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The Ones Most Interested  

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—and the places most damaged.

We’ve had three weeks or so to digest the results of the November 5 election.  We are going to offer some insights in the next few entries.

One of the amendments we voted this month proposed something that we’ve seen before—a statewide vote to force a city or an area to allow something the people there did not want.

That was Amendment 5, which would have forced the people living and working at the Lake of the Ozarks to accept a commercial casino in their midst.  Two areas of Missouri were involved: the area where a casino is proposed and an area fearful that it would be the next place forced to accept one.

We’re talking about the Lake of the Ozarks and Branson.

It might be instructive to see their thoughts about the sports wagering amendment and the casino-placement amendment. We looked at the votes in five lake counties and in five Branson-area counties.

Both groups wanted nothing to do with either proposal, sports wagering or a casino.

The five lake counties were 57% against sports wagering, Amendment 2, that barely passed statewide with only 50.074% of the votes (as of last night), a margin so small a recount can be justified if the losers want to pay for it.  The five Branson-area counties opposed it to the tune of 60%.

Amendment 5 was the issue that was most stark in its possibilities for these two areas and the message sent by these ten counties was more than no. It pretty much amounted to a “Hell, No.” Camden County rejected the proposal 10,621-14,375. Taney County swamped it 9,875-16,071.  Sixty percent of the voters in the five lake counties rejected the casino. In the Branson area, the rejection was even greater, 61.4%.

End result: People in those ten counties don’t like sports wagering but their people can do it if they want, but they’re sure don’t want them ever to do it in a local casino.

Both of these counties have promoted their areas as family-friendly tourism destinations.  Branson was worried that a Lake of the Ozarks casino would be the precedent-setter for a casino campaign in Branson. Amendment 5 would have forced one area to accept something the voters clearly did not want, and exposed the other area to a similarly unwelcome intrusion later.

Branson had a taste of this issue twenty years ago when voters defeated a proposal to put a casino next to the White River at Rockaway Beach.

How about counties that have casinos?  Amendment 3 failed in three of them—Cape Girardeau (46.4%), Lewis (Mark Twain Casino in LaGrange—46/7%), and Cooper (Boonville 48.5%).

This time, the casino industry spent ten-million dollars on a petition effort and an election campaign for Amendment 5.  Their efforts netted them less than 48% of the statewide vote.

In St. Charles County, the home of Missouri’s most lucrative casino, Amendment 3 got only 53.4%.

The spending on the Lake of the Ozarks proposal was pocket change compared to the huge amount invested in the sports wagering amendment. It took $41 million from the two biggest internet bookies to overcome the $14 million dollar opposition campaign financed by another bookie. The victory margin was only (as of last night) 4,360 votes out of almost three million votes cast.  The certified final results will be posted after the Missouri Board of Canvassers meets on December 10.  Presidential electors meet a week later. Congress is to certify the federal results on January 6.

The casinos will get their money back pretty fast.  The host cities of the casinos will lose millions because of the support their voters game to Amendment Two.

How much will they lose?  There are two factors.  The state tax rate on gambling (table games and slot machines is 21%.  Host cities get ten percent of that amount. In the last fiscal year, ten percent of the state gaming taxes collected provided $39,711,780 to the host cities.

But sports wagering will provide ZERO money from the state gaming tax, which will be only ten percent to begin with.  The State Auditor estimates casino revenues in the first five years will be $1,044,684,612.  The states ten percent will amount to $104,467,878, all of it earmarked for higher and lower education. None of it goes to the home cities. None.

If Amendment 2 followed current law, the casinos’ own home dock cities would split an additional $10,446,788.

But it’s worse than that.  If the tax rate on sports wagering were the same as it is on other forms of gambling—and the industry has never given a consistent answer why is should not be—the home dock cities would have split an additional $21,938,377 in those first five years.

The casino industry will recover more than one-half of the money it spent on the campaign by giving their own host cities the shaft. Permanently.

I can show you the math; the casinos wouldn’t.

The manifest shortcomings in taxes can only be remedied by adoption of another amendment. A campaign that focuses on those shortcomings and either corrects or overturns Amendment 2 might be considered, given the paper-thin margin of victory for sports wagering. It would be interesting to know the reactions of city councils in the thirteen host cities if they are ever shown these numbers. I doubt the industry, its leaders, or its supporting organizations have ever given these figures to the cities

The casino industry has never been put on the defensive at the Capitol or at the ballot box.

And maybe it should be, as we will discuss in our next commentary because what could be coming will be only worse.

SPORTS: GOING OUT IN STYLE AT FAUROT FIELD; IMPROBABILITY REIGNS IN KC AGAIN; HIGH SCHOOL FB SEASON ENDING

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(MIZ)—Brady Cook and Luther Burden III have played their last game at Faurot Field, a 28=21over Arkansas on a frigid, snowy day in Columbia. It’s the first time in recent memory that the Tigers have played in the snow. One report says there hasn’t been a regular-season snow game in the SEC since 1993. Cook and Burden scored the deciding last eight points in the game.

Yesterday, Burden announced he’s available in the NFL Draft.

The Tigers got ten points on their first two possessions but didn’t score on their next four. But the second half was different until late. Arkansas got a touchdown to go up 21-20 with 4:19 to go, leaving plenty of time for a Missouri com back, and Cook’s 30-yard bolt up the wide-open middle gave Missouri a 26-21 lead with 1:53 left.

With plenty of time for Arkansas to reach the end zone one last time and steal the win, the Tigers decided to go for two—-and Burden capped off his career catching a Cook pass for a two-point conversion.

(Cook and Burden are among eighty players named as pre-season candidates for the Maxwell Award that goes to the nation’s best offensive football player. Neither made the final three, announced a few days ago.)

Arkansas, needing a touchdown and conversion to tie, drove into Missouri territory as the clock wound down but a Hail Mary pass was knocked down with the clock hitting zero.

Missouri finishes 9-3 with a wining SEC record. Arkansas split its 12 games. Both are headed for post-season play.

(MIZBOWL)—Missouri will learn by next Sunday noon where it will play its final game of the season.  Bowl selections will be announced starting at 11 a.m., our time. The top six bowls will be reserved for the twelve teams that make the playoffs.

Here’s how that works:  The five highest-ranked conference champions will get automatic bids. The seven highest-ranked teams after that will join the field.  The top four seeds will have first round byes.

The remaining four will play on the fields of the higher-ranked team in each matchup. The six major New Year’s Day bowls will host quarterfinal games—Fiesta, Peach, Rose, and Sugar. The semifinal games will be played a week later in the Orange and Cotton Bowls. The last college football game of the season will be January 20 in Atlanta.

(THE POLLS)—Missouri’s win over Arkansas put the Tigers more solidly into the top 25, but a 9-3 team beating a 6-6 team is not worth a significant jump.  Missouri is 20th in the coaches poll and 22nd in the AP sportswriters poll.

Of passing interest is that UNLV is ranked 19th among coaches as well as sportswriters.  UNLV’s head coach is Barry Odoms, the immediate predecessor of Eliah Drinkwitz. UNLV (10-2) plays Boise State for the Mountain West Conference championship next weekend.    (ZOU)

(GOING FOR TEN)—A bowl win will give Missouri a chance to post double-digit wins in back-to-back years, something that has happened only once before. Missouri has had only five double-digit winning seasons in their 123-year history.

Missouri’s first 10-win season was 1960 when they went 10-1 although the only team to beat them that year, Kansas, later forfeited the game, for using illegal players, leaving Missouri with an 11-0 record (with an asterisk and a bowl win against Navy).  Missouri went 12-2 in 2012 and 11-3 in 2014.  Last year, of course, they were 12-2.

If Missouri wins its bowl game, Drinkwitz will move into a tie with Al Onofrio for most wins by an MU football coach. Onofrio was 38-41 in seven years. Drinkwitz is 37-24 in five years. He is only nine wins away from tying Warren Powers in fourth place. (ZOU)

(CHIEFS)—Are they the worst 11-1 team in NFL history or just in recent memory?  Or are they the luckiest 11-1 team in NFL history or just in recent memory.

Whatever. It’s better to be lucky than good sometimes and the Chiefs’ win over the Raiders Friday was definitely that.  Their propensity to give away leads and then to make a hairbreadth escape was on full display in that game. The Chiefs had one of the worst teams in the NFL this year down 16-3 in the third quarter only to see the Raiders take a 17-16 late lead. The Chiefs regained the lead on on substitute-substitute kicker Matthew Wright’s 31-yard field goal. He would kick the deciding fourth one in the fourth quarter; the chiefs got into the red zone five times against the lowly Raiders and had to settle for only one touchdown and four field goals.

Wright hit field goals of 25, 47, 35, and 32 yards while his counterpart for the Raiders, Daniel Castor missed from 56, 55, and 58 yards.  A three-and-out by the Chiefs left the Raiders with time to get close enough for a wining kick with the clock running out but Castor never had a chance  to finally hit a three-pointer when a premature center snap turned into a fumble by quarterback Aidan O’Conell that was recovered by the Chiefs’ Nick Bolton with the clock showing only zeroes.

Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes broke Len Dawson’s record for career touchdowns with his only TD pass of the game in the first half.  But he was again hampered by miserable pass protection from his offensive line, most notably from left tackle where the Chiefs this year have tried three guys and yanked them all during a game.  For the second game in a row, Mahomes was sacked five times. He also was pressured eleven times.

Mahomes let his frustration about the left tackle situation show in the postgame news conference although he was uncomfortable throwing anyone under the team bus. “I trust those guys to go out there and make it happen. I’ve seen those guys play, and they’ve played at high levels, and so, the coaches made a move, and I thought the guys went in there and did a good job. I’ve got to trust it—I think there was times I didn’t trust it there on that last drive, and if I can trust it and maybe make some of those throws, then we’re not in the situation we were in at the end of the game.”

Coach Andy Reid benched his latest disappointment at left tackle—Wanya Morris for the last two series of the game–and moved left guard Joe Thuney to that position and put Mike Caliendo in at left guard. He said after the game that Morris was “struggling a little bit” protecting Mahomes’ blind side. “It’s disruptive to any offense if their quarterback’s getting hit and not able to get the ball off…You’ve got to do better than what we did out there.”

Morris became the starting left tackle three games into the season after rookie Kingsley Suamataia struggled in the first two weeks of the season.

But the Chiefs, by hook or by crook, are 11-1, the first team to lock up a playoff spot, their tenth consecutive year in the playoffs. Only the New England Patriots, in the Tom Brady era, have more than that, 11.

(CHIEFS SCHEDULE)—Future Chiefs Hall of Fame Defensive Tackle has an axe to grind with the NFL schedulers and he’s going to grind it through the players association in the off-season.

He calls the schedule “awkward,” and argues teams should have a late-season bye week when schedules look like the Chiefs schedule this month:

Chiefs at Cleveland Sunday, December 15;

December 21, Texans in Kansas City;

Christmas Day, Chiefs at Pittsburgh.

After that they won’t play again until they finish the regular season on January 5 in Denver.

Jones prefers that teams facing that kind of a schedule have their bye week just before starting that kind of series of games.

(HIGH SCHOOLS)—High School Championship Weekend three days away with three games Friday and three more on Saturday at Faurot Field in Columbia. A seventh game will be played Saturday afternoon in St. Joseph on Craig Field at Missouri Western’s Spratt Memorial Stadium to decide the 8-man championship.  North Shelby (9-4) plays Archie 13-0).

Here’s the schedule for the 11-man teams:

Friday: 11 a.m., Class 4—Festus (11-2) vs. St. Louis Lutheran North (12-1)

3 p.m., Class 2—Fair Grove  (14-0) vs. Lamar (10-4)

7 p.m., Class 6—Nixa (13-0) vs. St. Louis DeSmet Jesuit (11-2)

Saturday: 11 a.m., Class 3—Seneca  (13-0) vs. Wardsville Blair Oaks (12-1)

3 p.m.,—Class 1—Adrian (12-1) vs. Hamilton Penney (9-4)

7 p.m.—Class 5—Jefferson City Helias Catholic (12-1) vs. Platte County (13-0)

The Missouri State High School Activities Association televises the games on its website.

Racing toward the end—

(INDYCAR)—One of INDYCAR’s most popular drivers is getting another chance to show his skills in a Formula 1 car with one team and might have a chance with a new American team that will join the series in 2026.

McLaren, the team he drives for in Indycar, has listed him for the last couple of years as a member of its driver development team and as a reserve driver although the team already has two young guns in its cars—Lando Norris and Oliver Piastri.  He’ll have another chance to run tests in the 2024 F1 car at the season’s wrap-up race in Abu Dahbi. Although his chances of moving into one of the present team cars for 2025, observers think he might be a candidate for the new Cadillac F1 team that starts competing in ’26.

O’Ward finished second in the 2022 Indianapolis 500 after fiercely contesting for the lead at the start of the last lap. A caution flag prohibited another charge for the lead on the final turns, leaving Marcus Ericcson in the lead at the checkered flag.

This year, he couldn’t hold off Josef Newgarden in the closing yards of the and lost by .34 of a second.

(NASCAR)—One of the next-gen drivers taking over in NASCAR says he’d like to follow Kyle Larson’s lead and run the Indianapolis 500 and the 600-mile NASCAR race on Memorial Day weekend, too.   But there’s a hangup.

Christopher Bell drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which uses Toyota powerplants.  Toyota does not build engines for INDYCAR, although it once did.  Toyota is reluctant to have one of its drivers in a car powered by competing companies. Chevrolet and Honda provide engines for the INDYCAR series.

Toyota fielded cars in the INDYCAR and the CART series while open wheel racing was split into two warring camps. But it pulled out in 2002 after seven seasons. It has been fielding Camrys in NASCAR Cup races since 2007.

(FORMULA 1)—F1’s year comes to an end this weekend at Abu Dhabi. Max Verstappen wrapped up his fourth championship a couple of weeks ago.

(Photo Credit: Brady Cook (12)  and Luther Burden III (3) after beating Ohio State last year: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)

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What Next? 

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The casino industry spent a record $41 million dollars to convince few more Missourians to vote in favor of sports wagering than voted against it—very few—out of about three million votes cast.

It will be a mistake to think the industry is satisfied with the sweetheart arrangement voters approved. The casino industry is changing rapidly, and the legislature and the voters need to be preparing for the next change in law that will benefit casinos and disadvantage the state, our schools, and their own host cities.

We don’t profess to be an expert or some kind of Casino Nostradamus, but we have been studying this industry and its proposals for several years now. It is not hard to find industry and scholarly articles pointing to a much different industry materializing in the next ten years or less. The casino industry is being altered by demographic changes. But rapidly changing technology will let the industry respond to those demographic changes.

Amendment 2 was just the first step. The policy set by Amendment 2 is likely to be the template for state policy as casinos move increasingly to remote betting on ALL gambling offerings.

We know from experience that technology often moves faster than the development of reasonable and fair regulation of it, making this a time for correction of shortcomings of the past coupled with anticipation of problems in the future. The state will be well-served by a adopting a policy of correction and anticipation, although there is considerable doubt that such a policy will be enacted a Missouri Legislature that is heavily influenced by industry pressure and largesse. Whether voters who can be wooed by absurd amounts of money spent on advertising that is low on the honesty scale would approve a policy unfriendly to the casinos is problematic.

A couple of years ago, Joey Richardson wrote for Gamblingsites.org, “(Casinos) are going to need to change what they offer and how they offer it if they want to continue to attract new customers.”

Millennials who have grown up on video games and who learned during the pandemic how to live their lives without leaving their homes already are having a major impact on the future of businesses of all kinds. Past discussions of internet sales taxes as a meager protection for brick and mortar businesses were one of the beginnings of this trend that gained momentum in the pandemic era when working from home became viable.

Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Indiana became one of the first casinos to have a Pac-Man video slot machine, in September of 2017. Blackjack revenue for casinos is about half what it was in 1985 when it was responsible for 85% of table game revenues. Richardson noted in his article that casinos already had brought in new games to fill the gap—Caribbean stud, Three Card Poker, and Casino Holdem among them. All can be played remotely—if laws are changed to allow it.

Although Richardson doubts brick and mortar casinos will die out, Mehul Boricha, at Techrival.com has suggested virtual reality casinos could be on the way. He wrote, “Rules and regulations will always continue to influence future casinos. Various regulatory bodies come up with new and stricter policies that online casinos and games have to adopt without losing their grip on their innovation and creativity.” The new world of casino gambling that is being born in front of us will be a challenge not only to tomorrow’s legislature but to the gaming and lottery commissions that will have to regulate it. The gambling industry prefers not to make or be forced to make an investment that will allow regulatory bodies to prepare for the changes they must make to balance public responsibility with private profit.

Marketing Manager Emily Rodgers with driveresearch.com reported on August 2, 2023 that the growing preference for online or mobile app betting among three-quarters of sports bettors indicates a significant shift in the gambling industry towards digital platforms, offering convenience, accessibility, and potentially contributing to the overall increase in sports betting activity worldwide. She says convenience (78%) and easy deposits (75%) are the top reasons people prefer online/mobile sports betting. She argues that these top factors highlight the importance of user-friendly and seamless platforms in the gambling industry, factors that not only attract more bettors but also contribute to increased customer retention and engagement. She says digital channels are in the future for casino gambling, beginning with sports wagering..

Online sports betting revenue is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate (CAGR) of 10% during the next 5 years.

The introduction of AI (artificial intelligence) in sports betting will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the industry. One example is the way systems record information in digitized ledgers  known as blockchain, which is being adopted globally. Blockchain applications will help automate real-time data, expedite payments and wagers, and provide in-the-moment security and monitoring – including cryptocurrency transactions that are not allowed in Missouri, yet.

The sports betting marketplace grew ten-fold from 2019 to 2021 while netting nearly  $7B in revenue from $83B in total bets placed on sports in 2022.

Another report by marketdecipher.com revealed similar findings. In fact, its estimated $85B in bets placed in 2023 is forecast to balloon to $288B total by the end of 2032.

Virtual reality sports betting took a step forward with the launch of the VR22 sports betting  platform last October. The service allows users to take in a 360-degree live gaming experience as if they were there in person. Users can interact with the game or match in real time including the ability to place wagers down to a specific play – and even purchase merchandise or NFTs.

Missouri already has remote betting although it has been on a small scale.  In the past several years, a few of our casinos have had what they call “hybrid” wagering.  If a table is too crowded to allow additional players, gamblers are referred to a computer terminal that lets them place bets at the table as if they were physically there. It has been done on a small scale and has generated generally small profits. But it’s an experiment and it works.  Whether the terminal is fifty feet from the table or 50 miles and at someone else’s table, it is still sports wagering. And it is part of gambling’s future.

Another reason present casinos need to reach the public where it is, instead of waiting for the public to come back, is the threat of widespread competition. It is a very real threat and the first part of it could be in business in a few years.  We’ll talk about that in our next edition.

Sports: Another Bowl-Bound Missouri Team; Workmanlike Tigers Win; Chiefs Play Down to Opponent’s Level; & etc.

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by Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing editor

(Friends;  For some reason, Mediacom failed to publish all of last week’s postings. One looked at ten Missouri counties that were especially interested in the Lake of the Ozarks Casino proposition defeated last month.  The second one will look at what the casino industry might have up its sleeve next.

However—–

For blog history reasons, we are publishing last Tuesday’s sports essay today–or we hope we are—and we will then publish our regular Tuesday sports post later today–or we hope we will. Actually, we hope Mediacom publishes it. At last.

We solicit your interest particularly in the story about the two OTHER Missouri football teams headed for bowls.

On Wednesday, we will post the piece we intended to post last Monday and on Thursday we will post the column intended for last Wednesday.

With some luck we should be back to our regular schedule next week.

Or maybe not.  We aren’t sure Mediacom, our long-standing internet supplier, will do its job this time either.)

(BOWLS)—A second Missouri football team is headed for post-season play.  Truman State University rallied from an 0-3 start to finish 7-4, demolishing Southwest Baptist 55-3 in the regular season finale.

The Bulldogs are off to the America’s Crossroads Bowl for the fourth time in five years. Their game December 7 will be a rematch with Tiffin, a team they beat 28-27 in 2022.  Truman State is in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Tiffin Dragons represent the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.  The school is in Tiffin, Ohio and finished the regular season 8-3. The schools are similar in offense and defense. Truman outscored opponents an average of 33-21. Tiffin came in at 35-18. Tiffin QB Alex Johnson threw for 2780 yards. Truman Sophomore QB Dylan Hair thre for 2235 yards and ran for 516 more.

The America’s Crossroads Bowl is played in Hobart, Indiana. The game is played on the field of Hobart High School. It is one of three bowl games for Division 2 teams that do not make the 28-team field playing for the national championship. Six of the remaining 134 D2 teams play in the post-season bowl games, held on December 7 this year.

Last week we mentioned that the University of Central Missouri Mules will play a Heritage Bowl game on December 7 against the University of Texas-Permian Basin in the Heritage Bowl in Corsicana, Texas. It is played at the Corsicana High School stadium.

(MIZBOWL)—And where will Missouri go bowling?  Depends on who you consult.  CBS Sports thinks the Music Bowl against Michigan on December 20 in Nashville, giving Missouri a second straight clash with a Big 10 team. College Football News says it’s the Las Vegas Bowl December 27 against former Big 8 rival Colorado. Athlon Sports likes Missouri in Las Vegas, too, but against Washington. And ESPN thinks it will be USC that will be the opponent in the Las Vegas Bowl. Action Network says it’s the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville Florida January 2 against Louisville. 24/7 Sports agrees on the Gator Bowl but would match Missouri with Duke.

(MIZCONNECT)—Only two quarterbacks and three receivers in Missouri history have connected for 20 or more career touchdowns.  Brady Cook and Luther Burden III linked up for their 20th TD in last weekend’s game against South Carolina. Chase Daniel did it twice—25 with Chase Coffman and 22 with Jeremy Maclin.

(MIZARK)—Missouri looks to go 9-3 against Arkansas Saturday, a team that is 6-5 and still smarting from last year’s 48-14 whipping. Arkansas is 0-6 against Missouri on Faurot Field and 2-9 overall. But the last two games there have been Missouri’s by only two points each.  (ZOU)

Oh, about the basketball team. It has won five straight games against lesser opponents after opening with a loss at Memphis. (ZOU)

(CHIEFS)—The Chiefs are 10-1 after wasting a 20-9 halftime lead against the Carolina Panthers with their too-familiar second half doze threatened them with a loss to team with clearly less credentials. The Panthers got a two-point conversion with 1:46 to go to tie the game at 27-all. Patrick Mahomes bailed out the Chiefs again with a 33-yard run that put them in field goal range and backup kicker Spence Schrader gave them the win with a 31-yard field goal as the clock reached zero.

One expected the Chiefs, now 10-1, to have an easier time with the Panthers, who drop to 3-8.

Individually, Travis Kelce moved into the number three NFL career record book for most career receiving yards, moving past Antonio Gates and now trailing only Jason Witten of the Cowboys and Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, who got most of his years while playing for Kansas City.

(SPEAKING OF GREAT CATCHES)—A young Chiefs fan, who looks to be 9 or 10 years old, hoping to get a high five, or at least noticed, by his favorite player—Nick Bolton—was reaching over the railing at the Chiefs’ tunnel and went over it head first.

But Defensive Tackle Tershawn Wharton caught him. He was lifted, unharmed, back to the grandstand.

(CARDINALS)—Weekend reports contain nothing significant for the Cardinals but, as is sometimes the case, tell about the good fortunes of FORMER Cardinals. In this case it’s about former closer Giovanny  Gallegos.  He has signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers. He’s 33 and didn’t live up to expectations with the Redbirds last year, appearing in only 21 games and posting a 6.53 ERA. In 2021 and ’22, Gallegos saved 14 games in each year. His lifetime ERA is 3.49. This means the players are eligible for arbitration.

On the outside looking in are relievers Adam Kloffenstein

The Cardinals have offered contracts to NL reliever of the year Ryan Helsley, and four other pitchers—JoJo Romero, Andre Pallante, and John King as well as position(s) player Brendan Donovan.  They did not offer a contract to pitcher Adam Kloffenstein.

Speeding right along—

(ANDRETTI)—-Michael Andretti’s dream of fielding a Formula 1 team appears at last to be coming true.  The key has been the alignment with Cadillac for engines—the team will be known as Cadillac F-1—and with TWG Global, owned by billionaire Mark Walter who owns, among other things, the Los Angeles Dodgers. TWG also owns Andretti Global.  Michael’s role in the operation is unclear after stepping away from the team several weeks ago and taking an advisory role.

Father, Mario, has been named to the board of directors of the team. Mario ran Formula 1 races for 15 years, 1968-1982 and was the F1 champion in 1978 while driving for Lotus, becoming only the second American (Phil Hill in 1961 was the first) to win the title. He is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), the Daytona 500 (1967) and the F1 championship. Until recently he had been one of the drivers for the IndyCar Experience in an Indy car made into a two-person vehicle driven at racing speeds before Indycar races. He’s 84.

The CEO of the TWG Global business will be Dan Towriss, who joined Andretti as co-owner of Adretti Global Motorsports. Andretti stepped away from the team several weeks ago and will be an advisor.

(FORMULA 1)—Max Verstappen wrapped up his fourth straight Formula 1 championship with a sixth place finish at Las Vegas. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton gave Mercedes their first 1-2 finish of the year with Carlos Sainz in a Ferrari taking the other podium slot.

Verstappen is the fifth  driver in F1 history to win four straight world championships. Two races remain but Verstappen’s points lead cannot be overcome.

(INDYCAR)—Two men, one face, one trophy.  Sculptor will Behrends has carved his second bust of Josef Newgarden, the winner of this year’s Indianapolis 500. The face will be engraved into the famous Borg-Warner trophy, the second consecutive year Newgarden’s image has been through this process, by Reid Smith.  Behrends has been creating winners’ busts since 1990 and Smith has been the engraver since 2021.

Newgarden will try to become the first driver to win three straight 500s next May 25th.

(NASCAR)—Joey Logano has celebrated his third NASCAR Cup championship with a reflective speech on the culture of NASCAR. Here’s the highlight:

“When I think about what we do on the racetrack sometimes, it’s kind of pointless, right? We drive around in circles just to end up in the same place at the end of day. You kind of think about it, that’s kind of goofy. But if you take the opportunity God’s given us to talk to people, to inspire others to live a life of generosity, that’s when these scenarios and driving in circles isn’t just driving in circles anymore. … When you think about (the flooding) in Western North Carolina, I’d say probably at least one person at each table around here probably made a huge impact at some point for the Hurricane Helene victims. I saw a lot of too people up there helping out and that, to me, is probably something that I’m most proud of this industry, being a part of that.”

He’s the fifth driver to win three NASCAR championships.

(Photo credit: Bob Priddy, Indianapolis 2019)

 

The Majority Rules, Chapter Two

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A rare race for Speaker of the Missouri House has shaped up after 51.6% of the voters of Missouri approved Amendment 3, the abortion amendment.

For several years, Missouri House Republicans have picked a Speaker-designate during the September veto session who would succeed the outgoing Speaker in January. They have a two-thirds majority, so the decision in September is tantamount to the actual election.

But the November election has injected some uncertainty into the proceedings.

Republicans chose Dr. Jon Patterson of Lee’s Summit as the presumptive successor to Dean Plocher, a St. Louis County Representative who is term limited.

But the election, particularly the approval of Amendment 3, has produced a challenger—Justin Sparks of Wildwood.

Patterson has said the legislature should “respect the law.”  But Sparks says that Patterson’s comment “is not what the leader of the Republican Caucus should be saying.”

Sparks is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.  His background is in law enforcement as a 15-year veteran of the St. Louis County Police Department and a Deputy U.S. Marshall. He has told St. Louis television station KMOV, “It is clear that many people that voted for Amendment 3 did so under information that was false.” And he asked, “Should three cities determine what everybody lives under for the entire state? I say no.”

Sparks also criticizes Patterson on other issues, especially as a St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial put it, “Patterson’s vote against legislation to prohibit transgender treatments for minors. Patterson, a surgeon, has said he believes there should be exceptions to that prohibition based on case-by-case details — a medically reasonable standard that most in Patterson’s party today reject. As House majority leader, Patterson nonetheless allowed debate on the legislation, which passed.”

The November election tally from the Secretary of State’s office shows Amendment 3 passed 1,527,096-1,432,084., a 95,000 vote margin.  But it passed in only seven of Missouri’s 116 voting areas (114 counties plus the cities of St. Louis and Kansas City).  Voters in the two cities, Jackson and St. Louis Counties were joined by Boone, Clay, and Buchanan Counties with 72.6% of the votes in those areas.  In the rest of the state, Amendment 3 was outvoted 728,042-1,050,088. Boone County was the only county outside the metro areas to vote “yes.”

Patterson and Sparks, both Republicans, won in areas that went heavily in favor of Amendment 3. St. Louis County, where Sparks lives, went for it 335,082-162,311 with St. Louis City going 95,039-19,673. Jackson County was in favor 112,822-78,712 with Kansas City adding a tally of 99,120-23,985.

Two Republicans will face off for one of the most important jobs in state government in January, both from metro areas that provided the margin in the statewide victory for Amendment 3.  One says the will of the whole people of Missouri as well as the will of voters in his home area, should be honored. The other says both should be ignored because that’s not what Republicans are about, in effect saying that they should be a party that does not accept the will of all of the public.

One says all of the voters should make the decision. The other says only one party’s voters count.

Let’s see what kind of Republican Party we have in the Missouri House, come January.

The Majority Rules

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Whatever else we discard during our electoral processes, we maintain the concept of majority rule, whether through the electoral college or, in all other elections, the popular vote.

The system guarantees disappointment for some, gratification for others, and exultation for some, depending on the margin of victory or defeat.

Some have pronounced the Democratic Party dead after the election. That is a mistake. It has not been that long ago that the Republican party was considered to be on life support. We have seen through history many times when one party suffers a disastrous loss only to come back a few years later and regain its prominence. The winning party of 2024 will be the defensive party in 2026 and 2028. The fickleness of American politics gives voters a chance to correct the nation’s course every two and four years.

The majority thinks it has done that this year. But the first chance that those who cast minority votes to turn the tables comes in just two years.

There is no time for self-pity. Likewise, there is no time for superior attitudes.  Now, it is nothing more than a matter of doing. And measuring whether that doing is correct—

—-because voters always have the right to change their minds, to change their parties, and to change their leaders or representatives.

Historian Jon Meacham, one our favorite writers on contemporary events viewed against the background of the past, told Morning Joe the morning after election day, in part:

We’ve had 59 presidential elections in American history and only fifteen of them have unfolded in the electorate that voted yesterday.  So more than two-third of our elections unfolded at a time when women couldn’t vote or black folks couldn’t vote; immigration was even more restrictive.

…The question now is all our Republican friends who said, and I wish I had a quarter for every time someone said this over the last twelve months or so is, “Yeah, I don’t like the way Trump acts, but I liked his policies;” the second point, that I also want a quarter for, is “You guys exaggerate this whole ‘guard rails’ thing.” 

Well, now we’ll find out. And if they were right, and I pray they were—and I don’t say that lightly; I genuinely want to have been wrong, that the constitutional order, that his election result put it too much at risk, that now it’s on those whom the country has entrusted power to prove that we were wrong.

And, look, the success of an incumbent Congress, the incumbent White House, is also the country’s success.  And so I think we take a deep breath. I think citizenship itself is about the hard work, as St. Paul said and President Kennedy used in the coda to his inaugural address, is “being patient in tribulation.” And there are a lot of people this morning who are waking up and feel that the world is ending. There are a lot of people who are waking up who think, “Okay, we’re on the right track.”  The point of America is that we all should be able to have those different views but to move forward together.

I’m not trying to preach here, but that’s what democracy is. It’s disagreeing and dissenting within a common vernacular. And the country’s made a very clear decision and now we’ll find out if, in fact, the folks who have been entrusted with power are worthy of that power.

…The old phrase from Revolutionary times, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” and everybody who found this election to be existential, you don’t set those concerns aside. But what you DO do is, you have to watch carefully; you participate in the arena, and the people, the remarkable number of our neighbors and friends who made a different decision now face a test, themselves.

The New York Times ran a lengthy editorial the day after the election emphasizing the responsibilities that this election places on new Trump appointees who will be asked to place loyalty to him over loyalty to country and the responsibility the Senate will assume to act as an independent check and balance on his actions on appointments. But, it says, the ultimate responsibility rests with those who fought at the ballot box for the future course of our country:

…The final responsibility for ensuring the continuity of America’s enduring values lies with its voters. Those who supported Mr. Trump in this election should closely observe his conduct in office to see if it matches their hopes and expectations, and if it does not, they should make their disappointment known and cast votes in the 2026 midterms and in 2028 to put the country back on course. Those who opposed him should not hesitate to raise alarms when he abuses his power, and if he attempts to use government power to retaliate against critics, the world will be watching.

Benjamin Franklin famously admonished the American people that the nation was “a republic, if you can keep it.” Mr. Trump’s election poses a grave threat to that republic, but he will not determine the long-term fate of American democracy. That outcome remains in the hands of the American people. It is the work of the next four years.

We, you and I, have our marching orders regardless of which side we were on a few days ago.  Benjamin Franklin gave them to us a long time ago.

(If you want to read the entire editorial: Opinion | America Makes a Perilous Choice – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

The Rules Don’t Apply to Me

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Four years later, the Leopard still has his spots.

Donald Trump has wasted no time proclaiming in word and deed that rules and laws do not apply to him. After all, his victory “was the greatest political movement of all time.”

He said during his campaign he wanted to be a dictator on day one. He’s not even waiting that long. He’s already ignoring the law and in a dangerous way.

New York Times reporter Ken Bensinger reported earlier this week that Trump “has not submitted a required ethics plan stating he will avoid conflicts of interest.”

The Trump transition team was hired in August “but has refused to participate in the normal handoff process, which typically begins months before the election.” Because of that, the Trump team is barred from national security briefings. The committee also has been denied access to federal agencies. The team reportedly has “an intent” to sign the agreements. But nobody has.

Concerns about Trump’s ethical lapses (to substantially understate the point) in his first term led Congress in 2019 to require candidates to post an ethics plan before the election and how the person would address conflict of issues accusations during their presidential terms, regardless of how far they get in the process.  Trump announced then that he would not divest his assets or put them in a blind trust, as office-holders usually do to separate themselves from making decisions that would benefit them while in office. Bensinger says the watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has identified 3,400-plus Trumpian conflicts in his first four years as President.

Both President Biden and Vice-President Harris  had no trouble signing the agreements during the recently-concluded campaign. But signing them apparently was too inconvenient on the other side. Doing so apparently would distract from cooking up cat-eating conspiracies and fake reports of Venezuelan gangs taking over Colorado apartments.

Frequent Trump critic, Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, charges Trump is “thumbing his nose” at the requirements. Raskin says refusal to sign the documents keeps the Trump transition team from getting $7.2 million in transition money.  The program puts $5,000 limits on individual donations to the transition effort.  But since Trump refuses to sign the ethics code, he can raise money hand over fist and now have to report who gave it to him.

There’s an even bigger issue that would be trouble for people who think they are not above the law:  Refusal to sign the ethics documents means none of the transition team can get security clearances that will give them access to 438 federal agencies’ records.

But who needs that?  After all, we’re dealing with someone who thinks he knows everything already. Nobody knows the political system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it,” had modestly observed in his first campaign.

Even more recently, Trump demanded that the next leader of the U. S. Senate not stand in the way of his appointments to key positions by letting him make what are called recess appointments.

And those seeking power in the Senate are saying, in effect, “Yes Sir. Whatever you want, sir.”

Recess appointments are intended to respond to emergencies. They can stay in place for a couple of years without seeking advice and consent form the Senate. He has openly said he wants to avoid opposition to his choices. He said on his personal social media site, “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments…without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.”

Senate confirmation of appointments has been one of the great checks and balances in the American system of government. They demand, on behalf of the American people, accountability from the nominees as well as from the President making the nominations.

Sadly, the three front-runners as Mitch McConnell’s replacement have quickly drunk from the Trump Kool-Aid pitcher on this. Trump favors Florida Senator Rick Scott for the job. His election will tell us a lot about whether the Senate will maintain any independence from the White House.

So far, however, thee’s no guarantee that every other Senator will go along with Trump’s dictates.  Some of those who survived January 6th aren’t happy with plans to pardon many of the peaceful tourists who convinced members of Congress they weren’t interested in tourism. Some also think his tariff plans are impractical. Those who resist will be threatened with well-funded primary opponents in their re-election bids, a visceral threat. Loyalty to him is the only thing that matters with Trump.

Trump also wants all judicial appointments by President Biden halted until Republicans take control of the Senate.  Damn the process! Forget about checks and balances. The only judges fit to sit on the federal bench are those that must prove their loyalty is beyond (or is beneath?) the law alone. That appears to be a no-brainer for the bunch that refused to even let Merritt Garland have a hearing months before the end of the Obama presidency so Trump could get a head start on loading the court.

Last night, the Wall Street Journal reported the Trump transition team is creating an executive order that would establish a so-called “warrior board” of retired general and noncoms to recommend dismissals of generals that Trump considers disloyal, were involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021 or have suggested policies that are considered too liberal. The report says the generals could be kicked out of the service for “lacking in requisite leadership qualities,” a vague phrase that so far has not been explained by the transition team.

A military loyal to Trump more than it is loyal to the nation and its Constitution is something he promised during his campaign to do.

Well, this is the bed made by those who don’t like his mouth but think his policies are okay.  Forget ethics and laws and constitutional limits on presidential power. Within a week after his election, Donald Trump has blatantly asserted that the rules and the laws do not apply to him.

And he is more than two months away from taking office.

I am terribly scared of this man.

Sports: The Weekend of Improbables 

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By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor

(GENERALLY)—A team that tried to give away a game wins. A team about to give away a game keeps it. And a guy who once was on the outside is at the top of the heat. It was a weekend of virtual sports whiplash.

(FOOTBALL)–The gods of football giveth. And the gods of football taketh away.

(MIZ)—It’s interesting to see what two weeks of taking all of the snaps with the number one unit does for a backup quarterback whose credentials are better than many Missouri Tiger fans know.

Drew Pyne had been less than impressive in his two previous appearances this year. But this is a guy who stepped in after a bad start at Notre Dame and led the Irish to an 8-2 record during a 9-4 season that saw them win a Gator Bowl championship.

Missouri beat Oklahoma 30-23 in a game that focused almost all of the excitement in the closing minutes of the last quarter.

Scores had been hard to come by and the Tigers trailed 9-3 at the half, their only score coming from Missouri’s longest drive of the half—24 yards. But Missouri took a 10-9 lead in the third quarter. Nobody was expecting a fourth quarter that featured four touchdowns and three field goals.

Missouri got the action started on a 5-yard TD pass from Pyne to Brett Norfleet but the extra point was missed, giving Missouri a 16-9 lead.

But Oklahoma answered with 3:48 to play on a trick play that saw quarterback Jackson Arnold become a receiver on an 18-yard play that put Oklahoma up 17-16.  And then the roof seemed to fall in when running back Jamal Roberts fumbled with 2:06 left and the ball was scooped up by OU Safety Billy Bowman Jr, who took it to the end zone, giving the sooners a 23-16 lead.

But Oklahoma couldn’t stop Missouri and with 1:03 left in the game, Pyne with time and downs running out, Pyne, on a third and 16, found Luther Burden III for a catch and run that went 33 yards.  He then hit former Oklahoma receiver Theo Weese who kept the tip of his toe in bounds and, with the extra point, tied the game at 23.

Oklahoma still had some time to get back to field goal range But with three seconds left, But linebacker Triston Newson forced an Oklahoma quarterback fumble that as scooped up by defensive end Zion Young,  who ran the ball into the end zone. The extra point made it 30-23.

Oklahoma still had about 30 seconds to answer but the Sooners ran out of space on the field and on the clock and Missouri moved to 7-2, winning a game that was all but lost.  All but.

The wind, exciting as it was, barely moved the needle in the rankings for the week. Oklahoma is not the usual Sooners.  They’re now just 1-5 in their first SEC  year, 5-5 overall. The rankings announced yesterday returns Missouri to the AP poll at 24. The coaches poll puts them 21st.

Missouri goes to South Carolina for a late Saturday afternoon game next weekend. South Carolina is 6-3 but only 4-3 in the SEC. (ZOU)

(CHIEFS)—How many more times will the Kansas City Chiefs keep pulling rabbits out of hats this year?

They beat Denver Sunday in a game they had all but lost.  Denver was ready to kick a 35-yard field goal as time ran out but the Chies again made the play they had to have when Leo Chenal broke through and the kicked ball hit him just below the palm of his hand and rolled away.

Chiefs are now 9-0 and the record has NFL statisticians shaking their heads.  Here are some key “shake  your head” stats;

No team in NFL history has started the year 9-0 with a points differential lower than the Chiefs plus-58, an average winning margin of 6.4 points. They have won 15 games in a row, the most since the Packers ran off 19 in 2010-11 and the most in franchise history.  Twelve of those fifteen games have been won by one score. They are 9-0 in games in which they have trailed by seven or more points in the third quarter, the longest streak in NFL history. They have spent more time trailing than being ahead in five of their games.

Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs are 19-14 in games where they have been down by ten or more  points. They are 39-19 during his career when they have trailed by seven or more points. They have eight comeback wins this year, tying the NFL record.

The Chiefs’ 24.3 ppg ranks 11th this year. They are giving up 17.9 ppg, fifth in the league. They are 21st in rushing with 115.1 yards per game. They’re tenth in passing with 245.3 yards per game.

Individually, Travis Kelce has tied Tony Gonzalez for the most touchdown passes in franchise history, 76.

All they do is win, it seems.

But next weekend will be a huge challenge. They’ll be in Buffalo to play the 8-2 Bills.

—Our third  improbable story takes place on a racetrack.

(NASCAR)—NASCAR’s champion for 2024 started the playoffs as a man who wasn’t there. Now he’s the king of the series for the third time, only the tenth driver in all of NASCAR history to have three or more championships.

A month ago, Joey Logano thought he was out of the competition for his third national championship. Alex Bowman had finished ahead of him in the NASCAR race at Charlotte, becoming the eighth and final driver in the semi-final round of runoff races.

Hours after the race, however, NASCAR ruled Bowman’s car because it was underweight, putting Logano back in the hunt.

He immediately won his second race of the year to put himself into the final four and at Phoenix he held off teammate, and defending champion, Ryan Blaney to nail down his third championship.

His win, however, has triggered renewed criticism of NASCAR’s playoff format that automatically places anyone who wins a race in the 16-driver first round.

Logano would have been 15th in the regular season points chase if NASCAR used the format it had used for most of its history, crowing a champion based entirely on points. The playoff format, however, has allowed drivers who did not lead the series in points to take home the NASCAR Cup.

Logano brushed aside criticism that the NASCAR playoffs were unfair to the drivers who have consistently better seasons than he did, telling reporters after the race, “The playoff system in other sports is not much different than what this is.  You can have a great regular season. It seeds you better for the playoffs. That doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to go all the way to the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup Finals or the NBA Finals. It doesn’t matter. It might help you.”

But sports with long seasons—and NASCAR’s season goes for nine months—often pay off for the team that gets hottest at the end, as Logano’s team did.

The list of drivers with three or more championships now adds Joey Logano to Seven-time champions Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Jimmy Johnson; four time winner Jeff Gordon; three time winners Tony Stewart, Darrel Waltrip, David Pearson, Lee Petty, and Cale Yarborough.

Logano has been racing for the NASCAR Cup for 17 years but he still has many more to go it he wants to continue. He’s only 34; he drove his first Cup races when he was 17. The only drivers in his first race who are still running fulltime in the Cup Series are Martin Truex Jr., who ended his career with the race at Phoenix, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Michael McDowell.

The Phoenix race ended a record winning streak for Kyle Busch.  He had gone nineteen years in a row with at least one victory.

NASCAR is done until February when the gang goes to Daytona.

(INDYCAR)—INDYCAR won’t be running hot and fast again until March 2 at St. Petersburg. The series is expecting 27 teams to be involved, pretty much the maximum, says series president Jay Frye (the Indianapolis 500 has 33 starters).  The top twelve drivers in this year’s standings will be back. Ten other drivers have seats and teams with open cockpits have plenty of veterans and newcomers to choose from.

The 500 is expected to draw Helio Castroneves in a one-off deal for 2025 along with NASCAR’s Kyle Larson making his second attempt to run 1100 miles in one day with the 500 in the afternoon and the 600-mile race that night in Charlotte, and former 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay.

(Photo credit: Logano at Brickyard 400: Rick Gevers)

Veterans Day

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It was called Armistice Day for a long time, celebrating the end of World War I. That morning of November 11, 1918, the Army’s Battery D, commanded by Captain Harry Truman fired its last 164 cannon shots at the “Hun.”

Truman had taken control of a unit known for its “wild” soldiers as the “Dizzy D.”  It was a group of tough young Missouri National Guardsmen who had worn out three other commanding officers and who ridiculed the professorial-appearing Truman after he first addressed them. Later that evening the unit got into a drunken brawl that sent four of them to the infirmary.

Truman was never one to tolerate foolishness and the men of the Dizzy D got the message the next morning when he posted a list showing about half of the noncommissioned officers had been demoted, along with several PFCs.

While Truman was writing a letter to his fiancé, Bess Wallace, on November 10, and commented: 1

“The Hun is yelling for peace like a stuck hog…When you see some of things those birds did and then hear the talk they put up for peace it doesn’t impress you at all. A complete and thorough thrashing is all they’ve got coming and take my word they’re getting it and getting it right.”

He was writing another letter to Bess the next day when he got notice the Germans had surrendered.  For Truman, surrender was too good for them:

“I knew that Germany could not stand the gaff. For all their preparedness and swashbuckling talk they cannot stand adversity. France was whipped for four years and never gave up and one good licking suffices for Germany. What pleases me most is that I was able to take the battery through the last drive. The battery has shot something over 1000 rounds at the Hun and I am sure they had a slight effect.”

Captain Truman rose to be the Commander in Chief of all of our country’s military forces. We think his message to Congress delivered March 12, 1947, not quite two years into his first term as President, in which he began what later became known as the Truman Doctrine has some echoes for our times.

One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion. This was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and Japan. Our victory was won over countries which sought to impose their will, and their way of life, upon other nations.

To ensure the peaceful development of nations, free from coercion, the United States has taken a leading part in establishing the United Nations, The United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members.

We shall not realize our objectives, however, unless we are willing to help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against aggressive movements that seek to impose upon them totalitarian regimes. This is no more than a frank recognition that totalitarian regimes imposed on free peoples, by direct or indirect aggression, undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the United States.

The peoples of a number of countries of the world have recently had totalitarian regimes forced upon them against their will. The Government of the United States has made frequent protests against coercion and intimidation, in violation of the Yalta agreement, in Poland, Rumania, and Bulgaria. I must also state that in a number of other countries there have been similar developments.

At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.

The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio; fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes. The world is not static, and the status quo is not sacred. But we cannot allow changes in the status quo in violation of the Charter of the United Nations by such methods as coercion, or by such subterfuges as political infiltration.

In helping free and independent nations to maintain their freedom, the United States will be giving effect to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. It is necessary only to glance at a map to realize that the survival and integrity of the Greek nation are of grave importance in a much wider situation… The disappearance of Greece as an independent state would have a profound effect upon those countries in Europe whose peoples are struggling against great difficulties to maintain their freedoms and their independence while they repair the damages of war. It would be an unspeakable tragedy if these countries, which have struggled so long against overwhelming odds, should lose that victory for which they sacrificed so much. Collapse of free institutions and loss of independence would be disastrous not only for them but for the world.  Discouragement and possibly failure would quickly be the lot of neighboring peoples striving to maintain their freedom and independence.

He called for “immediate and resolute action” to save Greece and Turkey—by authorizing aid totaling $400-million. He also asked Congress to allow American civilians and military personnel to help those countries re-build and to provide needed “commodities, supplies and equipment.”

This is a serious course upon which we embark. I would not recommend it except that the alternative is much more serious. The United States contributed $341,000,000,000 toward winning World War II…It is only common sense that we should safeguard this investment and make sure that it was not in vain.

The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. We must keep that hope alive. The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world — and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation.

On this Veterans Day, it is vitally important that we remember our veterans not only for the freedoms they had protected for us, but to remember that we understand the freedoms they also have given other peoples.

As we look with uncertainty about the return of a former President whose record in international support of free nations is cause for concern, we should keep in mind the last lines quoted above—”The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world — and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation.”

Harry Truman was a leader in two world wars. We should honor his service and his call for this nation to never back down from its role as a world leader for freedom.

(Picture credit: Pathe News)

Twentieth Century American Gothic  11/6/24)

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While the nation is still trying to wrap up the most trying political campaign in our lifetime, we are going to look at something or somebody else. It will be something that we hope takes your minds off of what we’ve been through and what lies ahead.

Do you know these folks?

They look kind of familiar.  Where do I know them from?

You and I know them pretty well.  Or maybe not at all.

They are us.

Buzzfeed ran an article on November 4 in which it reported the results after asking Artificial Intelligence to create images of the way typical residents of each state would look. Nancy and I found this piece fascinating as we looked at the images for all of the states.

The same two people provided the faces.  A man and a woman who appear to be in their early 40s, perhaps (?).  The article says the results “reveal the biases and stereotypes that currently exist within AI models.”  Maybe, if we dwell on this deeply enough, we might find they exist with each of us.  Buzzfeed cautioned these people “are not meant to be seen as accurate or full depictions of human experience.”

They look pretty real to us.  But, then, that’s one of the scary things about AI.

It appears AI used a lot of demographic and cultural information to give these folks their special looks. What does it tell us about ourselves?

Nancy and I tried to “read” this Missouri couple. Here’s what we decided.  Both are intelligent with at least some higher education, maybe more than a little. He’s serious and pretty well set in his opinions. He’ll argue with you about them and probably won’t retreat. He’s sure he’s right. She’s her own person, one of substance, curious and considerate of your opinion. She might agree with you eventually, or partly or at least continue the conversation. He’s intense. She’s curious. You might walk away from a conversation with him convinced he thinks of himself as slightly superior.  You might walk away from a conversation with her with something to think about, and she might walk away thinking the same thing.

Who’s the Republican?  Who’s the Democrat?  Either? Both? Is one of them an independent?

What does it take to make them laugh or at least to smile?

If you are from St. Louis, what high school would they have attended?

What’s their favorite television show?

Do they go to church?

On a vacation, does he want to fish and hunt while she wants to hike?

Are they a couple?  Could be. If they are, they probably have some interesting discussions. Do they drink wine?  Yeah, but I think he’s the one more likely to order a beer at dinner. They could be Tiger fans and might even tailgate on Saturdays. They enjoy the company of others.  They don’t join organizations, or very many organizations.  They’re middle-income folks, educated.  If they are a couple, they would have a couple of children probably pre-teens with all of the challenges that comes with them.

Their professions?   Not teachers.  Not lawyers.  Maybe she’s a social worker. Maybe he’s a fireman.  Maybe he runs an auto parts store and she has a fabric store.  Or maybe he sells boats and she’s the administrative assistant to a college dean.

He drives a pickup truck, maybe a Dodge Ram.  She drives a Prius.

What do YOU think? Who are they?  Who are we?  How would we look and dress to show what typical Missourians look like?

If you want to see what this couple looks like in other states, go to:

I Asked AI What The Typical Person From Each State Looks Like, And Here’s What It Came Up With (msn.com)

We found some surprises. We found some that (in our personal stereotypes) were dead on.  We were interested in how they are placed in the pictures of some states’ representatives. Sometimes she’s in front or more by his side..

We love Iowa’s couple and consider them a 21st Century American Gothic, an updated version of Grant Wood’s famous painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know what we think would be fun?  Have some folks over and show them the pictures representing each of our states and let the group discuss the things Nancy and I have discussed.

Thirty years ago, Robert Fulgham was a best-selling author of self-understanding books. One of them was Well, What is it You Do? He said, “I—and you—we are infinite, rich, largely contradictory, living, breathing human beings, children of God and the everlasting universe. That’s what we do.”

Maybe that’s a good place to start when you “read” these Missourians.

Spend some time with them and if you would like, tell us in the comments box how YOU read them—and what they say about our state.