Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 11-29-23

6 I OPINION I
November 29, 2023
MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE
@MIDRIVERS_NEWS
MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
EDITORIAL
You ‘Musk’ be kidding me
Big business sure is fun, isn’t it?
Who needs daytime soap operas or the
federal government to keep us entertained
when corporate America is bringing this
level of drama?
Take Elon Musk, please! The billionaire
entrepreneur and super awkward Saturday
Night Live host spent most of last week
convincing us that he was and then was not
an antisemite. Which is correct? No idea,
never met the man. Nor have 99.9% of
the people who have a “very strong opinion”
on the topic. That said, Musk made it
way, way too easy to get painted with the
brush of antisemitism, that’s for sure. Can
he defend his odd posts? Sure, but it takes
some serious linguistic jiu-jitsu to walk
back his very public statements. Musk
might be the only man alive who would
buy a $44 billion platform, turn it into a
$15 billion platform, use it to get labeled
an antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and
then declare victory for free speech.
(By the way, check this out. If the controversy
surrounding Musk continues and
ends up getting labeled as a full-blown
issue, we could call it getting “Elon-gated.”
That right there is pure comedy gold.)
Now, consider artificial intelligence. Not
the technology, that’s what we call the Board
at OpenAI who ousted their CEO out of the
blue, shocking everyone (including their
lead investors), and then promptly hired
him back when the entire staff threatened to
quit. As if AI wasn’t scary enough, we add
palace intrigue between CTO Ilya Sutskever
and fired/rehired CEO Sam Altman (Who
is from here! Parents still live here. They
might read this. Yikes!). Sutskever, whom
the press keeps calling a genius, led the coup
against Altman, changed his mind, and then
co-signed a letter calling for his own firing
from the Board. This genius-level stuff sure
is complicated.
Seriously though, it is easy to pick on
Big Business (easy and surprisingly satisfying
– I would recommend it!), but that’s
not why we’re here.
We’re here to make our annual plea for
local readers to shop at local stores. Not
exclusively, we gave up chasing that dream
long ago. We know how easy it is to shop
with a single click, to shop without leaving
your computer screen, to shop without
really having to shop. (It’s good to put a
couple extra bucks into Jeff Bezos’ pockets
because there is absolutely nothing super
weird and creepy about that guy.)
What we’re asking is that you check out
your local stores as well. Eat at a local restaurant,
shop at a local boutique, or let a local
jeweler help you make lasting memories.
We think you’re gonna find it to be
worthwhile. We think your life becomes
enriched when you do business with
people who truly appreciate the business.
We believe it comes back to you tenfold.
That local business owner you’re working
with has kids in the same school as you.
They live nearby and pay the same taxes
and drive the same streets and vote on
the same issues. No, those local business
owners aren’t Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos
or Sam Altman, they are your neighbors.
(Although, again, your neighbors could be
Sam Altman’s parents, and if so tell them
we said “hi” and we would love to interview
them one day. Link in bio.)
So, set aside some gifts on your list
and drive to local places where you can
buy things from a human being. Skip the
online checkout and the self-checkout, and
instead check out your neighbors’ stores.
Every day we drive by a local restaurant
that you’ve probably heard of called
“Annie Gunn’s.” Now, Annie Gunn’s is
not an advertiser so this is not pandering
(though they should be an advertiser;
if only because we’re mentioning them
because we are nice despite the fact they
do not advertise with us and should.) OK,
that last part was pandering.
Anyhoo, Annie Gunn’s is owned by the
Sehnert family and has been an icon in this
area for more than 30 years. The restaurant
and market is currently displaying a 30-foot
banner that goes across the front of their
store. It’s been there since the pandemic.
To us, that 30-foot banner epitomizes the
spirit of local business. It reads simply,
“Grateful & Thankful.” Why haven’t they
taken it down? Probably because local
businesses never lose that feeling of being
grateful and thankful for local support.
We would be grateful and thankful if you
took a little time and a little money to shop
and dine at a local business this holiday
season.
Founder
Publisher Emeritus
Publisher
Managing Editor
Associate Editor
Staff Writer
Features Editor
Business Manager
Graphic Designer
Graphic Designer
Graphic Layout
Advertising Account Executives
Nancy Anderson
Vicky Czapla
Ellen Hartbeck
Jessica Baumgartner
Bethany Coad
Suzanne Corbett
Robin S. Jefferson
Reporters
Doug Huber
Sharon Huber
Tim Weber
Kate Uptergrove
Tracey Bruce
Laura Saggar
Lisa Russell
Erica Myers
Donna Deck
Aly Doty
Emily Rothermich
Linda Joyce
Joe Ritter
Sheila Roberts
DeAnne LeBlanc
John Tremmel
Sue Zimmerman
ON THE COVER: Rabbi Chaim Landa, co-director of the Chabad Jewish Center of St. Charles County
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