Volleyball Tigers debut with 1-3 loss at Olivia

Nice to report some high school sports news even before the Labor Day weekend. We're all comforted seeing the Tigers in action. So the new volleyball season is underway. Thanks to my Central Minnesota newspaper friend for checking the West Central Tribune website for a report. And there is one: MACA versus BOLD. 

Unfortunately the match did not have a winning end. Our lone success was in Game 3, a 25-16 advantage over the Warriors. Alas, the other three games had a down note for the orange and black. Here's a complete review of the night's scores with the MACA numbers first: 18-25, 10-25, 25-16 and 13-25. 

So, some work to do in order to find a more authoritative style. BOLD upped its mark to 2-0. The Tigers were in their season-opening match. 

My old newspaper comrade gleaned some BOLD individual highlights and shared with me. As for MACA, the WC Trib had the line "stats not available." Last I checked, MACA was not in the official coverage territory of the WC Trib. We got taken off, so our kids are not in for things like "All Area." Not even Jackson Loge. I should check on how this young man is doing in college hoops. 

"Stats not available" is probably not accurate if the WC Trib does not solicit this info from the Morris coaches. I suspect that if a coach were to attempt to call them in, the Trib would accommodate. I'm only operating on theories. When I worked in the Morris media myself, I knew everything! 

The WC Trib tells us that Layla Pfarr performed 31 set assists for the victorious Warriors. In the kill department it was Addy Knakes standing out with her 25. And Grace Tersteeg had five ace blocks. The match was played in Olivia. 

My newspaper friend works out of Bonanza Valley. In his email to me, he relates how the WC Trib just won't back off from calling us "Morris/CA." I have inserted comments on this error several times in my online writing. Either I'm ignored or my clarification falls on deaf ears. We are of course "MACA." This is not a quibble. 

WC Trib owner Forum Communications can obviously be stubborn. They were in Morris for a few years and then left us. It's my belief that they came close to shuttering the Morris paper. My Bonanza Valley friend is in good position to know this and he asserted what Forum's intentions were: to close the Morris paper. Maybe word got around here and people went to work making sure our paper could be salvaged. The paper went to once weekly under the Forum's austere leadership. It was not a worker-friendly place. 

The paper has survived but unfortunately its website can barely be called token. You all should know that many newspapers choose to have a fairly dynamic website, a site worth visiting. I wonder if some locals might agitate the paper's current ownership to make the site more fluid, current and helpful. Giving content away? Maybe yes to a degree but it's great public relations. 

At present with the mere once-weekly print product, the timeliness of sports coverage suffers way too much. You might say it's inexcusable. But it could be worse: What if Forum Communications had succeeded in canceling the Morris paper? Well, I suppose a lot of local businesses could be spared the expense of advertising! Don't we all just use the web anyway? Speaking for myself, I do. 

The West Central Tribune should refer to our team as "Morris Area Chokio Alberta" because that is what is officially recognized, not "Morris/CA." Shout from the rooftop. Initials can be confusing, as shown by "MBA" standing for both "Morris Baseball Association" and "Morris Benson Area" (youth hockey). 

One last point about the Morris paper these days: These pieces by Mr. Anfinson on Page 4 seem to be getting awfully redundant.

Cross country action too

Morris has long been proud to be the site for start-of-season cross country. The Morris golf course becomes the focus of attention. It's a longstanding tradition in this time of year when summer-like temperatures can most certainly be felt. For sure it can be tough on the runners who may not be in the best of shape yet. It's a wake-up call. Cool fall weather is the best. 

The 2023 early-bird meet from Pomme de Terre Golf Course is now history. And we saw Hailey Werk of the Tigers place third in the girls running. Thirteen teams assembled to vie. Kendal Fischer arrived at the finish chute 19th while MACA as a team took seventh. Top individual was Madi Wendlandt of Paynesville. Top team was New London-Spicer. 

Alas our boys team had an "inc." showing (incomplete). That's kind of a downer. Our top performers were Grady Stallman (44th) and Ethan Koehler (49th). Kudos to these two for helping keep the program going. It's a rewarding sport. Coach Dale Henrich keeps watch on it all from his trusty bicycle. You might encounter them all along the biking/walking trail. 

The boys race winner was Ethan Drevlow of Sauk Centre. And Sauk Centre had the top boys team.

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

MACA/WCA tennis edged by Wadena-DC

The MACA/WCA tennis Tigers were edged 4-3 at the hands of Wadena-Deer Creek. It is Saturday morning as I write this, and my breakfast server at DeToy's was Chloe Zimmel who played second singles for the Tigers. She was a winner! Zimmel won in a close match vs. Charlie Snyder, 6-4, 6-4. 

All three of our wins were in the singles category. Catherine "Cate" Kehoe was a victor at first singles. Kehoe sure found her rhythm after a poor start. My goodness, she was on the losing end of the first set 0-6! Then she picked herself up by the bootstraps and won 6-3 and 10-7. 

Congrats to Cate who is the grandchild of my former co-worker at the Morris newspaper, Janet Kehoe. I'm sure Janet is excited every time Cate succeeds. I gave Janet a personal phone call the day after Cate made four 3-pointers in a basketball game. We're all happy that Cate appears to have recovered so well from an injury. 

The other MACA winner versus WDC was Ava Breuer who played fourth singles. Ava turned back Genevieve Pinnella of WDC 6-1 and 7-5. Our Lilia Asmus at third singles was on the short end against Claire Kapphahn, 1-6 and 0-6. 

Let's look at the doubles category where we had Ashley Koehl and Nora Meek at the No. 1 position. Koehl and Meek were defeated by the Fiemeyer girls - Katie and Anna - 2-6 and 1-6. At No. 2 doubles we saw our Grace Hauglie and Izabell Hoffman defeated by Kelanie Oldakowski and Emma Weninger, 6-7 (2), 6-1 and 8-10. The No. 3 MACA doubles team of Heidi Seales and Molly Wayne fell to Ryann Schmidt and Chloe Leeseberg, 4-6, 7-5 and 5-10. 

My neighbor up on Northridge Drive is tennis coach Britney House. The zinnia flowers in front of my house still look good with fall getting closer. Come on by and look.

 

Autumn sports beckons

We are eager of course to start getting the usual diet of high school sports news. Until the sport of football disappears, we'll have to continue paying attention to it. That includes yours truly with his local journalism. I should not second-guess the school board with its desire to continue offering the sport of football to our boys. 

Why should any sport be boys-only? That seems inconsistent with our current social standards in America. Is this preferred treatment for boys? I could argue the exact opposite. We are learning more and more about the health dangers of football. Sometimes the effects take time to begin showing themselves. 

You can dismiss people like me to your own detriment. I'm sure most of you think football is an activity to be taken lightly, to prompt a smile when the subject comes up. You will go on doing this at your peril or really the peril of the high school male population. 

Boys who start playing football in the junior high grades are too young to make a responsible judgment about this. The worst thing is for young boys to "go out for football" because of peer pressure. This is such a danger, schools should put out formal advisories about this. But I'm sure they don't. 

One of the best critiques I have seen of football over the last few years was a "suggested" release form for parents to sign. Parents confronted with such blunt and honest language would be fools to allow their sons to play. In the meantime, the American public has developed such a love affair with football from watching it on "the tube," they have become to a large extent blinded about how our young people should be protected from it. 

I could be selfish here and say I am lucky: I had neither the talent nor interest to play football. At age 68 I do not have to worry about experiencing cognitive decline as a result of playing the sport. 

 

That was then

I think that in a past time, football served the purpose of preparing young men to serve in the military in a foreign war. Football was supposed to instill such discipline: do as you're told. That's what it takes in the military where you have a gun and are supposed to kill other people while they try to kill you. 

Remember when you hear the sanctimonious speeches on Memorial Day and Veterans Day: The veterans who are speaking are ones who survived. Many of them may not have been exposed to any combat risk. There is nothing good about war. Today we use economic sanctions and "special ops" in place of massive armies. Conflict is always bad. 

Don't let anyone tell you that the WWII generation of men benefited from all the discipline of military service, or that they ought to be grateful for all the "benefits" they later got from military service. We would all be better off to have foregone military conflict. 

How many of his own generals did Hitler have killed? You can look it up. Was that regime really going to stand up? The people's will can never be held down for long. I view our nation's military veterans to have largely been victims. The government leaders themselves would never put their lives on the line. Wars are not fought between people, they are fought between governments. Governments just use propaganda to get people behind them. The Japanese people were absolutely subjugated. 

How much have we learned? Sometimes I wonder. But to cut to the chase here: it is not acceptable to continue having a boys-only sport in high school. Just stop and think about it: Any sport that is too dangerous for girls is too dangerous for everyone. 

It is amazing the arc that has been followed, from a time when girls had almost zero athletic opportunities - like when UMM first started - to the present where girls have it better than boys. Girls sports are safer and more healthy than boys sports while being totally vigorous and challenging. In wrestling, boys are under too much pressure to lose weight. This can cause long-term physiological harm. Football? It should be made illegal.

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

Hope? Maybe a precedent from U.S. Civil War

A figurine of Union General John Buford

"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us."

- Samuel Smiles

 

It is 3:30 a.m. and there is no respite from the Trump-centric news. Sometimes we read about how histories will be written about this strange time. But there's a presumption that we will exit from this period and go back to our norms. We can pray for that to happen. I shouldn't use that term because it conjures up how Republicans encourage "thoughts and prayers" after a mass shooting. 

Let's say we can hope that our overall culture gets back on an even keel. Then we can start digesting some histories of the perverse Trump chapter in America. I am far from convinced that we are really going to survive this. Elections have consequences and political priorities have consequences. Donald Trump was president for four years and has been "in our face" with his oddly galvanizing persona since 2016. Were he a mere celebrity we could be amused. But this is real world stuff. 

Informed people close to our UMM tell me that "Trump got rid of the foreign students and that was our cash cow." I might quote Michael Lackey, a very sharp guy from the faculty. My friends would instantly sniff and say "he's (just a) liberal UMM person." I have had UMM's new chancellor confirm the accounts from others: UMM was dealt a blow with what happened in connection to the foreign students. 

Everyone agrees that the Chinese students who were here were from wealthy families. Wealthy or not, it was a joy having them, just as it is a joy for any and all young people to come here. 

I happened upon the UMM welcome picnic last night (Monday) by accident. My timing was good, arrived at the perfect time to get a nice plateful of food. Man, did I ever need that: I put aside my stringent dietary recommendations and availed myself of the fare. I reason that I can make a rare exception to the rules. I have no regrets. It is 3:30 a.m. and I have had no side effects with my Metformin medication. I will continue on the road of prudence.

I really truly try to stay disciplined for both myself and my physician, Dr. Huikko. Hey, I had a Coke last night! I'm feeling fine. 

I thank the Lord for all days where my health seems sound. Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die? Oh no, I say that only in jest. Since I have been losing weight, might I be able to get a date with a shapely female? Once again I'm joking. After 68 years on this planet, I doubt the odds will ever go up for that. "Mongo just pawn in game of life." 

 

Sans fashion?

I looked around at all the UMM students at the park last night and compared them to my generation when young. Well, with my generation it was much easier to differentiate with the two genders. Today it seems "unisex" clothing has taken over and there's little sense of "fashion," not in the way I remember it. Girls felt some impulse to look like girls. 

Here's another interesting reminder: In the earlier time you did not see T-shirts or other clothing with printing on it that referenced local places. It was very rare - you'd have to special-order it. And then as you wore it around you'd get comments about it. Today? Such clothing with the local references are - I can't help but use the word - "ubiquitous." Zero novelty. 

I remember the bumper sticker "Where the heck is Cyrus?" (This was actually derived from "Where the hell is Bird Island?") Today such things would blend in with the whole endless panoply. Times change. I do notice such things. We never saw kids with colored hair when I was young. Also, far fewer of us were overweight. 

Oh, maybe it's not considered "overweight" any more. Maybe it's all within standard or accepted norms now. So maybe I'm being improperly judgmental. 

 

Statue of John Buford

Goodbye to some

I have friends who might enjoy reading this post but they may have been turned off where I starred out writing about Trump. They get irritated. Why do I harp away? Simple: Trump continues to loom with the threat of obtaining real power again. And next time around, he'll try to go full autocrat. Hey, he has essentially told us that. 

And we don't care? Nothing fazes his supporters who are like the wild-eyed characters in a sci-fi movie. Their brains totally ossified now? Well yes, in spades. I'm trying to point all this out even though it can seem futile. 

I'm certain that our local Apostolic Christians would vote 100 percent for Trump again. No flinching, no hesitation, even the women. Life is strange. 

UMM itself is supposed to edify people. It's not working. Our country may be crumbling around us. However, I am reminded of Day 1 of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863: The great Union cavalry commander John Buford was defeatist as hell, thinking there was no way the coming Confederate offensive could be blunted. "Lee will get all his men behind fat rocks," he said. But he suddenly put on a different face. He said among other things "we're gonna hold here in the morning." 

Buford ended up a Gettysburg hero. Maybe the Trump supporters of today - Apostolics included - regret that the Confederates lost. That's the way it seems. Well, I love America the way it once was. And I am thankful that we have UMM with its "liberal" professors. I disagree that Mr. Lackey should be dismissed as "liberal." Listen to him for God's sake. Oh you won't. You are such lemmings. 

 

Sam Elliott as John Buford in movie

Striving for hope

I'll be like General Buford here and try to do an about-face: maybe there is hope with the 14th Amendment, to prevent Trump from getting on the ballot again. But hell, I don't know all the logistics for that. The biggest handicap - the "elephant in the room" - is that the GOP leadership is just totally hopeless. I will try to hope anyway. 

There was an article on Yahoo News Monday. The headline: "How states can keep Donald Trump off the ballot in 2024." There's more than a kernel of hope with that, IMHO. Pray again? 

Trump's push for an insurrection or rebellion is a catalyst here for remedial action. Remedial action to help good win over evil. Conservative legal scholars are joining the argument for keeping Trump ineligible. But once "conservatives" come forward with reasoning like this, so many of their "conservative" brethren brand them as not really conservatives, or as "RINOs." 

Trump believes in no compromise ever. He wants the extreme Republican agenda forced down our throats. Look at what he has given us with the Supreme Court. I place considerable blame on Mitch McConnell. He once posed for a photo standing in front of a big Confederate flag. 

I posted the following comment to Yahoo News later in the day Monday. I got quite a bit of response, not as much positive as I would have liked. But there was some quite positive feedback. My comment:

 

Very interesting, but we have been dragged into this whole mess by the failure of Congress to impeach/convict, if not the first time around then the second. The second might have been achieved if Mitch McConnell as the Senate GOP leader had asserted himself properly. My goodness, we could have "moved on" and the GOP could have completely recovered from any embarrassment. Trump could have gone back to simply being the kind of celebrity he was before 2016: amusing, not dangerous. We may be dealing with the consequences now of too many elderly people in government, because McConnell may have been a little off-kilter. But we aren't supposed to question him because "he had polio as a child." If we all experience the wrath of Trump - "retribution" - the responsibility may lie at McConnell's doorstep. I dare say, praying won't be enough.

 

Here's how "Carl" responded to me:

If one of the big lib states like NY or CA were to keep Trump off the ballot, he'd lose those potential electoral votes and that'd lead to an interesting battle between red and blue??

 

Thanks to "Brandy" for this reaction:

It wasn't just McConnell's age, it was also he wanted the GOP to be in power and not look bad, even though they are bad. He even cheated out Obama in selecting a SCOTUS lying and saying it was too late in his presidency, giving Trump more to appoint. Just disgusting. If McConnell would have been a man and rallied the GOP to get rid of a lawless President, like you said, it would have been over for Trump a long time ago. 

From "Lockhimup45":

Unfortunately I believe McConnell’s own health will prevent him from ever seeing the true consequences from his failures to stop that dumpster fire when he had full power to do so.

 

From "Jim": (presumably not Jim Morrison):

I agree Brian. . .If the Senate Republicans would have convicted the Fascist insurrectionist in January of 2021, we would not be talking about this.

 

(Anonymous) responded to my comment:

Do you honestly believe the 7 year plot called Stop the Steal was NOT managed and implemented by the hierarchy of the GOP? Was he so completely in the dark of his party agenda and methodology? Come on!! The Sein Fein was just as much a part of the IRA as the bus bombers, as Hamas and Hezbollah are arms of Iran and Syria, as Cuba once was for the Soviets and North Korea is a puppet of both China and Russia. Off-kilter is the axis of the Earth. Out of control is the mob on the Capitol steps. Has one single Republican APOLOGIZED for supporting the election fraud plot called Stop the Steal? 25% of the Senate and 1/3 of the House are still on board, 34 months later!!! 4 sets of indictments later, they are STILL co-conspirators. NO one in good conscience can remain blind to that reality.

"Edward" runs contrary, shall we say:

At this point you deserve retribution.

 

From "Roddy":

The 14th Amendment was not considered in this argument Brian. That brings a whole new level to the prospect of Trump's ineligibility to even be considered a candidate. Your impeach/convict argument is much different than a Constitutional amendment breach. Age has absolutely nothing to do with the 14th amendment or any requirement involving a presidential candidate. Your delusion that "praying" is also involved is ludicrous. Also your disdain for McConnell also is non-support of any part of this consideration. This is strictly a Constitutional consideration and all American states have to consider this amendment when allowing or disallowing a candidate to be on any ticket when our American constitution disallows it. Absolutely no other considerations affects this constitutional mandate.

 

From "James":

There isn't a rule about being too old. There is a rule of discrimination based on age. You do understand term limits can be voted on?

 

"Kevin" sounds like a sage person:

Start with Nixon. Failure there to impeach and remove then charge created an Imperial Presidency. He comes along thinking he is a king and people want that dictatorship. They think they won’t be subjected to the dictatorship. You will but not me. Someone once wrote: you live in the world you create. And no one is really dedicated enough.

 

"Suflaki Pirate" is a conspiracy person:

April 2016 Trump runs for POTUS. 5 days later, the s--t hits the fan and has not stopped. Trump knows where the bodies lie, and this scares the deep state, especially Obama.

"Paco" was disagreeable. What does "stfu" mean? Oh I know.

stfu your commentary is so ignorant.

 

"Dave" said something I kind of expected:

Thumbs down for the elderly people comment. Elderly people have tons of wisdom and experience.

 

Note from yours truly: I don't criticize someone for being 81 years old, I just figure we can agree that someone that age has exponentially greater odds of showing infirmities and limitations compared to younger folk. It's disturbing considering the power those people have.

"Jane" got pretty animated in her response:

"Completely recovered from any embarrassment". . .NO Thank you. They are a Confederates party of troublemakers. Bring a rope!

 

"Snoop" shows why it's hard persuading some people:

2nd impeachment was nothing but a show trial. They had no evidence and wanted to do it just because they're good at it. It was pathetic.

 

Here's from "Sascha":

"The GOP could have completely recovered," that’s a laugh.

 

Sounds like "Mark" listens to conservative radio:

The fake impeachments were #1 The Russia Hoax and #2 The phone call inquiring about China Joe and his 10%. This is all a radical left attempt at one party rule like Russia with the media behind it. Ironically China Joe will face impeachment inquiry next month and he is a traitor, read about it at oversight.house.gov.

 

This person goes by "Trumpistraitor":

Or they could have manned up at any time and done the 14th themselves. 

 

Insight from "Lianne":

No truer words have been spoken, the monster is out of control due to the GOP's lack of taking action when they had the chance. I might add they don't like him either and couldn't keep this s--t for brains in control.

 

Hearing from "proud mom":

All very true, but this is something we can hopefully do now.

 

From a guy who goes by "TriDave":

MAGA senators willfully and openly refused to uphold their oaths of office. They ignored the rule of law and rejected the decision by SCOTUS out of fear that if they showed anything resembling a spine, the MAGA base would have voted them out.

 

From "Gary": 

This is true, but most of the GOP have no "back bone " 

 

Here's from "Engaged," certainly not persuaded by yours truly:

Perhaps if the other side had just set back and let Trump be president for 4 years, maybe get re-elected on the merits of the results - the country would be in a position to "move on." The continued persecution of Trump could put one in mind of what would be expected had Pilate not acquiesced to the demands of the mob as it is suggested that McConnell should have done. The retribution is deserved.

 

Insight from "Trustno1":

Well SOMEONE was paying attention over the Trump years in office! You hit the nail on the head. Mitch had a chance (2 actually) to end it and recover but, McConnell would rather eat his grandchildren than to give the Democrats any victory at all! Good for the country? Yes! Good for the GOP? Yes! Good for the Democrats? Oh no way in Hades! We cannot and will not have that, said the Grim Reaper with a smile.

 

From "Two Corinthians":

Trump needs to be disqualified. Period. End of story. We simply cannot allow a traitor who attacked America in a violent coup attempt to run for office again. We may as well be spitting on the graves of every veteran who ever died defending our Constitution.

 

Here's from "AAR":

No, because the founding fathers gave the people protection from a government that will use its power with the support of the people to crush and destroy those who oppose it. Like a tyrannical regime.

 

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

The very sharp Ben Shapiro disappoints us

Ben Shapiro

"Conservative media" just can't help it. So many of their fans and viewers follow their delusions about Donald Trump, it becomes like a siren song. Ben Shapiro is a very intelligent person. I would love to read his material and nod in agreement at least some of the time. You see, conservatives are always good at persuading on the basis of sheer principle. 

Principle has power no doubt. The likes of Shapiro have power with their ideas up to a point, just like the late great William F. Buckley. Reading a couple of  Buckley's books straightened me out after I had been force-fed liberalism in college in the mid-1970s. I guess state colleges were the worst at doing this. That was my environment. Those were salad days for colleges, as "boomers" came out of the woodwork everywhere. 

We were a little gullible. And impressionable. I have often called the 1970s type of liberalism dispensed on college campuses "paternalistic liberalism." I finally got sick of it. 

We learn with maturity that both ends of the political spectrum have their place. Liberals cannot argue on the same terms as conservatives. I'd bet that the rapid fire-talking Shapiro could win any debate. I do mean that as a compliment. Buckley put up awesome arguments in his time. You could read his books and think "right on." 

The pushback was articulated by my old college friend Brad. He was from the Iron Range, Virginia MN. A committed Democrat, Brad readily acknowledged how the Ben Shapiros of the world could win debates. The problem? Brad said re. conservatives/Republicans that "they don't care about people." 

Think of the Thoreau quote "the majority of people lead lives of quiet desperation." I think of that as I sit at the Willie's Cafe in the morning and watch the people come and go. 

Half the people around us are below average by definition. Garrison Keillor had fun with the statement "all our kids are above average." There are times when political liberals understand the real world better than conservatives. Conservatives hold up best when you have the assumption that all people are brilliant and responsible. It's just not reality. And it's ironic because conservatives are great for ringing the bell about how they are such realists. 

I'll be real blunt here: People have to eat. 

The richest people are great for rationalizing how we need a system that protects their interests. I suppose a behavioral psychologist would say this is "learned behavior." The impulse toward self-interest is overwhelming. 

The South Dakota icon T. Denny Sanford has apparently said he'll die broke, for having given away so much $, but do you think he's anywhere close to his "goal?" Sanford is notorious in another way but let's not proceed to that dirty laundry. I don't think Josh Hawley would want to pounce on Sanford for this alleged indiscretion - Sanford has given money to the Trump campaigns. 

So it's all about bedfellows, especially on the political right. 

 

A blind spot

I focus on Shapiro on this particular day, Friday, Aug. 18, because of what I see is his current column. It is pathetic how we see the most intelligent conservatives hesitate in such grand fashion regarding Donald Trump. How can I put this? "Can't see the forest for the trees?" Well, I can. 

So am I more intelligent and insightful than Shapiro? Apparently yes and I don't expect any sort of trophy for that. The very existence of America could be threatened if Trump seizes the presidency again. And does Shapiro really want to see an autocracy for the U.S.? He has to know what Trump's intentions are. Ben could follow the news like any of us knaves. 

Trump has fought the legitimate 2020 election results to a comedic degree. But it all continues to be taken seriously by our mainstream media, which apparently figures that if you can find some well-coiffed attorneys to get on TV and dissect charges against Trump a certain way, well then keep the path open for Trump. The path is most certainly open. Our eyes could have been opened so long ago. 

So what exactly is Shapiro's problem right now as I write this? I'm disappointed beyond words as I write this. Shapiro is such a sharp person, he undoubtedly knows better. He does not dare drift away from Trump. So his headline is: "The highly dangerous Georgia indictment." 

Why is he trying to sell us this? Dangerous as opposed to what? Trump obviously tried to drive a steamroller over the legitimate 2020 election outcome. He found partners who always show up in suit and tie. He blazes forward with his considerable base even after so many facts have rolled out. New facts don't even matter any more, not to Shapiro. He fears the wrath of MAGA, were he to depart from that side's talking points - he sure isn't going to fear me. 

So Shapiro claims that Fani Willis has "launched a 98-page missile directly into the heart of American politics." You can imagine how the rest of the column reads. Doesn't Shapiro recognize the missile Trump himself has sent by assailing our cherished democratic system? I take it that Shapiro is Jewish. He should realize that Jews can be imperiled under autocratic governments. He is all in with Trump because he knows his fortunes as a pundit - his calling - are dependent on it. Stay in lock-step with Mark Levin et al. 

This whole perilous reality could change quickly if several top Republicans or opinion-makers would recognize that the emperor is wearing no clothes. We should literally start laughing at Trump. A big headline yesterday was about whether Trump would be entitled to conjugal visits from Melania in prison. And we haven't yet started laughing. 

How pathetic the other GOP candidates look now. They are nothing. They aren't even good toadies. 

And Shapiro? He's just a tragedy. What facts are there about Trump that would impress you, Ben? Are there any? Don't you realize that you seem like the kind of person who "has his mind made up no matter what?" You're too smart for that, Ben. 

I'm not so charitable talking about our congressperson here in western Minnesota, Michelle Fischbach. I would not grade her intelligence nearly so high. She followed Trump on the election thing. Even Tom Emmer did not do that. 

I'm sure all the local Apostolic Christians would vote for Trump again. 

"Alice Through the Looking Glass."

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