Editorial: Thumbs

To the Albert Lea under-12 boys’ soccer team.

We like underdogs. This team’s road to victory seems like something out of a sports movie. The U-12 boys barely made the state tournament, but they made the most of the berth. They came together and beat mighty Edina and New Richmond, Wis., — both had been undefeated. Then they had to go up against undefeated Austin, always our city’s main rival, in the state championship on a windy day in Rochester. In fact, Albert Lea trailed 2-0 at the half. The teams switched goals, and with the strong wind now helping the Albert Lea team, they came back to win 3-2. Tony Huerta Apanco shot the winning goal with less than three minutes left in the game. Wow! Someone call Hollywood.

 

To CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Cooper failed to do his job Tuesday as moderator of the Republican debate among the presidential candidates. He didn’t step in at all when the candidates were speaking out of turn. He let them bicker because, of course, he knew fights make for good television. Whatever happened to decorum? Why is it that one candidate has to remind another candidate about the rules set prior to the debate? Shouldn’t that be Cooper’s job? Worse yet, the next day, no other media professionals held Cooper’s feet to the fire for failing to moderate. Instead, they, too, spoke about the candidates bickering. Are we that far gone as a civil society? Do they think Americans don’t want the news media to run civil and orderly debates? We think they do.

 

To the Albert Lea Fire Department.

Thanks for holding an open house last weekend. Families really appreciate knowing the Fire Department does more than fight fires, and they like letting their children climb in the fire trucks. We knew many children who were saying they wanted to become firefighters last week. It’s always positive when you can inspire children to become one of the good guys. This community appreciates all that its firefighters do, from getting snowmobiles from the bottom of the lake to reminding folks to replace the batteries in their smoke detectors.