Hailey Werk garners running championship

Congratulations to MACA runner Hailey Werk. Looks like this Tiger made a good commitment during the summer. She took No. 1 Monday in the early-bird cross country invite here at the golf course. 

Thinking about this meet reminds me of the long lines of parked cars along the highway outside the golf course. I assume this scene must have repeated itself. It's the same as the long lines seen out by the softball complex. I have written about potential safety hazards with these situations. Little kids could pop out from between parked cars. 

We don't even want to think about the possibility of something terrible happening. Unfortunately life has risks. It's like the years of the "earthen pool" for summertime enjoyment out at Pomme de Terre City Park. Tragedy indeed happened there, was likely a factor in the facility being phased out. At its peak it was a neat attraction in Morris. Helped us cope with summer to be sure. 

All good things come to an end? 

Let's get back on the subject of distance running: the Morris Invite saw Hailey Werk run a 21:01 time over the five kilometers. She was 16 seconds faster than runner-up Laura Ankeny of Minnewaska Area. Ankeny's Lakers were the No. 1 girls team. Three Lakers finished in the top ten. The Tigers were not in the running with a team score, unfortunately. 

C'mon, let's get a little more enthusiasm for running here. It can be an exhilarating experience. Fun to watch too. It's fun to compete if you are in top shape. If not, then step it up a notch. 

MACA boys were in action too on Monday. So we see Gavin Stallman with an eighth place finish, Matt Giese in 22nd. The male champion was Jack Barney of New London-Spicer. Barney prevailed by two seconds over Maeson Tank of 'Waska. Our MACA boys placed sixth. 

The boys champion team was those Eagles of Lac qui Parle Valley. 'Waska placed fourth.

 

Prep sports underway

It's always refreshing to start following the high school teams for the new school year. The Tigers have always hosted an early-bird cross country event. Tennis has gotten going. And now volleyball has too. I have some personal bad news: I have run into a paywall with the West Central Tribune's sports website. In the past I have often gleaned info from there for my own online writing. Up through last year I was able to use the online "incognito" technique to bypass the Willmar paper's efforts to put up a paywall to block readers. 

The paper has now taken measures to really seal off their sports info. I cannot consult with the site to even find out how the Tiger volleyball team did against BOLD Tuesday night. It would be nice to find that report just for the sake of my personal fan interest, even if I did not intend to write anything. But it's no-go, alas. 

So for the coming school year, my efforts would appear to be abbreviated. I compliment our kmrs radio station's online efforts to update. I find the reports there to be generally too capsulized though. 

When Tiger teams play opponents in the Alexandria area, I can sometimes find updates with the Echo Press. However, the Echo Press is owned by Forum Communications, same as the Willmar paper, so they're probably up to the same tricks. I emailed a friend this morning and expressed my hope that the day will come when coaches get the bright idea of putting sports info online in a place independent of the newspapers. 

The coaches take the considerable trouble to call all this in. Then the Forum-owned papers just try to shake loose some money from the fans. No one needs to be dependent on the old newspapers anymore. 

Oh, what about the Morris newspaper website? It's hard to get fired-up enough to even check it. Is it improving? As of not long ago, the Stevens County Times site for sports was worse than if the paper had no website at all. The "paper" product only comes out once a week, which is going to be a total loser for timeliness. 

Congrats to the "YouTube geniuses" of the high school! 

I am looking forward to the first band concert of the new school year. I have been trying to arrange for purchase of genuine "jazz band music stands" for the MAHS band program. I personally consider this a high priority and feel convinced the kids would love them. However, the people involved in these discussions are at an impasse. Doggonit. The Morris Area School Foundation has indicated that it could work with me.

Football? The fewer kids out for football the better, for the obvious health reasons.

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

A bridge too far with societal rules?

Gadzooks, change can be disconcerting. A part of us would like to cling to the old or established way of doing things. It's just for the sake of our peace of mind. I have read that in the digital age, this just doesn't work. The digital ways pull at us and demand compliance. You might need special help, in which case you had just better go out and get it. 

Will gas-powered cars become illegal in the not-too-distant future? If so, is it a mistake to buy a new gas-powered car now? A person has to go out and try to get answers. 

I became aware this past summer of a family in town that apparently reasoned that there was no urgency for getting their mail address updated for the 9-1-1 system. I figure that the family assumed "oh, the local post office knows who we are, what our address is." That's the old Norman Rockwell-inspired framework for thinking. Doesn't work now. 

I started getting a lot of that family's mail. 

Computers are being relied upon for reading addresses, pushing efficiency. It's something we should assume. You can still send a letter with a handwritten address, yes even cursive - at least as of recently this was true - but who knows what lies ahead? Really, who knows? What can we rule out? 

Political correctness was always nice to a certain point. A lot of it is in line with the Judeo-Christian ethic. Some of these developments give us a jolt, then we move on with normal life. We were all Neanderthals once when we accepted driving cars without a seat belt requirement? Maybe considering the disco music of the 1970s, we were. That's a joke. Disco was OK but it got overdone. 

Seat belt started as a secondary offense. Surveys showed that's the way the public wanted it. So what happened with the over-arching reach of government? 

If you were to ask our former Morris Police Department officers - they are all "former" now, or soon to be - they might tell you it's a pain staring in order to see if people have belts on. There are cars with tinted windows. Sometimes these go over a line and the people get citations. I sometimes notice tinted windows that are presumably within the law, and no way could an officer notice lack of seat belt use. So that seems fundamentally unfair. 

Our Morris city council passed its water softener law. The fault there was probably the way our newspaper handled it. Big front page article with clear insinuation about how no one needed a softener any more. "You are wasting money on salt." Really? If that's true, why didn't the City of Morris have a system ready to go for relieving people of their water softeners? The whole matter ended up not that simple. 

The government must always reach out to people who might be confused. Either that, or we're too busy to pay attention to every little thing that comes along. Like, whether or not gas-powered cars really will become illegal in the next five or ten years. "How would it be enforced?" a guy at my dealership said. As with the water softeners, there's a cavern of confusion. 

The new ideas or requirements point to perfection, elevated standards. Which can be fine in theory. But then we see encroachment on our daily lives as these ideas get empowered. 

 

A new wrinkle

So, do you know what the new type of "harassment" is? You might think this is a little outlandish. Always pause your laughter though. My generation in the '70s would have laughed about mandatory seat belt use, as we listened to the Bee Gees. Look what came along. 

Even the prohibitions on smoking in public places seemed a bridge too far at first. This is one change where I think we all can be totally comfortable by now. Smoking had been so ensconced in our culture. Look at any number of old movies. Go in a restaurant and the air might be "blue," as it was often described. (It didn't seem literally "blue" to me, but the odor was annoying.) 

Yet it was considered a faux pas to complain about smoking when out in public. Given the huge anti-smoking push, and the cost of cigarettes, I am surprised so many people still choose to smoke. Stand in line at a convenience store and most likely there will be customers ahead of you asking for cigarettes which the clerk retrieves from behind the counter. An impulse in me wants to ask some of these people "why?" A lot of them look like they're barely getting by. 

Well if they have student loans, they've gotten a break! So we'll get more inflation. The Fed will have to push up interest rates, as the Fed chair emphasized on Friday. And the elevated rates will endanger the stock market? Oh, but nothing seems to endanger the stock market. Many of us have come to live with that truism. No risk in the stock market? What a sea change, because when I was a kid my parents drilled into my head that stocks were risky. 

Political correctness encompasses the objectification of women, a total no-no (except in men's private thoughts of course). 

But now there is a new dimension. That's why I'm writing this post today. Now we're beginning to hear about "staring" as an actual form of harassment. Heavens to Betsy, if the cops had a hard time tracking down all the scofflaws not wearing seat belts, how is this one going to be incorporated, normalized? Talk about a bridge too far, maybe this is it. 

It is hugely subjective to try to determine if staring crosses the line to something unacceptable, n'est-ce pas? We have two eyes on our head. I am particularly concerned as a person who lives alone and conducts his life basically alone. It's tough sometimes presenting yourself as normal. 

Are we at the point where we must be reminded of the old wisdom of how "the perfect is the enemy of the good?" Humanity will always have a certain percentage of those who are below average in the propriety of their behavior. In the old days we were aware of "characters" in our small towns, just like "Otis" from the Andy Griffith show. Again I am conjuring up Norman Rockwell's America. We depended on people's normal good judgment, like relying on the post office people to just "know" where the mail goes. 

Nope. Be precise, follow the rules. But a prohibition on "staring?" I'll make no assumptions about how this is too much, will not happen. I would have made the same assumption once about seat belts or smoking restrictions. 

Let people have their peccadilloes? Not any more. Unless the economy crashes so bad, we'll just have to start thinking about our survival. Maybe the stock market has been succeeding with smoke and mirrors. That's what I'm thinking now.

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

Government shows it can help? Again?

My post today is podcast-only. I invite you to visit my "Morris Mojo" podcast on this August 25 as summer lingers to our satisfaction. My zinnias look terrific. In the meantime we hear about the ballyhooed college loan forgiveness from the Biden administration. Something to take out thoughts off Trump and his entanglements? Whatever, I invite you to visit my podcast where I'm known to go off on an occasional tangent. Hey, I don't have to proofread this! Here's the link:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Loan-forgiveness-in-the-news-etc-e1mv470 

 

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

What's a little roundabout among friends?

Whoa, a roundabout!

I wonder what's coming next. So much change and uprooting of norms. Like this morning, I see a news report on "roundabouts" and their fast growth in an Upper Midwest state. I caught the report at the Willie's Cafe. The sound was off so I read the sub-titles or closed-captioning or whatever it's called. 

First time I encountered a roundabout was between Glenwood and Alexandria, and I had momentary panic. Jerry Witt and I have joked about this. The long-time Tiger football coach is well-settled in Alex now. 

I have found since my initial experience that when all else fails with a roundabout, just watch for the yield signs and be sure to honor them! If you feel some panic or nervousness, you should know you're not alone. A "stealth camper" whose exploits I follow online spent a night in the middle of a roundabout, concealed of course. So he's "stealthy." He observed many motorists appearing to be disoriented, exiting off to the side etc. 

The party line is that roundabouts actually promote safety, but I often become questioning of the party line. It's like with "quantitative easing." The party line was that it was essential for keeping our economy stable. Someday the history books may be quoting people who question this. People should have gone to prison because of the 2008 "financial crisis." 

Well-heeled people typically have a force shield around them. It's not like you or I if we're driving around town and caught with no seat belt. We're toast. We're humiliated and that's almost worse. We get our "name in the paper." Forget about any recourse. 

But white collar crime? Don't you practically want to puke as you follow all the legal machinations of the heavy hitter politicians, the Lindsay Grahams et al.? Hell, they just appeal endlessly and they peel any legal action like it's a banana. White collar attorneys. But you and I? 

So the financial landscape now seems permanently altered. The Federal Reserve tried in 2018 to "normalize" interest rates. That would happen to be good for middle class savers who want some returns on a nice FDIC-insured account. 

Your money in a bank is still insured (up to $250,000) so isn't that comforting? Hell, despite the Fed starting a pattern of raising interest rates, seemingly by a substantial amount, the banks are offering almost nothing. For most of my life it has not been like this. 

Morris has a Bank of the West branch. I checked the Bank of the West website yesterday. The interest paid on a 60-month (5-year) certificate of deposit sits at .25 percent. Why would anyone even bother inquiring about a one-year CD? Or for that matter, the five-year CD? 

So it looks like yours truly will be headed toward making some radical decisions by my own standards. It's not by choice. And if the roof falls in? Well then, down the road it may be personal bankruptcy and seeking some government assistance. A truism: money never comes easy. 

The Federal Reserve feels such incredible pressure from "the markets" to suppress interest rates. Wall Street wants the media to report good news about the markets as much as possible. And what's wrong with that? Well, silly rabbit, we'll see continued inflation. Doesn't that concern you yet? Are you still just tapping your credit cards? 

The real danger is if hyper-inflation sets in. That's what set the stage for the bad stuff that happened in Germany in the mid-20th Century. I am trying to cite this as a potential "firebell in the night." Problem is, I see the dangerous stuff emerging already. Of course this is with the far right of American politics. 

When I was young, our old gatekeeper media would not have let this dangerous talk get into the mainstream. It would be marginalized. But not now. 

Anti-semitism appears to be rearing its ugly head, reinforced by that governor candidate in Arizona, the Trump-endorsed (opportunist) person. To my knowledge, I have never been wronged by a Jewish person. If that changes, I will let you know. I have respected Jews for their high standards with education and motivation.

The schools

I had intended to write primarily about schools today - the "roundabout" thing distracted me. So whither our public school system, now under fire primarily from the right politically (of course). 

Book-banning? The fear of having kids exposed to "divisive" concepts (like slavery)? For a while we heard from the political right that the term "slavery" should be replaced by "involuntary relocation." But those voices have appeared to simmer down. But if that's how sensitive the political right has become, it really is "Katy bar the door." 

One sage eye observing this has suggested that in the final analysis, parents might just be forced to homeschool their kids. That way, of course, parents can instill the kind of "values" they want. It might work for many families. Many others, not so. Right wingers are showing up at school board meetings and creating hell on Earth for the people charged with leading our schools. 

The bottom line? Maybe we have to recognize that our public school system in America has developed as a one-size-fits-all concept that is increasingly unworkable in the digital age. Today people everywhere can seek reinforcement online for their political views. So many people get attracted to the reactionary attitude. So full of grievance/resentment. 

I have a friend who'd say we need public schools because of their sports teams! I think he's at least half-serious with this comment. What would our winters be like out here in western Minnesota if we didn't have high school sports teams to follow? I'm reminded of the Sid Hartman line he so often invoked: "cold Omaha." 

We all knew there were some "biases" in public school education when I was growing up. If we didn't like it, we just let it be like water off a duck's back. People are so much more nervous today. Maybe cigarette smoking used to help? Cigarettes are, after all, a sedative. Would it help in coping with the "roundabouts?"

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

We wind up summer too soon

Funny how summer seems to end at about the time of the county fair. It does not end in a real sense. Oh my, lots of nice weather, even hot weather, in the month. Our perception does not seem to reflect that. We "pack it in," as it were, and then it's time to start thinking of "school." 

I remember being advised against scheduling our school reunion for August. Reasoning being, people would get back to us and say "we can't come because we have to get ready for school." I never understood this obsession with "getting ready for school" so long ahead of time. 

I am perplexed, too, as I think back to when I was with the newspaper and the Tigers played at Coombe Field: I'd notice the pep band absent for the opener on Labor Day weekend. I'd inquire about that. The answer: the kids told the director they'd be gone. Well, this is Morris, isn't it, where "we're going to be gone" is rather our theme. But I thought that thoughts were so focused on school as that time approached. 

Regarding the high school reunion matter, I remember Steve Dudding telling me once: "the ones who want to be there will find a way to get there." 

Looks like plenty of '72 MHS alumni made it for their big 50th this past summer. The word out there is that the reunion unfortunately served to spread covid a little. The 50th reunion is such a milestone - who'd want to miss it? Reunions after that are going to be more small-scale. The grim reaper makes the rounds for one thing. I remember a classmate saying in an irreverent vein at the time of my ten-year: "Let's have an award for 'most dead' - it'd be a three-way tie!" 

We're so exuberant at the ten-year. My MHS Class of '73 will have its 50-year next summer. I hope the United States of America holds together that long. Things are getting so crazy. We were all so much more subdued about politics in an earlier time. At the very least, we believed in "the American experiment," the fundamental structure and laws of the country. Today? It's a madhouse and getting worse. 

Some of us might still express amusement about it. My fear is for when amusement is no longer palatable, when full-fledged crisis arrives at our doorstep. Existential crisis. 

Trump could in fact come back in 2024. Our whole law enforcement apparatus could come crashing down. It is not outlandish to suggest we could see executions, perhaps in the hundreds or even thousands. Congressman Jim Jordan has suggested or implied that this might be the way to go. He may have brain damage from his extensive wrestling  background. 

 

Get real re. football, please

And do y'all really think I overdo it with my cautionary notes about high school football? Do you really think so? We are learning more all the time about how questionable this sport ought to be. But y'all react to me like I'm raining on a parade. I can just see you showing up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the first game at Big Cat Stadium, a fancy place that helps our boys feel so special as they go out and smash heads. 

The message they get from their elders is that this is a really special activity - brings honor to the community etc. Poppycock. I'm sharing below some paragraphs from the "Daily Camera" commentary. The writer is Bob Carmichael.

 

How many mothers and fathers will allow their children to play a game whose violent impacts result in life-altering orthopedic injuries and brain damage? Twenty-first-century science has now officially revealed that this pounding 19th-century game is wholly unsuited to the physiology of human brains. 

This new study obliterates the often cited “mental health” issues that athletic departments and football apologists advance to cover up the obvious source of these human tragedies which is playing football.  

The CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Chris Nowinski, who led the study, stated that, “Sport Governing bodies should not mislead the public on CTE causation while athletes die and families are destroyed by the terrible disease.” Since 2000 the NFL has invested more than 100 million dollars in promoting football. Fully aware of the existential crisis facing the game, the football industry has responded with slick television PSAs which beckon families and young players to “Play Football.”  

The football industry would have you believe this game is a laudatory sport. How can football be “character building” when its essence is bigger, stronger, faster players blocking and tackling? These instant decelerations are cumulatively causing brain damage. What about the “new rules” that call for “Heads Up” safe tackling techniques? The fact is that the subconcussive impacts of football, head or no head, result in the brain traumatically ricocheting within the cranium. No “helmet technology” is going to change that fact.

Let it go. . .

Please look past the euphoria at Big Cat Stadium this coming fall. On the surface: pride and happiness over a school activity. Which should be a wholesome thing. The reality suggests something far darker. I didn't have the talent or interest to play high school football. So I can say "thank the Lord." What about all my peers who got on the football bandwagon? They should have been protected.

 

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

Now Republicans are talking about "big dicks"

Kari Lake of AZ

There was a book, "The Late Great Planet Earth," that was popular when I was in college. It was a trendy book along with "Body Language," written by a guy whose name I remember: Julius Fast. I'd have to look up the author's name for "The Late Great Planet Earth." Here it is, and it's co-authors: Carla Carlson and Hal Lindsey. I'm thinking of the book title because of what is happening in America now. 

We are waking up to climate change too late. As people all over the nation realize the consequences affect them directly, they no longer applaud the politicians who have dissed the phenomenon. These are Republican politicians, naturally. Just stating facts. 

If I cite Donald Trump you'll say "there you go again." That rejoinder suggests that Trump be retired as an influential political person. The guy who insisted that climate change is a "hoax." 

"Why do you bring that up?" people might say to me. They'll wince and say I'm too preoccupied with Trump, making him too convenient of a target. Many of these critics are two-faced. They'll dismiss me or laugh if I cite Trump - beating a dead horse, am I? - but just watch, they'd vote for the guy again. These critics would simply shun me. 

What's next in this shameful circus put on by the GOP? There's always something, naturally, as we steadily reach the point where we have to wake up and realize it's not funny anymore. Maybe we're there now? Look at the crazy news headlines every day that put Trump and his people at the forefront. None of this would be happening if we had given Hillary Clinton eight years back in 2016. No, we'd be having boring discussions about tax policy. 

Most importantly, Hillary would be making us "eat our peas," with government actions that might require some sacrifice. Such actions would be done as the "long game" for America. It has been said of responsible and well-to-do people that their No. 1 trait may be "deferral of gratification." You would think Republicans would want to wrap themselves around that principle. Of course they have shredded it in many ways. 

These are the people for whom short-term profit "fixes" carry the day. Did Trump's treasury secretary influence "the Fed" to keep interest rates unreasonably low to protect the stock market? Some people might mock me here: "Of course we need to protect the stock market." Yes, the meme has taken over that 401Ks and investing are paramount. Silly rabbit, the problem with unreasonably low interest rates is that they fuel inflation. Which we are dealing with now. 

"Shrinkflation" used to be an obscure term but it's making the rounds more. We see more pieces in the media alerting us to "shrinkflation" which is a manifestation of inflation of course. 

I remember Trump saying he'd be receptive to "negative interest rates." So, you might have to pay the bank to have a savings account, instead of the bank paying you interest. 

My critics might again harrumph: "My God, who keeps money in the bank any more?" So maybe I'm a nerd or something? The Federal Reserve seems now to be recognizing that it must push interest rates up even if this makes the stock market fragile. Or to crash? As they say, stranger things have happened. The Fed and other players in the power elite will realize that "hyper-inflation" could lead to civil unrest even more serious than what has been unleashed by MAGA. 

I have written previously that if the feared violent spasm happens in America, it will not be from the political right as we now seem to sense - it would erupt from the left. Remember it was communists who tracked down Mussolini, killed him and had his body put up on meat hooks to be mutilated. I'm just sharing history. History can be most instructive. 

So what's new with the extreme political right as I write this? We have this Kari Lake in Arizona talking about penis size. Well, why not? Is there nothing that shocks us now? What happened to the Republicans who believed in personal modesty? Mitt Romney would be one, but he seems increasingly marginalized. He was the Republican nominee for president in 2012. And before him, John McCain. George W. Bush was in partnership with the Cheneys. Our world has turned upside down. 

So now we see Kari Lake instructing us all on the acronym "BDE." I hadn't heard of it before. Leave it to today's Republicans to elucidate for someone like me. And these are the people who have the support of the Morris area Apostolic Christians. They are down in the gutter. Kari Lake said of Trump and Ron DeSantis that they have BDE. BDE is "big dick energy." I thought adolescent boys were the ones inclined to talk or joke about penis size. While they're in the junior high lavatory. That and "Uranus" jokes. 

Now it's leading Republicans who trot out such language and imagery. So now we're supposed to think about how big Trump's penis is? Or that of Ron DeSantis? Why should I care? Why should I be forced to think about it? Or read about it? I suppose the evangelical Christians with their "Let's go Brandon" T-shirts are eating this stuff up. Seriously, Stormy Daniels would know how big Trump's penis is. 

Are we talking about the erect penis? Let's focus on this on Sunday, all you Christians, Apostolics or otherwise. A pox on your faith. Your support of the know-nothing GOP is fueling climate change, which is no longer a theoretical thing. It's starting to affect our lives in many ways which we might not have foreseen. We have brought this on ourselves. 

BTW Kari Lake is the Republican nominee for governor of Arizona. Naturally she's endorsed by Trump.

We can pray for a "blue wave" for Democrats in the mid-term election. It might happen. But it's far from certain. 

Have you thought about the penis size of Torrey Westrom and Jeff Backer? I mean, why not? If it's an appropriate campaign topic, as a leading Republican aspirant suggests, then let's delve in. Would you be more inclined to vote for the candidate with the larger penis? The one with "BDE, big dick energy?" 

Kari Lake wants to "fire the Federal government." Huh? She wants to see Dr. Fauci in prison. She wants to dismantle the FBI. Defund law enforcement? She cries wolf with "election fraud." Based on her current rhetoric, maybe she should be speaking of "erection fraud." 

Hell, I don't even want to think about this any more. It's making me sick. 

Torrey Westrom

Oh, Torrey Westrom seems to be at the heart of a little kerfuffle out here in western Minnesota. It's not about his penis, rather it's about his residency. A woman last name of Klingbeil is raising issues that I sense are quite valid, based on my scanning of an article in our Morris fishwrap (which I read at the library). 

There's a little picture of Klingbeil. I'm 67 years old so give me a pass to be a wee misogynistic - this Klingbeil is an absolute knockout blond, super attractive. Whew! If you're offended by that, after having read through my paragraphs about Kari Lake's statements, well. . . 

I suspect that Westrom and Backer have a lock on their legislative positions, just based on the tenor of our thinking or non-thinking out here where the Apostolics roam. Yes, they are very hard-working and productive people - everyone knows that. I wish they were not so locked in on certain political views. Because, the consequences of continuing to vote GOP in a lock-step way, out here in the hinterlands, could be a disaster in the end, most notably with climate change. 

Wait until the Southwest U.S. comes after our water. You won't think penis size is very important any more. I'd like to see the local Apostolic women depart from their husbands in the voting booth. Wouldn't that be refreshing? Women are nurturers by nature, not destroyers.

 

Addendum: Former Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro screamed at FBI agents to "get the fuck out of here" when he was served a subpoena. Spoken like a Republican. I have wanted to make the same statement to our Morris Police Department. So sweet to see the department ended now.

 

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

Remember when USFL was paid $1?

We are drifting out of summer ever so slowly. I wonder if the county fair is successful. The people in charge will certainly say it is. The media will quote them accordingly. And never is heard a discouraging word, despite our newspaper pontificating about how "newspapers are a watchdog on government." I might substitute the word "lapdog." It's not so much a matter of propping up the movers and shakers, it's an instinct to avoid controversy. 

Sometimes you have to just listen out and around to get a sense of what might be up. I had wondered quite legitimately if the city manager might be on thin ice. One can read between the lines in that direction. Can we boil things down a little? So a friend communicated this morning: 

 

Haven’t heard anything about Blaine being on thin ice. But Kevin Wohlers is sure ticked-off about how Blaine and the rest of the city council handled the police issue. Did you know that the city sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of police dept equipment to sheriff’s department for $1.00? Kevin was not happy about that. His was the lone dissenting vote on the dissolution of the police dept.

 

I hope that with this dissolution, we can all be more relaxed as we just drive around town. That is my hope anyway. Will we ever talk about the "good old days" of having a police department? I will not talk in such a vein. 

We are seeing the MAGA element of society mobilize against law enforcement now. To hell with law enforcement, I guess, if it might apply the law and rules to a certain person at the place called "Mar-a-Lago." Up is down, down is up. I thought these self-styled conservatives were such law-and-order types. 

Well, let me tell y'all this: if the autocracy embraced by Trump really breaks through and takes charge, you'll still have a lot of rules to follow and they'll start to scare you. I'm just tipping you off in advance. The Jan. 6 event may go down as a "rehearsal." 

The worm is not turning on this. All the MAGA types from their church pews this morning (Sunday) continue to push for their "savior," I guess, Donald Trump. I always try to understand human behavior but I cannot understand this. 

 

On the school front

Let's get back to the local scene where I see MAHS has a new activities director and "dean of students." I suppose that's the guy who has to mete out discipline. My generation made "bad guys" out of such people. They were portrayed in movies as crusty, dull, humorless types who just existed to spoil everyone's fun, to be a stick in the mud, whose home you might want to vandalize on Halloween. Did that ever happen in Morris? Legend has it "yes." I might suggest it's more than mere legend. 

Today? I think our culture has changed to where the kids don't view the principal or "dean of students" as some sort of ogre. That attitude never made any sense. But that's the way it was from the days when my generation had an attitude about school like it was really a drag. We'd cuss on the first day of school, celebrate whenever a "snow day" was called. 

Have you ever wondered why "taking attendance" was a thing of such paramount importance, to "count every head in the classroom" and have a conniption if someone wasn't there? Why so important? There were many days when I would have been so much better off just leaving the building and walking home to the comfort and security of my family's home place. Not to be idle, mind you. There was always lots of stuff to do around our place, where I continue to reside today. 

Plus, I was self-motivated to read a lot, so literacy would never be an issue with me, heavens. I was required to go to school where I was often emotionally/psychologically abused by peers and teachers. So today I fantasize the "what if?" of just walking out of school and going home. Truancy. Would I even make it home without a cop accosting me? That would have been the Morris police. 

Would it be an unpleasant confrontation? With threats, maybe? I could fantasize today about smarting off. That's easy to do when you're an older adult. I really wish I had tried just "escaping" from school. But my parents would be distressed. They were distressed anyway trying to raise me. 

So now I'll answer the question: Why were teachers so uptight about "taking attendance" all the time? Well, it was to make sure the school would keep getting the "state aid money." Things come down to money so much, right? 

I heard long ago that the "Chokio school bus rescue" happened because the school went out of its way to be in session even with bad weather menacing. To get the money, stupid. I also heard that rules on the money got adjusted after that, in order to prioritize kids' basic safety. A novel thought to have, I guess. 

Today? All my senses tell me that today, school life is far more pleasant and uplifting for the kids. No longer is it like being waterboarded. A novel thing to establish. So I'm happy for all the kids today, even if they can intimidate teachers sometimes. I have heard that the kids today "walk all over the teachers," largely because of fear of lawsuits. I will always give the benefit of the doubt to the kid. That conclusion I draw from my own unpleasant experience in the public school. 

Boomers attended school in a system set up by the "Greatest Generation" of WWII/Depression era parents. The fathers had been through "boot camp," get it? Public schools had a huge "big government" problem. Our parents acceded to the wishes of big impersonal government too much. And why was that? Well I'd say it was because big government had won World War II. 

We all glorified war so much. We did that because of the sheer necessity we felt in crushing the Axis powers. That was then. In the '60s? Vietnam? Not the same situation. So I'd come home from school to watch the evening news with its "body count" numbers out of Vietnam. Trump may be dangerously crazy but nothing was worse than drafting young men to be sent to Vietnam. 

 

Blake Karas (SCT image)

Meet Blake Karas

I see our new activities director/dean of students is "Blake Karas." Looks like he was hired from a thorough professional search. Congratulations on that, not like the old days when the "good old boys" principle came into effect so much. Coaches got hired who had hung around UMM and made friends with certain key people. 

Part of the problem was that administration didn't wish to act like they thought sports success was really important. Oh, they'd give it lip service, and they'd crush anyone who sought to come forward and maybe share a critical thought or two. They were famous for saying "academics is more important than sports." I'm guessing you don't hear that any more. 

If you look at all the co-curricular stuff at MAHS, and I take that to include music, I actually think it's more important than academics. We don't need hardcore academics so much any more due to our digital age and its problem-solving miracles and shortcuts. We don't need to try to make all our young people into geniuses. Or let's re-phrase that: they can all find a totally satisfying future role with the tools that are acquired through about the sixth or seventh grade. After that it's just a lot of pretentious bulls--t. 

So good luck, Blake Karas. I'll probably never meet you or speak to you. "Mongo just pawn in game of life." Hey, "Mongo" in "Blazing Saddles" was played by Alex Karras with two r's in the last name.

 

Addendum: To understand today's blog post headline, let me refresh: In 1986, a jury found the NFL liable for one antitrust violation, but ordered the league to pay only one dollar in damages to the rival United States Football League, which had sought $1.69 billion. 

 

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

The county fair is on for 2022

Not sure if today (Thursday) is the second or third day of the county fair. I have never gotten over the confusion from when the fair community supper was changed from Wednesday to Tuesday. The community supper is billed as the fair's "kickoff." If true, we might expect to visit the fairgrounds on Wednesday for the full deal. That was my mistaken assumption. 

So I brought my late mother out there one year thinking we might do our usual things on Wednesday. I was dumbfounded to see "private parking" signs along the road leading into the main fair parking area. It's next to the ethanol plant. Rows of parking on the grassy surface. But private parking in an official fair lot on one of the days presented as part of the official run of the county fair? 

With Mom beside me, I drove into the lot anyway, just to inquire. I did not park, but I hailed someone down. "Excuse me, is this really private parking?" "Yes," the person announced authoritatively. 

I did not wish to diss the private parking signs, not with the notorious law enforcement tent so close by. So we departed. I learned we could not have dined at the 4-H foodstand anyway. This was several years ago. Is the 4-H foodstand up and running for Wednesday of the fair now? 

When Mom was still alive, the Wednesday of the fair had not changed from what it was previously. The fair didn't really seem up and running at all. It's just hard to know. The fair people promote the fair as being on for certain dates. A person from out of town might come here accordingly. Like on Wednesday. I myself might be stupid enough to do that. 

You all know I'm stupid because I tend to say generous things about Democrats. I try to be quieter now. I covered up with gray tape the small "Kamala" sticker I had on my car for a time. We used to have a little fun with political disagreements: we could all agree we were fundamentally American patriots, even if we had back-and-forth between the Republicans and Democrats. We were all Americans. Remember the relationship between Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan? 

I imagine you'll see lots of Trump stickers among the vehicles at the county fair. You may spot an occasional "MAGA" red cap. So ironic that these people attack law enforcement because of what happened at Mar-a-Lago a few days ago. So intense and vitriolic are the howls coming from the Trump people over that, lives are endangered. Amazing that all these people could be so anti-law enforcement. 

So, how do they feel about the Morris Police Department being dissolved? Has that actually happened yet? Will we no longer see the blue city police uniforms? My sense tells me now that the sheriff's people, once they get in the saddle, will back off from a lot of the "ticky tack" law enforcement that the police were doing. The best but not the only example is seat belt. 

My theory is that city police, though they wouldn't admit it, were demoralized by the ticky-tack stuff they were doing all the time. Made it hard for the public to like or appreciate them. And I think that's a royal shame. 

My theory is that the Dingman people will focus far more on the high-priority needs served by law enforcement. Of course I could be mistaken. 

These are just thoughts offered up on the second or third day of the fair, whichever version the facts suggest. 

 

Reach for your wallet

I wonder how inflation is affecting food items at the fair. It must be having an effect. I doubt I'll make it out there. The restaurant I visited this morning had a new price hike. It's a nice restaurant and I can't blame them - they respond to the realities out there. My standard breakfast there cost $10.98 for a long time. This morning I got the heads-up about an adjustment. It's $11.52 now. The food and service are great there. And this restaurant is just following the norm. 

About a week ago I got the heads-up from Caribou Coffee that there was a price hike. I imagine that national franchises have consistent prices everywhere. McDonald's? Haven't been there in ages. That is because I have not been able to master their "kiosk." When last I was there, the employees were very sullen about being put in position to take orders at the counter. 

So I wonder how prices are at the fair. And if everyone is happily paying them, how do they do it? Higher prices do force some adjusting, don't they? 

Can Stone's Throw risk raising prices? Oh, but if you pay with plastic, you probably don't realize you're spending money at all. 

 

News "treadmill"

What a day: people who like consulting the news are just bombarded with Trump stuff again. On and on the treadmill continues. In a normal world we could just be having the usual disagreements about things like tax policy. Instead, you have to stake out your ground: you are either a MAGA person who worships the ground that Trump walks on, or you just try to mind your own business. You have to be very careful if you voice any actual dissent vs. Trump. You might be talking to a member of Good Shepherd Church. Or any other of numerous churches in the county that are aligned with Trump. 

Need I say it again? "Beware of false prophets."

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

Hitler's generals were not all that loyal

Sometimes I get up in the morning thinking that things cannot get any stranger. They do, and somehow life goes on anyway, for now at least. "For now." 

If Donald Trump could get indicted for anything, anything at all, it would drop his stature way down. I predict that it would quiet and humble many of his supporters. You thought that wasn't possible? I pray that it can happen. 

Yes, I try to call myself a Christian even though I have always been a skeptic of this person named Donald Trump. Trump complained about the "deep state." I pray for what the deep state does. The deep state exists not necessarily to hold up everything that is virtuous and honorable, it exists literally to keep this country going, to keep it together. Would you really want it to fragment, all you red state people? Do you really want to withdraw? 

Could all you fat cat retirees, who are living so well now, keep on getting the same kind of benefits through government? So ironic that our older citizens appear to be the loudest complainers. 

There's a cottage industry in the media of simply coming forward with sensational headlines every day about the purely outrageous aspects of Trump's presidency and his cult-like followers. I see the phenomenon around our Stevens County a lot, have had friends drift away from me because of this. I feel isolated and with a growing fear about my future and even personal safety. 

Our little cottage industry spit out yesterday the news that Trump wanted his national security team to be loyal to him, "the way he thought German soldiers were loyal to Adolf Hitler." 

What gives, when so many around us in our placid Stevens County and a majority of its churches show fealty to Donald Trump? He's merely a man with the talent of a demagogue who got trained in the media and entertainment. 

(wikimedia commons)

I see the local Apostolic Christian guys sitting around on Sunday morning, and if I were to approach them with my thoughts, they'd smile with mere amusement at me. They lock out any rational thought on this. Don't a lot of these people have German blood? 

So Trump would want his generals to have loyalty like Hitler's generals? He has called one of his own generals, Mark Milley, a "fucking idiot." 

Can you imagine if a quote like this came from a president in an earlier time, like Ronald Reagan? Or if the news came out that Trump shopped around to have sex with his favorite pornstars or models, then tried paying them to keep it quiet? Can you imagine such news being dispensed in Ronald Reagan's time? 

But today the MAGA people here and elsewhere just have eyes glazed over. This includes a certain retired Morris schoolteacher who I know would have been revulsed and fainting maybe if someone like Trump had come along in the 1970s. 

What is so cotton pickin' different today? The nature of the media is certainly different. Does that explain it all? What kind of road is this "media" leading us down? But can't intelligent people show discretion? What were all these people taught in school? I'm sure I get called all sorts of names because of my views, but I am smart and well-educated enough to know that Hitler had many of his generals executed. I looked it up: it was 84! 

So much for the cohesive and loyal army. Trump asked his chief of staff John Kelly, "Why can't you be like the German generals?" Kelly asked for more specificity. "The German generals in World War II," Trump responded. 

Because I have some education, I can add this from my storehouse of knowledge: Hitler had problems with his own "Wermacht," the war-making machine. You do know there were three assassination attempts? So Hitler dealt with this with his Secret Service (SS). The SS was dispatched to extinguish dissent, and of course this was achieved with brutal means. Would Trump, if given the chance, establish his own SS? Would such a force come and visit me at my door? Based on all the revelations about this crazed man named Donald Trump, can you answer "no" to that? Of course not. 

Trump altered the Supreme Court to where women are now denied choice. Can't you see the real world consequences of electing someone like Trump? It goes beyond the entertainment value he projects on TV, to the amusement of so many. He had real political power. 

Of course he tried engineering a coup in January of 2021. And you all don't care? And you wouldn't care even if the consequences came to your own front door? Give Republicans power and they'll strip Medicare and Social Security. Look at Senator Ron Johnson's statements. Or worse, Rick Scott's. This is the path you all want to choose? 

I belong to an ELCA Lutheran church and we are in a losing battle. Increasingly we are a stigmatized, maybe even threatened minority. I am personally choosing not to attend church any more. 

 

Getting lighter

If y'all would like to see a picture of me being baptized at Central Lutheran Church of Minneapolis, 1955, it's with a post on my "Morris of Course" blog. I publish the photo to share a fond remembrance of my aunt Irene, who looks so radiant in photo. Bless her memory. Irene and Andy Williams were my sponsors for baptism. "Ike" Eisenhower was president then, with 100 percent more class than our most recent Republican president. To view the photo and my blog post, please click below.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/07/aunt-irene-projected-loving-glow-back.html 

 

Also on "Morris of Course," I have a post about the tragic and strange Apple River tubing incident in which an altercation grew that had a young person killed, others wounded. Here is a link to that post, and thanks:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-apple-river-stabbings-less-than.html 

 

Another "Morris of Course" post looks into the traffic accident in Indiana that took the lives of Congressperson Jackie Walorski and three others. Looks like distracted driving. We need more measures against distracted driving. The tragic end for the four reminded me of the ending of the 1974 movie "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry." You may click below to read, and thanks:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2022/08/walorski-3-others-done-in-by-distracted.html 

 

Any more I need add today? The investment of religious thought in Trump and MAGA is stupefying. Some among us seem to suggest that Trump may be greater than God, greater than Jesus, maybe greater than God and Jesus combined. It's hard for me to come up with words any more. I just have to plead "why can't you all just think for yourselves."  

How do you think Stormy Daniels or others brought Trump to ejaculation? Let's think about that. Try to get a visual.

Try to keep in mind about the Nazis: they were not Fascists, they were a death cult. Be careful about associating yourself with Nazi rhetoric or imagery, please. But my words may fall on deaf ears. I can plead to our Lord, that's all.

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

John Wayne once held torch for certain crowd

You might remember the Cheech and Chong song "Born in East L.A." It's from a number of years ago. It got humor from the subject of illegal immigration. Society appears much more humorless about that today. Come to think of it, we're so much more humorless across the board. 

It sounds cliche-ish to describe a previous time period as more "innocent." In regard to the Cheech and Chong song, I think the spirit is in fact much more innocent. More relaxed. 

Actually I think it was just one of the two - Cheech or Chong - behind this particular song and video. Like everything else we can recall from our past, there it is on YouTube. 

"Born in East L.A." is '80s nostalgia. We might have expected this "MTV" channel to be a resource for music videos forever. But we were steadily progressing into a time that would put so much in flux, mostly for the better. So YouTube was born. No need to ever again spend money to consume music! A true miracle. 

It is part of the human condition to always find some fault with the way things are. The "East L.A." song showed how we could live with some non-exemplary things like smoking and sexism. The guy in song - Cheech or Chong - ogles over a couple "shapely" women. Such behavior and imagery were in our face a lot. 

Women's rights were steadily carving a new path on the legal front. Entertainment and culture lagged behind. Most of us did not want to let go of certain notions. We were a more relaxed society because we put up with cigarette smoking? Interesting: cigarettes were/are a sedative. Well, any pluses from such behavior are negated as if with a sledgehammer. 

There are other such exhibits, e.g. sexism or misogyny. We have gotten mighty serious on that front too. Does anyone use the term "beauty pageants" any more? Ah, the "swimsuit" division. You grimace. Well of course. "Miss Congeniality" rewards the female most disarming with her personality. Not sure what message this award really conveys. 

The chief character in the "East L.A." song gets confronted by an immigration officer who pops out of a truck. The officer has a way of testing to see who might be suspicious. The U.S. president at the time was Ronald Reagan, former movie actor. So the officer asks the dude, "who is president of the United States?" And the dude, after first saying "that's easy," says "John Wayne." 

John Wayne

Well, Wayne was the hugely iconic movie actor. You mention his name today and it prompts warm thoughts. We can forget that Wayne was a lightning rod politically. He attracted the same type of supporters as Donald Trump in our recent past. OK so now I have to describe. Maybe I can expect y'all to just arrive at the proper assumption? 

You know what I'm talking about. Anti-intellectualism? Such people can be hard to generalize about. At times they flail away, seeming more interested in projecting a certain image or matching the prevailing views of "their crowd." Wayne emerged as a sympathizer with the Vietnam war - how about his movie "The Green Berets?" - and he was a pointed skeptic of the young agitators. 

The memories ought to be crystal clear. Remember the term "hard hats?" I have to wince writing that. But such was the milieu as I grew up. It was right in front of our faces. 

By the same token we saw the Jan. 6 travesty of 2021: a lashing out by the know-nothings. "Keep America great" etc. 

For sure we will remember the rioters in the same way we remember the "hard hats" who wanted to beat up war protesters. All these people are just gravitating to a certain attitude of the moment among their crowd. Certain celebrity leaders set the tone. 

This crowd has some reconciling to do now: their man Trump has come out against foreign wars and even attacks Liz Cheney as a war monger. But the Cheneys with George Bush certainly drew the affections of the Michele Bachmanns of the world. Remember how Bachmann strained to go extend a physical greeting to George W. Bush as Bush entered for the State of the Union? She wanted to slobber all over him. 

But now? The Cheneys who were an extension of Bush have become persona non grata. 

Didn't Bachmann have to leave her Wisconsin Synod church? Is that because the Wisconsin Synod views the Pope as the antichrist? So silly to have such theological divisions. It's reasonable to put aside Christianity altogether. Young people are paying attention. I believe Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is still in the Wisconsin Synod. 

Because of religion, we now have Roe vs. Wade overturned. This morning I read that doctors are having to call lawyers when dealing with a complicated pregnancy. We have the evangelical Christians to thank for this. Over the long slope of history, the evangelicals are tied in with John Wayne, seriously. My generation of the boomers has largely forgiven Wayne, like we have forgiven so much including our own parents in many cases. 

It has been so long since young American men had to live in fear over getting a military conscription notice. Time heals all wounds? Maybe. I guess in my case, I have not forgotten. The U.S. sacrificed something like 60,000 young men to the Vietnam conflict. Just thought I'd mention it. 

Wayne spent much of his movie career fighting "the other" on the big screen. He fought Indians, he fought the Japanese and he fought Mexicans. He fluffed up the total myth of "The Alamo." 

There is a book out called "Jesus and John Wayne" by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. The book reveals how "evangelicals have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism - or in the words of one modern chaplain, with 'a spiritual badass.' "

Pay attention to this as you notice the numbers getting thinner in the pews. The real Christianity is gentle, caring, empathetic and charitable. It embraces minorities (the "other") and people who are disaffected for various reasons. 

We ignore the background of "Jesus and John Wayne" at our peril. The damage may have already been done. We have neglected climate change for too long. Trump has told us climate change is a "hoax."

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

Our media softens the Morris police matter

Lego police officer

Some background first: The names "Trout" and "Bugbaum" probably don't register with you. These were made-up names for reporters with a fictional and satirical newspaper. The recently-deceased P.J. O'Rourke had a lot to do with it. This faux newspaper has been described as the "Rosetta Stone of newspaper satires." 

It came out at the height of the monopoly distribution model of the metro newspaper. We assumed papers to have a central role in our lives. Adding to that feeling was that we were flush from Watergate. 

Seems strange, really, but newspaper writers emerged as the heroes of Watergate. Strange I suggest, because you'd think that lawyers had their sleeves rolled up for all of that. But no it was newspaper writers, and lest there be any doubt on that, Hollywood rolled its sleeves up. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman no less. 

Hollywood can pile on with stereotypes and popular notions, n'est-ce pas? Newspaper writers surely were at the forefront. Pat Buchanan described the Washington Post pair as "stenographers." Buchanan's comment came after we learned Mark Felt's role. Do we have to remind of Felt's nickname in the whole Byzantine matter? "Deep Throat," of course. You probably remember the notorious porn movie that was the basis for the name. Ah, the days when porn was scarce and stigmatized. 

Buchanan's "stenographer" assertion was to diminish the supposedly intrepid reporters. The reporters worked hard and had adrenaline pumping, to be sure. But let's tear down the myth a little: the reporters were conduits for powerful people who are human like the rest of us, and like to settle scores. Scheme to get certain facts out in public, and presto: your agenda can be served. 

Felt was an FBI big shot. I have published a review of the movie about him. What was the movie called? Can't remember now. 

"The press was riding high" with the aftermath of all the Watergate stuff, so P.J. O'Rourke sensed a parody opportunity, as O'Rourke would always do. His newspaper satire was called "Dacron Republican-Democrat." Every Page 1 had a photo of a smashed-up vehicle "above the fold." Inside was a column by a pair of reporters who were presented much like Woodward and Bernstein. So their names were "Trout" and "Bugbaum." There was a little photo of the two clicking cocktail glasses in a toast to themselves! They smiled triumphantly. 

But what did they do? The re-occurring gag went like this: the start of the column laid out sordid rumors of corruption in some high place, pretty detailed actually. So what did the reporters do? They went to the alleged wrongdoers and then got cowed every time. The two would "look into the matter" and then come away with the total company line of how everything was just fine. 

I find it funny because it truly is hard to confront people who appear to be associated with dirty linen. They can deflect, deny and intimidate in so many ways. They have the advantage of inside knowledge. They can come at you with info that seems too complicated, precisely what Bill Clinton's strategy was with "Whitewater." A meek reporter who wishes to keep his job might want to stay out of the whole mess. 

"Trout and Bugbaum" seemed in denial about their own weakness, I guess. So they paraded along just buying the party line of various folks. Just having the column in the newspaper made them celebrities. Sometimes that's kind of a rush. Would I know? Hell yes. 

Woodward and Bernstein did not go to Richard Nixon or his prime henchmen. And let's make clear, these were not sympathetic people. Don't let time draw a misty curtain. 

So, Woodward and Bernstein didn't have so much of an uphill battle with sources, because they found this FBI person - what could suggest more power? - who had a motive as old as the hills: he had been passed over for promotion! As they say, "the rest is history." 

On the Morris police

Why am I reviewing all this today? I'm thinking of our quite "micro" situation here in Morris MN. I'm looking at our newspaper and its disingenuous nature with matters like these. My goodness, the Anfinsons pound away, practically ad nauseam, on how we need newspapers to keep an eye on government. 

But it's like "Trout and Bugbaum": beneath the veneer of their righteous proclamations, they gloss over anything that might bring unease to the power structure. A huge example just this week: the update on the police department matter. As in, no more Morris police department. Would seem to qualify as rather a bombshell item: no more city police. 

(wikiwand image)

Well, the big boys at the Star Tribune put this news on Page 1. As for the little boys and girls here in Morris, we run into, well, obfuscation. 

We get a big front page article this week. This news development reeks of a person or persons having dropped the ball at some point. Forget the embarrassment, let's peel through the veneer to see what culpable parties might be identified. We can give them the opportunity to defend themselves in quotes. Let the finger-pointing begin. 

But it's theoretical here.

If no one dropped the ball at any level, why is the matter on front page of the Gotham newspaper? Think of all the police issues in Minneapolis. And now the Morris police issue is "above the fold?" 

Surely the readers around Stevens County would appreciate knowing "the story behind the story." My sources had told me the problem was the city manager keeping the talks under wraps for too long, the talks about dissolving the city police and merging with the sheriff. Then the matter got "sprung" on others in a disconcerting way, it was reported to me. 

Could more up-front communication have caused the plans to be intercepted for re-consideration? I mean, a chance to learn about the unraveling of the city police to where it was vestigial? Could things have been patched up? Just seems very strange: why is it untenable for Morris to have a police department while at the same time the county can sweep in and do the work? I could ask any number of questions. 

I am left just trying to ferret out the background by talking to people "on the street." But hey, we have a newspaper: that's the whole idea, I mean for the newspaper to follow up on the grand (pretentious) talk coming from Reed Anfinson on the editorial page. Let's see it in practice? 

What the hell to we get? We get "Trout and Bugbaum," in effect. Hear no evil, see no evil. 

The first sentence of this week's coverage: "There are many forms of government in our cities." Oh sheesh, is this the actual "Dacron Republican-Democrat?" The civics lesson continues like weak tea. 

The article claims that it was the city manager, with the council, that got "blind-sided." Something was awry, then? But heaven forbid the newspaper getting into that. Stuff just "happens," I guess. 

Oh no it doesn't. But we are left to speculate. How was the city manager "blind-sided?" Well, the article says it was by "what was going on." 

OK, "it is what it is." 

So the police department eroded down to two officers. And at that point, what action? Well, to "look into it more deeply." Or as Edwin Newman once wrote in a fun-poking way re. evasive public officials, "evaluate and make a judgment in terms of a response." 

We'd just like to know "what was going on." We get no elucidation, just this follow-up by the paper: "No one is able to put a finger on one specific reason for the loss of employees. However, the dissolution of the Morris Police Department was the result." 

So the scenario was this: "stuff happens." And to learn this we have to pay for a newspaper? Stuff does not just happen. 

 

Disagreement

Council member Kevin Wohlers voted against dissolution. He recited a statement at the July 26 council meeting in which he suggested there was a "communication problem within the organization," to quote the newspaper. What organization was he talking about? Law enforcement? City government as a whole? 

(wikimedia commons)

Wohlers stressed that he wanted his suggestion to be "positive." We bend over backwards in small towns to be positive, don't we? 

Talking about "communications" strikes me as a way of whitewashing all of this. We could all benefit from better communications, all the time. Such a generalization. Perfect for small town consumption. When all else fails, just talk about needing better communication. 

But the bottom line of what happened is that Morris ended up on the Star Tribune's front page, above the fold, with the shocking story of eliminating the police department. Ah, "defund the police." It could be interpreted that way, albeit wrongly (I guess). 

I think everyone would end up happier if law enforcement would go back to treating seat belt as a secondary offense. 

I reached the end of the Morris newspaper's coverage with the realization that I'd still have to "work the streets" to try to get "the real story." And that contradicts the grandiose (sanctimonious) statements by Reed Anfinson on the editorial page. 

Oh, the current front page headline: "Morris City Council works to create better communications." 

Because everything is always fine here in Lake Wobegon. Where all the kids are above average.

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