Today is Opening Day for the Tigers as they take on the White Sox in Chicago. New Tiger TV announcer Jason Benetti said it best in his opening comments to the Tiger’s game today. ‘There is truly nothing like opening day in baseball. There is a different juice at the ballpark on opening day. You can taste it.”
The only thing more exciting for Tiger fans is Opening Day in the D., which will happen Friday April 5.
The Tigers earned my Orchid of the Day for their 1-0 win over the White Sox today.
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Per the NY Times, President Biden will lock arms with two of his Democratic predecessors (Clinton and Obama) at a campaign fund-raising event on Thursday evening in New York City… Of the triumvirate of recent Democrats in the White House, Mr. Biden is the one who historians, political strategists and policy experts argue has racked up the most expansive list of legislative accomplishments — and has received the least amount of credit for them.
In a first term with a closely divided Congress, Mr. Biden signed legislation to provide $1.9 trillion in pandemic stimulus, $1 trillion in infrastructure spending and $370 billion to fight climate change, as well as the first gun control measures in 28 years. It is a roster of achievement that surpasses Bill Clinton and Barack Obama… And yet Mr. Biden’s approval ratings are the lowest of all three men.
“His biggest problem is not so much his ability to get things done, as we’ve seen, but his ability to put together a message that reaches the average American, no matter where they’re located, whether it’s a red state or a blue state, and to be able to get them to understand just exactly what he’s trying to do for the country,” Leon Panetta, who served as Mr. Clinton’s chief of staff and also in Mr. Obama’s cabinet, said of Mr. Biden.
To me the message is clear. Do we want someone who has accomplished what Biden has accomplished, or do we want someone who led an insurrection against our Capitol on January 6, 2021, continues to spread the “big lie” about the 2020 election, has 93 indictments against him, has been found guilty of sexual assault, used over $100 million of donor money to pay for his legal troubles and who has said to our NATO allies, ‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent? No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.” ?
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Per the Detroit News, The University of Michigan Health system is purchasing a portion of the vacant land at the former Kmart headquarters in Troy to build a multi-specialty facility, expanding its footprint into Metro Detroit and a city that is already home to two hospitals run by other health systems.
The UM Board of Regents on Thursday unanimously approved a motion to buy the 7.8-acre property for $4.42 million. The property is located on a 40-acre plot at 3100 West Big Beaver Road and was previously owned by Forbes/Frankel Troy Ventures LLC.
The new facility, which will focus on advanced specialty and diagnostic services, is a way to expand specialty clinical services and patient access in Oakland County, according to the news release.
The healthcare industry continues to change. The “big guys” continue to expand. The little guys can no longer compete. U of M, Henry Ford, CoreWell, McLaren, and Munson Healthcare have absorbed most of the community hospitals and dominate most areas in Michigan.
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In the aftermath of Ronna Romney being dismissed by NBC News after her hiring caused a firestorm within the news organization, Brian Beutler in his newsletter Off Message penned an interesting message about the current state of the news media. Here are excerpts.
Mainstream institutions keep rehabilitating enemies of democracy because enemies of democracy are now normal” they’ll only stop when we abnormalize them again.
NBC News and other, similar organizations have dual-if-unwritten mandates to reflect the American political spectrum and simultaneously serve as bulwarks upholding the country’s foundational values. Which of these missions is, in the final analysis, most important? If the past seven years have taught us anything it’s that these kinds of organizations—mainstream news outlets, think tanks, elite universities, civil-society organizations—aren’t well calibrated to make moral choices when their mandates come into tension. Abstract values will more often than not yield to other considerations: mass appeal, revenue, brand management, and insurance against organized retaliation.
What might change their approach is a persuasive argument that catering to this unethical cohort will, over time, eat away at the value propositions that make them viable.
NBC was not fated to hire Romney McDaniel, and she was not fated to get a job at a mainstream news outlet. Perhaps the turmoil NBC experienced will train other institutions going forward that people like her are too far over the line to normalize. But the fact that she reportedly had multiple mainstream-media suitors tells this larger story. Asking mainstream institutions not to “normalize” Trump and MAGA and insurrection is telling them to blacklist a faction that’s now very normal indeed. The solution is to abnormalize it again.
Thank you to my sister-in-law Jan Nieman for providing me with this article.
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Yesterday, I talked to my sister Nancy who lives in the Baltimore area. She reminded me that the disaster at the Francis Scott Key Bridge will not just affect Baltimore, it will affect the entire world since Baltimore is one of the busiest ports in the U.S, especially as it relates to the auto industry.
The Key bridge was a major thoroughfare for truck traffic to and from the port. To get around the Baltimore area, you either take a bridge or you take tunnels. Since most trucks from the port are not allowed in the tunnels, the rerouting is going to create a cluster for Baltimore area traffic. This will create delays in distribution and traffic headaches for citizens, visitors, and businesses.
The worst thing that could happen to Baltimore is if businesses stop using the Baltimore port all together. This will have a devastating impact on the economy of the area.
The world is going to feel the impact of this disaster for years to come. To put it into perspective, the construction on The Gordie Howe Bridge started in 2018 and is scheduled for completion in 2025.
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Quote of the Day: “This city, this fan base deserves better times and I believe we are heading there. And I think we can get there sooner rather than later. We just can’t jump to that conclusion until we do the work…. When I lay my head down at night, I’m thrilled with where we are and where we’re going. Like everyone, I want it to be faster. But I love these players. I love this staff. Obviously, the organization is in a really good place. Now we need to go out and play the game…. The goal is to play as good and competitive a brand of baseball as we can. That comes with greater expectations. But no one should have greater expectations than us.” Tiger manager, A.J. Hinch on the eve of opening day today.
Orchid of the Day: The Detroit Tigers for their 1-0 opening day victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Onion of the Day: No onion today. The Tiger victory put me in too good of mood to hand out an onion.
Question of the Day: Will the Tigers win the Central Division in 2024?
Video of the Day: Bruce doing what he does best. Less than two weeks ago.