Odds and Ends: WI Voter ID Law Problem, Writing, and Nyjer Morgan

Today’s one of those days it’s easier to write about a whole bunch of things, so let’s get to it.

First, it was big news yesterday when a top aide to the Wisconsin state transportation department told the staff at the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles not to give out free IDs, which are supposed to be given out due to our new voter ID law, unless people ask for them.   State Senator Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, made sure to make this public as soon as he found out about it, and stated on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” with Al Sharpton today (Friday, September 9, 2011 to be exact) that he found this extremely distressing news and would be meeting with the appropriate people next week to get to the bottom of this.  I also know from my friends and fellow Wisconsin political activists that this will not be taken lying down; no matter what Governor Walker’s hand-appointed aide says, those IDs are supposed to be given out for free or that law should be called what it is: a newfangled version of the older “poll tax.”

That said, we also have a problem here with the Milwaukee Brewers, and it’s not how poorly they’ve been playing (though that’s not been pleasant, either, as this article points out).  Brewers OF Nyjer Morgan had a dust-up with St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter on Wednesday evening.  After Carpenter swore at Morgan (which he now admits to doing), Morgan spit tobacco and swore at Carpenter before getting ejected.  After that, Morgan took to Twitter in his alternate “Tony Plush” persona and poked fun at Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, calling Pujols a “she” and “Alberta” in the process — the reason for this apparently, is because Pujols immediately came to his pitcher’s defense and instituted a base-clearing incident that came whisker-close to becoming a brawl.

For now, Morgan is mum about it, which makes sense.  (See the most recent JSOnline article about it for details.)  All he’s willing to say is that he’s “glad it’s over” and that he doesn’t lie (the last in reference to Carpenter admitting he swore at Morgan), which is a good thing because what’s important overall for the Brewers is the entirety of the team, not just one player. 

Mind you, I like Morgan because he plays hard, he seems like an interesting character, and he isn’t “muzzled” as so many of today’s baseball players are.  He speaks his mind and I find that refreshing; I also don’t blame him for getting upset with any of the St. Louis players because there’s been some bad blood between the Brewers and Cardinals for years.  I don’t condone it, but I do understand why in the heat of competition someone like Morgan might go overboard.

Here’s hoping Morgan can do what Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports suggested yesterday in this article:

Those guys in the clubhouse who love T-Plush and love Nyjer Morgan more, it’s maybe a good time to think of them. They haven’t come this far to blow an Achilles’ trying to keep Alberta Pujols from tearing off their center fielder’s limbs.

(from further down in same article)

. . .  Morgan isn’t alone anymore. He has a franchise to consider. He has teammates who need him, as much as he needs them. He has a season to play out and a World Series championship to play for.

All of that is true and I hope that Morgan will listen.

And last, but certainly not least, I wrote 2300 words in a new paranormal romance story that has re-started after a nine-year lull because I finally figured out how to get it done — take it from a different character’s perspective, and this character just so happens to be an angel.  Before, this particular story was stalled because I didn’t have an older, wiser viewpoint in it; now I do, and it’s one I hadn’t expected.

As this is the first fiction writing I’ve been able to do in the last two or three weeks, I’m very well pleased.  Let’s hope I’ll be able to do more later this evening, and that the editing I’m about to get started on won’t shut off whatever it is that lets me write.