"Ball of Fire" separated pre and post-WWII eras in U.S.

The movie "Ball of Fire" came out in the days before Pearl Harbor. "America First" with Charles Lindbergh held forth in an influential way. Surely we wanted to avoid war. Did the U.S. lay back and "dare" the Japanese to attack us? Was there a sense of inevitability about it? 

"Ball of Fire" with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck shows the U.S. at peace when the world was on a precipice. The conflict was already well established. We see "Ball of Fire" and wonder how the America of that time compared to the post-WWII America. Did WWII really pull us out of the Great Depression, as has been suggested in so many places? Maybe it's myth promoted by political conservatives who don't want to give credit to FDR and his "New Deal." 

FDR was upper-crust in his own background and had to try to persuade his fellow upper-crusters that if something like the New Deal was not launched, the pillars of our society might crumble. About half of his crowd went along with this, only, showing how stubborn this element of society can be. 

Today's hard right commentator Mark Levin gives no credit to FDR's programs. He sniffs at the suggestions. I'll assert the CCC program was so essential in lifting up young men, at least giving them a sense of hope, not to mention a big nutritious breakfast in the morning! 

"Ball of Fire" is a delight to view today. Perhaps there's an illusion, though, of greater contentedness than what really existed. Life was hardscrabble for the common folk. The lanky Cooper is at his "befuddled" best. He comes under the trance, Hollywood romance style, of Barbara Stanwyck. But for me, seeing Gene Krupa with his big band in a nightclub is the highlight. I am biased because I have played such music myself. I am humbled seeing the premier quality of the performance in the movie. It is a classic scene of the time: classy young adults, men in suits and ties, assembled at tables in a nightclub with a dance floor available, and the band really "cookin' ." Oh my, "cook" it does. 

  

Music to accompany the war

The showcase tune in the movie is "Drum Boogie." I became familiar with this tune in the 1970s from an 8-track tape collection of big band hits. The heyday of that genre of music coincided with World War 2. A morale-builder? Well, Glenn Miller was allowed to re-form his band overseas for morale purposes. He ended up deceased under circumstances that remain not completely clear. The plane he was on was destroyed by Allied planes passing overhead jettisoning bombs? That's a popular theory.  

The Miller band was perhaps too tight and over-rehearsed. Certainly it made a splash.

The first time Krupa as drummer appeared on our TV screen at home, my father gave me a heads-up on how Krupa had a wild-eyed or dazed appearance. I'll give the drummer the benefit of the doubt that he was just "into" his music. Let us not assume anything about drugs. Yes, Krupa hit a bump in the road in 1943: an arrest on drug-related charges in San Francisco. He was convicted on two counts but it turned out he was framed by federal narcotics agents. He was exonerated/acquitted of all charges. We learn today "Krupa was never a drug addict and rarely used pot." 

We wonder how much pop music stars really indulge in drugs - is it exaggerated because the stars find their appeal is enhanced by a little notoriety? We wonder about the Beatles. Because, it's really hard to be at the top of this profession, so one would think you'd really have to take care of yourself. 

"Ball of Fire" is described as a "screwball comedy." I have to wonder what kind of mind would conceive of the plot. We see a group of professors working to compile an encyclopedia. The profs live together in a New York City brownstone. Their encyclopedia will cover "all human knowledge?" We have that today with the Internet. Cooper is "Bertram Potts," a grammarian who is researching U.S. slang. The profs have an impatient financial backer. 

Slang puts Potts in contact with sort of a lowlife element. Stanwyck plays "Sugarpuss O'Shea" whose boyfriend is a mob boss, "Joe Lilac." Police seek info from her so she takes refuge with the professors. She becomes attracted to Potts. Love builds between the two. Despite that, she ties the knot with Lilac because she senses Potts might be threatened by the mob. The profs act to "rescue" Sugarpuss from her crowd. She feels inferior around the academics, but the dashing Cooper applies an irresistible kiss. Hollywood at its zenith, right? (My father called it "Hollywood hash.") 

I could not weave a plot like this. It has been compared to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Still, the movie has a particular entrancing quality. An acquired taste? As a vehicle for presenting Krupa and his band, I salute it. 

  

Young adults defined pop culture

I observe the nightclub scene and it makes me realize this was truly an adult world, in the sense of: "where are the teenagers?" We just don't see them in movies from that time. They were stuck at home and without discretionary money. So it was the young adults who set the pace in popular culture. The teens just observed, bored probably. We started hearing much more from the teens in the 1950s. But in the '40s? Seen but not heard. 

Except that the draft board knew who the guys were. 

Krupa was a historic drummer: he was the first musician to use a full drum set on records. He gained prominence in the mid-1930s with Benny Goodman's big band. The band was on the cutting edge. So impressive was Krupa in the Carnegie Hall concert by the Goodman band, some friction may have developed between the two. The discord led to Krupa forming his own band. "Drum Boogie" did a lot to establish Krupa but the best was yet to come with Roy Eldridge and Anita O'Day joining the band. 

The war years were an apex time for Krupa and his band. My 8-track tape also included "Let Me Off Uptown." 

"Ball of Fire" was one of several movies where Krupa appeared and built his celebrity. His arrest on trumped-up charges hurt him. But in the fall of '43 he had an emotional reunion with Goodman. Goodman helped get the drummer rehabilitated in terms of professional stature, happily. 

Krupa like Lawrence Welk was thrilled with finally being able to hire strings! Anita O'Day came back in '45 and delivered the No. 1 hit "Star Eyes." Swing big bands generally did not welcome bebop jazz as an element, but Krupa was an exception. His band broke up in 1951. The heyday of the big bands had waned. 

Hollywood gave us "The Gene Krupa Story" in 1959 starring Sal Mineo. Krupa started having health problems in the 1960s but there is a fantastic video from 1971 showing him at his best on the big band standard "Sing Sing Sing." He died in 1973. 

  

Stanwyck had staying power

People my age might associate Barbara Stanwyck with the 1960s TV series "The Big Valley." You're a fan of the movie "Airplane?" You're familiar with the oddball character "Johnny." Did you catch the connection to "The Big Valley" series? "Nick, Heath, Jerrod, there's a fire in the barn!" I caught a few episodes of "The Big Valley" years later on a cable TV channel and found it to be a garden variety western - there were so many. And then they died off suddenly as TV executives went urban with themes. 

Stanwyck's acting on TV was top-notch as always. And, it's impressive that she was fully happy playing an older character! Gene Hackman does not want to play old men. I'm impressed by Stanwyck's personal theme: "Know your lines and be on time." She was the consummate professional. 

Barbara Stanwyck

"Ball of Fire" was directed by Howard Hawks. The movie was released just five days before the Japanese dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor. America was turned upside-down by the horrific news. My father heard a radio bulletin. Young men dropped what they were doing and "saw the world" with service commitments, and of course many did not survive. Women pitched in with war industries. Lives everywhere changed dramatically. And in the aftermath we got the great U.S. "middle class," or so the folklore goes. 

What if there had been no WWII? Or, what if there had been no FDR "New Deal?"  Today we wonder "what if a standard politician had been elected president rather than Donald Trump?" How will history judge all this 20, 30 years from now? Is there any way Trump can come out of this looking like a good and heroic person? Rhetorical question, I confess. 

  

"What we were fighting for"

A review of "Ball of Fire" described the "flood of slang" coming at us, as "a reminder of what we were fighting for." 

A footnote: Singing was not Stanwyck's stock in trade, so she lip-synched for "Drum Boogie." Let's credit Martha Tilton as the singer. We see the terrific African-American musician Roy Eldridge on trumpet with his scream-style notes. All in all, a treat to watch, more than once. But where were all the teenagers? It was a young adults' world, early and mid-20s. Suits and ties in a nightclub. 

A better world? Probably not. Go outside the Hollywood studios and you'd see lots of struggling. Many houses had no central heating system.

We hear speeches on Memorial Day about the sacrifices of war, framed heroically. But, what would those deceased souls tell us about war? Heroic? 

Oh, Lucille Ball almost got the role of "Sugarpuss." Ginger Rogers and Carole Lombard turned down the role. The movie did well at the box office. There was only one Gene Krupa! There is a "Gene Krupa Drive" in Yonkers NY.

If you like this movie, you'll like "Hollywood Canteen" too! You'll see Jimmy Dorsey and his band at their best.

  

More on my podcast

It's fun reflecting on Gene Krupa's career, so I do more of this on my podcast post for today. My podcast is "Morris Mojo." I invite you to click on the permalink:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Gene-Krupa--drummer-ek78os 

 

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

Our language evolves through the power of us all

Archaic language in "A Christmas Carol"

English professors must be feeling a sense of catharsis. Teaching is all about enforcing rules or norms. Problem is, our new communications universe has supplied so much empowerment. "The masses" have taken over determining the norms for the English language. 

I saw a magazine writer identified as a "freelance" writer the other day. I had to laugh at that because we're all writers now. "Freelance" only suggests no relationship with a formal publishing entity. And so what? Publishers and corporate media owners have no lock on the market for writing. It is a sea change, like so much of how the Internet has impacted us. 

Some people say it's bad because of the loss of "gatekeepers." Many others celebrate the very fact that the gatekeepers, if not lost are greatly diminished. 

Yours truly was a writer when it was considered a very exclusive activity, really! Typing was specialized. The tasks later became fun because of ease and empowerment for everyone in communications. 

So my point relative to English teachers is: "The masses (not meant to be condescending) have taken charge of the evolution of our language. New shortcuts or "slang" get created. The slang sticks around to where it doesn't seem so slang-ish. The English language has always evolved. I had great difficulty trying to read the original Charles Dickens book "A Christmas Carol." 

It became common years ago for young people to type emails in all lower case. So common, hardly anyone would look at it and say it's improper. Where does this leave English teachers with all their "rules?" Should the word "midwest" be capitalized? According to formal rules, yes. Would an English teacher use his/her notorious red pen to circle the word if not capitalized? Well, teachers exist to promote the accepted rules - well, "accepted" in academia anyway. 

But the "real world" asserts itself more and more. I haven't talked to any English teachers about how they might be adjusting to all this. I'm guessing it's difficult. 

 

Politics and the language

There are times when anti-intellectualism seems to be asserting itself again. I base that on the political climate. It is an uphill battle to try to get past the Republicans. Republicans are using "scorched earth" left and right. In the Dakotas, you might as well not bother running for office as a Democrat, regardless of your resume. We see an exhibit of what I'm talking about with the South Dakota attorney general situation. The Republican ran against an opponent with an arguably better background and resume for the job. As one media report noted, the opponent "had one major drawback." He was a Democrat. 

Mike McFeely, from when he was on terrestrial radio, said of the North Dakota attorney general, "he doesn't have to do anything because he doesn't have to worry about getting re-elected." Strikes me as a worrisome state of affairs. McFeely has had programs on both KFGO and WDAY. He had a morning WDAY show most recently, where I think he came under too much assault because he's openly left-leaning. He departed. 

Getting back to the subject of the South Dakota attorney general, we all know why the guy is in the news now. Uppermost on my mind is: Will the fact he's Republican give him cover from powerful friends in his current distress? Consider: the SD governor has talked about maybe having Trump's face put on Mount Rushmore. 

Republicans can feel pretty secure in South Dakota, where Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg is dealing with having struck and killed a man with his vehicle along the highway at night. He claims he thought he hit a deer. He told the sheriff that. Then he returned to the site the next morning and "discovered" the deceased individual. I put "discovered" in quotes because, do we really know for sure he didn't know the facts on the night of the incident? I guess he's being allowed to continue working. Would a Democrat get such accommodation? Well I don't know - I think the wolves would be lined up with teeth bared. 

  

The resources of today

We used to depend on a big thick dictionary to clarify the meaning of things. It was the standard approach for most of my life. So today it's amazing the resources at our disposal. Young people will take it for granted. It's no surprise and bless them. 

Multiple dictionaries are available at our fingertips from our online devices. And hey, it's not just standard dictionaries! I have found the "urban dictionary" to actually be helpful in my continued writing pursuits. Terms in this category often don't have an obvious definition in our mind. The terms sort of float around "out on the street" and this makes them no less effective or appropriate. Such use probably optimizes their currency. 

We should always defer to "the language of the people." This in fact is what communications is all about! It is not about all the stuffy parameters from English classes! I do feel for English teachers. They got into their profession through love of the language and of writing. The problem becomes "the ivory tower effect." (In using "becomes" I'm inspired by the late William F. Buckley.) 

Does anyone doubt we are in a world now where the ivory tower can only crumble more and more? It's just the way of the world. Academia must always adjust to the ways of the world.

Let's consider a movie

Barbara Stanwyck in "Ball of Fire"

The existence of slang reminds me of the movie "Ball of Fire" from 1941. Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck starred. Kudos to Stanwyck for having no problem later in life playing an older person as she did in TV's "Big Valley." 

Cooper plays a college professor in "Ball of Fire" who's striving to put together a directory of "slang." Stanwyck is a street-smart nightclub singer who gives the professor material. Might a relationship be in the works? Stay tuned. 

Fascinating: "Ball of Fire" was released five days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, so it's quite a snapshot of immediate pre-war America. If only our nation could have stayed untouched! But would we have ever seen the great American "middle class" that formed after the war? Ah, if only war could be fought with rubber bullets! 

It was a rubber bullet that struck MSNBC's Ali Velshi recently. He's a TV journalist who strives for objective coverage of Trump. And so Trump has cheered the injury from the rubber bullet. That's our world in the year 2020. Leading to what? The scenarios are horrifying to ponder. Just don't walk along the shoulder of roads after dark, in case it's a Republican office-holder coming your way.

 

My podcast entry for September 23

My "Morris Mojo" podcast entry on this beautiful fall day has to do with the new City of Morris water treatment plant. Unfortunately the news is not good. The new water is now downgraded to 7-10 grains. Please click on permalink:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Morris-water-treatment-plant-ek2jdt 

 

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

Oh deer: Jason Ravnsborg in terrible incident

Jason Ravnsborg, South Dakota AG

Jason Ravnsborg can weave explanations every which way, still he will never escape the shadow of what happened Saturday night (9/12). No matter how the facts stack up, or appear to stack up, the episode has disturbing overtones. I could make the more raw assessment that "it doesn't pass the smell test."
The tragic bulletin comes from the state that gave us Bill Janklow. It's a dubious thought. Perhaps the wide-open spaces of South Dakota - translate "dull" - tempt people at the wheel to be inadequately attentive. Any particular stretch of road matches the others. I have heard people describe the drive from Glenwood to Sauk Centre in Minnesota as being like this. Maybe we can paint South Dakota with the broad brush.
In Janklow's case it tempted him to speed. The former governor and congressman is no longer with us. He could not escape the shadow or stigma of an accident that took a person's life. Even after the tragedy, I heard him speak like he still felt an impulse to question speed restrictions.
Rural highways after dark call for maximum attention to safety. Watch what's behind you. This has always been true but it's more so today due to distracted driving. Was distracted driving involved with Ravnsborg? And BTW I wish he'd adjust his last name so it's easier to type - insert a vowel or something.
If he isn't losing sleep now over what happened, he's not a normal human being. This isn't to say he has no chance of avoiding legal punishment. He's the South Dakota attorney general, and a person with those kind of legal creds is going to make a strong case for non-culpability. An "accident?" The word itself implies non-culpability. The word might be discouraged in connection with what happened.
 
Impact had to be intense
The incident took the life of Joseph Boever, age 55. Is it a stretch to suggest "it strains credulity" that Ravnsborg would explain that he thought he hit a deer? Well, I think not.
Let's step back and consider: it is not easy to kill a human being. The entertainment industry with war movies and westerns can make killing seem routine sometimes. You shoot at someone and that person drops over "dead." I think military veterans, to the extent they'd even want to talk about it, would take exception. Death is often a prolonged affair because I'll repeat: it is not easy to kill an (adult) human being.
Consider further: Mr. Ravnsborg was not able to just drive off, albeit with a dented or somewhat damaged car. Hyde County Sheriff Mike Volek offered the attorney general his personal vehicle. Might strike some as an odd gesture but not by the standards of rural America.
The sheriff was not pursuing the matter earnestly because of the explanation that the collision was with a deer. Again, a typical thing to occur across the rural Upper Midwest.
Volek assisted Ravnsborg with the appropriate "paperwork" because I suppose there'd be an insurance claim. We must prioritize the financial aspect of such things, right? Had the law learned immediately that a person was dead, well I think matters would have been disposed most differently.
Ravnsborg had a cellphone flashlight at his disposal. That's more than I would have. And yet, after a collision so intense that it killed an adult and rendered the car immobile, the driver claimed not being able to locate whatever it was he struck.
He could not claim to have seen the image of a deer because it was not a deer. How could his vehicle have ended up so far from the recipient of the collision? "Recipient" is a grope for terminology because we have Ravnsborg's story of the deer juxtaposed with the quite different truth. (Darn: I can't type the guy's last name without checking my reference every time.)
Did Mr. Boever suffer before dying? Could he have been helped at the time the sheriff first arrived?
Ravnsborg is totally entitled to tell his story. And given his legal creds, he'll have the maximum opportunity to make his case. Still, how can we not think the incident is constantly haunting him now? And that's even if he sticks to his recounting. Even if we were to sincerely believe it, does it not show him in a bad light? You kill a human being, fail to see the body and then later you thought it was a deer? I would not want to take a story like this through the rest of my life.
Why was Ravnsborg out on the desolate stretch of South Dakota highway after dark? Did he have a family commitment or some sort of professional obligation in line with his virtuous government position? Well, no. It was partisan politics. Yuck. He was driving home from a Republican fundraiser on Saturday night.
He said he did call 911 immediately, but the Department of Public Safety would not confirm this on Monday.
Poor Joseph Boever had crashed his truck in the area earlier, and was walking toward it near the road when he was hit. What's with these South Dakota drivers, eh? Maybe it's the "wild west." The fatal collision - let's not call it "accident" - happened along U.S. Highway 14 about a mile west of Highmore SD. The attorney general was traveling west in his Ford Taurus. He reported looking around his vehicle in the aftermath, and seeing only "pieces of his vehicle." He said he didn't realize he hit a man until he returned to the scene the next morning. He returned with the idea of finding "the animal" he thought he'd hit, he said.
Well, consider: does it not strain credulity, based on what we can assume was the intensity of the impact, that the motorist could not see the cause of the crash? The "recipient" of the collision? To discover nothing would leave me flummoxed with confusion. And maybe downright fear as I'd wonder: what the heck just happened? Was it a UFO that departed in a streak? Something paranormal?

Let's apply the gray matter
A skeptic of the AG's story might say that the "deer" explanation is a crutch, something to pass muster at the time, allowing the motorist to buy time if, perchance, that person had consumed some alcohol. A frivolous occasion like a "Republican fundraiser" is ripe for suspicion that some refreshments were part of the repartee.
Ravnsborg was known not to be averse to alcohol. Naturally he denies he was drinking at the fundraiser. Oh of course that might be true. Or if he did drink, it might be nominal, not causing any concerning impairment. (Law enforcement would say "impairment is impairment," but the rest of us know reality.)
Anyone who would admit to consuming any alcohol before a fatal incident would, as they say, be in a heap of trouble. Here I could seriously opine that fear of DWI punishment is so intense that I'm sure it has cost lives in terms of fleeing. I think this precise scenario happened once around my home of Morris MN, but that's a separate topic now. It gives context for understanding the desperate measures some might take to avoid alcohol detection. When it comes to DWI, are we really trying to protect public safety or send a message about behavior that we disapprove of?
So we wonder if a compromised person might wish to "buy time." Another theory goes a step further in terms of being disturbing, but let's not discard it. I'd be remiss if I do not suggest that someone in Ravnsvborg's position, if the alcohol theory is weighed, might move the body so it would not be found until the next morning.
 
A question just hovers
How on earth could the body of a person end up so far from the point of collision? Wouldn't it be right there? This is purely opinion/speculation of course but it's mine, in this "true crime" post about a public official. Yes, no "crime" is officially affirmed but the speculation falls under the "true crime" rubric.
The "deer" crutch explanation would seem to absolve a person of any legal consequence. Hey it was an "accident." But such a story must be weighed as a possible "cover." If anyone could cover his tracks, it's an attorney who has risen to the AG's level. And how could we even "prove" that he didn't think he struck a deer? It seems almost an unfair defense on his part.
Let's say the driver strikes a stationary object. The driver could be judged negligent. Or an animal? If the body isn't there, well it must have run off. Give a shrug. (A reminder: animals cannot testify.)
On the morning after the crash, Ravnsborg and his chief of staff Tim Bormann made a trip to return the sheriff's borrowed car. They stopped at the spot of the accident. Ravnsborg said he discovered Boever's body in the grass just off the shoulder. He said he drove to Sheriff Volek's house and reported the dead body. They both returned to the scene. Volek said he'd pursue the investigation and told the attorney general to go back home to Pierre.
 
Me suspicious? Others are too
Boever's family said Monday they were suspicious about the investigation. They were disturbed having to wait 22 hours for identifying the deceased's body. Boever's cousin Victor Nemec said Boever had crashed his truck into a hay bale near the road Saturday evening. The explanation: reaching for some tobacco. Quite the rustic story for the New York City folks to consume! The crash happened at about 10:30 p.m.
Boever lived alone and he had been separated from his wife.
Nemec was disturbed about the circumstances of the collision: "A human doesn't look like a deer. The whole thing stinks to me."
The Republican fundraiser that was so important for Ravnsborg was hosted by the Spink County Republicans at Rooster's Bar and Grill. The fundraiser was among many under the label "Lincoln Day Dinners" held by the GOP. I wonder how much $ they raised.
An AP News report quoted Bormann saying that Ravnsborg "drinks occasionally but has made it a practice not to drink at the Lincoln Day events." A state senator at the event said "I didn't see him with anything but a Coke." Let's not be Pollyannish. And don't overlook the partisan bonding in light of the worsening schism in America caused by President Trump: blue vs. red.

The late Bill Janklow

In Janklow's footsteps

There is a little of Bill Janklow in Ravnsborg, as the AG has received six traffic tickets for speeding in South Dakota over the last six years. He also got tickets for seat belt and for driving without a proper exhaust and muffler system. It was Janklow, you might remember, who killed a motorcyclist after running a stop sign at a rural intersection. The former four-term governor was convicted of manslaughter. He was congressman at the time and he resigned.
Partisan politics? South Dakota has a Republican governor, Kristi Noem, and didn't she float the idea - levity or not? - of having Trump added to Mount Rushmore? So I wonder: Might Boever have been a registered Democrat?
Besides the late Janklow, we are reminded of the Amy Senser incident in the Twin Cities. Senser, who had notoriety for being married to onetime Viking star Joe, was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide in the 2011 death of Anousone Phanthavong.
Minnesota once had a governor, Rudy Perpich, who chided South Dakota as "50th in everything." Dead men tell no tales. Neither can deer.
 
Addendum: I began this post thinking it would be routine, but now my head is swimming with thoughts. So let me add: The sheriff might be questioned in any legal proceedings that ensue. I'd ask him: Did you ask Ravnsborg if he actually saw a deer at the time of impact? Wouldn't you assume the guy would get a fleeting glimpse? And if the answer was "no," he should have felt suspicion. Had Boever been found at the time, might he have been alive and responsive to treatment? Also, will Ravnsborg get a routine insurance settlement for damage to his vehicle? If all else fails, insurance companies are really good at "peeling the banana" and getting the facts out.
  
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Jason Lewis fits mold of Trump sycophants

Jason Lewis (mpr image)

Not one but two photos of a smiling Jason Lewis appear on the screen this morning. There are two stories posted on the radio station website. Marshall is pretty reliable doing this work. Will he be staying here long-term? There are reports he may not. Too bad. But perhaps he could have done a little more digging when writing about the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.
Lewis is matched against Tina Smith. I have a local friend in business who was approached about having a courtesy visit from Smith recently. Not sure if it happened, but this individual told me he would not want to appear in a photo with Democrat Smith. He was concerned it could actually hurt business because his sense, probably accurate, is that the local business community is ardently anti-Democratic Party. A shame we have such a firm line drawn between political parties these days.
The Democrats are not crowded out in the lawn sign derby, if you want to call it that. But I am concerned that a plurality of the business and opinion leaders in the Morris area are quite "red" in their sensibilities. None of the scandalous news coming out about Trump phases them at all. They are completely programmed in their attitudes. No point in even trying to challenge them on their views. And they seem to project sharp enmity toward those differing with them. That be me.
This is different from what I experienced through much of my life. It's as if the Republicans believe they are crusading for the literal survival of America. If they believe that, no wonder they show such sharp, almost dangerous disdain toward dissenters from their views. It's like they feel we no longer have a two-party system - it's simply good vs. evil. And so these people would be disposed to like Jason Lewis.
Marshall has this headline on the KMRS-KKOK site: "Jason Lewis says pandemic response a 'big blunder. ' " Well, I would agree, Mr. Lewis, but surely you aren't coming at this issue in the same manner as yours truly. No, that would never happen. So, how does the reliable Marshall report on what Lewis says? Oh, Lewis says "a lot of mistakes have been made with the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, in what he sees as an over-reaction to the possible spread that has left the country in economic ruins." Lewis feels we'll look back on the response as "a big blunder."
Like a typical Republican, he goes into contortions constructing arguments to suggest the Democrats actually have sinister motives, that behind it all is nothing more than an effort to take down Donald Trump! Trump is a sacred golden cow. Republicans are mesmerized and have their normal cognitive functions disengaged. Such a curious psychological phenomenon. Allegiance to Trump trumps everything, as it were.
 
Trail of wounded people
People who have worked under Trump and who sought to show their best judgment are at great risk for being discarded, and then scorned and condemned by their former Republican compatriots. Well there's Jeff Sessions and now Jim Mattis, the latter a genuinely heroic and compassionate soul. But it does not matter. I repeat: it does not matter. "Cult" is not overstatement. It is in fact dead-on.
What could be more dangerous, more absolutely existential? But the Republicans with the visage of a bulldog have their mind made up. Case closed. They feel any criticism of Trump, even from those with a conservative pedigree, must be part of a scheme to end the Trump presidency, to "take Trump down." And how do you even reason with these people? Why does Trump simply have to be president? Aren't there plenty of intelligent and qualified conservatives, certainly people with political experience that would help them navigate the waters better?
Oh but the Trump loyalists celebrate Trump "not being a politician." And yes, we may pay an enormous price for this.

Jason Lewis w/ President Trump (city pages image)

What does Marshall's other article about Lewis have to say? Well, the candidate expresses chagrin about the national debt. The pot calling the kettle black. Yes, the debt is an issue. The Republicans currently have control of the Senate and presidency, and for two years they had a trifecta: control of the House too. You can argue the deficit is an overrated concern. But if not, Republicans have a fair amount of answering to do. Oh, "Lewis did not provide any specifics of what he would cut."
 
Need more probing interview
Lewis has spoken on an array of topics in his media career. Maybe Marshall could have asked him to elaborate more on one or two provocative statements.
Minnpost reported via CNN in July of 2018 that "a Republican congressman," that being Lewis, "has a long history of making deeply misogynistic comments on the radio, including lamenting that women can no longer be called 'sluts.' "
Do we really need to discuss this? Minnpost's reporting continued: While doing "The Jason Lewis Show" on syndicated radio from 2009 to 2014, he argued that "young single women vote based on coverage of birth control pills." He added that these women "were not human beings and were without brains."
I wish Marshall at our radio station had perhaps challenged Lewis to elaborate in a way that might take off some of the sharp edge. Oh, but how could that be done? None of this matters to the Trump loyalists of Stevens County who actually express their allegiance with full-blown flagpoles, not just little flags pushed into the ground. One yard sign isn't enough for a lot of these people. A small sign is hardly sufficient for them. Look at that residence next to East Side Park in Morris - it's exhibit 'A' of this phenomenon.
These people must be programmed the same way as professional wrestling fans. "Get that bum!" But so much is at stake with our elections now.
"We need to stop the socialists." Well fine, let's axe Social Security and Medicare. This crowd is trying to axe the Affordable Care Act, which might have a better shot at survival if its main name was not "Obamacare," named for a black man. Amazing, in the year 2020. George Wallace, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you? Maybe it's happening.
What can I do about it? I'll quote Alex Karras from the movie "Blazing Saddles": "Mongo just pawn in game of life."
BTW the KMRS-KKOK website is probably the best local news source. Kudos.

My podcast re. Morris Floral Building
It's sad that the Morris Floral Building has fallen into a dilapidated state. The city is applying pressure for this to be resolved. My "Morris Mojo" podcast for September 16 deals with this subject and how it relates to the old Morris Main Street program. The Main Street program saw Morris Floral as maybe the highlight of main street because of its Spanish architecture. I reminisce about Main Street and the Meiss boys. The permalink:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/The-Morris-Floral-building-ejntem

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

Catholics lean toward zealous evangelicals

Assumption Catholic Church, Morris MN

Are the Catholics joining hands with the evangelicals? Concerns mount that misplaced Christianity is influencing our politics in a dangerous way. "Evangelicals" is a loose term, one the media latches onto because it's convenient for describing a certain type of American. And the media loves "shorthand." It loves convenient labels.
But of course we know the "evangelicals" are a real force. We can think of churches in our Morris who are assuredly conservative. But there we go with labels again: "conservative." Let's lay that out with "evangelicals."
Jerry Falwell Jr. gave so much impetus for defining "evangelicals." And it was to be equated with supporting Donald Trump.
Are there "conservative" churches in our Morris area with members who might secretly vote for a few Democrats? There is at least one local "conservative" minister who I feel privately has a lot more sense than what he shows in front of parishioners. He's willing to respect his church policies/doctrines. Informally I find him far more agreeable than that. Although, I can't be certain of all the exact thoughts floating in his head. I try to have faith in certain people. It's the only way to live. I won't name names because people get so emotional about these matters.
What about the Catholic Church? For years my skepticism about the Catholics had to do with clergy sex abuse revelations. Is it so hard to withdraw from a church that gets in such serious trouble harming kids? Normally our attitude out here in Morris, the quiet hinterland, is that "well, these are problems in places like Boston but we're Morris." We of course had a pretty serious problem with a Catholic priest in Morris a few years ago. Forget "it can't happen here."
That's why I worry about the problem of police misconduct. Will we end up with a controversial shooting/killing here? Don't shake your head. In the years when I handled newspaper distribution in Morris, I had a little jackknife on my key ring for cutting strings on newspaper bundles. If a state trooper were to pull me over now, would he determine that I was "armed" and put seven bullets into me? I feel uncomfortable if I even see cops in the restaurant.
We might have expected clergy sex abuse to be an existential threat to the Catholics. It certainly must have drained them. But it looks as though they're still standing. Maybe sex abuse has been dealt with well enough to be put on the back burner. Well if not, why do people still belong? I thought we prioritized the health and safety of our kids so much. Why doesn't the Catholic Church end its policy of celibacy? We all know that's the root of the problem.
 
Catholics and politics
Now we read about Catholic clergy who are joining with the evangelicals for political ends. All the headlines are suggesting that Christianity is going so far beyond the wisdom of the gospel. Christ's teaching emphasized tolerance and an empathy for the poor and struggling. It's not about Ayn Rand or the "prosperity gospel."
An item in the news now is out of Wisconsin, right next door. It's the state of U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, one of Trump's biggest loyalists. Minnesota too is trending to the right politically, according to conventional wisdom. Are the Dakotas going to bleed into us that drastically? We in Morris are so close to the Dakotas and the likes of Governor Kristi Noem and U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer. Stevens County appears supportive of our quite conservative state senator and representative.
Are the Catholics now feeding this, in addition to the evangelicals? A Wisconsin priest slammed a fellow clergy member who spoke at the Democratic convention. Father James Altman pointed fingers at Father James Martin. Fr. Altman of St. James the Less Catholic Church - St. James the Less? - lashed out after Fr. Martin participated in the Democratic Party event. Fr. Altman called on any Catholic Democrats to revoke their support of the party or "face the fires of hell."
I glean this info from a Fox News article. Fox News is pretty credible in the eyes of conservatives.
Fr. Altman posted a ten-minute video in which he called Fr. Martin a "hyper, confusion-spreading heretic." More: "Here is a memo to clueless Catholics out there: You cannot be a Catholic and be a Democrat. Period."
Ah, "period." I remember when the Morris Sun Tribune ran a guest editorial that ended with "enough said." Jim Morrison was amused, as he translated this to mean "no further discussion necessary." Yes, the right wingers don't like a prolonged discussion on anything. Their views are so baked in, why risk confusion or being put on the defensive by people making sound contrary arguments? Like on climate change, to cite one issue. Extended discussions are inconvenient for them. They are impulsive and like to just latch onto certain ideas.
Pro-life: Well, who wouldn't want to be pro-life? A pro-life person would have wanted the president of the United States to be far more proactive from the get-go with the virus, using the massive resources of the Federal government in a coordinated nationwide way. Wouldn't this be necessary to be "pro-life?"
And some of the righties have sort of shrugged and rationalized that it's mostly older people dying. It doesn't call for the same level of concern? Because the older people aren't contributing much to society anymore? Because they'll probably just die soon anyway? We had a Stevens County resident die of the virus at age 64. Is that really old? This individual might have looked forward to another 20-30 years of life. The people are cherished family members whether or not they are engaged in employment any more.
But pro-lifers weren't aroused to anger when the likes of Ben Shapiro expressed the questionable rationale re. age. Shapiro is just a commentator but Trump is president.
Commenting on Trump seems almost futile, obviously, because his legions of supporters don't care what comes out about him. Do you really think the revelations from Bob Woodward are going to result in fewer Trump flags and yard signs in the Morris area? Well of course not. We're past any hope on that.
And my concern as I write this, is that if there's a movement by Catholics to join the Jerry Falwell Jr. types, we'll sink into an ever deeper hole in this nation. Fr. Altman said "repent of your support of the (Democratic) Party and its platform, or face the fires of hell." (Do you wonder why young people are falling away from organized religion?)

Memo to public schools
I will state again: If churches are extending themselves so far into right wing politics, our public schools should quit setting aside Wednesday as "church night." This accommodation only facilitates the dangerous rhetoric and behavior.
Wednesday could be opened up for school activities like sports and music concerts. Well, we probably already have enough sports, but I know there's some tension in trying to work in arts events. The school activities would be so much healthier for the kids than church, at least with the right wing-oriented churches.
Is there refuge? For now we can look at the two ELCA churches of Morris. However, these churches do not appear as robust as they once were. I belong, and now I have to listen to Catholics telling me I'll go to hell for supporting progressive political ideas. It is those ideas that the ELCA has sought to be receptive to. It is the accommodative spirit of Christ himself.

Catholic bishop backs Fr. Altman
Maybe you think one or two Catholic priests don't carry that much weight. Well. . . Catholic Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler TX endorsed Altman's remarks about Martin. Strickland wrote "thank you Father Altman for your courage. If you love Jesus and his church and this nation, please heed this message."
Last fall, practicing Catholic Joe Biden was denied communion by a priest in South Carolina over his beliefs on abortion. The presiding priest said "any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of church teaching."
The outlier Fr. Martin is a Vatican consultant. He said he has heard a number of priests say voting for Joe Biden was a "mortal sin."
I wonder how our Morris area churches will come through the upcoming cold weather months which will likely present no fellowship due to the pandemic. A final thought: The Morris City Council is so concerned about passing laws relative to our water softeners, when they might consider a law prohibiting the Apostolic Church.
  
Memo to Joe Biden: How can you be content staying in a church that refuses to give you communion? Come on over to the ELCA synod of the Lutheran faith. You'll be happy and warmly welcomed.
 
Please visit my podcast
I continue with some thoughts in today's vein with the "Morris Mojo" podcast. But first! But first I recall last night's walk home and seeing a skunk by the Morris armory. Skunk sightings have been more frequent over the past few months. I wonder: Why did God create both skunks and racoons? Arguing this might be preferable to arguing politics. I invite you to click on link below:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Nature-during-walk-home-eje2ga

 

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

Cold is coming, so whither our mood in Morris?

We should protect people's lives/health here (B.W. photo)

We had one thing going for us when the pandemic broke: we could at least look forward to the warm weather months. Now we're on the obverse side. I put on sweat pants and sweatshirt when getting up this morning. That will be typical for a period of time longer than I care to think about.
We live in Minnesota with the knowledge that the cold weather months just go on and on. We pretend we can stay cheerful but there's a kind of futility. Minus the pandemic we could get along fine. "Getting along fine" sounds rather Minnesotan, doesn't it?
The federal government is starting to use public relations to deal with the pandemic, to "sell" its efforts. Same thing was done in the response to the Flint MI water crisis. And did the residents there ever get proper relief from that? Michigan had a Republican governor then - at present it's a Democratic female.
I believe the predicted low temperature for this coming Monday is 42 degrees. Minnesotans at this time of year can feel an urge to think "maybe we'll have a mild winter." It's denial. "Maybe I won't have to use the snow blower, or at least not much." When the contrary reality happens, we just have to deal with it.
There are indications now that the federal government is inclined toward "herd immunity" as a strategy vs. Covid. Millions could die. We elected the head of the federal government and we might just have to deal with it.
The Morris community is rife with talk now about how a particular religious denomination has become a concentration of Covid cases. The rumor is prevalent so if it's wrong, the media or the church itself should act to correct it. If this talk is supported by fact, I do not expect the local commercial media to inform us about it. It would be too sensitive, would step on toes. If all of this were not such a life or death matter, I might just shrug. Mainly I'd shrug because the people showing such questionable judgment are so important and influential in the Morris area. The questionable judgment is in the form of allowing formal church services.

Apostolic Christian Faith Church of Hancock

We're talking a Christian sect that I have found from personal observation to be 100 percent devoted to Donald Trump. A friend of mine who has connections to the Morris legal community said "they just feel God will take care of them." God and Donald Trump, I presume.
This friend repeated what I'd heard about the church/Covid connection.
The lack of federal government initiative means we are headed to an arduous time. I would suggest we're not ready psychologically for the endless-seeming cold weather months. The opiate of football is not available.
The radio station website informs us there was a spike last weekend in the number of confirmed Covid cases in Stevens County, up to 45. This compares to 64 for Pope, 63 for Swift, 55 for Grant, 21 for Traverse, 34 for Big Stone and 166 for Douglas.
I'm suggesting that our collective mood will be threatened in the period of time lying ahead. How will we handle adversity when it becomes more difficult if not impossible to get fresh air outside? And when we live with indoor air continuously? More forced togetherness with family, which we only hope will go well.
 
Distress close to home
My concern about our collective mood is supported by this kmrs-kkok website headline: "Grant County getting violent." We're right next door of course. "Grant County Chief Deputy Jon Combs told the Grant County board of commissioners that crime in the county has taken a violent turn." Another snippet from the comments: ". . .we are not quiet little Grant County anymore, and it's frightening." I was rather surprised to read that.
 
Now vs. then in Morris
Looking over our community of Morris, we are not the buzzing, contented "people" type of place we once were. The Shopko building was once abuzz. The Coborn's/McDonald's parking lot was a "hopping" place. Coborn's was a 24-hour grocery store. The businesses there now are nice but don't draw as many people. IMHO "people" activity is important to assess when checking the condition of a town, and we have allowed our annual Prairie Pioneer Days to shrivel away and die. This trend was fully established before the pandemic.
Don's Cafe opens at 8 a.m. now, was 6 a.m. pre-pandemic.
We have an outdoor performing stage at East Side Park. A group of people once thought it would be positive for Morris to have this. The stage got negligible use even before the pandemic. When I try dropping hints about how performing groups might organize there for summer, I get disrespectful retorts. "Nobody has time" or "why don't you do it yourself?" But kids of the community have gone to great lengths to attend sports camps and play in sports leagues in summer. But performing arts? That's way too much trouble for people. When I was in high school we had a very robust marching band. Yes, a celebration of "people activity" or "youth activity." What could be more uplifting? But now our community seems so quiet, almost morose and cynical. And people get gruff if you challenge them about it. We have a Chamber of Commerce to try to combat this. The Chamber allowed Prairie Pioneer Days to fade away.
Could things get worse or darker here if the state of affairs in Grant County spills over? Marshall's article concluded:
"Combs did not know if the cases (of the crime) had to do with the economy or Covid-19, but he does not see the situation getting any better anytime soon."
  
Yes, and we are on the doorstep now of the prolonged depression-inducing cold weather months. We may be underestimating the distress we may be about to fall into.
Will we slowly discover just how incompetent was the federal government in dealing with the spreading virus? That's tough to argue to people locally, due to the overwhelming local support for Trump, a factor led in part by the church denomination we're discussing here. If Trump dismisses the virus threat or masks or makes other such gestures, the Apostolics will certainly reflect that.
So the Shopko building is empty, the old Sunwood looks rather inactive and then there's Northern Impressions. The old Lesmeister Motors on East 7th is vacant. These are just the discouraging examples I can cite from top of my head. We are losing "people activity" and in the process, some intangibles that lend themselves to contentment and morale as a community.
Kids were everywhere in town when I was young. Many of us misbehaved, sometimes badly. We have heard the joke about "how did the boomers survive growing up?" We laugh but we ought to consider the intangibles of simply "living life" without so many laws and restrictions to protect our "safety." We "let it all hang out."
We reminisce with fondness but with resignation, like we know those days are never coming back. Prices were lower for everything. At present we have a Federal Reserve under Trump that wants to see more inflation. We seem to accept this as if we are sheep.

Intersection of school, church "misconduct"
Will school start here on September 8? Will the Covid spike and its strongly suggested connection to a local religious denomination be an impediment for families?
An email from a friend on August 29:
"I heard a rumor (no, didn't read it on the Internet but heard from an MAHS teacher) that there were at least 50 Apostolics in the area that had tested positive for the Covid. If that is the case, that may well affect the September 8 start of school for here and Hancock." 
 
This contact of mine followed up later with the following:
"If the Apostolics story is true, then yes, I would attribute it to their resumption of church services for the last month or so. I would also assume they are for the most part 'anti-maskers' as well." 

I have heard such reports echoed by others in the days since. I have talked to quite responsible people. And if the issue was right vs. left politics or oddball religious views, only, well we need not make a fuss. But the issues at hand, school starting along with our very lives, warrant attention.
Some people might think the absence of football is the most concerning issue. Well, this is Morris, Minnesota, a place where enlightenment can seem an elusive commodity.

My podcast for Sept. 1
My "Morris Mojo" podcast episode for today is inspired by the UMM choir rehearsals at East Side Park. These are limited due to the obvious circumstances of the health concern. A few students show up twice a week, weather permitting, and go through exercises under Brad Miller. The permalink:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/UMM-choir-at-park-eivoc1
 
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com