breaking news

Just this morning, which started for me at 3:30 when I couldn't get back to sleep, I learned of developments involving two Minnesota luminaries.  Oh, what the heck, make that icons.

The early AM newscast had Paul Molitor being called back in for a second interview with Minnesota Twins brass in the search for a new manager for the team.  I've loved Paul Molitor even before the day  I bought a "Paul Molitor for Rookie of the Year" t-shirt at the liquor store up on Snelling at Hague.  The one which was a long-time inhabitant of the corner which is now a Play-It-Again-Sports outlet.  I also remember playing IM touch football against him at the U (as a ringer, of course) back when I could be counted on to do something else with a football other than drop it.  We kicked their asses.  Just sayin'.

How do I get off on these tangents?  Back to Paul Molitor and his future with the Twins.  Molitor was a great player with the Brewers and the Blue Jays and even the Twins as he wrapped up his playing career.  He was an All Star multiple times and a deserving inductee into the Hall of Fame.  Those credentials are beyond question.

Lately, he's been a coach for the Twins.  This probably earned him an inside track at a first interview in the wake of Ron Gardenhire's departure.  Still all well and good even if the Twins have stunk during much of Paul's coaching days.

However, it was reported this morning that he'd earned the second interview based, in part, on his familiarity with the Twins' system.  Ouch.  Hopefully that's only a very small part cuz the Twins' system has been pretty dysfunctional lately.

And Michele Bachmann's back in the news.  Thank God; I've missed her re-election commercials this cycle.  But now it sounds as if the Congresswoman has earned some extra security protection.  Based on threats from, get this, ISIL.  ISIL, I was told by Kim Insley or Carla Hult, has made threats of some sort against Michele.  Apparently those maniacs are pissed off at her because of her outspoken public criticism of their organization's operations and methodology.  Hmmmmm.  I wonder who else ISIL is targeting based on the targets' public criticisms.  That would pretty much be all of us, right?

I've been pissed off at Michele Bachmann for years because of her outspoken public criticism of any number of things.  But I've never been pissed off enough to broadcast any threats against her.  And I've given her grudging credit for the inventiveness and entertainment value of her public criticisms.  Fortunately, this country has enough checks and balances in place to have kept Michele and her like from rising any further than she has.  Unfortunately, the checks and balances in Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan are in need of some fine tuning.

I have no idea how much further ISIL will advance its agenda.  I hope that they're approaching a high water mark and that that agenda of hate and ignorance will start to wither away.  For now, I'll take some comfort in the fact that Michele Bachmann and her agenda of hate and ignorance have reached a high water mark.  Even if that's not without some fresh lunacy making the headlines.