I am quite irritated with the NY Times. They ran the following headline today for one of their articles: A C.D.C panel recommended Pfizer boosters for a number of groups, including older people, but excluded those at risk because of their jobs. Upon reading the article I found out that I qualify as being one of the “older people” who are eligible for the booster. I greatly appreciate that I qualify for the booster, but I would expect the NY Times to be more sensitive to my feelings about being classified as being old. In today’s day and age when being politically and socially correct is mandatory I cannot believe the NY Time headline writers would be so insensitive by calling all the spry young 70-year-olds like me old. What is this world coming too?
Speaking of politically correct, I received an email from a email from a friend sharing with me a survey question he was asked to complete following a telemedicine visit with his Michigan Medicine physician. He shared with me the question he was asked to complete about his gender. Here were his options.
- Female
- Male
- Trans Women
- Trans Man
- Gender fluid, Non-binary, Genderqueer, or gender non-conforming
- Two spirit
- I identify with a gender not listed (please specify)
- What sex were you assigned at birth on your original birth certificate.
- Male
- Female
My friend didn’t have any idea what some of the categories meant and since I had previously worked at Michigan Medicine he was asking my help in clarifying them. I was not very helpful. I thought queer was an unacceptable term and we were both surprised gay and bi-sexual were not options. Maybe the NY Times is right. Maybe I am old.
Governor Whitmer didn’t do herself any favors by missing the traditional sit down with reporters during the Mackinaw Policy Conference. Her excuse of scheduling conflicts seems quite lame since this conference and its agenda were planned months in advance and she was expected to play her part.
Stay safe. Wash your hands regularly. Schedule your vaccine and booster. Wear your mask. Social distance.
Orchid of the Day: Detroit Tigers for hiring Ryan Garko as the VP of Player Development. Garko is young and out of the same mold as manager A.J. Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter. In fact, Garko, like Hinch was a catcher at Stanford so you know he has the smarts to do the job.
Onion of the Day: Mother Nature, for providing us with a wet, windy and cold day. Golf was a washout. It was a good day for ducks and naps. I even had to turn on the furnace.
Quote of the Day: “We have a lot of 18- to 22-year-old kids in our system. And I think the mental health and mental support are going to be a really big part of what we focus on. These are formative years for these kids. And it’s nice to see mental health becoming something that in athletics we aren’t shying away from anymore. We can coach that part of their lives and that part of the game, just like we can teach them to be better hitters and better pitchers. You will get the best version of the player by supporting them holistically. The mental part is a real science that we can help and we are going to focus on it and bring people in to help.” Ryan Garko, the Detroit Tiger’s new VP of Player Development.