Rush Limbaugh passed away today from lung cancer at age 70. Whether you liked him or not, he was a trailblazer in talk radio. He was the first to take a conservative talk show nation wide after the expiration of the “fairness doctrine”. He saw a market to do what he loved, which was talking about conservative politics without having to present the other side. His appeal was his willingness to say what others were thinking but afraid to say. He hated political correctness. His focus was on his callers and his politics. Unlike many of those who followed him, he treated his guest and callers with respect even when their views were 180 degrees opposite of his views. His incorporating into his show his call screener, engineer and producer, known to his listeners as “Mr. Snirdley”, was innovative and entertaining. Prior to creating his own talk show, he was the promotions directtor of the MLB Kansas City Royals. Throughout his show, he expressed his love for football. Eventually ESPN hired them to be part of their NFL pre and post game shows. It didn’t last long as his conservative politics entered into his comments about the teams and players. Eventually, his colleagues said enough is enough and Limbaugh was gone. Love him or dislike him, he was a trailblazer who had a great big bullhorn.
The eleventh ranked U of M women’s basketball team feels slighted by the NCAA disclosure of the potential top 16 seeded teams as of Sunday. Michigan was not included and they are hurt. I hope they can use this like the womens softball team and mens baseball team did recently to create a “chip on their shoulder” and take it out on their opponents all the way to the NCAA championship game.
It turns out, I wasn’t the only one questioning the closure of Ann Arbor Public Schools for a virtual snow day. As reported in Bridge Magazine this moring. Nicholas Bagley, a law professor at U of M Law School who has two children attending AA Public Schools, set him off on Twitter . The idea that his kids shouldn’t get the lessons they recieve on a normal, virtual-learning day because of snow drove the University of Michigan law professor to a Twitter tirade. “Parents are “quivering messes because they haven’t had their kids in school for nearly a year and are at the ends of their ropes,” Bagley tweeted. “Also, we just had a four-day weekend (students were off Friday and Monday). My kids have played in the snow! They’ve read books! THEY’VE HAD A BREAK. They don’t need those things right now. They need school. We need school. “School is not optional,” Bagley continued. “It’s the most important gift we can give our kids. We need to find a way to get back to school immediately. We shouldn’t be looking for excuses to take what little school exists away.”
With an opposite view point, one of my blog subscribers supported the virtual snow day saying “My grandkids are working hard to do their virtual work and are also stressed by the COVID changes. The break is welcome, and dare say, needed. These are different times than when you, or I, were in school.”
Clearly, the real answer is to get these kids back in school as fast as it is safely possible. In the meantime, virtual school is a major stress for all involved.
Stay safe. Wash your hands. Social distance. Wear your mask. Social distance.
Quote of the Day: “We did not send him there to vote his conscience. We did not send him there to do the right thing or whatever he said he’s doing, We sent him there to represent us.” A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Republican Party explaining their reasoning for censoring Republican Senator Pat Tomey after he voted to convict former President Trump following his impeachment trial on Saturday.
Orchid of the Day: Detroit Country Day hockey player Lucas Krol who scored his third goal Wednesday in a 5-1 win over Woodhaven. Krol pulled off what is simply known by many in the hockey community as “The Michigan Goal,” Krol was behind the Woodhaven net when he flipped the puck onto the broad side of his blade, cradled it up off the ice and whipped it around to throw it into the top corner of the net all in one smooth motion.
Onion of the Day: The Lincold Project for its handling or lack thereof, of 20 sexual misconduct allegations against its co-founder and for misleading the public and its donors by funnelling large portions of the donations to companies associated with many of its founders.