Fischbach got on board with the worst forces

Congressperson Michelle Fischbach

Someday we may all be talking about how America was a great country while it lasted. Surely it was. Even though our politics came across as something like sausage-making sometimes. 

Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan could still have amicable relations at the end of the day. Judge Chutkan when she was confirmed got a unanimous vote. Republicans and Democrats together. 

We had a Voting Rights Act still in effect. Today we read of Denny's Restaurants that simply refuse to serve black people. That's even in South Dakota. The black people come in, sit down and are simply ignored. And if they don't leave to the satisfaction of management, cops are called. The cops are trained not to make a judgment in situations like this. They do what management has requested. 

So my point is that America has been rapidly devolving. 

Mike Pence can be seen as confused in some pretty significant ways. I mean, to consider throwing deference to MAGA even after his own life and that of his family were threatened on January 6. To the point where those protecting them felt they had to call their own families in order to say "goodbye." Might we have seen a full-fledged beheading, or more than one? You think world history does not have examples of this? 

And so in the wake of all that, was America shaken out of its mind, to the point where our legal system had to do something immediate and dramatic? Throw people in prison after an expedited legal process? Yes there would still be a legal process, because the forces for good would always subscribe to that. That's unlike the forces for the other side. That's the side that wants autocracy in a thinly-veiled way. Of course it does. 

So why hasn't America risen up in a more outraged way? Why hasn't a consensus been reached long before now? Why isn't all that unpleasantness behind us? 

Pence is not stark-raving stupid. He has now given a speech where he feels that his Republican Party must stick to conservative principles. As opposed to what? He cited "populism" which is a term that rather bounces around. So in what context does Pence apply it here? He cited "personal grievances and performative outrage" that Donald Trump projects. 

Mike Pence

Joe Scarborough of MSNBC discussed Pence's speech this morning (Thursday). Former Republican Scarborough listed incidents where his old party sought rule changes or tried to have public officials removed, "just to fail." 

And why is the American public as a whole choosing to basically countenance the bad stuff? Why can't we reject it out of hand? 

 

Our local sentiment

I am certain that a majority of church-going Republicans in Stevens County MN still have basic sympathy for MAGA. They would tie their own church-going to what MAGA represents. The reverence is the kind that I feel is discouraging a whole young generation from subscribing to Christianity. 

My own church of First Lutheran of Morris, of the "liberal" ELCA, may have lost critical mass for even surviving. The majority of our local churches would appear to subscribe to Pence's version of "populist" forces: "performative outrage." So they might absolutely demand that Hunter Biden be locked up. They are of a completely different mind for judging Trump, Clarence Thomas, his wife Ginny, Samuel Alito and others on "their side." 

And now Mike Huckabee has gotten more dramatic, suggesting that if Trump is denied the presidency because of legal obstacles, MAGA will take to violence. They've tried that once. Would the forces for good have to resort to violence also? 

So you all think Trump has helped your own life that much? Really? Could I ask you to devote a second or third thought to that? Are you sure you really want democracy to become endangered if not wiped out? Stop and think: when democracy fades away, no one can be certain of what exactly will replace it. And when you all start waking up, it will be too late. The shooting war might begin. I personally do not want to see that happen. 

I am a mere one person. I live in a deep red county here in western Minnesota. Rural western Minnesota has gone extreme Republican. Our stripes now would appear to reflect Pence's version of "populism." I overhear this at a local restaurant in the morning: Republicans totally good, Democrats evil, Hunter Biden the issue, not the dodgy ones on the other side. 

 

Our voice in U.S. Congress

We have a congressperson who voted against certifying the 2020 election results. Perfect. Was she really that naive or was she just trying to satisfy her constituency of know-nothings out here? This matter has gravitas. Did congressperson Fischbach directly contribute to the incitement that led to the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. capitol? Maybe this was to the pleasure of the group of older guys who gather in the middle section of DeToy's Restaurant in early morning. 

Some of us would simply be amused by such talk. People talking about politics, you might say a national pastime. But the situation of the past few years has gotten potentially dangerous. This wasn't seen previously. You'd side with O'Neill or Reagan but we could all continue being friends and Americans at the end of the day. Now, so many of us would listen to the likes of Huckabee. Take up arms? It sort of happened already at the U.S. capitol. 

And our Michelle Fischbach sided with the likes of Ted Cruz on the catastrophic day, Jan. 6. Even the rock-ribbed conservative Tom Emmer from Central Minnesota did not vote to deny certification. So are we just dumber out here in the sticks with our "conservative" churches? Well, it appears so. The Apostolic Christians have disappointed me.

Trump's orchestrated mob sought to disrupt one of our democracy's most sacred ceremonies: the counting of the electoral votes. The capitol was breached for the first time since the War of 1812. 

Why couldn't Americans demand expedited reaction? Too many of us watching Fox News? Seriously maybe that's it. And the network caters to the kind of "populism" that Pence cites. 

Could Fox News have saved Richard Nixon? Nixon really did not govern all that much as a conservative. He was really just interested in power. Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency. Could you imagine Trump doing that? But that was then, this is now. 

Apostolic Christian Church

And we are still stuck with Michelle Fischbach as our congressperson. I wouldn't even bet against her winning re-election. What are the odds that even one of the local Apostolic Christians would vote for Fischbach's opponent? Throw in the Good Shepherd Church parishioners. Christianity was a nice faith while it lasted.

 

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

No current newspaper coverage of 'Waska game

My DeToy's server confirms that the new school year is on. Remember that it's Tuesday even though it feels like Monday. So tomorrow (Wednesday) is time for the biscuits and gravy at DeToy's. 

School is on! We can check to see how the various sports teams are doing. That's the reason for outstate towns having to continue with their schools, right? Sports? Not much of an exaggeration. I have been around sports emotions a lot in my life. I emailed a friend with a question this morning:

 

Does the new Morris paper come out today? I wonder if the Minnewaska football game will be in it, or if the holiday caused a printing plant complication. If the game isn't covered, the paper really ought to use its website to handle this, but it won't.

 

I got a prompt response:

 

A Morris paper came in the mail on Saturday, which puzzled me, but then with no mail yesterday I suppose they wanted it to get out. There was no mention of the MAHS/Waska game, but lots of coverage of Hancock sports.

 

Is it even worth the trouble to check the newspaper's website? If the 'Waska game cannot be covered in print this week, couldn't the newspaper be considerate enough of its community to slap some coverage on its website? I mean, their site is perfectly set up to handle this. Why not follow simple reasoning? 

We see pieces on the editorial page all the time about how newspapers are so essential to our rural towns' vitality. For democracy. But one of our political parties - the Republicans - do not care about democracy. Our congressperson voted against certifying the 2020 election results. 

But my primary thoughts here are about sports. Jim Morrison got weary of even dealing with sports issues. It's easy to develop that kind of attitude. But the Tigers had an exciting season-opening win on Thursday at Minnewaska, 40-20. Must have been lots of highlights. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see a reasonably thorough review with players' names on the paper's website? Just click on "sports" and the appropriate headline ought to greet you. Should be totally user-friendly. The newspaper can go on selling its print product. 

I am sure that a full week from today, we will see the obligatory summary on the newspaper's pages. But that is ridiculously too late. Anyone disagree with me? 

It's not as if the paper does not have this resource called a "website" with its sports link. I click on the link and what do I find? This is insulting to us all: it's all UMM Cougar stuff, as if these are the only teams we should care about. I shake my head. My attitude is formed mainly on the idea that UMM takes care of its own reporting and outreach on its own website. The coverage on UMM's website is as thorough and dynamic as you would want. 

So heck, why do our local legacy media companies - newspaper and radio - feel they need to bend over backward for UMM? Let's give credit to Deb and Brett at the radio station for making a far superior effort with its website relative to the newspaper. The newspaper? I might suggest that some harsh words are called for. 

I know of one former MAHS administrator who would be emotional over these issues. He would argue that for the paper not to have full coverage of Tuesday night games in Thursday's paper would be so unforgivable, something like the death penalty should be called for. Some of the critics including people in high-status professions could use foul language when assailing the paper and yours truly on such matters. This was when the paper published twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday. 

Today it's once a week and the paper is typically smaller than it ever was when we were twice. We sort of sleepwalked through that adjustment as if we didn't really notice. But now? There's a holiday like Labor Day and everything just goes to hell? 

I was hard-pressed up until today finding any media coverage of Tiger volleyball that had individual stats. Maybe the current paper has some. But the timeliness issue rears its head for all teams. I just don't think it's asking too much. I know, I know: the Anfinsons don't want to give "content" away. 

The radio station has lately made us jump through hoops getting access to content on its site. You must realize that these legacy media businesses desperately try to keep systems going where they make money. 

So the paper deprives us of MACA coverage on its website while inundating us with UMM Cougar coverage. Do you suppose they just take the Cougar coverage off the UMM site? I have been too lazy to confirm that. Whether they do or don't, all that Cougar coverage is not needed for the community's benefit. The UMM fans need only go to UMM's site to be satisfied fully. Which is wonderful. We want UMM and its constituents to be happy about everything. 

What a shame the newspaper can't make the very simple effort of slapping a football game summary, a 40-20 win, on its website. The website is dormant, lifeless. 

My friend Del Sarlette says he emailed Deb at the radio station about some of the new funky stuff on the radio station site, set up I'm sure to get a trickle of revenue for the station. 

We are in the age of the world wide web, so we needn't be dependent on the legacy media businesses. They have a right to try to survive in the new economic climate. But the school sports constituents deserve to be served in the best way possible. 

Change has been happening. We have had our eyes opened big-time by the "YouTube geniuses." Oh my. But more work remains to be done. 

The people involved with the Morris paper would be incensed reading what I have to share today. Why?

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

Prep tennis: Tigers bow to Minnewaska Area

MACA/WCA was on the short end against Minnewaska Area in tennis action, 2-5. Our No. 1 singles player Cate Kehoe bowed vs. Alia Randt 1-6, 2-6. Then at No. 2 singles it was Chloe Zimmel handling the racket for the Tigers. She was outdone by Avarie Uhde of the Lakers, 3-6, 4-6. 

Our struggles in singles play continued at No. 3 with our Lilia Asmus getting beaten by Rachel Rankin, 0-6, 0-6. Alas, victory was elusive at fourth singles too. Here, Ava Breuer was on the short end against Addy Heid, 0-6, 2-6. 

On to doubles: Our No. 1 team of Ashley Koehl and Nora Meek prevailed over Megan Thorfinnson and Olivia Danielson 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Our No. 2 doubles team of Izabell Hoffman and Grace Hauglie was defeated by Katy Vold and Brianna Erickson of the Lakers, 7-6, 5-7 and 7-10. The third doubles story had our Heidi Seales and Ellen Reed winning vs. Mckenna Uhde and Katie Sorenson, 6-3, 6-7 (3) and 6-2.

Cross country at Appleton

Looks like our boys cross country season will be a little deflating, what with "inc." results so far. Yes, incomplete, meaning we don't qualify for team scoring. Nevertheless the orange and black is represented by runners in both genders. 

Boys to report are Truett Richardson (15th place) and Grady Stallman (18th). This is from the Lac qui Parle/Dawson-Boyd Invitational. 

Our girls story has Hailey Werk as the champion. Werk's time on the Appleton course was 17:01. The runner-up was Chloe Gloege of the host team, 30 seconds behind Werk. The MACA girls have a more robust roster than the boys now. We can report Kendal Fischer in fifth, Anna Backman in 11th and Hanna Schutz in 15th. The MACA girls were second to the host team.

Volleyball info?

It has been nigh impossible to find individual data on the MACA volleyball team thus far, unfortunately. Match details have been scant in the media that I personally check. Hope this situation can improve soon. I don't really consider the Morris newspaper because there is so much of a lack of timeliness with that product. I don't see why a few stats can't be reported sooner. 

On the radio station website I see where the Tigers fell to West Central Area 1-3 in the second match of the season. Let's look at the scores with the MACA numbers first: 24-26, 25-23, 23-25 and 17-25. 

The kmrs site coverage did report stat highlights for the West Central Area Knights. Here they are: Mary Grosz with 45 assists, Madelyn Westrom with 27 digs and Mya Foslien with 19 kills and 21 digs. 

The Tigers came out of the night at 0-2. I would enjoy being able to type some of the MACA names. The newspaper website is of course dormant.

 

Football: Tigers 40, Minnewaska 20

Thursday was debut night for MACA football, 2023. It was a road game versus the Minnewaska Area Lakers. "Veterans Field" is the name of the venue close to Lake Minnewaska. There, after a somewhat sluggish start, the Tigers took over to notch the win 40-20.

Owen Anderson scored three of our touchdowns. 

The Tigers fell into an early hole due to a fumble in the end zone, recovered by the Lakers. So the host is up 8-0. This would not be a prelude of things to come. Anderson asserted himself with a "pick six" that covered 35 yards, exciting. He proceeded to score our next two touchdowns on short runs. The passing game then asserted itself. Drew Huebner passed to Jackson Hallman for 47 yards and a score. This was just before halftime, and halftime showed the orange and black clearly in command, up 27-8. 

Derek Waldbeser came to the fore with his scoring flair in the second half. He crossed the end zone stripe on runs on 15 and 19 yards. Our opener win was in the books. 

Huebner's passing stats were 9 of 15, 146 yards. He also rushed for 62. Mitch Moser advanced the ball 114 yards on the ground. The defensive story had Hallman with an interception and Zach Dietz with seven tackles. 

Minnewaska's Levi Johnson completed five passes in 16 attempts for 81 yards. He had a touchdown hookup to Luke Danielson of 25 yards. Carter Meyer carried the ball for 69 yards, and Asante Adams ran for a TD from 31 yards. Optimism is high among Tiger backers going into Game 2.

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

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 started 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