The Writer's Poke

Before making any decision, first calculate what is best in your own self-interest.

Power requires party loyalty.

I have a confession to make. I compare every state park I visit against Indiana’s Turkey Run State Park. Turkey Run is my ideal state park, and although it’s the state park of my childhood, I know it’s not just nostalgia speaking. I have visited Turkey Run a few times as an adult, and it hasn't ceased to impress me. It has a total of ten trails, and to access most of them, you must cross Sugar Creek on an impressive, well-maintained pedestrian bridge. The trails themselves are everything that you might want – they go through narrow sandstone gorges, some require ladder climbing, and others follow “creek beds.” For me, Turkey Run is about the hiking, but I also have fond memories of canoeing down the shallow (sometimes too shallow) Sugar Creek. But this post isn’t supposed to be about Turkey Run. It is supposed to be about Minnesota's Whitewater State Park, which may well be the nicest state park in the southeast Minnesota region. It is much smaller than Turkey Run, a...

Find a way to win and maintain power. That is the prime directive.

The political process is finite. There are winners and losers.

The purpose of examining the evidence is simply and solely to help support the GOP’s stated ideology. An examination of the evidence should never be allowed to be used to disprove it. 

Passionately argue that the iceberg is solely what is visible above the surface of the water.

Perpetual distraction is the best defense.

Some things, such as National Security, are never attainable. Make the promise that you can attain it anyway. Make it clear that your opponents do not want to attain the worthy ideal, and will do anything within their power to stop you.

Lanesboro is one of my “what if?” places. What if we moved here? What if we opened a coffee shop downtown and lived on the second floor above it? After a recent day trip to Spud Boy’s Diner, my head was full of “what if?” thoughts. A quick real estate search showed that two storefront locations were currently available in downtown Lanesboro. One was right next to Spud Boy’s, a prime location, and it included a one bedroom loft. The other, just off the main street, included a two bedroom apartment. The asking price for both was roughly what we paid for our current house. Breakfast at Spud Boy's Diner. I asked Linda what she thought about moving to Lanesboro to open a coffee shop. Surprisingly, she didn’t immediately scream “NO!” Not that this is her typical reaction to my silly “what if?” propositions, but she often is my voice of reason. For this idea, however, she said, “Well, it would be quite a life change, but it would be doable.” The doable “what ifs?” are th...

Make policies to defend the strong so that they will be able to protect the weak.

When you see the little Tower, you're there.  A few days ago, the idea of climbing the Elba Fire Tower crossed my mind. It would be a good excuse for us to make a pit stop at the St. Charles Bakery, a bakery we had never been to before, and maybe it would make up for the last time we climbed the Tower. The last time we climbed it, I had uncontrolled asthma, and that made it quite a challenge to climb the 633 steps (plus or minus) to the top. A few days ago, I was feeling pretty darn good, but for a variety of reasons, it would take five days before we actually made the drive over to Elba. And, for the last few days, my right Achilles’ heel has been hurting. Just the joys of growing older, although to be honest, I've been dealing with gout and general pain for almost fifteen years now. A nice day for a climb. Doesn't look that much of a climb from a distance...  Temperature-wise, it was a perfect day for a climb – about 70, and not too sunny. Before maki...

Keep your friends close, but keep your billionaire friends closer.

Control the narrative, control the truth.

Declare victory, even if you haven't actually won.

If all else fails, blame Obama.

Some time ago in the spring, I found out that David Ellefson, bass player and co-founder of Megadeth, was rebranding the coffee shop in Jackson, Minnesota. Every so often I would tell Linda that I planned to drive over there to check it out, but the morning that I actually decided to drive over there to check it out, I think I surprised her. I’m not sure she thought I would ever do it. “What else are you going to do over there?” “Oh, that’s it. Just drive over there, order a cup of coffee, and drive home.” I had checked out Jackson on Tripadvisor, and honestly, Jackson seemed like it didn’t have much going on. My mind map of southwestern Minnesota was mainly a blank. I knew that I-90 drove through, but I thought perhaps the interstate was a metaphor: Beware ye who enter here, lest ye be on your way to somewhere else. When I told Tavi we were driving two hours to visit a coffee shop, the idea didn’t seem far-fetched to her. She only had one question, “Do they serve hot ...

The final product is all that matters; never worry about the process.

To do something big, start big.

If you're in charge, expect the best-case scenario; if you're not in charge, predict the worst-case scenario.