Garrison Keillor/AP photo
Minnesotans may be slightly perturbed at HBO's "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver"-- but not for the reason you might imagine.
Sunday's show narrowed in on the anti-vaccine movement, pointing out that its rise among Somali communities has most likely led to 78 reported cases of measles in our state in 2017, outpacing the total number in the United States last year. The host used a clip from CBS News featuring former WCCO anchor Jamie Yuccas as a set up..
"The only thing Minnesota should have more of than any other state is Garrisons Keillor and people disappointed by the Mall of America," Oliver said.
Hold up. Rewind the tape. Garrisons Keillor?
It seems odd that Oliver would mispronounce the name of one of his elders, especially since he met his future wife at the Republican National Convention, just a powdermilk biscuit's throw away from Keillor's Fitzgerald Theater.
Many readers had a simple explanation: He didn't screw up. They point that Oliver was probably having some fun with the English language, referencing the way we use phrases like "attorneys at law," a bit that would fly over the head of someone like me who has yet to get through James Joyce's "Ulysses."
If that's the case, I apologize to Oliver and cordially invite him for an all-expense paid trip to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the TV critics are ignorant of certain literary jokes.
