EDITORIAL: Senior Games competitors great role models
Aug. 14—Thumbs up to the 500 competitors in Mankato to take part in the Senior Games.
Participants age 50 and up are taking part in events across Mankato, including volleyball, golf, pickleball, swimming and track. Top finishers in each sport will qualify for the national Senior Games next spring in Florida.
It's been a few years since Mankato hosted the games, which switch between St. Cloud and Mankato every two years.
Beyond the competitive spirit of the games, they have a strong social component, where people from across the state and from other states can get to know other enthusiasts of their sports of choice.
The four-day event also brings a big economic benefit to the area. Events run today and Sunday and spectators are welcome. (mnseniorgames.com).
Packing at the fair
Thumbs down to the gun owners who want to disrupt the security measures of the Minnesota State Fair by asserting they have the right to attend the fair armed.
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus filed a lawsuit this week that argues the State Fair's ban on weapons violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Just what we need at the Great Minnesota Get-Together — crowds of people who may or may not be wearing masks and disagree about doing so, alcohol sales, and now the possibility of guns in the mix.
The lawsuit is a low-down way to get publicity.
Sometimes we just need people to be reasonable. The Get-Together isn't supposed to drive us apart.
The Afghan collapse
Thumbs down to the rapidity with which Afghanistan's central government is collapsing. The Taliban is sweeping through provincial capitals this week, and on Thursday took the nation's second- and third-largest cities.
The inability of the Kabul government to defend itself will certainly prompt American hawks to criticize President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw our forces by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks launched from Afghan soil that prompted the U.S. invasion.
But in a very real sense, this week underlines the wisdom in calling it quits. This nation invested more than 2,000 lives and $830 billion in Afghanistan over the past two decades — not to mention the contributions of our NATO allies — and this collapse is the ultimate result. There is no point in putting more blood and treasure into the project. If the Kabul government cannot stand on its own now, it was never going to.
Rand Paul and lies
Thumbs down to Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul for his recent campaign to spread disinformation about mask wearing on YouTube. And thumbs up for YouTube banning him for a week for spreading lies.
Paul posted on YouTube a rant about masks not working to stop the spread of COVID. He made sensible public health strategies like vaccines and wearing masks seem like Communist tyranny. All manner of medical experts have said masks prevent the spread of COVID and saves lives.
YouTube's policy — readily available for anyone to examine — applies to anyone who spreads misinformation no matter their social or political standing. Paul was banned for seven days as a "first strike" for the recent diatribe. If he continues to spread disinformation, he will be banned for two weeks after the second strike. A third strike brings a permanent ban.
It's good to see YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and some other social media sites finally taking responsibility for the content put on their platforms that reach millions of people around the world.
It's unfortunate Paul will have followers who believe his lies, and that he was able to use an internet platform for a time to get the false claim out into the cyberspace.
This is behavior unbecoming of a U.S. senator. He does a disservice to his constituents and the state of Kentucky.
