Thoughts for the Day, March 29, 2022: Their best season ever comes to an end.

Orchid of the Day:  U of M women’s basketball team

Last night I turned on ESPN about 15 minutes prior to the start of the Michigan women’s Elite 8 basketball game.  Another Elite 8 game between Connecticut and North Carolina State was in the final quarter.  The game was the most exciting game I have seen all year.  North Carolina had a late lead in regulation time but could not hold on as Connecticut tied the game sending it into overtime.  In the first overtime, Connecticut had a 3-point lead with less than one second to play when NC State hit a game tying 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left on the clock sending the game into a second overtime. Connecticut finally prevailed in the second overtime to extend their streak to 14 consecutive Final Fours.   Both teams were exhausted after 50 minutes of basketball, but it did not prevent the Connecticut women from celebrating. 

In the second game, the Michigan women gave it a valiant effort, but turnovers cost them the game as they lost to Louisville.  It was a special season for the Michigan women as they advanced further in the tournament than any previous Michigan women’s team.

One of the readers of my blog, Doug C., sent me a well written article, by Gerard Baker, Editor at Large for the Wall Street Journal, titled:  Biden at the Improv: Ukraine and the Dangers of Foreign Policy by Open Mic. What if someone takes seriously his talk of U.S. troop deployments or regime change in Russia?  In the article, Baker expresses concern about Biden’s misspeaks since he took office. Here are excerpts of the Baker article.

But some words have larger consequences than others—especially when you’re the president of the United States. It’s one thing to misidentify your vice president as the first lady, quite another to call for the ouster of an autocratic and bellicose leader of a nation with nuclear weapons. That is the kind of thing that can trigger wars that could result in the annihilation of much of humanity. It’s a sign of the rising alarm the presidential blunders must be causing in diplomatic circles.

Baker goes on to describe diplomacy in a very straightforward manner.  Diplomacy is a subtle activity that combines artful deception with necessary candor. States convey to each other only what they want or need to convey; they willfully mislead each other about some aspects of their objectives and capabilities while drawing bright red lines around their nonnegotiable truths. Strategic ambiguity helps induce in allies and adversaries alike a distinct uncertainty about intentions. But clarity is essential when the stakes are existential. Decoding these complex messages, sifting the signal from the noise, is the essence of successful statecraft.

After reading this article and having 24 hours to consider my comments in yesterday’s blog, I still agree with what I said in yesterday’s blog about Biden’s comments concerning Putin.  Here is what I said yesterday. ” When I first heard the words, I realized they were very strong words coming from Biden, when one considers how every word and punctuation mark has meaning in the world of international diplomacy. I also realized that Biden is pissed.  I am not sure how the words will eventually playout in international diplomacy, but I sure do agree with what he said.”  

Onion of the Day:  Putin

Quote of the Day:  “There’s nothing on that list I can get past my lips. “  Detroit News editorial writer Nolan Finley, in response to a story about researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center found that a chemical compound called sulforaphane found in abundance in broccoli cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts might slow growth of coronaviruses

Video of the Day:  The Sound of Silence by Pentatonix.