson Fischbach is hopelessly locked in that way too. Did you know that Forum Communications, the Republican-leaning newspaper group of the Upper Midwest, did not endorse for 7th District congressperson? So they did not give the nod to Fischbach? 

Forum of course once owned the Morris newspaper. What a failed venture that was. I don't know, maybe they had a businessman's tricks for exiting here with gold in their saddlebags. But it had nothing to do with serving the public which is the only measuring stick I would care about. 

I was not a favored employee toward the end, that's for sure. Remember, Forum Communications never hired me, they inherited me from the previous ownership. 

I joined the Morris paper full-time in 1980 which I must remind you with great emphasis was "different times" totally. Talk about the "boiling frog." The years crawled by and along came "digital" which created a whole new world. A whole new way of living life, and we aren't done with the changes yet. 

Back in 1980 it was hard to find people with an interest in writing. For one thing, to even use a typing keyboard was an unpleasant chore. The only way to share with a mass readership was to get your writing in a "newspaper." Which I did from time to time as a young person. Because, I felt the natural inclination. Newspapers had more reach and power back then. They brought down a U.S. president, Richard Nixon. 

Today? My, it seems the kids learn the typing keyboard almost when they're out of he cradle. All kinds of electronic communication platforms are available to them. So there's incentive, and my, do they take advantage of it!

You'd think it was a boon for society, a boon for America. But we go and elect Donald Trump. Now we're "debating" whether we should allow these clowns like Matt Gaetz, RFK Jr., Pete Hegseth and "Dr. Oz" to hold some of the most important positions. 

We have learned to accept the inevitable with Trump. It's uncanny but he stays on his pedestal with the reverence he commands, primarily "Christian." 

Would you be red-faced if Jesus came along to actually pronounce judgment on Donald Trump? 

 

David Brooks

Brooks illuminates

We are now hearing a very cogent explanation for the hold that Trump has on us. I was very excited to learn of this: it is from David Brooks the columnist. He happens to write for the New York Times but don't be turned off by that. It's an elite eastern newspaper of course. But isn't DJT himself a New York City guy? And J.D. Vance is a Yale graduate with a wife who isn't even a Christian? 

But you don't care about any of those points, do you. Just like you don't care about Gaetz being floated out as - ahem - attorney general of the U.S. Maybe he'll be rejected but it would be at the end of an arduous process. But why does it take an arduous process? 

The MAGA people will only say "listen to Trump, follow Trump." So why is this? Brooks says it's because of something that happened in our educational system long ago. It was when the "meritocracy" based on measured intelligence took over. It replaced a system where the Ivy League schools were based on "bloodlines." 

Well you know what? They still are, in a way. People in our society with the most advantages will be able to obtain the resources for their kids to do well by academics, by "standardized tests," and I'd like to say "damn them." We created a privileged level in this meritocracy based on ability to perform academically. 

You might say that's fine? Isn't it better than bloodlines? Isn't it objective? In a way it is. But it is also rather heartless because by necessity there will be below-average kids. Who lack value? Well of course they don't lack value. There are many kinds of intelligence. And to be frank, some of us really are below-average. We can all find our niche and be responsible citizens providing a service for someone. 

But many people don't like this implication that there is a "blessed" top class of people including the scientists who tell us about climate change or push the facemasks during a pandemic. So people say "quit preaching" and leave us regular folks alone. The "regular folks" who line up in Christian church pews on Sunday. Quit bothering us about the "trans" kids. 

We have barely gotten over gay rights. And by now these folks have come to terms with basic gay rights. It's just that they don't like being preached to on such matters. Preached to by an elite section of society that did the best by "academics." 

Our UMM was a leader in paving the way for gay rights. And in the short term, UMM made hardly any friends with this - most certainly it was the opposite. But UMM is the pinnacle of smartness, right? So there's an implication they must know so much more than the rest of us. And the Trump supporters push back with resentment, saying "no," we really do know how to live our lives. They will not like the inflation that will come about with Trump's policies.

At the peak of UMM's pro-gay rights zeal, there was an info booth on the mall with a poster of Eleanor Roosevelt on the side. Did Ms. Roosevelt ever publicly disclose she was gay? Is this verifiable? If not, it didn't seem like a very academic thing to do.

 

Michelle Fischbach

The non-endorsement

I share here the Forum Communications (Fargo) non-endorsement of Michelle Fischbach for re-election:

 

The race for western Minnesota’s 7th District is a choice between a career politician — Rep. Michelle Fischbach, of Paynesville — and AJ (John) Peters, a political rookie and small business owner and educator from Long Prairie. Neither presents much of a choice for 7th District voters. ...

In 2020, Fischbach was elected to Congress. Since then, she has continued to avoid media across the state. ... Though she is only one member of Congress, she has had virtually no impact on passing a new farm bill — or even getting an extension of the current bill, which expired in September 2023. ... Finally, Fischbach, as a freshman congressperson, put her party first in joining the majority of Republicans in Congress to dispute the 2020 presidential election outcome.

Peters has run a computer repair business in Long Prairie since 1989. He ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2020 and 2022, so he has no legislative experience. ... This DFL candidate does not display a lot of political depth.

As such, neither the GOP’s Fischbach nor the DFL’s Peters has earned our endorsement in the Minnesota 7th District race.

 - BW

Blind faith = economic rubble maybe?

I have at least one friend who will withdraw from my writing immediately once I even allude to politics. I have become wary of making these references. A fool's errand, perhaps? Made by a fool? I did vote for Kamala Harris. But then I learned after the election that she had publicly said she favors the government paying for sex change operations for prison inmates. So I would not have voted for her. Leaving me where, then? 

Are we in a vast wilderness now where we can no longer navigate, to find our way out? Our way out to where? Maybe to a place where the "president of the U.S." does not need to dominate the "news" every day. A place where that individual can just do the job satisfactorily for a period of time, no sensational reactions? 

A headline this morning (Tuesday) on this very gray early-winter day is about how unions want the Democratic Party to change. Not surprising. Whatever, we need a Democratic Party that can command a little more basic respect from more people. 

I try to pass the time on a miserable weather day like this by listening to some AM radio. Sorry, Morris radio does not interest me. I've heard all the old pop song hits before. I seek some edification from WDAY Fargo sometimes. But you can count on the program host to just assume these "Democrats" do not warrant any respect. "Kamala" is merely the target for putdown fodder. Snarky little references. And these radio personalities just assume they are not stepping on toes by doing this. 

Houston, we have a problem. The weird Republicans are gaining power with a vise-like grip now. Not sober and serious Republicans but an element that in the old days would be described as the "fringe." These people could be amusing in their day. They'd get their thoughts out in "pamphlets." They'd have booths at the State Fair. Shouldn't we have all been worried about whether/when all these people would get power? It has happened. 

Matt Gaetz and RFK Jr. with reins in government? And with a whole major political party empowering them? 

I have written before that I have always been receptive to the Republican Party ideas, the longstanding philosophy. Keep an eye on government to minimize waste and keep it from limiting our liberties. Make sure the power of the free market is unfettered up to a point. I'll say with a wink that capitalism is our best friend. It really truly is. But all this must be done with a heart and with empathy for those who can be left behind. 

Given the very real specter of inflation now, those under threat are surely growing in number. Republicans are supposed to be smart people. The best ones are best when they do not grab the headlines. We have Republican leadership now that really seems fine with f--king around with the Federal Reserve. That's the most sensitive tool out there, the Fed which controls the money supply. Hyper-inflation sent Germany into a tailspin in the mid-20th Century. 

Republicans should know all the "facts of life" about how our economy works. But they now seem to want to stand aside as our national leader, initials DJT, presents his track record of wanting influence with the Fed and even to push for "negative interest rates." 

Don't treat this as just another passing story, please. Lost in all the noise that is so partisan-based. You will regret voting the way you did if we start seeing (more) consequences of what I'm talking about. "Always lower interest rates." Another heroin injection please. Let's just push up the "stock market" as if its success is by magic or something. 

I assume that  "magic" does not create economic prosperity. 

It blows my mind because when I was young, I had the notion pounded into my head that the stock market is risky. "You could lose everything." My parents experienced the Great Depression. They learned attitudes that stayed with them. 

Today the stock market seems "the only place to be." I am 69 years old and do not care to "sock away" money in the stock market. You're just supposed to "leave it there." Let it grow. Frankly I prefer seeing my money appreciate in a way where I can spend the immediate gains basically now. And I'm nuts for thinking that? An eccentric? 

I look around now and I see people out here on the windswept prairie nodding their head at everything DJT does and says. Our congressperson just grates at me because she so automatically subscribes to MAGA. And so she demonizes "Democrats." 

Is the Democratic Party really worthy of being assailed so endlessly? In such a knee-jerk way? The way the on-air hosts on WDAY do? Just scorn Kamala? Out of hand? Will society wake up at a certain point to realize that the new would-be dictatorship might not be in our interests out here in "flatlands" in western Minnesota? 

Really, should we have a Democratic Party that is worthy of basic respect? We associate the Democratic Party now with America's "big cities" which we have been learning quickly are going to hell. But the big cities are where the people are! If they are truly dying, might that be a "firebell in the night" for the whole country? 

 

Vocabulary expands

The next wave of inflation is what concerns me most right now. Ten years ago hardly anyone knew the term "shrinkflation." Now everybody knows it. Businesses of all kinds are under pressure. They have higher costs. That's one tier of inflation and a pretty important one. But then the businesses must decide: Do we want to increase prices with our customers or do we want to cut corners in order to try to keep our prices where they are? 

Kemosabe, that's a tough one. 

I have begun asking around Morris for a complimentary calendar for 2025, something that is normally routinely provided. I went to a bank where I know in the past they have had them. An employee said "not this year." Huh? "Not this year?" A simple calendar as a courtesy to customers? But this is what happens. Is this a canary in the coal mine? 

But the chairman of the Federal Reserve has promised more "rate cuts." It's very odd that he would make a promise about future moves in the first place. But I did not notice any surprised reaction in the media. 

Politicians need "quick fixes" from the Fed as a way of staying in power, getting re-elected. At the fore of this charge is our next president who has said he wants "influence" with the Fed. But we all know the truth: DJT wants to command the Fed. 

Don't look for WDAY Radio to show any skepticism. Or Glenn Beck. Or Dana Lasch et al. It's a storm that is taking over. The columnist David Brooks has probed how all of this has come to be. I will write more on his theory in the near future. My friends won't read it.

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

The "unsinkable" MAHS arts!

I took in the Saturday matinee performance of the MAHS musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." More impressive than I even thought it would be, and I was expecting a lot. 

Maybe my recent statement about school priorities is even validated: "I think co-curricular is even more important than academics." I further noted that I detested the word "academics." It suggests boredom, tedium and even pain. Pulled from my own memories? Perhaps. 

Man, I wondered how this cast of kids could even memorize all the material! I mean, so voluminous. I'd have to conclude that I wouldn't have a prayer. So it was humbling to be in the audience. 

The production nowadays even includes a "pit orchestra" - pretty elaborate. So polished and with such a thorough commitment by all. No fooling around. 

Is there any fooling around by high school kids anymore? I ask because I remember a fair amount from when I went through the young phase. The talented kids of my day had to overcome distractions that were on the dark side of life like drugs. It was almost a status symbol to have word get around of being suspended from activities due to alcohol consumption. My how lax our elders could be.

Our elders escaped to various vices themselves but then they'd say "tsk tsk" to kids considering the same. I look at a really talented kid now and makes me wonder if the kid can stay free of the dark temptations. You might say "falling in with the wrong crowd." For whatever reasons, the parents of my generation were not good at protecting us. 

We were challenged in trying to hold up high ideals. Or, we created our own sense of ideals that could irritate our parents, the prime example being protesting the Vietnam war. Michael Moore is in the news today (Sunday) for having said the U.S. killed four million Asians for no reason in Vietnam. So you might say the young of the '60s and '70s knew the proper things to be concerned about. 

The older folks could be quite circumspect and hesitant about this. We got the song "Okie from Muskogee" from Merle Haggard which was actually intended as parody at first. I'm sure ol' Merle and his musicians did not care much if the song was misunderstood - money in the bank for them in the end. I'm sure they knew a song wasn't going to change anything anyway. 

Elvis Presley was pressed to express skepticism about the war. You could see he was unnerved. I'm sure he was thinking "why should this be up to me (and others like me)?" He pleaded with us to remember that he was "just an entertainer." I remember those exact words. 

Well, good luck if you wanted to communicate with the real power sources. The government had rhetoric all set for just holding back and letting the conflict play out. Until, the phenomenon of "fragging" in Vietnam reached a point where we had no choice but to leave. It was sinking our military objectives anyway, not to mention being unspeakably tragic on the face of it. 

"Fragging" was where the servicemen would kill their own superior officers, most often colonels. They did not want to be led into engagement by superiors who stayed relatively safe by comparison, and who might be motivated by wanting to get their picture in their hometown paper. Tactics used would be out of the John Wayne model. 

 

The maelstrom

Kids could get easily demoralized and drawn into self-destructive activities. So when I see the absolute treasure of the kids onstage now for the MAHS musical, I can't help but wonder if these kids might have gotten drawn into the maelstrom of the '60s and '70s dysfunction with the drugs and counterculture. "Falling in with a bad crowd." 

And you know what? I will venture to say that the abundantly talented kids of today actually do stay on course. They stick with their ideals and all the proper standards. Undeterred you might say. They lift each other up. 

So this is a very happy assessment to share on the morning after seeing "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" at the MAHS auditorium. 

 

"Oliver!" back in 1970

I believe the first major musical in Morris school history was in 1970: "Oliver!" Billed as an "all-school musical" with a wide age range. It was presented at the art deco auditorium of the old, now-razed school. Where there was balcony seating! There was a hazard: the edge of the stage. Today with all the people walking around looking at their phones, what a hazard that would be! But it's gone now. 

"Oliver" was a delight of a show. Ah, Mark Lammers as "Fagin!" Of course I attended. 

Today we have the theater auditorium at MAHS which is to be differentiated from the "concert hall." We had a superintendent who had to tread in rough waters to even get the auditorium built! He would claim repeatedly in later years that the auditorium "almost got me fired." I had a friend who was amused at how Mr. Switzer made this point more than once in a conversation. So there was controversy. 

Ironically there was zero controversy for getting the much superior concert hall built many years later. I think the solution has been over time to get more funding from higher levels than the local. We're talking "state" I guess. The "Minnesota Miracle?" Was that the first big step? Wendell Anderson? 

"Wendy" had the reputation of leading the "Miracle" but his political career proved to be like a meteor, in other words flaming out and disappearing. Poof! He appointed himself to the U.S. Senate. My, the public had no indulgence for that. He resurrected his stature later on by getting appointed to the University of Minnesota board of regents. 

I have to smile. Dean Johnson landed the same gig with the U after his political career crashed, in his case because of an embarrassing conflict with the state Supreme Court. Since then I have written about how political figures in some state of disgrace have "parachuted" onto the board of regents! We're not supposed to notice the infamy. "Nothing to see here." 

Speaking of the board of regents, I wonder how they are assessing the future of UMM now. On the surface at least, UMM seems to be eroding at least by the numbers, wouldn't you say? 

I am discouraged following UMM music as this once-proud discipline is now relying on "guests" and "ringers" to keep the public performances going. The last two performances have been super but not because of current students, that's for sure. And I'm also discouraged by such small audience sizes at the already-small recital hall. Man, how did this come to be? 

By contrast, look how absolutely wonderful the arts are at our high school now! Nothing could underscore this more spectacularly than "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." Jennie Odello is so talented it just makes me feel like an inferior human being. But that's fine. We look to the youth. Now they'll be continuing into adulthood in an America led by Donald Trump. We hope they can keep their ideals in this climate. However, I am not hopeful.

 

Addendum: "Oliver!" had kind of a left wing political bent. Surely you remember the song "Consider Yourself."

 

Consider yourself at home
Consider yourself one of the family
We've taken to you so strong
It's clear we're going to get along

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

If Costner thinks a western is novel. . .

The whole generation of boomers got rather drunk at the whole "western" genre of entertainment. People my age needn't tax their memory too much. 

There must have been a basis for Hollywood's creative minds to give us such an endless buffet of the shoot-'em-up stuff. "Draw!" Black hats for the bad guys. 

I could only watch NBC shows up through my junior high years. So I was a "Bonanza" person. How we loved "Hoss." "The Virginian" was an unusual 90-minute show that was also on NBC. My neighborhood finally got the "Able Cable" of cable TV and it expanded our horizons. Westerns came at us with great frequency. It in fact seemed like an endless well to tap. 

Before the great expansion of TV in the 1960s, we saw a similarly overwhelming fare of westerns on the "big screen" like with Joel McRea. The professional creators must have known what they were doing with this abundant panoply with cowboy hats, vests, horses and gunfire. Ah, "The Rifleman" with Chuck Connors, the baseball player turned actor. 

We can draw a line for when this entertainment genre faded out: the year 1970. The TV world recognized a literal "de-ruralization." Casualties were the rural-based sitcoms in addition to the westerns. Consider the iconic "Andy Griffith" along with "Petticoat Junction." Such charming settings for showing the simple and moral people of America's rural heartland. 

Norman Lear came along and implored the entertainment industry about how it was out of touch. The entertainment needed to find its base in big city America where, after all, the people of this country were increasingly concentrated. Non-white characters came to the fore and this was logical. 

How many of us actually missed the old template with the cowboy vests, 6-shooters and "moral at the end." Yes, the western shows were set up to glorify United States values and our independent spirit. 

A schism became apparent. At the same time the shows were proclaiming such virtue along with our U.S. of A., our country was increasing its involvement in the immoral war in Indochina, Vietnam. Young people were increasingly cynical and detached from the ensconced values. Take away the war and would we have been more reverent about our country? That's a good question. Most likely there were other factors involved in the unraveling of my boomer generation. 

Chris Matthews has often talked about the war's effect but he points his finger primarily at the draft for the war. So many young men simply forced to go over there and face very high risk of death or suffering. 

We grew up seeing the "good guys" of the TV westerns with guns blazing. The stories ended with good prevailing. But we learned that our own country could commit something absolutely ghastly and tragic. And that our pleas would fall on deaf ears for a very long time. John Wayne had no time for the pleading voices. What bigger symbol of the heroic cowboy? But we could see his screen image was just a well-crafted fantasy. Out of a dream world. 

John Wayne

John Wayne was in reality a master craftsman of the movie industry, of multiple phases of it. For that he merited our respect. He was woefully miscast in the famous WWII movie "The Longest Day." He played the role of a U.S. officer who in fact was many years younger than Wayne at the time. Robert Mitchum seemed awfully old for someone who "hit the beach" along with all of his grunts. 

Mitchum came across so dignified in his role, there's no way Hollywood would allow him to even be wounded in the film. We see him in the triumphant scene at the end where he holds up a cigar to his nose and is so satisfied at the aroma. A real hero. 

Actually there is a long pattern of Hollywood showing low-level commanders in war as being much older than their real-life counterparts. Why, I wonder? Of course we can speculate. Maybe Hollywood knew the military wouldn't want the secret out that it was the very young men and boys who took the brunt of the death and suffering. 

So many lives snuffed out as these young men were just on the threshold of adulthood. No, let's show older men like Wayne and Mitchum trying to dodge bullets with the rest. Might seem like poetic justice. After all, it's the older men - quite older in fact - who make the decisions that lead to war. In reality it is the very young men who step into hell. 

 

What's old is new again

Given the overwhelming presence of westerns on our TV screen once - I could say "ubiquitous" that that's a big word - I was struck by how Kevin Costner felt there was a need for such fare again. So, Costner has given us "Horizon." It's actually drawn up as a series of movies. You might way it is "bloated." Or seems so. 

I suspect Costner has a "long game" for this series where he comes out OK financially, maybe. He's a sharp cookie. The initial reports seemed overwhelmingly unfavorable. And from the news reports I saw, the project seemed a total reflection of the old TV/movie westerns. We see the familiar categories of characters including the "Indians." 

I wonder why Hollywood ever got so enamored with this "western" template at all. You might say it portrays "the opening of half a continent." I remember Louis L'Amour using those words in an interview. He was comparing his own books and others in the western theme with the "refined cultural stuff" that got the fawning reviews in the "right" places. So he'd argue, what could be more significant or panoramic in scope than stories about the "old West," the advance westward. 

The advance by European civilization I might add. What about the earlier opening of the East coast and the eastern U.S.? Wouldn't that have been just as significant? Seems like it would have been. But Hollywood got entranced by the march westward. 

 

A toast to "Laredo"

New "westerns" came at us all the time. Maybe one of my favorites was one toward the end called "Laredo." I just loved the tenor of that show, how it often had a dash of humor. I have read in fact that "Laredo" was inspired by the humorous episodes of "Bonanza." The show had the unforgettable character actor Neville Brand standing out. So my generation developed fondness for Brand as "Reese" even though his Hollywood background was as a "bad guy." He was a real-life war hero. Unfortunately he smoked a lot. I'm sure he had a cameo in "Tora Tora Tora" because of the popularity he won from "Laredo." 

"Laredo" was toward the end of the '60s which meant that the curtain was coming down soon for the "westerns."  Goodbye "Hoss," goodbye "Trampas" and goodbye to the "Gunsmoke" characters who I never got to know. Was the Old West really like that? Hollywood wouldn't mislead us, would it?

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

As St. Cloud State crashes, whither UMM?

Yes it's getting tough out there. Tough for our "institutions of higher learning" to attract students. And if you think UMM's situation is a little, well, strained, that's nothing compared to St. Cloud State. 

Years ago I began expressing the thought that the State of Minnesota horribly miscalculated when it allowed SCSU to  become a punchline. SCSU went hand-in-hand with frivolous, irresponsible behavior. A kid can choose to engage in frivolous, irresponsible behavior all he wants without having to do it as a student at a particular college. 

A state-supported college is serious business. The state should have seen to it all along that any behavior problems there were met with no-nonsense intervention. Pair with law enforcement if you have to. 

Earl Potter III, RIP

It got so bad of course that Homecoming was eventually cancelled. A fellow named Earl Potter III was president then. The Star Tribune article at the time did not even quote him. Perhaps he did not wish to subject himself to the indignity. 

Craziness at SCSU was an elephant in the room for a long time. Rather than come down like the wrath of God on the Homecoming miscreants - was that impossible to do? - SCSU swept the problem under the rug by nixing Homecoming. Not that Homecoming itself is hugely important. But it is something we expect. 

UMM has had headaches in connection to Homecoming, and the word "headache" would trivialize what happened the year of the goalpost incident. 

Yes UMM is stressed at present. I expect its advocates would say it is merely adjusting its mission, staying current. Well fine, maybe that's true. But what a substantial adjustment this is. 

There are shocking developments at St. Cloud State now. That might be a harbinger? A harbinger for what might happen here at UMM? 

People are so eager to push back on me. I speak like a contrarian sometimes and get pilloried for it. My cross to bear perhaps. A possible rejoinder to me here: You cannot simply compare UMM to St. Cloud State because we all know that SCSU is a stinking pile of excrement compared to the august U of M. It's nice to talk up the U of M. 

"Ski-U-Mah," whatever. Don your maroon and gold. 

But what was the state thinking when it allowed this college in an important Minnesota city - smack-dab in middle of state - to come unraveled with such a severe "party school" image. As the years passed and colleges had to pass muster for ever higher standards for serving the public interest, ol' St. Cloud State really became a millstone around our collective neck. 

I remember the year UMM had a graduation speaker known as a great "poet laureate": she shared a little story that included a reference to St. Cloud State. As I sat there I thought immediately "oh no, here comes a reference to the frivolous stuff." And it happened as if it was scripted. People always smile of course. The smiling response has taken a long time to overcome. 

They say that time passes faster as you get older - an illusion of course. And I have noticed that the troubling image of St. Cloud State has indeed faded. The image of alcohol-soaked partying kids - our sons and daughters incidentally. 

The worst of the SCSU Homecomings happened in the years after I hung around there. The Star Tribune began displaying the spectacle in all its ridiculousness. In subsequent years as people looked back - i.e. in the "comments" section of online news articles - you'd occasionally see the word "riots." The word was offered seriously. "Riot" on occasion of Homecoming. Is this not just totally unacceptable? 

Kids were known to push the envelope even here at UMM, even with our kids being so obviously smarter than at St. Cloud State. These days when there's yet another article about SCSU's precipitous decline, you read the "comments" and actually find little mention of the old "party school" albatross. It has faded now probably because the institution looks so obviously to be deteriorating down to nothing. All the $ the state spent to develop the campus, looking rather in vain. 

Maybe there, like here, the advocates will just say the institution is "transitioning." Ah, "staying relevant." I think you know the language. A college campus has its stakeholders and defenders who are smart and clever - especially here at UMM of course - and they can shoot down anyone expressing concern. 

There's probably an asterisk next to anything that yours truly might say. I have never been hesitant about being frank and forthcoming in how I perceive things. I got fed up with certain good old boy networks in this community many years ago - I could see their system for perpetuating power and control, systems cloaked in sanctimonious language. 

"We don't judge success on wins and losses." Well, let me say that in the field of sports, we really kind of do. You had to buy-in with the interests of the professional teachers organizations, support their most parochial take on things, and if you supported them you were considered circumspect and benign. If not, you might have people trying to run you out of town or put you out of business. There are ugly chapters in the community of Morris' history. 

 

Dichotomy?

Why do we see articles about opinion surveys that separate "college-educated" from "non-college educated" people? Why the dividing line? Some sort of litmus test for determining superiority? Isn't that implied? Many highly intelligent people did not complete a college degree. 

I grew up hearing the rhetoric about the superiority of UMM students. Based on what criteria exactly? Superior to the "mongrel" students who inhabited the state colleges or universities? And BTW why can't St. Cloud and other such institutions just be known as "colleges" again? So much pretentiousness in the world of higher education. My the people seek rarefied air. 

An 18-year-old with a simple interest in reading and current affairs can develop very high intelligence. Maybe we are all coming to realize that now. In the meantime, my goodness, look at the wrecking ball coming to St. Cloud State. The old hangout for inebriated college kids. A phenomenon that would cause mere smirks or smiles among the state's populace. "Isn't that cute?" or something like that. 

Maybe it has taken years for us to adjust our thinking on this. I'll brag that I was a forerunner with my commentary. As usual I'll just get brickbats in response from the stuffed-shirt leaders of this community. Their real aim is all about money of course. More money from the government whatever that takes. Fancy rhetoric? They've got it. 

All the king's horses and all the king's men cannot save St. Cloud State. A shame. A large city right in the middle of the state. Couldn't some of the buildings be contracted out to other interests? I'm sure they looked into that. 

Whatever else happens to SCSU, looks like they'll retain a heckuva sports facility/complex. First was the fieldhouse, then the football stadium (2004) and then the tremendous hockey place. The football facility even has an "inflatable cover," what would be an absolutely golden asset if we could get it for UMM. Softball teams from this whole region would be lined up to come here in the spring. I have openly advocated for this. 

But maybe the mere survival of UMM should be the priority. 

I will quote from an email I sent to a friend on Monday. First I'll share a little recollection about an old promo with the long-ago SCSU Homecoming. The promo was called "kegs and eggs." In the morning. Isn't that charming? "Kegs and eggs." I'll be like the boy who says the emperor has no clothes and ask "what's the big deal about consuming alcohol?"

Re. St. Cloud State things sound more drastic all the time. Below is a portion of an October 10 article on the WJON radio site. Dynamic reporting by the radio station incidentally. You will note below that the performing arts building may be the first to be demolished. I thought that was a very nice building with a nice performance hall. Now, to tear it down? St. Cloud State was known to have education (teaching) as a priority and so they had a nice building for that too. I remember it was designed super avant garde with no walls between classroom areas, just moveable partitions. That was a "cool" thing to do. Less confining! That's how people thought back then. These buildings have been real staples on the campus. Plus Sherburne Hall which was a genuine "high-rise" dorm. It is now closed and will be razed. I even discovered that the much newer "Coborn Plaza" is "permanently closed." That was supposed to solve the problem of the "old" dorms, but it wouldn't fly. Everything is going to heck quickly - unbelievable. And if SCSU can't support a performing arts building, what about here at UMM where we have the grotesque and ugly HFA that doesn't even have an adequate concert hall? Remember "Humanities Phase III?" Wow that's trivia from the past. The question now is if the HFA will even stay in existence. I suppose we have the power of the U of M behind us. And BTW, has the new U of M president even visited here yet? If not, I think that's strange, maybe a harbinger. I guess Brad Miller saw what was coming. We speculated that way. I suppose he's doing great where he is now. Below is the WJON news item. - BW

St. Cloud State announced this summer that they plan to demolish unused academic buildings and residence halls when the money becomes available to do so.  SCSU Interim President Larry Dietz joined me on WJON.  He indicates they are still working on determining the exact list of which building will be demolished first but he feels the Performing Arts Center may be one of the first to go.  Dietz says it would clear out an area in the middle part of campus.  Other candidates for removal include the Education Building, and the following residence halls; Stearns, Sherburne and both north and south Benton Halls.  The Performing Arts Center opened on the SCSU campus in April of 1968.

Performing Arts Center, St. Cloud State University

A note of grief

An absolute shame for the Performing Arts Center at SCSU to meet the impending wrecking ball. No way to find a new clientele? Remember when the talk of "Humanities Phase III" for UMM danced in our heads? And the public school got the "concert hall" instead of UMM? Puzzling, I've felt all along.

 

The inside skinny?

A friend here in Motown reported to me an exchange he had recently with a mutual friend of ours who teaches at St. Cloud State. I'm happy to share:

Talking to [name withheld] a few months ago, he seemed to think the problem started with the chancellor that had the office during COVID. She didn’t make staff adjustments when the enrollment dipped considerably then and immediately after, the problem snowballed, and she left. Her replacement was unqualified for the job, made things worse. And now in trying to correct things, faculty that teaches in crossover classes (more than one discipline) are affected as some disciplines show decline, some don’t, but teachers are let go affecting many things. Sounds too complicated for me.

 

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

How the heck did local races turn out?

From an email I sent to a friend on the day after the election, about 6 p.m.:

In the "old days" we could look at radio station site on day after election and learn results from the non-national races, for example city and school board. I just checked and I can't find anything anywhere. We shouldn't have to wait until next week's Morris paper. How we miss Marshall Hoffman. And Brett Miller for sports. The bottom has fallen out.

- BW

 

And, the response: 

The local election results were read on the radio news this AM, but surprised they weren’t posted on the website. Maybe the new guy, Terry, doesn’t have that in his job description. A puzzle.

 

Is it possible we're regressing some with online-based news in this community? I didn't think that would be possible. The Internet marches on to force adjustments in traditional media, or so I thought. 

 Our newspaper clings to the traditional media concept, perhaps while whistling past the graveyard. I had to check the newspaper website on day after election: just in case. There were no surprises. 

Does anyone besides me notice or care much about the lack of valuable material on the SCT site? It's commercial media so I suppose the decision-making there is based on their business interests. The radio station has lost people who were so good at providing valuable content online. The radio station has regressed in a big way. No opportunity there to stoke profit I guess. 

The newspaper with the current ownership regime has never pretended to be dynamic with its site. You might say it's a "teaser" site, a mere contact point for the paper with the public. 

I really truly wanted to know how some of the local contests turned out on the day after the election, certainly by the evening hours. I think in the past we could have counted on something there. And so there I sat, unable to find out through media how these things turned out. 

It is true as my friend pointed out that you could catch this info from actually listening to the radio. But of course you would have to know the exact time to tune in. As for listening to Morris radio for a prolonged time, I find it taxing to listen to a progression of "oldies" songs. I have a hard time surviving that. 

Radio is "audio content" and how much competition is there for our ears now? A whole endless ocean of "podcasts" and YouTube-based sites, of course. And it's not like our Morris radio station has some kind of monopoly for getting our attention. 

When I tune in to the radio it's with the Fargo-based stations. There's KFGO which gives the progressive or liberal-based perspective on things. Think Joel Heitkamp. The alternative is WDAY which is owned by Forum Communications which used to own the Morris paper. WDAY has more of the conservative bent. 

Despite my own general orientation, I enjoy WDAY quite often. Think Jay Thomas. I enjoyed Thomas and his call-in listeners recently when they shared skepticism on school referendums. This is very often a very healthy argument to listen to. In the Twin Cities, KSTP TV has the reputation for doing that. 

It's easy for naive folks to buy-in with the "vote yes" argument so often, not that there aren't times when this position is proper. In general I'm skeptical. I remember a KSTP guy giving this advisory once: "Before voting yes (to spend more money) make sure the school did everything it said it was going to do the last time." 

The Morris paper when it was under Forum ownership was pretty fair with its website. We might have knocked it some because its sports coverage came from the Willmar paper, also Forum-owned. I guess this was an example of the "synergy" that the Forum owner talked about when they came here. 

Of course we should have been thankful that the Morris teams were even in the Willmar paper's coverage territory! I guess we took it for granted. Wouldn't Schweiter Chevrolet want to get some eyeballs from here? We were later yanked from the WC Trib's territory. That remains the status now. 

It's hard to enforce any policy with 100 percent consistency. I noticed this past fall some Morris tennis info with individuals' names, so that was nice. 

So the Morris paper during the Forum's ownership had a website that connected to non-local Forum entities a lot. And it might have been easy to criticize that? Yes, can't we have our own writing? Well I guess yes. But what do we have now? Really nothing from the SCT site. And that is because the owners are trying so hard to sell every last copy of the "dead tree" edition. 

Norman Rockwell times

Hearken back to Norman Rockwell times. "You'll have to buy the paper." 

In these inflationary times I'm sure more families are trying to cut expenses out of their lives. With the Internet being such a mainstay now, can't we have a whole new info ecosystem on our screens right in front of us? I thought it would happen by now. 

 

Well, look at that

I looked at the current "dead tree" edition at the Morris library last night. I did a double-take when I spotted a photo because I could remember taking it! "The old is new again" I guess. There was B.W.'s photo of the fireman silhouetted against a fire out at the "Crocus" grove east of town. I remember the night well for being so long ago. 

I thought it could be an award-winning type of photo, frankly. "Advertisements for myself" (Norman Mailer). 

We all had easy access to the "macro" political/election picture a couple days ago, of course. So the Republicans have completely taken over. They have no excuses now. So they'd better get the "wall" built along the southern border, completely, post haste, eh? 

Really truly I wish the Republicans well because none of us should root for failure. In Florida the voters decided they really did want abortion restrictions. I find that strange. Women are literally dying because of abortion restrictions. 

People say inflation is a huge issue, were very upset with Biden and the Democrats on this. Well isn't this puzzling: the public is now looking to the Republican Party for help on inflation, with a Republican president who pledges to invoke tariffs and to push for lowest-possible interest rates, even "negative" rates. Trump has said he wants "influence" with the Federal Reserve and he seemingly always gets his way. Let's see: a raft of tariffs and artificially low interest rates. This is consistent with slowing inflation? Well good luck.

Addendum: Maybe I can synthesize quite succinctly how America developed this "malaise" where we seem so frustrated that we'd elect the likes of Trump. So here it is: Remember back when those "free trade" agreements were passed? Actually the captains of industry liked those. But here's the problem. These pacts had the effect of bringing America down to the level of the rest of the world. We can't go back to the old ways as if my magic. And if we can't? Is America doomed? Maybe.

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

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