Morning Belz, Jan. 15

The winery at the sewage plant is only the tip of the iceberg.

U.S. Space Command coming to Huntsville, Ala. — AL.com
Monkeys in Bali steal high-value items for ransom — Guardian
FAA: “disturbing” increase in unruliness on airplanes — PBS
Biden announces $1.9T stimulus plan — Reuters
Michigan ex-governor charged over Flint water — NYT
Oklahoma senator apologizes to black Tulsans — Tulsa World
D.C. “looks like a city preparing for war” — Bloomberg

Wine: We went down to Rainsville, Ala., yesterday and stumbled on a heck of a yarn. The story of the winemaker at the municipal sewage plant is deep, and it’s bigger than we thought. UFOs, northwest Alabama politics, anonymous whistleblowers and municipal corruption are all on the table. I kid you not. We have to go back down there again after the inauguration. Here’s a brief clip of Sheriff Nick Welden, in his office. He had a Bible open to the book of Zechariah on his desk and he was ready to talk about the passage he was reading. Also note the gun cabinet. And here’s a clip of a guy we couldn’t quite coax onto camera, telling me (in so many words) he had a hard time with my Yankee accent and maybe I should hire a fixer.

Tiers: The Biden support tiers I floated yesterday elicited a FLOOD of insight and admonition. I appreciate it. Gonna take me a while to respond to everyone and then sort through what I think and then interview more Biden supporters. I don’t expect to certify my own set of tiers for a few weeks.

Quote
“A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying, since any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats.” — George Orwell

About: I send this email most mornings to force myself to stay informed and in touch. It’s typically ~8 links, a quote, and an update on what I’m working on. Write me back! And please share the email. If I added you and you don’t like it, please click unsubscribe below. I was a newspaper reporter for 14 years at the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Des Moines Register and Minneapolis Star Tribune. I gave the basic story of why my family left Minneapolis here. You can find my new venture, Scuffed News, on YouTube (please subscribe!), Twitter and Instagram, and you can support the project with your money, in exchange for exclusive video and early access to some of the video, on Patreon.