The lass named Cassidy comes forward

Cassidy Hutchinson

"Cassidy" is a rather unusual name. It seems instantly appealing. In a single day, it emerged with prominence. It emerged out of nowhere in a place where tired old names and windbags are the norm. She's a mere 25-year-old! A young woman as the hero in a national drama? How appropriate. Of course it's not over yet. 

My, how we all have allowed this specter of the Trump presidency to hover and command our attention. Can we not have normal lives without it? The distraction has been suffocating. As I write this, we seem close to getting a stake driven through its heart. A young and unpretentious woman named Cassidy now seems to be the one driving the stake. 

Seems almost Biblical. Rather like David with his slingshot. But is it over? As of late June we really cannot feel such satisfaction yet. I am aching to be able to write that it is over. 

You would think that all the king's horses and all the king's men are not going to keep Trump alive politically now. We are not dealing with rational players here. Somebody taps Rudy Giuliani on the back and Rudy cries foul in the harshest way. It appears that Rudy does what he does just because he is trying to stay in the limelight. 

Mark Meadows? Others like him? It started out as wanting to be close to power, to be a part of it, to soak it in. The guy at the top of that wicked enterprise used mob boss tactics. So, who would want to cross that? The young woman named Cassidy was hurried into her witness chair because there were concerns for her safety. Is this what the power structure of Washington D.C. has devolved to? 

Our legal system can be faulted for taking so long to catch up to Trump. The weeks roll by. Then months. Six months elapsed from the Jan. 6 incident before the committee was even formed. Two brave Republicans came forward to serve with an unflinching eye on the committee. What if the Republican party had no one like that? No one with true character and determination? 

The voices of wisdom have been coming at us fast and furiously from the media, only to be countered by the strange and sinister side, ad nauseam. The "cord-cutting" cannot happen fast enough to get "Fox News" exorcised - that's another stake to be driven. 

But my Lord, how the time passes. Week's end comes, on Friday, and we know the machinery will go quiet for "the weekend." And then it all starts up again, the "investigations" and the stonewalling from the other side. There's Kellyanne Conway who isn't sure if she wants to choose Trump or her own husband George. Top Republicans are still hesitant to say if the 2020 election was fair. People are in their corners with Democrats having a far greater grasp of honesty and wisdom. A child could plainly see. 

And now it's up to a 25-year-old woman to come forward from obscurity, to push past all the big names who have been clamoring for attention, to simply do the most virtuous thing: to calmly tell the truth. To sit there with total poise, no thought to posturing in any way, and to say, really, the emperor has no clothes. And it has taken this long? This excruciatingly long? 

While week after week the media has plodded as if it's some sort of weird cottage industry: the judgment to be made on Trump. The cult persists even now. And is this with the vise closing on him? 

It's impossible to state that for certain, much as we'd love to think Cassidy Hutchinson put it over the top. No, we cannot conclude that our huge national distraction is over. It did not end with "Access Hollywood." Overcoming that required qualities that were almost other-worldly. My God, Trump overcame it. 

Then some other ridiculous piece of news or quote or "tweet" would come along. "This is it, he's crossed the line now," so many of us thought. I began to realize, it's just not going to happen. This man named Trump won't go away, will not be seen for what he is. And it was all out there in front of us to see for so long. 

Let's get some more books, that will help, right? Flushing documents down the toilet? Need I cite other examples? "Bleach and UV lights" while Dr. Birx just sat there and acted like she had to be respectful. And Trump does not even return the loyalty. It is said so often he only thinks of himself, so why can't he be cast on the scrap heap of history? Does he need to be imprisoned? Cannot he show a drop of humility? Well obviously not. 

So why can't we all collectively shrug and put him out of our thoughts, just be sure he is no longer in a position to hurt us, and the world? The U.S. has lost a great deal of respect because of Trump. Yet we cannot pick up the pieces and move on. Not quite yet. No, because if "Access Hollywood" could not have taken care of Trump, nor the stupid stuff that got him thrown off Twitter, we simply cannot rule anything out. 

I have written several times that the German people are very smart, yet they got taken in by Hitler. I'd advise everyone to please wake up and smell the coffee now in America, year 2022. I'm sure a fair number of people are coming over to the side I represent. But not enough. 

In the meantime, it is almost Biblical how the honest lass named Cassidy Hutchinson, 25 years old, appeared and talked in such a direct and matter-of-fact way. We hope she'll be remembered in the appropriate light. But that's only if America can climb out of its horrible abyss: the Trump distraction or obsession. What hath God wrought?

 

Update: I see now where Sean Hannity of Fox News is on the attack against Cassidy. So the sense of stalemate in America may just continue. Nothing I can do about it.

 

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

Hancock high-fived w/ Trump in 2016

Nice to see I may have some untapped potential. Sometimes I see a notice of a "new employee" at an area newspaper and these people come across as so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It's the proper way to be, right? Maybe not always, as journalists of an earlier time took on the mantle of overthrowing some very dark things. All that happened in my formative years: the Pentagon Papers on how the government had misled us through Vietnam. And then the mess of Watergate. So as a writer, you'd want to go out in the world assuming a lot of bad things about people. Or to just be absurd and attention-getting like Hunter S. Thompson. Never mind that Thompson made a name for himself when he was straight-laced. P.J. O'Rourke joked that there was a generation of young journalists who might consider going to cover the sewage commission meeting "wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses." That's me. Actually my local issue was the public school. I picked up serious scars from having my opinions become known on that. Silly rabbit, I didn't consider them to be "opinions." And I'm not joking.

 

The Wall Street Journal reports that clergy people overall were hesitant to say much about the Roe vs. Wade reversal. That was the Supreme Court doing its thing. The Supreme Court with three extreme justices who were appointed by the last president. 

My pastor mentioned it and I'm not sure in the most delicate way. I was going to confirm what I think he said, last night, but could not find the video on YouTube. I'm not going to check now. Let's just say that no minister, even the most red-bleeding ones (politically) would be advised to say much now. Not with organized religion having already been set on its heels by years of right wing assertiveness. 

For as long as the assertiveness was just words or symbolism, many of us could observe passively. I suppose we still need to be passive. We can be assertive at the voting booth. But the situation looks anything but promising out here in rural America. The South Dakota political officeholders aren't really determined in the election, they are determined though the Republican Party nominating procedure. Governor Kristi Noem wants abortion-performing doctors to be prosecuted. 

So to what extent did our Stevens County join in the mix of what led to Donald Trump becoming president? The immediate city of Morris was not much to blame. 

Outside of Morris the complexion is quite different. 

Hancock wants support for its July 4 celebration. Does the community warrant this type of support? Trump got into the White House in 2016. What followed was four long years of dysfunction and absurdity. Bleach and UV light for covid, to cite one exhibit. People who should have spoken up more, fought back more, were scared. Consider Dr. Deborah Birx. 

Look at what Trump engineered on January 6, 2021. And look how long it is taking to try to get accountability on that. Look how long we had to wait for any kind of committee to even be formed. 

A huge conservative media complex has built up to apologize for many of the craziest elements. Not that these people are propelled, necessarily, by their own rational senses. They appeal to a swath of America that feels grumpy. The swath is in the more sparsely populated parts. Feeling forgotten? Is that it? 

Even churches in rural America probably sense that it's questionable to say much on the Supreme Court now. Be careful what you wish for?

If the Wall Street Journal's assessment is correct, churches everywhere have apprehension about applauding so much. Applauding the clear diminution of women, their needs and rights. Courts generally speaking expand human rights. The curious reversal now is due to how the majority in America does not in fact choose the president. 

When I was a kid, we learned about the electoral college but we just assumed that its winner would also be the winner of the popular vote. It seemed safe to assume as much. And if a surprise happened, I think we'd all assume there would be a push to simply eliminate the electoral college. Because surely, we would want our government to reflect the wishes of the majority. 

It's difficult to make any assumption now. We cannot assume that logic will win over illogic, rationality will win over ignorance, or virtue will supplant evil. 

You'd think that a minister anywhere could stand up and simply be forthright. However, it seems that even "conservative" ministers, or "evangelicals" if you want to trot that out, are not of a mind for spiking the football. I'd curse them on that because they should admit to what they've been part of. They know full well they got on the Trump train. 

I doubt that a single Apostolic in the Morris area voted for Hillary Clinton. I could list several other local churches about which the same conclusion might be drawn. Even with the January 6 committee's revelations coming at us every day, I doubt there is any second-guessing happening among those folks. For one thing, you'd have to feel humility - the humility of examining your past views and perhaps modifying your path. This might mean removing a bumper sticker from your vehicle. 

The odds of Trump supporters doing that? 

Kamala Harris

For a time I had a "Kamala" sticker on rear of vehicle, and I finally covered it with a piece of gray tape. I simply got scared. 

Biden is too old and Harris should be president. There are aspects of Hillary I have never liked, some of them personal, but she would have been exponentially better from 2016 to 2020. 

We don't know any of these people personally. We just have to vote for what's best for us. We needn't be so consumed by politics anyway. We have allowed it to become tribal. Once it becomes tribal, we get outspoken because we simply want to be on the winning side. Like in the old P.E. game of "boomerang" with the two sides throwing balls at each other. In South Dakota you're a winner if you're a Republican. So you get Noem who is as anti-choice as anyone. 

I won't attempt to quote my pastor from yesterday because I'd be going from memory. I think he might have even misspoken a little. Who wants to be "against life?" No one is against life but abortion is fundamentally a women's rights issue with nuances. 

Ministers everywhere appeared hesitant to seize on the Supreme Court decision a whole lot. 

Clicking of heels among the evangelicals and their leaders? I don't sense as much of that as what we might have expected. More like whistling past the graveyard? And why would so many of the robe-adorned people in the pulpits be cautious on an issue that previously they showed such bravado over? I'd suggest it's the oldest reason: self-interest. 

It was several years ago when I was watching a C-Span program and learned the term "nones." It means no religious affiliation. And it's a sector of the population showing growth. The speaker on the show explained that "people who make their living in religion know what's going on." And those people have been gripped with trepidation, though they are not inclined to admit it. They're reluctant to admit it because it would alienate their most zealous followers. But outside of those zealous followers lies the broad population. 

We're looking at the youth who aren't drawn in to the most dogmatic, logic-defying stances. The person on C-Span said people who are professionals in religion see support slipping away because young people have come to see the bond between Christianity and extreme right wing politics. 

 

Getting local

And so we look to the community of Hancock in Stevens County for clues. I wouldn't name names on this unless I had some data. So let's name-drop with Hancock, take a look at the 2016 vote totals. Votes were cast on November 8, 2016. In the Hancock precinct, Trump got 242 votes, Clinton 88. I could say "Trump-Pence" but that seems odd now - Trump supporters were out to commit violence against Pence and his family on January 6, 2021. 

In Moore Township, Trump won 89 to 8. 

So, it is in the hotbed of Trump support that we're supposed to gather for July 4. Fresh on the heels of the Supreme Court beginning to take radical action to re-shape America, with its three Trump-appointed justices. That includes "Justice Brewsky," Brett Kavanaugh. 

We see Clarence Thomas emerging as one of the most embittered public figures in America. And how to describe Thomas' wife Ginni? But these are the big names atop the U.S. political firmament. And the top lawyer for Trump, Rudy Giuliani, he of the excess alcohol consumption and possible dementia? 

Look at others like Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan, Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson et al. These are bad people. 

And increasingly it looks like the cabal has been foisted on us by the likes of the Stevens County "conservative" churches. 

And the religion professionals know all too well how in the long term, the foundation for what they do will collapse under them. Young people aren't that stupid. Young people understand global warming. It is not a "hoax." 

So Roe vs. Wade and its 50 years of precedent is shattered. I shared with a friend on abortion Sunday evening:

 

Went to church 2day, I could swear I heard Pastor (name withheld) say he hoped the Roe-Wade decision would be "life-giving." I might confirm this through YouTube. No one is "against life" but the abortion issue is far more nuanced than that. We can blame God for creating the human species the way He did, with the reproductive process. Actually we are hybrid, between Earth primates and space aliens.

 

Addendum: Were there really eight people in Moore Township who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016?

 

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

You got what you wanted re. "Roe"

Well, you all wanted this, right? Not 100 percent of you, but certainly a preponderance, based on the obvious popularity of Trump in these parts. Red country Stevens County contributed to the rise of Trump, therefore we now see consequences. Fifty years of precedent with Roe vs. Wade wiped out. 

How often does the Supreme Court take away an established right? No, it is supposed to work the other way: U.S. courts have striven over history to expand rights. 

Trump was able to appoint three extreme new members to the Supreme Court. Prior to the first one, Chuck Schumer voiced the hope that the choice would be a "mainstream jurist." That might have been Trump's natural instinct. There was a time he was pro-choice. 

So what's the story here? Trump was aware that investigations were going to be on his heels, guaranteed. His best hope for getting support or "cover" would be from the most ideologically motivated folks. These folks would put rationality aside and just clear the field. Since left-wingers are far more rational people, Trump would break to the right, join hands with the likes of Jim Jordan and Ron Johnson. 

Senator Johnson from Wisconsin is my age, born in '55, and I'm ashamed of the parallel. He goes to church in the Wisconsin Lutheran Synod. The Synod believes the Pope to be the antichrist. But the Catholics now are collectively clicking their heels, I suppose, about the striking down of "Roe." 

For certain, this would never have happened if men could get pregnant. Imagine telling a man who had been raped that he would have to carry the rapist's child. He'd be flummoxed, disbelieving, but when the system has only women bearing children, well this is a sacrifice they just have to make. It is nakedly a diminution of women, like we're prepared to go back to a past age. Amy Coney Barrett is Catholic. Clicking her heels, I'm sure? 

And now we have to depend on Biden for some pushback? Biden the Catholic? 'Til now he was able to say he just went along with the law of the land. It was a crutch, so he could maybe stay in decent standing with his Catholic brethren. Still there have been no small number of Catholic clergy who have been reluctant to see communion served to Biden and Nancy Pelosi. 

Pelosi's spouse is of course in trouble with a DUI. Why on earth do people have to continue engaging in social drinking? Look at the awful price paid by those who get caught. Mr. Pelosi wanted his alcohol. His wife and Biden still want the thimble-full of grape juice from their priest at church. 

 

The money people

I recently told a friend that I seriously thought I was smarter than Janet Yellen, she of the Fed. Or she's actually the treasury secretary now, if you're maintaining a scorecard. It's all so incestuous, does it really matter? People like Yellen and Jerome Powell get caught being "wrong" on such important things with the economy. 

Remember the word "transitory?" But I doubt they were really wrong, I think they were posturing or scheming. They have to follow the script for seeking to ensure that the stock market numbers stay good or at least stable. At what cost? Inflation that might lead to hyperinflation? Hyperinflation set the stage for what happened in Germany in the mid-20th Century. 

Is it outlandish to suggest we're on a similar path, what with allowing people like Trump and his acolytes to seize power? 

So Trump got voted out in 2020 - this should have been reported routinely to all of us, then life would just go on peacefully. With a sense of order. Trump became crazier than ever. January 6 happened. We got the inebriated Rudy Giuliani in a position to have real influence. 

Trump's circle of people are not to be discounted for future influence. They are waiting in the wings. Justice has not delivered a real hammer yet. The process of judgment goes painstakingly on. In the pre-digital days, the old and responsible media would be guiding us to rational conclusions about it all. There was gatekeeper wisdom. It rose up for Watergate. 

Look at Tucker Carlson today: I doubt he's even serious about most (all?) of what he says on Fox News. He just developed a "gig" where he learned to speak to a certain audience "out there." And I believe "out there" to include our Stevens County. Look at the Trump stickers still on pickup trucks. Look at how we've gone "red" as a congressional district. 

Our previous congressman, Collin Peterson, saw the trend lines going so bad, he ran his last campaign like he wasn't even proud to be a Democrat. What a coward. He'd be surprised just how many people would cheer the standard Democratic agenda. Still, he might not win but he could live with himself. If he had "Republican genes" he would have been Republican to begin with. The Republicans applied a hammer against him: a nice photo that just showed Collin and Nancy Pelosi posing and smiling by each other. So that was anathema to our congressional district. 

We have a congressperson now who voted against certifying the election results. Even hardcore conservative Tom Emmer went ahead with certifying. Not only are we Flyoverland, we're clueless Flyoverland. And now the red state people can celebrate the Supreme Court's erasing of abortion rights, the casting off of Roe vs. Wade. And next might be contraception and then gay marriage. 

Do Catholics practice contraception? I know their priests have a hard time behaving themselves. You wonder why organized religion is in retreat. 

Janet Yellen

So maybe I'm smarter than Yellen, Jerome Powell and Pelosi's husband. Don't be deluded by "famous" people - don't assume they are necessarily special or smarter than you. They may well not be. When Powell first proclaimed inflation to be "transitory," immediately I thought "no, I don't think so." So what's up? 

If the justice department cannot come down properly on Trump and his cabal (or crime family, or shameless sycophants), it may be game over for our cherished nation. If Democracy dies, America will die with it. And then what? The scenario of mid-20th Century Germany? Do you think the German people are stupid? They obviously are not, but look what they allowed to happen to them. 

Sinclair Lewis from Sauk Centre MN once wrote a book "It Can't Happen Here," his point being that it could. 

Hillary Clinton should have been elected in 2016. Al Gore should have been elected in 2000. I wonder if both failures were due to Bill Clinton's disgusting trysts, particularly with Monica Lewinsky. You laugh at the mention of her name? In the end, she may have been the catalyst for this whole nation crumbling. Granted, Bill was the true offender, let me be clear. But Lewinsky chose to be compliant. 

We wouldn't tolerate misjudgments like this at a small town business. Rudy Giuliani would not be tolerated as a small town lawyer. So it's "Alice Through the Looking Glass" with our USA of 2022. Say a prayer? I'm past that. Is there hope? We must always embrace hope. So I truly do.

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

Morris not exactly a magnet for people

Greetings as we enter the heart of summer here in Morris MN. It is par for the course that your friends and neighbors may be "gone" for various reasons. "The lake" is a top attractor. Isn't it a shame that Lake Crystal does not have recreational qualities? 

As a kid I took swimming lessons at the Pomme de Terre Lake chain. You may be aware that's several miles north of Morris. Some people might live here a long time before even hearing about it. Less recreational value now than when I was a kid. It's still kind of a neat spot, a wide spot along the Pomme de Terre River. 

The river makes its way to Pomme de Terre City Park east of Morris. There you'll find the "splash park" which is nice, but still no substitute for the real lake experience. Swimming was once possible right on the river in front of the shelter, and I remember a diving raft out there. I also remember a female classmate of mine who got my attention with her scant swim attire. 

I am 67 years old and I need to be given some slack for making an observation like that. It's like when Brent Musburger, the venerated broadcaster, actually got into trouble by gushing over the looks of a star quarterback's girlfriend. Such talk was innocuous in an earlier time, probably even mainstream. Well, public smoking was once mainstream. 

So, we in Morris are rather water-deprived for our recreation today. So we often head east to the real lakes country. Those of us who hold down the fort here in Morris should not feel ashamed about it. 

 

Forget about "tactile"

So this morning a customer at DeToy's left behind a Morris newspaper. Got a little ink on my fingers paging through. I remember when the Internet first started making inroads, cutting into newspapers, people who sympathized with the plight of the papers would talk about the "tactile" experience of reading a paper, like that was really a good or special thing. I doubt they were serious about that. 

This talk was simply apprehension about how we were entering a new and somewhat uncharted age. The specter brings fear. 

A recent front page of the Morris newspaper had the name of our governor in it. Our governor's last name is "Walz." He's a Democrat so I assume he's pretty unpopular in these parts. But it would be nice to see a person's name spelled right. The Morris paper had his name spelled "Waltz," like the dance tempo. 

Maybe you prefer schottisches. I know the crowds at the old Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood loved schottisches, would always call for more. But please, our governor is "Tim Walz." He is a Democrat and I respect him for that. 

Silly rabbit, all you people who might want to blame Democrats for inflation: go sit under a cow. That kind of talk is just for sport. If you pry open the issue, you'll discover that this thing called the "Federal Reserve" is the true governing entity of the United States. Haven't you noticed? When you tune into the media at the end of the day for economic analysis, almost always there is a laser focus on "the Fed" and its machinations. 

To help you? Do you really think that's what it's all about? There are signs now that the Fed with its leader, Jerome Powell - a banker, not an economist - is starting to monetize the nation's debt. This would be massively inflationary, beyond what we've already seen. The Fed is run by unelected people. It appears they'll do anything, even with deeply inflationary consequences, to keep the stock market "up." 

But do you really care if the stock market is up, if you find at the store that a loaf of bread costs $30? Too late you will realize that you have been victimized by a cabal of big shots. Your 401K will end up like a bill of goods that you were sold. We will all probably discover this too late. 

 

The "Dragnet" music

Back to Morris MN and our quality of life in midsummer, 2022. For those of us who are actually here, not at the lake or some other preferable place, we see there is an issue with law enforcement. Running out of police officers? Some of us might snicker at that. How many of us really fear serious crime? 

Our first thought might be that with fewer officers, there will be fewer "ambush" opportunities of citizens caught not wearing seat belts. By now the seat belt habit is actually pretty well established. But for a series of years, people of my generation could really be jarred by this. A Meals on Wheels volunteer in Morris got a ticket. My church secretary got a ticket when she was merely crawling from one parking area to another downtown. 

The South Dakota attorney general strikes and kills someone along a highway. He ends up with minor traffic violations and got to keep his job a very long time, even with defenders (Republicans of course) on his behalf. 

But, get seen without seat belt in downtown Morris MN? Just imagine the "Dragnet" theme song. Ridiculous. So I shed absolutely no tears about losing police officers. They make me nervous even when they're in a local cafe. They have "qualified immunity." 

The police are jittery because there are so many guns circulating in America. Republican Party intransigence prevents nearly all meaningful gun reforms. The Republicans kowtow to a certain "base." You might see these guys in the middle section of DeToy's Restaurant between 6 and 8 a.m. 

People are killed because of jittery cops. I have said "no" to being a Meals of Wheels driver because of fear of being pulled over. 

So, Stevens County might have one law enforcement entity? That's where the discourse is now. Well, whatever. 

I refer to the "Morris newspaper" but technically it's called "Stevens County Times." I know a great many people think there's way too much emphasis given to Hancock. This week's issue adds insult to injury regarding that. There's a page 1 headline that tells of a mayoral proclamation. You start reading the article and you realize it's the Hancock mayor, not the Morris mayor. 

A headline of this type should specify "Hancock," just for clarity. Unless, Hancock is actually becoming the premier community in Stevens County. I know their school has had to turn kids away, such is the demand for getting in that school. 

When I first started full-time at the Morris paper, back in 1979, the "talk on the street" was that the days were obviously numbered for both the Hancock and Chokio-Alberta schools. Isn't that amazing? 

Morris was "the big school" and behaved accordingly, just assuming that our sports teams could crunch the smaller schools. But aha! Things did not develop that way, not at all, and finally pressure grew to get the Morris school standards up to snuff. What an ugly controversy that became. You might say I'm the guy who knows where all the bodies are buried. 

One final note on this late June day: For a great many years, we'd all be getting ready for Prairie Pioneer Days. I swear that the whole community had its heart in this at one time. I loved going over to the park right away on Saturday morning. It is incredible that Morris allowed this whole event to die, just die, and we wouldn't even be subtle about it. We just announced to the world that it was no more. 

The event was a rare occasion for the Killoran stage to be used. This morning I noticed that a large tree branch was resting on the roof of the place. It costs money to remedy these things, and for what purpose does the Killoran building exist today? Why are there bleachers there? 

The weekend that would normally be Prairie Pioneer Days in Morris will be deader than a doornail. I know Kevin Wohlers is concerned about this. 

Go to the lake, I guess. Visit grandchildren somewhere. Go to the Cities? But to be in Morris? Well, I'll be here.

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

Issues at hand on my late dad's birthday

Wind blasts us on this late June weekend of 2022. There is no shortage of stories still being circulated about the "derecho" storm and its aftermath. 

Mentioned to the restaurant waitress this morning that it must be climate change. So mystified as to why such a statement can be a political matter. Oh, the waitress indicated she wasn't really sure on this point. 

If enough of us stay on the sidelines about this, climate change will become established to where there's no reversal. With Republicans set to gain greater power in the mid-terms, as seems to be commonly agreed, the road ahead could be mighty grim. 

Have you ever in your life heard the term "derecho" connected with local weather, up until the recent incident? And insurance does not cover tree damage alone. You're on your own. I had a tree guy at my place last week, so at least I'm attending to the matter. Now we worry about future surprises dealt by the weather. 

Wind has been so intense and frequent over the past few months. Remember, climate change is "extreme weather." And Republicans won't budge on their denial of climate change, at least in public. Privately I do not believe they can be so brain-challenged. But you never know. 

It is Sunday, June 19, as I write this. I ought to be in church right at this moment. The politics of Christianity has been getting me down of late. We see the term "Christian nationalism" in headlines more often. Just as climate change appears to be taking hold ever more, so too is this intertwining of the Trump element of America with the Christian faith. 

I know there is an element seeking to resist that. But it is a defensive effort, feeling futile at times. You run the risk of seriously alienating certain friends, losing them forever perhaps, by pushing back on Trump-ism. I have seen evidence of this firsthand. 

The Christian nationalists have now appeared to totally jettison Mike Pence. Pence's life and that of his family, even, were jeopardized seriously on January 6, 2021. We learn ever more from the committee on this, but the rejection of its efforts remains intense. 

Sometimes I ponder: some of these Trumpists like Elise Stefanik must be smarter than what they project publicly. It is a mere theory or suspicion on my part. 

I personally would subscribe to Christianity without all the reactionary right wing posturing, the hand-wringing, the anger of today. Anger is so intense it could have led to execution of public officials and their families on Jan. 6, 2001. We all ought to be feeling incredible shock about this. Certain of us are. No reasonable resolution in sight, though. 

The mid-terms could well see Republicans take over to the extent that the rioters' views and attitudes will be reinforced. My current post on my "Morris of Course" blog gets into the Christian nationalism angle more, with attention to Pence and how he is ostracized. I invite you to read with this permalink. - BW

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/06/christian-nationalism-upsetting-usa.html 

 

It is June 19 and it is a special day for yours truly, for three reasons. 

No. 1: It is my late father's birthday. He was born in 1916. He graduated from high school when John Dillinger's exploits were a big deal. The G-men finally caught up to the gangster on July 22, 1934. 

So Dad graduated from Glenwood High School and went on to study music at the U of M. He got his undergraduate and master's degrees there. He joined the fight against the Axis powers. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater. He commanded a crew that guarded an oil tanker. 

Then late in the war he joined the USS Appalachian. He observed Tokyo when it was in ashes immediately post-war. He shared stories about the incredible humility of the Japanese people at that point. 

Ralph E. Williams, 1962

Dad became a composer of music, plus he taught music at the U of M St. Paul School of Agriculture. That was in the '50s when I came into the world, 1955. Ag schools were phased out. Morris had an institution like this. So the Morris WCSA met its end and on came UMM! The Williams family was right on board. 

Dad directed the first-ever UMM music concert which was at the Morris Armory, for Stevens County 4-H youth and their families. He directed the UMM pep band at the now-razed P.E. Annex. Edson Auditorium was a focal point then. No HFA yet. Edson was a real "hub" for the artistic stuff. 

What else is special about today, June 19? Well it's Father's Day of course, not nearly as big a deal as Mother's Day. But let's acknowledge it. Hey Herschel Walker, you too. Remember when Walker came to the Vikings in a trade that was supposed to be such a big deal? It was a big deal for Dallas, for sure. 

Reason No. 3 that today is special: It is "Juneteenth." I wonder if the conservative Republican officials in the U.S. South would allow the public schools to even mention Juneteenth. The pols have decided that schools should not dispense any knowledge that is "divisive." Yeah, like there's nothing divisive about Ron DeSantis. Our USA of today seems to me like "Alice Through the Looking Glass." And it may be sowing the seeds for the demise of the Christian faith. 

So I'm not in church today. I don't have to worry about being irritated by a crying infant for an hour. 

Here's a question: why are baptisms a part of regular Sunday services, and weddings and funerals are not? I get to the church when a baptism is planned, and I can tell right away because there will be a cluster of people at the front of the sanctuary, many of whom I do not recognize. To be honest I am bothered: the church bends over backward to accommodate these people, on this particular Sunday, but how many of these people do we even see in our church pews again? 

So it bothers me. Feel free to have your own opinion. 

As for the disruptive infants, which are a regularly-occurring problem, well shouldn't we just love those bundles of joy? That's the publicly-palatable position. My personal thoughts: why am I sitting there in the pews if I cannot hear what is being said from in front? Feel free to share your own views with me anytime. With one exception: do not try to persuade me that Donald Trump is the fountain of Christian virtue, literally defining the faith. How stupid are all of you?

 

See Dad in back? He directed the UMM band in the institution's first year. He was the only music faculty in the first year. How many music teachers get the chance to sink their teeth into a job like that?

See Dad at right? He's with his crew serving in WWII, Pacific Theater. Their job was to protect an oil tanker. Later Dad would serve on the USS Appalachian. Wouldn't it be wonderful to know the names and hometowns of all the guys in photo? This was "the greatest generation," up to the task.

 

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

Sports versus other priorities in summer

First, a heads-up about my podcast post for today, June 17. It reflects on the WWII years in our Morris. The pastor at my church of First Lutheran was Rev. Emil Ede. He disapproved of dancing! Here is the link:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Morris-in-the-1940s-e1k3ehv

 

We love sports for our kids, don't we? A check of the kmrs website reveals so much sports with so many teams, the casual observer can get confused sometimes. Up 'til now I have been happy to do pretty regular online writing about various teams. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just too much of an outsider for this to be practical much longer. 

So many teams and just as importantly, so many games to try to be aware of all the time. 

Most of my own school life was spent with no serious organized sports for girls whatsoever. Yes it's mind-boggling. And mine was the boomer generation, characterized by teeming numbers. The numbers gave us a feeling of great significance. And it's true, we did leave an impact through the years. But there was no serious girls sports prior to my high school years. 

"High school" was defined as grades 10-12 back at that time. We were housed in the then-new building. The community had to beat down doors, as it were, to get the building built. Failed referendums prior to that, including the storied one that had a pool, are a chapter of Morris history that needs to be remembered. Things shifted at the state level so that it wasn't so much heavy-lifting any more for the small outstate Minnesota communities. Are we "small?" Boy that's relative. 

I began my full-time career at the Morris paper when the "malaise" of the late 1970s was still being felt. Most people do not like to dwell on memories a lot. I am programmed to do so. An outlier? I guess yes. So I'm astounded to reflect on times when real girls sports did not exist, right up to about 1971. And of course it didn't get up and running without baby steps. Mary Holmberg would not like to admit that baby steps were necessary, I figure. They were of course, and it wasn't just the kids themselves. It was the public which naturally was not accustomed to talking about girls sports as seriously as boys. 

What a wonderful triumph we have today. We could not have predicted this in the nascent days of organized girls sports: I mean, a group of guys like in the barber shop scene of the movie "Hoosiers," talking about girls teams with the same seriousness as boys. But it's true and it's wonderful. But it's something that did not exist until the early '70s. 

A person my age can think back to female classmates who might have accomplished great things in athletics. We wonder how they filled their time with alternatives. We associated girls with "home ec." A sea change finally came along. Not only are girls teams 100 percent established in our consciousness, I would suggest that all youth sports teams are managed and presented with great intensity now, to where someone like me who tries to supply media services can start feeling overwhelmed and intimidated. 

So many teams, so many games, and such an elevated level of emotion shown by parents and friends. Let's emphasize parents. There was a time when I'd make that point with some levity, as if we might smile about the intensity of parents. But based on experience, let me tell you this can take on scary dimensions. 

I'm serious. I have developed the theory that some sports parents want the media to serve emotional needs that the media is not equipped to deliver on. So it isn't enough for the media to have a casual or measured interest - the parents ought to appreciate that - the media must be, well, caffeinated intense. Get that? 

The challenge got compounded when girls athletics achieved total parity with boys. Oh, and compounded further when certain sports that once had a "sandlot" quality, shall we say, like hockey, leaped into the front lines of competition. Indoor arena? I remember when the indoor arena was fresh news, a fresh accomplishment. I personally contributed a thousand bucks. I suppose nobody cares about that now. 

Younger people might think the Lee Center has been around forever. I covered hockey for the paper when it frankly was a red-haired stepchild. Swimming was the same. Maybe the big push for development of all this was my generation - the boomers - and its "dark" memories of engaging in so much ill-advised behavior when we were late-teens, early 20s. You'll probably have a hard time getting most of us to admit to any details about that. Seriously. I saw the underbelly totally. 

So as years passed and we matured, as was inevitable, we had kids and swore we'd lock them up in so many organized activities, they wouldn't regress into the kinds of disgusting behavior we experienced. I'll try to put my memories aside now. We're focused on the present and dealing with our present-day culture. 

I could say we are "obsessed" with youth sports sometimes. What about music and the fine arts? Seems to get short shrift. Why do we bother even having the outdoor performance stage at East Side Park? The city maintains it. There are bleachers set out. It all seems a rather futile effort, to just have that facility sitting there. Maybe it will get used a couple times before next winter. I'd be surprised if it's more than a couple. And that is just negligible. 

Here's a suggestion for a new park in Morris: the plot of ground between the water treatment plant and Holmberg Field. Take a look out there sometime. In fact, how about having a little amphitheater there? Imagine playground equipment and a picnic shelter. 

For some reason the public just does not take to East Side Park. The cement there used to be a huge impediment. That has been removed. But the place reeks of being dormant. Does anyone care? 

We must always ask "does anyone care" when it comes to any community issues in Morris. We are a town where people are so inclined to want to be gone. "Gone to the lake" or "gone to the Cities" or "gone to visit grandchildren" etc. Like people only spend time here if they absolutely have to. 

Again I'm an outlier. I'm quite content hanging around. For sure we have sports. Should we perhaps balance this better with other priorities like the fine arts? A question to ponder, if anyone wants to bother here in Morris MN. Maybe you're "gone."

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

Ten years of sharing football skepticism

It was ten years ago - I checked - when I first started writing with skepticism about football. Where does the time go? 

This whole thing has followed a typical arc. We become aware as with smoking that something is awry with the activity. As rational beings we ought to see that proper actions are taken expeditiously. But that's not how it is. A few voices like mine spring up. We have become aware of the science. 

But football? Is this a form of entertainment we are prepared to backtrack from? At first, absolutely not. The cautionary notes about football are often met with a smile from our friends. Football is such a "light" topic, the constructive comments go against the grain for our whole outlook on it. Football is the world we retreat into, on weekends from our daily stresses. 

Saturday offered college football. The Gophers were not competitive for most of my adult life. "Competitive" was a yardstick very important to us. It mattered little that the players were gladiators, taking risks accordingly. They were frail and vulnerable men who became committed to the sport because when they were young, they found they could get adulation. No other activity in their lives could match that, at least for a large share of these guys. So they committed themselves even when pain and injuries accumulated. 

Those who made the pros could flame out like a meteor. Athletic trainers fought to suppress the painful consequences of injury. The trainers were part of a racket that demanded intensity for the sake of the constant goal: winning. Winning is so "American," isn't it? 

The family of General Patton was all set to loudly complain and maybe even sue when the movie came out in 1970. But it turned out, the moviemakers weren't interested in the most accurate portrayal of what went on in WWII - the movie with George C. Scott ended up with a theme of American winning. 

So put the reality aside - the underbelly of war and how hellish it is - and let's wave the flag of triumph. America is a winner. 

We ought instead to profoundly regret that war has been such a big part of our past. Each year our local news media gives us coverage that I might suggest is "canned" of Memorial Day. We celebrate America's ultimate triumph, thank those who sacrificed, but cannot truly relate to what went on in combat. 

We can have a vicarious experience from the movie screen - John Wayne - just like it's vicarious for watching football on weekends. We get snacks out in front of us. We consume the media for all sorts of analysis, speculation and predictions. And what really do we get out of it? Think long and hard and you'll probably come up empty on that one. 

Down deep you'll probably be a little ashamed. Ashamed of getting all consumed over such a trivial activity. Trivial, yes, but it can attract as many as 100,000 souls at the University of Michigan on a fall Saturday. If pressed to really think about this, what would you conclude? That football is pointless? Just like all war is really pointless? Was America hypnotized by the winning ideal when we got into the sinkhole of Vietnam? Lasting years? Years I tell you. Watch the movie "Born on the fourth of July." 

You can watch the Will Smith movie "Concussion" in the same way. Us humans can be such deluded souls. Young men who play football at a high level for a long time are subject to horrible punishment. The "bum knees" are bad enough. But now we have learned so much more: the tragedy of brain injuries. 

And so ten years ago I took up pen to start sharing concern. In that timespan, St. Cloud State University made the rather remarkable decision to cut its football program. That program had been a staple there like at most institutions of its type. Football is at centerstage for your typical college homecoming. 

I have a podcast episode to share today. It's based on Jack Del Rio's comments re. January 6 and the BLM protests. He has gotten in trouble. He's an NFL coach with the "Commanders." Here is the link and thanks. - BW

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Jack-Del-Rios-comments-e1jtab2

 

Getting local

I can't help but bring up U of M-Morris football in the 1970s. It extended into the 1980s some. Now, UMM has had football all along. But in the '70s and a little beyond, it was about more than a game being played. I assure you from personal observation, UMM football reflected "toxic masculinity." It might have gone beyond that to where it was really caricature. Even if caricature, the players and fans took it all very seriously. 

The players were "big men on campus." Most would have been benchwarmers if playing at a higher level. I should not say all, because we had some get NFL tryouts. I wrote feature articles about most of them. These guys must get a warped view because "being on the front page" suggests such gravity about what you're doing. Do they really believe all that? Do they understand the sacrifices and risks they're facing as they go out each week to "crunch" the opponent? 

It doesn't hurt the fans a bit. It didn't hurt me when I was a media person very much focused on it. I never even tried to play football. I probably grew up with symptoms of Asperger's. I eventually read that kids with Asperger's are not good at playing sports. Well, fine and dandy. I have been scolded for not focusing well enough when playing beach volleyball! My cross to bear? 

But things could have been worse: I could have actually been good at football. I could have turned out big, brawny and physical. And then used all that to play a game? To entertain throngs of fans? Look at our Big Cat Stadium in Morris. It's like a shrine to the sport. A fancy facility that sits there cold and unused for most of the year. We could have done better with our school facilities. But our infatuation with football is a nonstop. 

Most of us don't pause to deconstruct a little. We make "small talk" on the street about our home teams. It's an opiate, a means of coping, it seems. But think of the players who get deluded into thinking that what they are doing is so significant. Crowds cheer. People tune in on radio, TV and YouTube. "The beast" plods on. 

There do appear to be more people, like me, willing to speak out, the way some people were willing to speak out about public smoking once. Speaking out can seem so futile, for a long time, but then we're surprised when constructive changes start being made. Are we at that point now? 

Remember when Robert Redford said to Dustin Hoffman in the elevator, "Is there any place you don't smoke?" That was in "All the President's Men," the movie that showed us that newspaper writers could have more power than Beltway lawyers! Thus I furthered my devotion to writing. A constructive path? I think so. 

In August we'll see if more MACA young people peel away from football. Let's cross fingers. Boys volleyball has come very close to being approved as a high school sport in Minnesota. Let's see the positive momentum move on. But it will be too late for some. Make that many. Just as with smoking.

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

Here's a poem on the Ravnsborg matter

How to react to the Jason Ravnsborg case in South Dakota? The guy has political affiliation which means, these days, many of us unfortunately will look at this sad matter accordingly. He's a Republican. Republicans rule the Dakotas. 

Ravnsborg was on his way home from a Republican fundraiser when the disaster in question happened. I assume you all know the basics. He is impeached and will go on trial in the South Dakota senate. All of this is quite belated, one might argue. He's the South Dakota attorney general. I can't imagine why Republicans even need fundraisers in the Dakotas these days. 

I have followed the case closely. I have even tried cutting the guy some slack by wondering if he has a neurological problem. 

Is this a situation where Republicans finally turn on one of their own? Is this what it takes? Someone getting killed? 

I now have some song lyrics or poetry to offer on the matter. I always have a basic type of melody in back of mind when writing stuff like this. In the format here it is presented as poetry. It's not high art but I submit it for your consideration. Thanks!

 

"Plight of Jason Ravnsborg"

by Brian Williams

He may have been thinking too much

Of Biden and China and such

Or maybe he just didn't know

The dangers of cars as they go

His driving should scare everyone

Get out of his way when he comes

It's best to get into the ditch

And leave him the road, every inch

He called on the sheriff at night

The guy was a real Barney Fife

He should have known something was up

Just seeing the car was enough

There would not be somebody dead

If Jason had stayed home in bed

If he had just chosen to rest

We would not be dragged through this mess

But he had to meet with some folks

Republicans needing more votes

As if that was really a thing

'Cause this is a state where they're king

We know that it's Flyoverland

The media thinks that it's bland

But we saw their interest get piqued

'Cause this was a story that reeked

This fellow named Joe was afoot

His flashlight was lit that he took

Behind him a car running wild

The driver was worse than a child

The driver a lawyer by trade

So he could deflect and evade

With words he could do an end run

You know how it goes, everyone

He liked to proclaim who he was

To get on good terms with the fuzz

But still he was busted for stuff

To show he was dangerous enough

He made an emergency call

Dispatcher was quite on the ball

She asked him if he hit a deer

Alas he was not very clear

And what of the body of Joe

Just lying alone by the road

His flashlight was on like before

So why would the guys not see more?

His Lord was beside him all night

He's with us no matter our plight

We know he returns ev-ry call

He knows every sparrow that falls

The morning arrived right on cue

So what was the driver to do?

He came to the scene of the act

I wonder if he knew the facts

He may have been privy, we feel

To how the disaster was real

He went to the sheriff and said

My goodness a guy is there dead

He got in a room with two guys

To see how much more they could pry

So maybe they could ascertain

If Jason was honest or lame

But Jason was no common rube

He knew what to say to stay cool

He knew that when all's said and done

He could not admit "hit and run"

You might say he knew all the tricks

The AG might well be like this

He won an election that's true

But what all did that really prove?

So Kristi admonished him hard

She hoisted him on his petard

And even though he did not budge

Impeachment was coming to judge

It should not have been a close call

But somehow the GOP stalled

A pox on them for their restraint

Their actions created a taint

Did Jason not know what he hit?

Did he just not want to admit?

The gumshoes were thinking this way

I'm not even sure that it's gray

But still the impeachment was done

So Jason was now on the run

I feel he will never escape

The eyes of suspicion so great

The lawyers may talk up a storm

But God will adjudicate more

His judgment will have us in awe

He knows every sparrow that falls

We're only enriched by the truth

People drift too easily from our Morris

So it feels like summer. What have we been through, in getting to here? My elation is tempered. The UMM graduation is past. We might notice less activity around town. There is so often an excuse for diminished activity. 

The restaurant where I often dine Sunday afternoon seemed not quite as busy as usual. I was wondering if finally we see people spooked some by inflation. However, a person of great wisdom who sat next to me at counter thought not. "People are going to the lake now," she said. 

If it isn't one thing, it's something else. 

In the winter the snowbirds are gone. These are affluent people who could support local businesses like restaurants with their assets. It has been a long time since the Cyrus cafe was operating. My family and I went there often on Sundays after I left the Morris newspaper. Then it closed, and a popular explanation I heard was that local snowbirds had "migrated," as it were. 

So I'll repeat, there's always an excuse. People and activities get thinned here in Motown. Then we hear explanations. People find better things to do. 

Once when reflecting on church attendance issues, I pondered how congregations are aging. So you'd think that the older element, at least, would be a reliable pillar for our churches to keep going. Not so simple. I will remind: Church stalwarts are often gone from the pews because they're "visiting grandchildren." So nice to do that, of course. 

But this community needs to keep an eye on its viability. We must present stronger reasons for people to be here, to enjoy being here, to want to be here. I repeat: to actually want to be here. Seems like an elementary suggestion, doesn't it? 

We are not a lakes recreation community here in Morris. Our city leaders tried to get an extension to the biking/walking trail but a grant approval was needed. It was unsuccessful. How unfortunate. You can make new friends along the trail including people's dogs! Henry David Thoreau would appreciate. 

The softball complex is a new facility. Notice that I didn't call it an asset, just a facility. For it to be an asset, it should be designed in such a way that events can be held attracting people from a wide radius. If we were to even attempt that now, people would leave in a complaining frame of mind, because fans are basically screwed there. I confess to having written too much on this topic - time to zip it here, except that I care how our tax dollars are being spent. Or donors' dollars, people who may have expected more. Bring your own chair and sit out by the outfield fence. Okay. 

Church this morning: Sunday. We had a fill-in pastor whose words can be very captivating. He was very frank in how he prefaced remarks about current issues. He was frank in his defensiveness, and this is totally understandable. Consider: one's Christian faith is a foundation for how to live with consideration for others. Current issues are a sticking point because of our political discourse. So the man at the podium today wondered how we might weigh flashpoint issues in the context of Christianity. 

Gun control? How apt to discuss this now. Any pastor ought to seize on this and have his words taken seriously. As long as the pastor is sincere, those words should be taken as constructive. The pastor's words today indicated, quite obviously, it's not so simple. There are churches, perhaps the plurality, where the pastor will stand up there and say gun control isn't the answer. He might suggest that society is just sick and needs to turn to God more. But, no government involvement in limiting guns. 

Why? Because there are a list of issues where the conservative or evangelical churches prescribe the "right" answer. If a pastor at such a church says the "right" things, i.e. to keep money coming into church coffers, he is not being "political." Get it? 

But is it political for a pastor at a less rigid church to stand up there and imply that maybe we must weigh greater limitations on gun access? Yes, via the "government." And people of the conservative political stripe recoil from government involvement. It is a defining quality of the Republican Party that it does not want people to like government. 

Climate change is the kind of massive issue that can only be tackled by big government. So the people of whom I speak here are skeptical, being led by GOP leaders who "know what to say," i.e. "our climate has always been changing." 

Let's understand that climate change is "extreme weather." Do you think the Morris area ever had a "derecho" prior to our recent one? I don't think so. 

So much of Christianity is now co-opted by the self-styled conservative crowd that became enraptured by this amoral grifter of a human being named Donald Trump. It will not abate. The January 6 committee ought to be closing in on him. I see no such inevitability. We are naive if we think good will always prevail over bad, as if it's a matter of destiny. It will only happen if society coalesces around the good and the benevolent. I do not see this happening. 

The January 6 committee faces headwinds. One of these days I'll stop following the news. I am too scared. 

My church of First Lutheran of the ELCA isn't enough to counter the prevailing direction of Christianity now, I fear. We sort of cower amidst it all. 

 

Is this the crux?

So many angry older white people across rural America. This is disgusting because our nation has been so generous with its older folk. Social Security is very generous. I began thinking about this a few years ago when I noticed so many of the sweet elderly crowd filing into restaurants for holiday buffets where the prices were in the stratosphere. These people thought nothing of it. They paid with perfect aplomb and moved on, not a worry in the world apparently. 

But think of the young people completing high school today, the ones with no special connections for getting established. Think of the adversity and challenges they confront. It is more than daunting. 

And meanwhile the older people are the ones so inclined to support Trump, support the Republicans, and to have listened to Rush Limbaugh. They think the world is going to hell? You could argue that for the 1940s. 

Senator Ben Sasse, NE

The older Americans of today are in clover but they seem as a whole to be bitter. Who agrees with me? Well, this was in the news just this past week. U.S. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska agrees with the essence of my thoughts. Lest you think I'm a mere voice in the wilderness, I shall refer to an item from the "Daily Beast" with the headline, "GOP Senator Ben Sasse blasts his own party for 'peddling crack' of grievances to 'addicted' geriatrics." And you think my language can be strong sometimes? 

BTW how often do you hear the term "geriatrics" any more? Remember how the Lawrence Welk TV show was sponsored by "Geritol?" 

Speaking to his own GOP, Senator Sasse says "we Republicans, we have a big choice to make. We can either continue to drift as a party that exists increasingly as a vehicle for the grievances of the angriest, oldest folk, or we can be a future-oriented party of 2030, with politics centered on the future of work and the future of war." 

I'm inclined to do a Hail Mary as I consider what the January 6 committee is attempting to do in coming weeks.

 

Addendum: We had simple cookies with church coffee this morning. I was reminded of the words of Woody Paige, analyst on ESPN: "Raisin cookies that are made to look like chocolate chip cookies are the reason I have trust issues."

  

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