The Observer
Online Edition
[Politics]
[World]
Monday, May 14, 2012
The U.S. releases high-level insurgents
Quietly, U.S. officials make deals to release known would-be terrorists
According to a report from the Washington Post, U.S. officials have released high-profile insurgents being kept at the only American military prison in Afghanistan.
The "strategic release" program allows the U.S. military to negotiate with the Taliban by trading prisoners for peace.
The bold move by the military seems like a deal almost too good to be true, but officials speaking on anonymity confirm its reality. But they would not specify whether insurgents who were granted permission to return home were found later fighting U.S. personnel, an obvious violation of the conditions upon which they would be released.
The program has existed for years and officials have admitted the high risk of their quiet operation.
Risk? You can say that again.
After all, aren't we still fighting a war after we've supposedly traded some prisoners for peace?
Well yes, but the way the program works is for officials to bargain for peace in a given area.
It helps to think of a war like a sheet of those air filled plastic bubbles that protect our shipments. A swelled pocket is an unpeaceful place and by popping the bubble, you have created peace in that given area. As we all know, it's difficult to pop ALL those bubbles and we often don't. Especially when the bubbles can break their agreement and swell up again.
Our military personnel deserve more credit than we can give them in this fight. Peace had it's chance before we were drawn into the war on terror, but as we saw demonstrated more than 10 years ago, peace wouldn't last.
So now we're stuck fighting for peace in what feels like a never ending battle.
In this program that continues the releasement of our would-be, might-be, and gonna-be enemies, it seems we found something else to try. Not fighting, and not peace - yet.
It is a real person-to-person, let's talk face-to-face and try to find some middle ground interaction. The program allows the officials to keep wheelin' an' dealin' for peace.
So move over peace, you've had plenty of chances. Now it's time to try something else. Who knows how effective this has been since its implementation? Nobody commenting can say for sure. But as we continue to learn the ways of the Taliban and the Afghan culture, here's to hoping this sort of bargaining is a step in the right direction.
[Economy]
Friday, January 20, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Mitt Romney: high school pranks went too far
Republican
presidential nominee and all around no nonsense character, Mitt Romney, had
some fun in high school that now has voters taking notice.
At
the prestigious Cranbrook
School
Hidden to the rest
of the population perhaps, but Romney could spot the trouble a school yard
away. Backed by a robust confidence and the natural order of the universe,
Romney led the charge to hold the offender down and cut his hair.
To onlookers, the
incident was nothing more than a prank, used to welcome the outsider to their
establishment. But Romney knew what he was doing.
When asked for
comment, a laughing Romney said "I don't remember that incident."
Of course. The
presidential hopeful has had a lifetime of fighting evil and correcting the
errors of society. How could he remember such a relatively small incident?
We can expect the
same man who took a stand back then to take D.C. and continue his fearless
charge of fixing the country, which, by now, is spiraling out of control.
"I'm a very
different person than I was in high school," Romney said.
Well, maybe a
reminder of the drive he once had to help save civilization as we know it
will reignite the burning flame of protecting American values.
Remember, Mitt, when encouraging a closeted homosexual with a firm, "Atta'
girl!" in class was all the reverse psychology needed to right the simple
wrong?
"I really
can't remember that," Romney commented.
That's OK, Mitt.
You want to focus on bigger issues this campaign season. It seems the economy
and energy policies could use a good ol' snip, snip of the mop on top. And
couldn't Iran
In these uncertain
times, it takes a natural leader who’s not afraid to take charge and take
action. No apologies for doing what is necessary.
"I certainly
am sorry for that, very deeply sorry for that," Romney said. But that's
just him playing politics to appease the masses.
***
[World]
Monday, May 14, 2012
The U.S. releases high-level insurgents
Quietly, U.S. officials make deals to release known would-be terrorists
"Give peace a chance." -Random idealist destined for failure
According to a report from the Washington Post, U.S. officials have released high-profile insurgents being kept at the only American military prison in Afghanistan.
The "strategic release" program allows the U.S. military to negotiate with the Taliban by trading prisoners for peace.
The bold move by the military seems like a deal almost too good to be true, but officials speaking on anonymity confirm its reality. But they would not specify whether insurgents who were granted permission to return home were found later fighting U.S. personnel, an obvious violation of the conditions upon which they would be released.
The program has existed for years and officials have admitted the high risk of their quiet operation.
Risk? You can say that again.
After all, aren't we still fighting a war after we've supposedly traded some prisoners for peace?
Well yes, but the way the program works is for officials to bargain for peace in a given area.
It helps to think of a war like a sheet of those air filled plastic bubbles that protect our shipments. A swelled pocket is an unpeaceful place and by popping the bubble, you have created peace in that given area. As we all know, it's difficult to pop ALL those bubbles and we often don't. Especially when the bubbles can break their agreement and swell up again.
Our military personnel deserve more credit than we can give them in this fight. Peace had it's chance before we were drawn into the war on terror, but as we saw demonstrated more than 10 years ago, peace wouldn't last.
So now we're stuck fighting for peace in what feels like a never ending battle.
In this program that continues the releasement of our would-be, might-be, and gonna-be enemies, it seems we found something else to try. Not fighting, and not peace - yet.
It is a real person-to-person, let's talk face-to-face and try to find some middle ground interaction. The program allows the officials to keep wheelin' an' dealin' for peace.
So move over peace, you've had plenty of chances. Now it's time to try something else. Who knows how effective this has been since its implementation? Nobody commenting can say for sure. But as we continue to learn the ways of the Taliban and the Afghan culture, here's to hoping this sort of bargaining is a step in the right direction.
***
[Economy]
Friday, January 20, 2012
Happily employed and how it works
What employers are looking for, and why they’re not looking
at you
A popular
trend in the job market today has employers phasing out job applicants based on
what most call an unfair prerequisite. What gives the favored job candidates a
leg up on the aggressive competition is whether they are currently holding a
job or not.
Hiring
executives that found this quality important, until recently, openly advertised
that the applicant must be currently employed.
Following
the cry for help from the unemployed and what I’m sure was a lot of
back-and-forth banter, a law was born. New
Jersey
Until
sentimental law makers of other states get around to pushing similar laws
through the system, the destitute jobseekers are going to have to tough it out
and maybe even fight their way to success.
A little
newspaper out of California
Bad news
for those unemployed who’re looking to gain from this law. This is the media’s
way of saying, in their objective voice, that the law sounds well intentioned,
but isn’t going to make a bit of difference. As any devious mind would
calculate, OK, the ads won’t state they’re seeking only the employed. But
applicants are none the wiser to what’s really going on behind the hiring
scenes. So the hiring executives can keep on doing what they’ve been doing –
discriminating – leaving the losers to fend for themselves.
Discrimination;
how’s that for a scary word?
Some argue
that, in fact, discrimination is the correct descriptor for this trend. Others
argue that it only comes dangerously close to discrimination. All agree that
once this word is thrown into the mix, things tend to get ugly, legally
speaking.
Because
if, in fact, employers have created their own group to discriminate against,
consisting solely of the unemployed, then law makers, those sentimental fools,
will get their way and denied applicants would have yet another reason to
freeload off the system. Because discrimination is valid grounds for a lawsuit.
Potential
lawsuits go under the “con” column on firms’ nifty “Pros and Cons” analysis of
whether it’s time to hire or not. And if you’re a stats junky, you’ll soon
realize, and share with your friends, that factor will hurt unemployment
numbers by sending them higher.
Right now
the unemployed are a minority. They’re less than 1/10th of the
population. Have been for years. Let’s aim to keep them there.
Picture
this scenario: a wealthy young CEO hot shot assigns his HR personnel to do his
bidding. The HR representative does what the boss says because she is thankful
for the position in which she is rewarded promptly. Soon, she has the
government breathing down her neck about who she’s hiring. HR looks at two
candidates as potential employees; one who stood the test of a recession and
demonstrated their motivation by their punctuality and hard work ethic that
kept them employed during the recession. The other just enjoyed a nice bout
with unemployment and came out the other end smelling of a free ride.
To avoid
lawsuit for hiring the wrong person, the company says, “Whoops, we didn’t
really have an opening. Thank you for your time anyway.” {Sigh} of relief, they
avoided the added expenses of paying wages to another employee. Not to mention
the health care and other benefits they would’ve had to dish out. CEO then
walks in on his number one man, Jim Johnson. He says, “Johnson. I need you to
pick up the extra slack around here and take on these tasks. Here’s a small
bonus for being a good company man.”
Johnson’s
natural strive for excellence makes him happy to accept the new detail. The
young CEO takes his cute HR rep away to celebrate where they probably fall
madly in love and get married.
What good
does that do the losers? None, unless they just opened a wedding cake shop.
So, it
falls on us, the American people, again, to help policy along by preventing law
makers from doing something stupid. And we’re already behind in the race.
Because if there’s any truth to the president’s American Jobs Act, then the
unemployed are protected against that kind of discrimination nationally.
Now I had
hoped this kind of issue stayed at the state level where it belongs and here’s
why. That act is easy for the president, the U.S. House and the Senate to
support. They’re working jobs they set out to do. Some of the currently
employed are stuck in jobs they hate. By my latest estimation of simply
shouting numbers, more than a million Americans are unhappy in their current
position. Sure, people keep saying, “At least you have a job.” But that only
marginally makes awful jobs seem better.
This will
vastly increase the amount of competition for the cool jobs like the ones that make
people rich and happy. The current “unhappily employed” sector’s only hope of
moving to the current “happily employed” sector is to navigate loop holes to
keep the pesky minorities, the unemployed, from stealing our happiness. It’s easy.
“Currently employed” applicants can wink and say, “I am willing to leave my current position to gain employment with
you.” And then the employer can wink and say, “Oh, yes. I believe we do have a position for you.” And nobody
has to know about the discrimination. In fact, let’s start referring to it as
risk assessment, like car insurers do.
So what
good news does that leave for the losers?
If all the
employed people are being shuffled around, sooner or later, a position will
open up. Think of it like a chance to shine for the undrafted rookie out of
college.
Applicants
need to be at the top of their game if they even want to think about competing
with the big leagues. Remember, it’s important to fill those jobs with no
government interference, so here’s how to make the best impression.
·
Act
serious about the position. Review and edit your application packet, resume and
cover letter. Remove all mistakes. Maybe even let a friend or spouse look it
over. I’ll bet a spouse wants you employed and out of the house.
·
Dress
accordingly. Leave nothing to chance, because they’re not going to say, “Hey, I
have the same Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt, you’re hired.” It just doesn’t happen my
friends.
·
Refer
to a job as a position, even if it is
just another job. Would-be employers like to hear that word because it’s a
positive word, see, it’s spelled almost the same.
That’s
right unemployed Americans. Time for living it up on easy street collecting unemployment
checks is over.
I know
this is going to offend some people, particularly the unemployed. So let me offer
this tidbit of truth. Anyone who is going to exclude the unemployed from even
applying for a position has no sense left. The recession hit all fields and all
classes of people and some went without work for a while, so what? Doesn’t that
mean they’ll be thankful and extra diligent for any position they’re offered?
Any
company who looks at whether an applicant is currently employed or not rather
than evaluating their skills first, probably makes a lot of crazy decisions and
they don’t deserve your quality of employee performance. So let’s hope this
legislation doesn’t move past the state level where it can stay to help out
those states who, collectively, must be out of their minds.
***
[Sports]
Thursday,
December 29, 2011
Sports stories
Heroes that can elevate our… news
Minds that
wondered farther than most told us some wisdom: Two things we can count on in
this life are death and taxes. With one comes the sweet release from the other,
and no, paying taxes does not prolong life.
Those
aside, two more of life’s certainties would probably be sports and politics.
Certainly, both could be played clean but are often full of fouls. And both
were created in hopes of preventing war. But most certain of all, they’re both
all about the almighty dollar. To get an idea of how important the two worlds
are, just look at the news. See how much sports and politics dominate the news.
Looking
back at history, there’s never been a time when one couldn’t make the future
look fatal simply by putting the right spin on current events. The story of the
terminator and his struggles illustrates this point better than any social
scientist can. It’s been this way since the beginning of time; from when God
said to Adam and Eve, “Told you not to do that, so now you’re gonna die.”
Studying
images of the past, the only time things looked up for sure, was probably the
1950s when people were drinking Coke. Man, they all looked insanely happy –
even foolishly happy. They looked downright ludicrous on that stuff.
As
tantalizing as Coke is, it’s powerless to lift our spirits in the same way
today as it did then. No, today we have sports to take us away from where
politics and other news take us – that deep, lonely, dark place.
We have
sports, that is, whenever the players and owners can work together and agree to
predetermined terms of how to share the revenue. Apparently they, above all
else, understand that there is only so much profit to go around. If they fail
to take home their rightful share, they just aren’t respected among the other union
members.
It’s no
wonder that it’s easy to lose yourself in this industry of sport so many
submerge their attention in, with such titillating players and stories, heroes
and villains.
Enter: Tim
Tebow, the young starting quarter back playing for Denver ,
by way of Florida
Nationwide,
critics were quick to step in when they saw Tebow take the lead of the Broncos
and not only write him off as unfit for the NFL, but relentlessly lambaste his
style and his methods until it sounded personal. Sure, they’d say, he’s a
helluva nice guy, as if that made them sound objective. As if it was strictly
business for them to not only put down Tebow, but the coaches for playing him,
the management for hiring him, and the fans for loving him.
Coaches
handed the ball to Tebow, figuring he could do no worse than the team was
already doing, and an amazing change happened. The team started winning. The
addition of Tebow to the starting lineup brought the Broncos from last place to
first place in the AFC West. Their streak included beating all the other teams
in their division among others.
Tebow’s
contribution failed to impress the media, but the public sure took notice and
started to root for him. Then politicians and their sly campaign PR specialists
took notice. Presidential candidate, Rick Perry even compared himself to Tebow.
With the superhero type aura that surrounds Tebow, it’s surprising every
republican candidate didn’t jump at the opportunity to identify with the poster
figure of the conventional right.
This of
course, is all happening in a time when America
Hopefully,
NFL fans won’t face a lockout again for a significant time due to the 10-year
labor agreement that players and owners agreed to. NBA fans weren’t so lucky
this year when they lost a significant amount of their regular season due to
their lockout.
NBA fans,
instead of looking to the sports world for happiness and champions, followed
the real-world news, which proves to be dreary still. This in a time when
sports figures self-described as identifying more with “gangsters” than
embracing the role of sportsman leaders they’re expected to take on.
Major
media outlets follow closely the stories of owners and players who refuse to go
to work until they’re paid millionaire wages, caring none about the fans and
the minimum wage employees who are put out while their franchise bickers away
the dollars. Then, the surface of stories is barley scratched of men like Tebow
who gave fans a reason to cheer.
It seems,
again, only time will bring back full-swing the seasons of pro sports to
contrast the rest of the news. Then, consuming fans, the reasons for wages that
support vacation homes and cars most only ever heard of, will have their
stories of hope again.
***
[Economy]
Sunday,
November 20, 2011
Money
The root of all our problems and why nobody cares about the
poor
What
frightens people most about this time of political unrest has to be the parties
emerging to fight and fickle and fumble their way into the public light to
share their message.
And in
sharing their message, they’re always asking the people: what do you think?
Of course,
I’m kidding. Nobody asks what the public thinks. Right now the parties making
the noise are those who aren’t afraid to stand up and scream. They’re speaking
for you and me and that’s scary. If you’re not feeling scared – take my word
for it.
Let’s hope
politicians continue to do what they do best. Because only then will these
voices go unheard and will hopefully grow hoarse and wither away.
The
current state of the economy is what caused the formation of these protests,
rallies, groups, gangs, and gaggles.
The public
demonstrated that they’ll tolerate corruption, crime, and crookedness in our
elected officials as long as it’s business as usual for the rest of us. But,
man, as soon as we take a hit in the bank account, we’ll take to the streets
and holler that we want it back. Want what back? Something, I’m sure, has gone
missing and we want it back.
We have
one party asking for our country back. Politicians took a liking to that party
and some even stamped their approval hoping to advance their political career.
And we have a party looking to occupy the streets until someone gives them a handout.
Man, as
soon as we find someone to blame for the imperfect world we live in we form a
posse and cry out to get the bum(s). Immigrants are enjoying this I bet.
They’re probably saying to each other in their mysterious languages, “Remember
when they focused their attention and hate on us? Now they target their rich
with their hate and fear.” But we’ll never know what they’re saying for sure.
Should we
be afraid? Sure – we read, hear, see, and smell reports of the disappearing
middle class. The gap between the rich and poor keeps growing – better choose a
side. And most of us choose wrong and go to the side with most of our friends.
Well not me. Sorry, but I look at the upper class and say I want that guy in
the nice suit to be my friend, or that lady with the nice car and the job.
We’re
inundated with reports that it’s getting harder to move financially ahead in America
Naturally
we start searching for signs of hope. Some messages out there tell us to keep
working. Don’t give up and your hard work and perseverance will pay off. Try
harder, harder again.
But I’m
here to tell you that hard work doesn’t always pay off. This is coming from
someone who didn’t believe in the recession at first. I thought it was a scare
tactic corporations used to get me to spend money. Probably the same powers who
skew the facts to make global warming look like a bad thing. Now nobody’s
spending their money. So I guess that tactic backfired. If I had money I would
probably not be spending it either.
Personally,
I keep holding strong. I told myself I wouldn’t get caught in this mess
everyone is creating for everyone. Working a job that was figuratively killing
me and not paying, I found more work. Toiling away hour after hour and night
after night, I kept trying to trick people into giving me money. Now I work
jobs that, at the end of the day, leave me tired. Tired but not beat. This is
still the best country that provides the opportunity to get ahead. We enjoy a
freedom that, by comparison, leaves a lot of countries in a relative dark age.
Of course
it’s hard to get ahead. Was it was easy crossing the ocean in all those
immigration boats? Was it was easy digging precious metals from our earth?
Think about John Oil who discovered oil. All his friends thought he was nuts
drilling holes everywhere until one day when he discovered oil. Now we enjoy
the luxury of cars instead of the trouble of running everywhere like our
ancestors did.
Much of
the population lives in poverty. But for me, sporadic and random at best spurts
of work are enough to live month to month and I am able to cover all the bills.
Sure I don’t have money to spend, but the money keeps bill collectors away and
covers food and a warm house. My margin of spending cash is about as thin as my
wallet but I don’t live in poverty. Sometimes the notion of looking forward to
a better tomorrow is enough to keep people happy and working toward their
goals.
But the
numbers suggest that a better tomorrow will not happen for most of us. So what are
we supposed to do? Join the party of the moment – the pity party – and demand
that someone take a look and help us out? Good luck with that. It doesn’t
matter if it’s a political power or a wealthy CEO; they have the same goal.
They will continue to serve their best interests. I wouldn’t count on, or even
try to convince, anyone with “money to spare” to lend a hand.
As was
suggested, I was getting some food for a family in the community affected by an
untimely death. Food that wouldn’t need prepared, just there for when they need
to eat. The departed never saw life after high school and his death spread
distress far in the community.
No matter
how hard we work at it, life is going to bring troubles and trials. Some
obstacles have no solution and we have no choice but to live with certain
things. The gap between the rich and the poor may be widening and establishing
clearer boundaries but there will always be others who we would not trade
places with. We are faced with problems that maybe nobody can help, so why depend on any
help?
Things
continue to look grim as long as they keep taking to the streets in “party”
fashion instead of doing the unthinkable and getting a job. At least we have a
gradually warming climate to look forward to.
***
[Sports & Entertainment]
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Plays of our Lives
Classical Viking opera unfolded on daytime TV
Understanding where Vikings came from and analyzing where
they are going
First a
bit of background:
Remember
last year when we eagerly looked forward to the season and the many victories
to come? Our Vikings strode gallantly onto the battlefield like ancient royal
kings, strong in their resolve and matched by no one in their ability.
A glance
at the roster and it seemed the franchise had the skills to gallop forward and
trample any on their path to the post season. Their hope laid in the return of
their leader Brett Favre, who despite the eventual playoff failure had an
amazing 2009 season. Who could have predicted the coming epic defeat of the
seasoned warrior? Not you and me.
The loyal
Minnesotan fans, in the homeland and abroad, received more hope amidst their
struggling season with the welcome return of wide receiver, Randy Moss. But
before his magical hands started their work dreams dissolved when back room
bickering got him released. From there he waited out his last season quietly in
the southland before floating away to an untimely end as a player, insisting he
won’t come back.
Moss’
story was merely an anecdote amidst Minnesota
Several
players took the center of the opera’s intrigue at times but one player
remained a constant for the season: quarterback, Favre. And a key piece to any
dramatic opera is the soprano interest. She is to breathe life into the
operatic tale. She could make any man sit up and take notice that there was
more than football afoot.
During
women’s fight to retain equal access to professional sports figures in locker
rooms after games, New York Jets former game day hostess, Jenn Sterger was
allegedly shown support by Favre. He supported her, again and again.
Normally a
media member must be present in the locker room to get intimate details from
players as they disrobe their thoughts, feelings, and uniforms. But Sterger
reported that during Favre’s duration with the Jets he left her racy voice
mails and suggestive text messages that the public since became familiar with.
The sports
side of journalism differs none from the rest of the media industry in that the
percentage of reporters represented by women continues to grow. And to get the
inside story, reporters need all access to assess the post game thoughts of the
game’s leaders.
Just ask
Ines Sainz, reporter for TV Azteca. Last year, after the Sept. 13 Monday night
game between the Jets and Ravens she was the target of lewd comments by the
Jets players in the locker room.
She said
she felt uncomfortable and will from now on conduct interviews outside the
locker room. The consistency in the unconventional ways of players opening up
to female media representatives seems to be on the east coast. More
specifically, the Jets’ homeland, where their progressive way of communicating
with women continued to stir the pot.
All this
in a time when, in the spirit of being treated fairly in the work place, female
reporters demand measuring equally to their male counterpart in the locker
room.
Brave men
such as Favre demonstrate that if women don’t get the same access to uncover
the story in the locker room, the goods will be leaked through other means
including but not limited to text messaging.
Why? You may ask, would Favre leak his goods to the
Playboy model game day hostess instead of a respected member of the media? One
would likely draw one of two obvious conclusions. Either he couldn’t think of a
respected member of the media to cover the girth of his insights. Or he simply
got confused sending it to the wrong number. Judging by the content of the
message(s), maybe he was simply trying to communicate with his wife, or his
doctor, or the Packers.
Speculation
as to the ‘why’ set aside, the issue
brought by women’s apparent shock and discomfort of getting the full expose’
is: should the NFL implement the controversial “Don’t show, don’t tell” policy?
Sterger,
then, with the pictures in hand obviously wanted to cash in on the leaked
goods. But how? And why then, so long after the incidents? Two years after the
events and no mention of money or gold or pillaging in the media’s coverage of
the scandal. Only mention of her upcoming movies “Don’t Fade Away” and “The
Tenant.”
Well, with
publicity like that it’s as if the prize fell right out of Favre’s lap and into
hers.
Of course
without speculating as to whether the photos were real or imagined, the
faithful homeland, stood behind Favre in his difficult time both with the
controversy and with his team’s record.
We are
glad to lay that disastrous year to rest. If the Metro Dome roof caving in
could have been any sort of metaphor for the season, I think I would have just
hibernated all winter. But it wasn’t a metaphor; it really happened.
***
If the
Vikings’ drama isn’t keeping us uncomfortably on the edge of our seat, they’re
causing us angst and anger with their reality show type performances. And now,
the real news:
If you’re
thinking what most of America
Just like
“Deadliest Warrior,” in which two warrior codes worthy of each other’s rivalry
are matched against one another to see who would beat who, we get to see the
Vikings fall to adversary after adversary. Every week the story teases us in
letting us believe the Vikings will win. Maybe they do have the upper hand and
maybe they are better. But one thing is for certain: somehow the other team
gets a lucky shot in and wins it all.
The
Vikings came out with strong leads against the Chargers, Buccaneers, and the
Lions. Take the first half scores for the first three games: At a combined 54-7,
the Vikings are slaughtering their opponents. And the combined scores for just
the second half of those same games: Their guard drops and a disappointing 67-6
paddles them off the field. During the second half, it’s as if they drop their
weapons, remove their armor, and expose their jugular. A tactic experts are not
sure will work in the long run.
One
popular theory suggests maybe a spy leaked the secret weapon to use against the
Vikings. At half time the opposing team casts a temporary madness spell to
confuse both the offense and defense. The team remains motivated and continues
to pour their heart and soul into their fight. But their effort is thwarted by
the opponent’s use of what the NFL should consider illegal use of spells.
Sunday’s
match between the Chiefs and Vikings was less one-sided. The two sides enjoyed
a consistent back-and-forth until the Chiefs finished counting coup and left
the Vikings bleeding out with nothing but their fourth straight loss to go home
with.
If
something doesn’t change, the Minnesota
***
