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National Champion

With their 69-63 victory over Connecticut on Monday, the Wolverines cemented their place as the best team in U of M’s history. The 1989 team was great, with two first round draft picks, but it did not have the depth and versatility of this team. Here is why they are the best Michigan team ever.

• · The nation’s top defense, which really showed in Monday’s win.

• · Top six in effective field-goal efficiency on offense and defense

• · The nation’s top five offense.

• · The nation’s top four in 2-point shooting percentage on offense and defense

• · The nation’s top three in blocks.

• · The nation’s top thirty in 3-point percentage, which was their one perceived weakness.

• · The first Final Four team that featured eight players averaging at least 18 minutes and seven points per game.

• · Each one of the eight players led the team in scoring in at least one game this season.

• · Nimari Burnett, who scored a season-high 31 points against Penn State in February, ranked seventh in scoring among team members.

• · The most wins (36) in a single season for a M basketball team.

• · The first team in B1G history with 19 regular season league wins in a single B1G season.

• · The first team in B1G history with 10 regular season road wins in a single B1G season.

• · They went 37 of 40 at the free-throw line in their two Final Four games.

• · They held each of the last four teams they played in the tournament to each team’s lowest shooting percentage of the season. They proved that defense wins championships.

The Wolverines get my Orchid of the Day

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Honesty on National Television

When CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson asked Michigan’s All-American Yaxel Lendeborg how he felt heading to the locker room, the Michigan star did not hold back. ‘I feel awful. I feel super weak right now,’ he stated bluntly. ‘I can’t make anything, oh man. I am trying to push through because you know, it is a championship game and all that…I am missing plays I don’t usually miss. I’ve had many opportunities to take advantage of defending, haven’t been able to do it. I’ve got to go out there and give it my best. I played really soft in this first half. I’ll be way better second half.’

This is coming from a person who was not expected to play and ended up playing 36 minutes, scoring 13 points, playing point-forward when point guard Elliot Cadeau was sitting because of foul trouble, and leading the full court press on defense which held Connecticut to its lowest shooting percentage of the season.

It is my Quote of the Day

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Like the resurrection? I don’t think so.

I was elated to hear that both pilots who were shot down on Friday were rescued by Sunday. I love the fact that our military will not leave anyone behind.

What happened on Friday and Sunday with the rescues was heroic, as many armed service members put their lives on the line to save fellow service members who were injured and behind enemy lines. These are actions that earn the Congressional Medal of Honor, or Distinguished Service Crosses, etc.

However, I would never once think any such rescue compares to the Resurrection, which is the basis for Christianity.

Per the NY Times, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday likened the rescue on Easter Sunday of a missing American airman shot down over Iran to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In his account of the rescue operation, Mr. Hegseth drew parallels between the airman’s ordeal and the account of Christ’s death and Resurrection given in the Bible.

The F-15E fighter jet, he noted, was “shot down on a Friday — Good Friday.” That is the day Jesus was crucified.

After the airman bailed out over Iran, he hid, Mr. Hegseth said, “in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday,” reminiscent of the tomb cut into a rock in which Jesus was buried.

Then, he said, the airman was rescued on the day Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus — “flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday.”

“A pilot reborn, all home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing,” the defense secretary said. “God is good.”

Mr. Hegseth also said that after the plane was shot down, the airman, the F-15E’s weapons systems officer, made contact with his American rescuers with a religious message: “God is good.” “In that moment of isolation and danger,” he said, “his faith and fighting spirit shone through.”

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Budgeting for going after dissent

From Mary Geddry on Tuesday: Ken Klippenstein published deeply alarming reporting on what looks like the Trump administration’s latest attempt to turn the federal government into a political pre-crime machine.

Buried in the FY 2027 FBI budget request is a newly created FBI-led “NSPM-7 Joint Mission Center,” established under Trump’s September 2025 National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 and staffed by personnel from 10 federal agencies. Its job, according to the budget language, is to integrate intelligence, operational support, and financial analysis to “proactively identify” domestic terror networks and help prosecute them…the ideological markers associated with this so-called threat include “anti-Americanism,” “anti-capitalism,” “anti-Christianity,” support for overthrowing the U.S. government, “extremism on migration, race, and gender,” and hostility toward “traditional American views” on family, religion, and morality.

…The real danger here is that the administration is not confining its focus to actual criminal conduct. It is smearing dissent, cultural disagreement, and ideological opposition with the language of terrorism, which creates a ready-made excuse for surveillance, infiltration, financial scrutiny, watch-listing, and intimidation. The budget language also fixates on social media, smaller websites, and encrypted chat apps as pathways to radicalization, because apparently using the internet while not being a MAGA crank is now something the FBI would like to put on a flowchart.

Klippenstein places this in a broader pattern under FBI Director Kash Patel, including a dramatic increase in domestic terrorism investigations…. He also notes that administration figures have already shown a habit of hyping shaky or outright bogus domestic terror narratives, only to quietly backpedal later after the damage is done. Which is why this budget language is so sinister: it suggests that mindset is no longer just rhetorical froth from the usual authoritarian loudmouths but is being formalized into the federal bureaucracy itself. This does not mean dissent has literally been outlawed on paper. It does mean anti-capitalist, anti-racist, pro-migrant, feminist, anti-authoritarian, or simply non-MAGA views can be folded into a framework designed to treat belief as suspicion and suspicion as justification for state scrutiny… I might fall into one or more of these categories.

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If he starts attacking civil infrastructure, what’s the difference between Trump and Putin.

Also from Mary Geddry: Once Trump starts threatening the same kind of attacks on civilian infrastructure that the West has denounced as barbaric in Ukraine, he stops looking like a democratic leader using rough language and starts looking like yet another strongman who views civilian suffering as leverage. It is a moral indictment.

Trump posted (on Tuesday) one of the most deranged and openly authoritarian statements of the conflict so far: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” It was the language of apocalypse delivered like reality TV promotion: mass death as spectacle, regime change as a punchline, and the destruction of an entire society treated as a possible prelude to something “revolutionarily wonderful.” This is a man fantasizing about annihilation while pretending to bless the people who would suffer under it.

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My head is spinning

Since last night when President Trump announced a two-week cease fire in the bombing of Iran, my head is spinning. No one seems to know the status of the alleged two-week cease fire. Different answers come from all directions. None of the major players are singing from the same song sheet.

Fortunately, we have not yet wiped out the Iran civilization. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: See above from Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg

Orchid of the Day: One more time. The University of Michigan’s men’s basketball team for a season like no other. Congratulations on your national championship.

Onion of the Day: The cease fire. It doesn’t seem to be holding.

Question of the Day: Will the cease fire hold?

Lyrics of the Day:

She’s got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I’d hate to look into those eyes
And see an ounce of pain

Her hair reminds me of a warm, safe place
Where as a child I’d hide
And pray for the thunder and the rain
To quietly pass me by

Hint: It starts with one of the greatest guitar riffs of all-time

Lyrics of the Day for April 6, 2026. Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Video of the Day:

One Shining Moment | 2026 March Madness

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I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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Elliot Cadeau

Mitch Albom describes Elliot Cadeau’s performance on Saturday night against Arizona.

His passes were razor sharp, or no-look, or bounced perfectly into his teammates’ waiting fingers. His shots were high-arched before swishing through. His steals were so deft, they left the opponents blinking.

And, as Warren Zevon once sang of a werewolf, his hair was perfect.

In a Final Four semifinal that was supposed to be all about big men, it was the smallest guy on the floor who broke into the bank, gathered the loot, and drove the getaway car. Elliot Cadeau may have been 4 inches shorter than Arizona’s shortest starter and 14 inches shorter than Michigan’s tallest, but the mop-topped guard owned more of this game early than anybody.

This is not a little train that could. This is a freight train that does. It’s the Beatles backing up the Rolling Stones. One guy has an off night? Other guys clamor to step up.

With Lendeborg a non-factor much of the game, here was the 7-foot-3 Mara doing things that seemed to defy physics: banking in layups from the oddest angles, muscling inside against Arizona’s celebrated big men, finishing with a team-high 26 points.

Here was freshman Trey McKenney playing with the poise of a senior, hitting huge 3-pointers that demoralized the Wildcats. Here was forward Morez Johnson Jr. muscling in dunks, grabbing rebounds and contributing to the destruction of the Arizona frontcourt.

And here was Cadeau, he of the broccoli haircut, flying all over the floor, collecting assists as if scooping up apples off an orchard lawn.

And sparked by his efforts – which launched a stunning dominance by his teammates – Michigan basketball will now play for the NCAA championship.

Elliot Cadeau played so well in the first half, I was shocked to learn that he was 2-14 in shooting during the half. As one viewer wrote during the TBS half-time show, it was the greatest 2-14 shooting performance ever.

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Déjà vu

For people my age the story of the Artemis II spacecraft and its four astronauts brings back great memories of our childhood and young adult age when we were mesmerized by the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle missions. The excitement of watching the countdown to liftoffs were special moments in our lives as NASA raced to keep President Kennedy’s promise of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade of the 60’s. It culminated with Neil Armstrong’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. No one can forget the breathtaking hours of nervous tension during Apollo 13’s flight. Everything ended not long after the Challenger shuttle disaster.

Following the story of Artemis II gets me excited again.

From the NY Times this evening. Artemis II astronauts have now ventured farther from Earth than anyone else in the history of humanity.

At 1:56 p.m. Eastern time, their distance from Earth passed 248,655 miles, the record that had been set by Apollo 13 in 1970. For the next few hours, they will travel farther, reaching a distance of 252,752 miles.

During this mission, the four astronauts launched to space, tested life support and other important systems of their Orion spacecraft, tangled with the vehicle’s toilet, puzzled over personal computing devices and left low-Earth orbit. They are the first humans to do so since 1972, although they will not land on the moon.

The three Americans and one Canadian aboard Artemis II are set on Monday to make even more history.

First, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will become the humans who have traveled farthest from Earth. They will surpass the astronauts of Apollo 13, whose lunar mission went awry.

Later, the astronauts will pass behind the far side of the moon, seeing parts of the moon never observed with human eyes, gathering scientific data on what they spot. In the process, they will fall out of radio contact with Earth for about 41 minutes.

As the crew comes out of its scheduled communications blackout, they may have an opportunity to create a moment for a new generation as inspirational as the “Earthrise” of NASA’s Apollo 8 mission in 1968.

Please click on the above link to see the earth rise as seen by the Apollo 8 mission.

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Collateral Damage

I had no idea this was happening because of the attack on Iran. In the following story, I don’t include the part of the story of the captain of a ship who died of a heart attack because he couldn’t get to a hospital from a ship because of flying is too dangerous in the area.

From the WSJ. There are roughly 2,000 ships stuck in the Persian Gulf with more than 20,000 seafarers on them, according to the International Maritime Organization. Most have been stuck on board more than a month, because fewer than 200 ships have managed to slip through the Strait of Hormuz. In normal times, 20% of the world’s oil flows through the narrow waterway to global markets, along with critical supplies of natural gas, fertilizer and other cargo shipments. It’s unclear when the vital shipping lane will get back to normal.

Fresh vegetables and freshwater are running out on many ships, so the sailors are using social media and very-high-frequency marine radios to share survival tips and tactics. Some Chinese crew members have filmed themselves collecting condensate from air-conditioning units to shower and wash laundry. Others have taken to fishing over the side of their tankers, catching tuna, squid and largehead hairtail to cook.

Restocking supplies has become difficult—and expensive. The Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, where ships usually turn to, has been repeatedly attacked. Companies that provide fresh food to ships are charging more. The going rate for mangos is now $31 for a kilogram, or roughly 2.2 pounds, and oranges are $15 a kilogram for about three large pieces of fruit, according to screenshots of supply price lists reviewed by The Wall Street

Flying in crews and swapping them out remains tough because flights to major crew-change locations, including Dubai, are still relatively scarce and expensive.

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Is God on our side in the war in Iran? I don’t think God is on any side when it comes to war.

Per the NY Times on Friday. Pete Hegseth, the U.S. defense secretary, has asked the American people to pray “every day, on bended knee” for a military victory in the Middle East “in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, has a starkly different take on what should be done in Jesus’ name.

In a homily during a Mass on Thursday morning before Easter, the pope said that the Christian mission had often been “distorted by a desire for domination, entirely foreign to the way of Jesus Christ.”

Since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran in late February, the pope has consistently called for an end to the violence and a return to dialogue to resolve the conflict. But without naming Mr. Hegseth, he has also pointed out the ways in which Christianity has been marshaled for purposes that the pope says do not align with Catholic teaching.

“We tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared,” the pope said in a homily during a Holy Thursday rite at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the bishop of Rome. “God has given us an example — not of how to dominate, but of how to liberate; not of how to destroy life, but of how to give it.” This is my Quote of the Day

In late March the pope warned against invoking the name of Jesus for battle, saying in a Sunday homily that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”…

“I’m told that President Trump recently stated that he would like to end the war,” the pope said outside his country residence in Castel Gandolfo outside Rome on March 31. “Hopefully, he’s looking for a way to, to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing.”

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Orchid of the Day

No matter the outcome of tonight’s NCAA championship team, the U of M men’s team gets my Orchid of the Day. From the first game of the season against Oakland when they rained down threes and blitzed the fast break; to the three days of perfection in November at Las Vegas where they beat, San Diego State, Auburn, and Gonzaga by 110 combined points; to their 19-1 record in the B1G where they set the season record for victories and finally; and with their march through the first five games of the NCAA tournament where they scored 90 points in every game and won every game by double digits, this team has shown they are a special team of talented young players who put the team ahead of any individual glory.

It has been a fun 5 and ½ month run. Go Blue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

Quote of the Day: “God has given us an example — not of how to dominate, but of how to liberate; not of how to destroy life, but of how to give it.” Pope Leo XIV

Orchid of the Day: The University of Michigan’s men’s basketball team for a season like no other.

Onion of the Day: Trump’s expletive rant on Easter Sunday threatening Iran with annihilation.

Question of the Day: Michigan or Connecticut tonight?

Lyrics of the Day: Mama told me when I was young
“Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this, it’ll help you some sunny day, ah, yeah

Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You’ll find a woman, yeah, and you’ll find love
And don’t forget, son, there is someone up above

Hint: Think Free Bird

Lyrics of the Day for March 29, 2026. Southern Cross by Crosby Stills and Nash. It also was my Video of the Day.

Video of the Day: Michigan vs. Arizona - Final Four NCAA tournament extended highlights

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I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

Six years ago on April 1, 2020, I posted my first blog. I had no idea what I was doing, but since I was bored because of the covid quarantine, I thought I would give it a try.

As I look back on those blogs, I cannot believe how bad they were. The grammar and proofreading were terrible. Over time, I learned some important tricks like writing on Microsoft Word and using all the tools Microsoft has to offer before I copy and paste it to the blog. This simple act was a game changer for me.

For the first five years, I struggled with reaching people. It turns out the platform I was using was antiquated. When Substack emerged a couple of years ago, I quickly jumped on board and the activity jumped immediately.

As of today, there are over 200 subscribers, of which 65-70% open the blog on any given day. Each blog is averaging close to 350 views because of Facebook, LinkedIn, and being shared by viewers and subscribers.

I have learned that publishing the blog on Monday and Wednesday works best for me. Anything more, I find it becomes a burden and a chore. I also find that mentally I need a break each week. The current atmosphere in this country wears on me when I get too deep into it.

God willing, I plan on continuing the blog as long as it remains fun and stimulating.

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Do as I say, not as I do

Once again, President Trump is trying to curb the use of mail-in-ballots even though he just used it to vote in a recent Florida election.

From The Guardian: Donald Trump has signed an executive order instructing his administration to create a national voter file and curb the use of mail-in ballots, in an unprecedented move that is probably unconstitutional.

The order directs the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to draw up a list of verified US citizens who can vote in each state. It also directs the United States Postal Service (USPS) to develop a process that would require states to notify it of voters who want to vote by mail and ban them from receiving a ballot unless they are on a USPS-approved list of eligible voters. As well as being probably unconstitutional, the plan appears unworkable for practical reasons.

• What does research on voter fraud show? Repeated studies and investigations have shown there is no widespread voter fraud, including fraud through mail-in voting. Trump has repeatedly spread misinformation about voter fraud.

• Why is it probably unconstitutional? The constitution explicitly authorizes states to set election rules, giving the president no authority over elections.

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Thank you President Trump.

From multiple sources: Average US fuel prices have exceeded $4 a gallon for the first time in four years, burdening drivers with steep costs as Trump’s war on Iran continues to cause oil prices to surge. The average reached almost $4.02 on Tuesday, according to AAA data, capping an extraordinary rise from $2.98 just a month ago.

Air travelers are paying the price for airlines’ surging fuel costs.

Airlines are raising fares, adding baggage fees and dialing back routes as they try to cover the skyrocketing costs of jet fuel, which is among the biggest expenses that airlines face.

Starting in Europe and Asia and now moving to the U.S., airlines have been slapping new fuel-related fees on tickets. Air France-KLM hiked its fuel surcharge on certain routes, while Cathay Pacific Airways said it would boost its fuel fee by even more this week. Starting April 1, a new add-on fee of $200 will be charged, up from the $149 customers paid in March, according to Cathay’s website.

JetBlue Airways said earlier this week that it was starting to charge more for bags, with many routes during peak periods costing $49, up from $40. And some requests to check bags within 24-hours of travel will now cost $59.

This is a self-inflicted wound caused by an ill-conceived attack on a foreign country. How long are Americans going to tolerate this increase in the price of gasoline? This is my Question of the Day.

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To those who participated in the No Kings marches on Saturday

As We Marched

I imagined every step a step toward integrity,

toward justice. Toward language that respects

diversity. Every step a step toward equality. Truth.

I imagined every step one step closer to peace

in our country, toward peace in the world.

I am old enough to not believe in arrivals,

I am fool enough to believe in love.

I am human enough to believe in community.

I am scientist enough to know we need each other.

Perhaps some part of me wondered what good it did

for a few hundred people in a remote mountain town

to walk together a few blocks, chanting, then walk

back to the courthouse again, but tonight, in my body,

I feel it, the trust in humanity that rises when I think

of how we gathered and drummed and believed

in what our country can be. My heart beats

a new rhythm in time with belonging.

“This is what democracy looks like.”

Tonight, after we’ve all gone home,

I know we’re all still marching.

—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: “When you’ve sold your soul, selling people is a bonus. Somehow people who worship money forget that 1. they will die 2. they can’t take the money with them and 3. they can’t come back and check on it!” A subscriber in response to Monday’s Thoughts for the Day article titled Selling Humans?

Orchid of the Day: The Detroit Pistons, who clinched the Central Division championship with their win last night over Toronto. It is their first division title since 2008.

Onion of the Day: The Detroit Tigers, who blew a four-run lead to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday by allowing the D-backs to score six runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. When the relief pitchers fail to throw strikes, bad things happen.

Question of the Day: The war in Iran is taking its toll on American’s pocketbook. How much will American’s tolerate paying for a war that most Americans do not support?

Lyrics of the Day:

Got out of town on a boat goin’ to Southern islands
Sailing a reach before a followin’ sea She was makin’ for the trades on the outside And the downhill run to Papeete…

Think about
Think about how many times I have fallen
Spirits are using me larger voices callin’
What Heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten

(Around the world) I have been around the world
(Lookin’) Lookin’ for that woman girl
(Who knows she knows) Who knows love can endure
And you know it will

Lyrics of the Day for March 27, 2026. One Shining Moment by David Barrett of Ann Arboer. Ironically, he wrote the song after finishing a set while performing in a bar in East Lansing. Between sets Larry Bird was playing on television, and Barrett wrote the song on a napkin. He created a demo tape, shared it with a friend who had some connections with CBS. CBS loved it and played it at the end of the NCAA championship game in 1987. It was so well received, it has been played at the end of every NCAA men’s basketball championship since.

Video of the Day: Crosby Stills Nash - Southern Cross

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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Final Four and Frozen Four,

The Wolverines had a great weekend as the men’s basketball team and the men’s hockey team advanced to the final four. It will be an outstanding weekend if the women’s basketball team can win their Elite-8 game tonight against number one seed Texas.

It is a welcome diversion following an embarrassing end to the football season.

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We are watching something special

I have been watching college basketball for over 60 years. In my 40 years as a Michigan men’s season ticketholder, I have never seen a Michigan team play like the current team is playing. They play with no egos. The most important teammate is the teammate who is open for a great shot.

It doesn’t matter who it is. The goal is to get the ball to the shooter with the best chance to deliver. In yesterday’s game against Tennessee, this philosophy was on full display as five players scored in double figures with seven players having at least eight points. Michigan assisted on 19 of 29 made shots.

There was one possession when the ball touched all five players with no player having the ball more than one second before it was passed to the next player. Two players passed up good shots to find the player with a great shot that resulted in a three-point basket for the Wolverines.

The camaraderie among the players really showed up in the last two minutes of the game, when head coach Dusty May’s son Charlie entered the game and hit a three pointer. All the players on the Michigan bench went wild for Charlie, not because he is the coach’s son, but because of how hard Charlie worked to be able to play at the end of the season.

Charlie’s only other three-pointer was in Michigan’s first game way back in early November. Not long after that game, Charlie suffered a hand injury that required surgery. It was expected to be a season ending surgery. Charlie would have none of that. Charlie defied the odds through hard work and was cleared to play, even though it was highly unlikely he would see any time during the NCAA tournament.

When Charlie made the three, no one appreciated it more than his teammates. On this team, everyone loves each other and they take it to the court in how they play. See my Quote of the Day and Video of the Day.

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Priorities: War over taking care of our own.

From Heather Cox Richardson on Friday March 27. In an in-depth interview with Hunter Walker and Josh Kovensky of Talking Points Memo yesterday, Representative Joe Morelle (D-NY), who sits on the House Appropriations Committee,…the administration has suggested it is going to ask for $200 billion for the war, and Morelle noted that we are already closing in on $30 billion in spending on it…. “when you consider all the things that Trump or the Republicans reject as too costly, the fact that they have now spent $30 billion in effectively the span of a month without even talking to Congress about this expenditure is really somewhat staggering.” “They fight us on things that will help American families be able to pursue dreams, take care of the food, housing, and healthcare needs of millions of families that they can’t afford….But, they can go into an ill-conceived military action that has neither the support of Congress nor the support of American families, which has no clear objectives, shifting goals, and has alienated our allies and made us less safe.”

Morelle noted that even if the White House or the Pentagon did start to provide specifics, “I’m not sure it would matter anyway because the president changes his mind so frequently. He might say something and literally without exaggeration, a half hour later say something completely different, or even sometimes within the same press conference, give two wildly different answers.”

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Selling Humans?

I know that immigration is a complicated matter. However, I am not sure this is the appropriate solution.

From the NY Times. Since when is the U.S. in the business of selling humans to other countries. It appears the U.S. is in the business of selling humans to other countries

From the NY Times: The Trump administration this winter secured a secret deal with the government of Cameroon to deport hundreds of migrants.

The deal is part of a broader Trump administration campaign to coax countries to accept migrants who cannot be legally deported from the United States to their home countries because they would likely face persecution.

The documents obtained by The New York Times include confidential State Department correspondence and a funding memo, which connects the money transfer to the Cameroon deportation arrangement. The files, coupled with confirmation from officials, reveal how the U.S. government used financial pressure and political incentives to secure a deal that the deportees’ lawyer compared to “selling people.”

I find this to be appalling.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

Subscribe now

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Quote of the Day: “Honestly, I blacked out. I don’t even know what it looked like.” “But, man, it was a great feeling. I’ve been watching the NCAA Tournament since I can remember. To be able to score in a game like that is an amazing experience. I’m even happier we won the game and we’re going to the Final Four.” Michigan player Charlie May after making his three-point basket.

Orchid of the Day: Michigan’s men’s basketball team, hockey team and women’s basketball team.

Onion of the Day: Me, yours truly. Instead of watching the second half of the Duke/Connecticut game, I went on a bike ride. I was shocked to learn that Connecticut came back from a 16-point half-time deficit to win the game 73-72 on a last-second 30-foot three pointer.

Question of the Day: Did you ever think the U.S. would be in the business of selling people to other countries? How low do we have to sink before we say enough is enough?

Lyrics of the Day: The ball is tipped And there you are
You’re running for your life You’re a shooting star
And all the years No one knows
Just how hard you worked But now it shows

Lyrics of the Day for March 25, 2026. Nowhere Man by the Beatles

Video of the Day: Michigan’s Charlie May’s one shining moment.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AZ2Zvp4S6/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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Fund TSA!!!!

I understand the desire of the Democrats to send a message to the administration that the recent behavior ICE leadership and some of its agents is unacceptable. Especially with what happened in Minnesota. However, TSA is not ICE and Congress needs negotiate a bi-partisan solution to fund TSA.

TSA is an integral part of the economy that gives all citizens peace of mind when they step on an airplane. The current situation is unacceptable.

This leads to my Orchid of the Day: Delta Airlines. Per the NY Times. Delta Air Lines said on Tuesday that it ⁠would suspend special services for members of Congress, citing the partial government shutdown that has hobbled travel across the country.

The services include airport escorts and specialized customer service for lawmakers. The Capital Desk, a dedicated reservations line that helps members book trips at government rates, make last minute changes and reserve seats on multiple flights on the same day, will remain open, the company said in a statement.

“Next to safety, Delta’s No. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment,” the company said. Under the suspension, the company added, members of Congress would instead be treated like regular passengers based on their SkyMiles status, which refers to the airline’s customer loyalty program.

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Do as I say, not as I do: Trump gives a strong endorsement for the safety of mail-in voting.

I was glad to see that Trump voted by mail in the special election in Florida on March 23, 2026. The message is clear, voting by mail works and it is good enough for the President, despite the rhetoric he has spewed about mail-in election fraud.

It is another case of the President making rules for the common man that he has no intention on following. Here are a few of his comments about mail in voting. Please do not take them for the truth. If Trump believed in what he says about mail-in voting, he would never use mail in voting.

Trump said in August his party would do everything in its power to get rid of mail-in voting, calling mail-in ballots “corrupt.”

“You know, brought to my attention today that we’re the only country that does mail-in voting. Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it ‘mail-in cheating,’ and we got to do something about it all,” Trump said in Memphis on March 23.

“And we as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots,” Trump said in the Oval Office in August. “We’re the only country in the world — I believe I may be wrong — but just about the only country in the world that uses them. And because of what’s happened, massive fraud all over the place.”

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A very damning statement by the WSJ. Unfortunately, it is true.

I have totally lost trust in what the current administration says. It has been especially true when it relates to the war in Iran. The comments from the White House flip-flop by the hour. What is said in the morning is contradicted by what is said in the evening. I have now gotten to the point that I ignore any reporting about the war that is based on something said by President Trump or the White House.

It turns out, I am not alone. The following is from the Wall Street Journal. That’s right, the conservative WSJ. It is a sad statement on the integrity of the current administration, from an unexpected source.

“The unsettling reality is that with this president, Americans in wartime are in the unprecedented position of having to suspect that the enemy’s version of events is more likely to be true than our own,” The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker posted on social media. This is my Quote of the Day.

Let the above quote sink in for a minute.

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The biggest beneficiary of travel sports: Dick Sporting Goods.

This comes as no surprise to parents and grandparents with children playing school and travel sports. Between its retail products and its app, Game Changer, that is a must have for grandparents, Dick’s Sporting Goods is flourishing with the explosion of travel sports.

From the WSJ: There has never been a better time to sell parents all the stuff their kids need to play sports. Families are now shelling out more than $40 billion every year on children’s sports activities, according to Aspen Institute research.

As much as they may rant about the intensity, time commitments and increasingly absurd economy of youth sports, there is no way to escape it—or avoid their nearest Dick’s Sporting Goods.

As it turns out, youth sports have been very good to Dick’s. Over the past decade, the company’s revenue has roughly doubled. Last year, it generated a record $14.1 billion in sales. Instead of shopping online or schlepping kids to multiple stores, parents just stop by Dick’s for everything they need.

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Tomorrow is Opening Day for the Tigers.

Are you excited? I am. The Tigers enter the season with the best pitching staff in the American League, second only to the Dodgers in all of the MLB. With two-time reigning Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal, backed up by experienced additions, Framber Valdez (one CY Young), Verlander (three CY Youngs), Kenley Jansen (MLB active save leader) combined with a strong returning staff, it will be tough to score on the Tigers.

The big question mark will be hitting. Last year prior to August 1, the Tigers were one of the top hitting teams in the MLB as measured by slugging percentage. Unfortunately, things started dropping in August and then it fell to the bottom like a rock in September as they blew a 10-game lead over the last month of the season to limp into the playoffs as a wild card.

The Tigers did nothing to enhance their hitting during the offseason, other than hoping some of their young hitters will continue to develop and the veterans will continue to perform at their career levels. Hope is never a good strategy.

The most exciting addition to their roster is a total surprise. Twenty-one-year-old Kevin McGonigle will anchor the left side of the infield, switching between shortstop and third base. Going into spring training, McGonigle was the number two rated prospect in all of the MLB. McGonigle will be the rare player who jumps from AA level to the MLB, bypassing AAA level. McGonigle earned the promotion through his work in the Arizona fall league and in spring training. It is going to be fun seeing how he adjusts to the ever-changing pitching approaches that he is going to face over the next few months.

I am confident in the Tigers’ ability to win the Central Division, using the money I just won on the Pistons making the playoffs, last night I bet $50 on the Tigers winning the Central Division.

See my Video of the Day

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: “The unsettling reality is that with this president, Americans in wartime are in the unprecedented position of having to suspect that the enemy’s version of events is more likely to be true than our own,” The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker posted on social media

Orchid of the Day: Delta Airlines. See above story.

Second Orchid of the Day: President Trump for casting his ballot in the Florida special election by mail.

Onion of the Day: President Trump for all the rhetoric he has spewed about how terrible mail-in voting, while exercising the use of mail-in voting in the special election in Florida. The contradictions of Trump are hard to fathom.

Question of the Day: Will the Tigers win the Central Division in 2026? Let me know what you think.

Lyrics of the Day:

He’s as blind as he can be. Just sees what he wants to see
Take your time, don’t hurry Leave it all ‘til somebody else Lends you a hand

Doesn’t have a point of view Knows not where he’s going to

Lyrics of the Day for March 23, 2026. Masters of War by Bob Dylan

Video of the Day: Let’s hope this season ends differently

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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NCAA basketball tournaments

It was a great showing this weekend for MSU and U of M basketball teams. The men’s and women’s basketball teams at both universities won their first-round tournament games. Both Wolverine teams and MSU’s men’s team won their second-round games to advance to the Sweet-Sixteen. The three teams advancing can win it all, if things fall in place.

The B!G men’s teams had a stellar weekend as six of the nine teams advanced to the sweet-sixteen. The most exciting game was number nine-seed Iowa knocking off number one seed and defending champion Florida on a three pointer with four seconds left.

One of my favorite moments of the tournament occurred following MSU’s men’s win on Saturday Here is how Yahoo Sports described it.

For Tom Izzo, his tactics were never rooted in comfort and mediocrity but were fueled by aggression. He’s often portrayed as a coach who would do anything to turn the X’s into W’s, even if it means crossing that line with his players. These methods have come under intense scrutiny during his tenure, but NBA legend Charles Barkley has seen something more in them than just aggression.

The moment unfolded following Michigan State’s win over Louisville in the second round of March Madness. Barkley went straight to the point, stating that Izzo’s aggressive style is fundamental to his method, while showering praise on the Michigan State coach.

“They play a certain way, and you have to play his way. He’s one of the few coaches who can still yell at his players. Because it’s an emotional game, Barkley said. “The media, who don’t know anything about sports, say, ‘Why is he yelling at his players?’ That’s called coaching. If you don’t want to be coached, you probably shouldn’t go to Michigan State. If parents & friends get mad because you’re getting yelled at, get better parents & better friends.” This is my Quote of the Day and Video of the Day.

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War is ugly. War is deadly. War is death and destruction for both sides. War is hell on families.

There is nothing noble or brave about turning the dead into propaganda. There is nothing patriotic about making grief do the work of persuasion. And there is certainly nothing honorable about implying that the only way to respect those already lost is to make sure more American families suffer exactly as they did.

The truth is that war does not stay on the battlefield. It lives in mothers’ bodies. It lives in every panicked breath, every half-second of dread when the phone rings, every frantic search for a name, every prayer uttered through nausea, every terrible moment of relief that means someone else’s child is dead. It lives in the homes of the people who wait and fear and grieve, while men at podiums congratulate themselves for their resolve.

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Lyrics of the Day

Come, you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs

You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy

You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you sit back and watch
While the death count gets higher

You hide in your mansion
While the young peoples’ blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You’ve thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world

For threatenin’ my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain’t worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn?
You might say that I’m young
You might say I’m unlearned

But there’s one thing I know
Though I’m younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness?
Do you think that it could?

I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I’ll follow your casket
On a pale afternoon

I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand over your grave
‘Til I’m sure that you’re dead

Despicable

“Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!” President Trump.

In looking back on my life, I don’t ever recall thinking I am glad someone is dead. I didn’t do it when the two men who murdered Leah’s mother died in prison years after her murder. I cannot imagine thinking that way anytime in the future.

Robert Mueller served this country with honor both as a marine, an FBI Director, and high-level positions in the Department of Justice, including Assistant Attorney General. Mueller served as the Director of the FBI. He was the only FBI director permitted by Congress to serve more than the statutory 10‑year term limit since the death of J. Edgar Hoover in 1972. He received a special two‑year extension by Congress. He was a registered Republican who was appointed and confirmed for positions by four presidents, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

Yet, all President Trump had to say about him is, “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!”

President Trump gets my Onion of the Day.

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MLB is implementing the ABS system starting this week.

The ABS (Automated Ball/Strike) is a computerized/camera system whose technology is used extensively in tennis and has eliminated the line judges.

Under the new MLB rules, pitchers, catchers and batters, get to challenge ball/strike calls by the umpire by tapping the top of their head immediately after the pitch. Each team starts the game with two challenges. Once a team has two unsuccessful challenges, they lose their challenges for the remainder of the game.

The good news about this technology is that the response to the challenge happens within seconds. The results are flashed on the electronic scoreboard for all to see. There is very little delay.

Like anything new, it is going to take teams time to figure out the optimum way to use the system. From my experience, catchers are the best at knowing a strike from a ball, with batters and pitchers a distant second. I expect some managers are going to forego challenging strikes called against the batter, unless it is late in the game and it is at a critical time of the game. I will place bets some managers will forbid their pitchers from making any challenges to umpire calls.

I am all in favor of this new rule. It is going to show that MLB umpires are good at calling balls and strikes.

Not everyone agrees with the new rule. Here is what former Tiger pitcher, current Blue Jay’s pitcher, and future Hall of Famer, Mad Max Scherzer had to say about bringing technology into the making of calls.

“Can we just play baseball?” “We’re humans. Can we just be judged by humans?”

Let the season begin.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy stepsThis can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

*******************************************************************************************************

Quote of the Day: “They play a certain way, and you have to play his way. He’s one of the few coaches who can still yell at his players. Because it’s an emotional game. The media, who don’t know anything about sports, say, ‘Why is he yelling at his players?’ That’s called coaching. If you don’t want to be coached, you probably shouldn’t go to Michigan State. If parents & friends get mad because you’re getting yelled at, get better parents & better friends.” Charles Barkley telling it like only Charles can say it.

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Orchid of the Day: The men and women basketball teams of MSU and U of M. It has been one heck of a season by all four teams.

Onion of the Day: President Trump for his total lack of respect for Robert Mueller

Question of the Day: Have you ever been glad someone was dead?

Lyrics of the Day: See above.

Lyrics of the Day for March 15, 2026. Think by Aretha Franklin and Ted White

Video of the Day: Charles Barkley on Tom Izzo.

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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Women

I have been blessed to be surrounded by strong women. In my immediate family it was my mother Maggie, my sister Nancy, my daughter Katy, and the strongest of all, Leah. During my career, I worked with many women who were smarter and better leaders than me. On the many boards I served, it was the same situation.

I dedicate following to Leah, my daughter Katy, my sister Nancy and to all the women who have had a tremendous influence on my life, many of whom are subscribers to this blog. The article was written by Mary Geddry who is becoming one of my favorite bloggers. I have edited the article because of length.

This essay is about what Project 2025 wants women to give up. It wants a country where abortion is harder to access, contraception is easier to restrict, the language of “gender equality,” “reproductive health,” and “reproductive rights” is stripped from federal policy…

It is a fight over whether women will be allowed to remain fully autonomous adults or pushed back toward a social order in which our safety, dignity, and survival are meant to depend more heavily on husbands, fathers, churches, employers, and the state. That is why I am writing this. Because the attack on women’s independence is not only cruel, it is historical vandalism. It asks us to forget what women have done with freedom, and to accept a future built on making us smaller.

…once you strip away the polished language about family, morality, and social order, the basic complaint underneath this worldview(Project 2025) is not hard to hear. Women are too independent. Women have too many choices. Women can leave, delay, refuse, invent, achieve, organize, earn, and live in ways that do not place men at the center of every calculation. Project 2025 says families “comprised of a married mother, father, and their children” are the foundation of a “well-ordered nation and healthy society,” and condemns what it calls “subsidizing single-motherhood,” and proposes replacing those policies with ones that support “stable, married, nuclear families.” Elsewhere, the Project 2025 text calls for deleting terms such as “gender equality,” “abortion,” “reproductive health,” and “reproductive rights” from federal rules and programs, and it pushes defining sex under Title IX as biological sex recognized at birth. This is not a blueprint for making women freer. It is a blueprint for making women smaller.

….Don’t you remember what women have already done in this country when given room to breathe?

Don’t you remember Rosie the Riveter, not as a piece of nostalgia on a tote bag, but as a stand-in for millions of women who entered wartime industry when history demanded it? …At Richmond’s Kaiser shipyards and elsewhere, women welded, riveted, assembled, and kept the machinery of war moving. America did not lose World War II because women entered the workforce. America depended on them…. but a woman in a modern engineering program is where some men suddenly discover their concerns about social stability.

Don’t you remember the women of NASA and NACA, the mathematicians, engineers, programmers, and team leads whose work powered American flight and the space race? NASA itself now honors the women who served as computers, mathematicians, and engineers from the 1930s through the 1970s, including Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. Their calculations, leadership, and technical work were not ornamental. They were foundational. These women were doing some of the most intellectually demanding work in the country…

And yes, let’s be even more specific. Don’t you remember Margaret Hamilton? She led the Software Engineering Division at MIT’s Instrumentation Laboratory, which developed the onboard flight software for Apollo. NASA credits her as a key contributor to the software effort behind the lunar missions… So when Scott Yenor says, “Every effort must be made not to recruit women into engineering, but rather to recruit and demand more of men who become engineers. Ditto for med school, and the law, and every trade,”

… If your social philosophy collapses at the sight of a woman engineer, the delicate thing in the room is not womanhood.

And while we are on the subject of women in science, don’t you remember Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering? In the 1930s, working in the Michigan Department of Health laboratory in Grand Rapids, they began the research that led to an effective pertussis vaccine. Their work moved from painstaking local public-health research into mass production and widespread vaccination, helping sharply reduce disease and death. These were not women making themselves useful in some decorative, auxiliary sense. These were women helping save children’s lives.

A movement that wants women less educated, less independent, and less present in serious work is not defending civilization. It is spitting in the face of the women who helped keep children alive in it.

That is why I find the rhetoric of this movement so offensive. It is not only misogynistic. It is embarrassingly ungrateful. It asks women to forget our own inheritance and then asks the rest of the country to call that forgetfulness virtue. It asks us to believe that women’s freedom is somehow in tension with the national good, when the historical record keeps showing the opposite.

When women have access to education, to work, to research, to technical training, to law, to medicine, to engineering, and to political life, society does not become weaker. Society becomes more capable, we solve more problems, we build more things, we save more lives, and we widen the circle of who gets to count as fully human.

Which is exactly why men like Scott Yenor sound the way they do. Yenor, who now serves as a director at the Heritage Foundation has described independent women as “medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome.” Those are not slips, those are beliefs. They reveal, with unusual honesty, that what agitates this worldview is not female weakness, it is female capability. Weak men do not fear women because women are “useless,” they fear women because they know perfectly well what women can do when we are not trapped.

And that is where the Project 2025 agenda around fertility becomes impossible to ignore. A woman who can control whether and when she becomes pregnant has more leverage over the shape of her life. She has more room to study, more room to earn, more room to leave, more room to refuse humiliation, more room to decide that she would rather build a life on her own terms than accept dependence dressed up as protection. That is why contraception matters, why abortion access matters, why support for single mothers matters, and why childcare matters. These are not side issues orbiting some larger debate about culture, they are the architecture of female freedom.

Project 2025’s hostility to reproductive autonomy and its preference for a social order organized around married male provision are not separate matters, they are part of the same design.

And I want to say this as plainly as I can. Women do not deserve independence because men have graciously decided to permit it. Women deserve independence because we have shown.. what we do with it. We build ships, we write code, and we run calculations. We organize labor, create vaccines, we hold families together, and we fight for the vote.

There is a peculiar smallness to a worldview that sees a free woman and immediately begins thinking about how to reduce her options... It cannot imagine women as fully human citizens, so it keeps reaching for older scripts in which a woman becomes respectable only by orbiting a husband, a father, a church, or a boss….

What infuriates me most is that women are expected to accept this with gratitude,... We are supposed to overlook the fact that the same movement that romanticizes motherhood is often hostile to the concrete things that make women safer and freer within motherhood, including reproductive choice, economic independence, and support for women raising children without a husband…. It is a backlash against women having enough power to say no.

But I do not want to answer it only with disgust. I want to answer it with memory and with love. Love for the women who came before us and did extraordinary things in a world that offered them less. Love for the women who refused to stay small….

So yes, let’s say it clearly. Any man who thinks estrogen is evidence of inferiority is not revealing women’s weakness, he is revealing his own. He is telling you that female freedom makes him feel threatened….That is not strength, it is panic in a necktie.

And that is why I refuse the whole Project 2025. I refuse the lie that women are more dignified when we are less free, that dependence is safety, and that family values require female submission. I refuse the lie that women’s independence is some elite modern indulgence rather than a proven public good. History remembers better than that, Rosie remembers. Margaret Hamilton, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering all remember. The country we have is, in part, the country women built when we were allowed to work, think, invent, and act like full human beings.

. Call your representatives and pressure your senators…. Teach your sons that women are not here to be ruled, and teach your daughters that freedom is theirs to keep.

See my Video of the Day for Aretha’s take on this.

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Democracy is not measured by how hard it is to vote. It is measured by how many U.S. citizens are able to do so.

Question of the Day: The question is not whether we should have secure elections—we must. The question is whether we are willing to solve real problems with real solutions, or whether we will allow the perception of a problem to justify barriers that weaken participation?

In recent weeks, the proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act has been framed as a necessary step to protect the integrity of American elections. Its central claim is straightforward: prevent non-citizens from voting and eliminate voter fraud. On the surface, that sounds reasonable. But when we step back and examine the data, a different picture emerges—one that raises a more important question: Are we solving a real problem, or creating a new one?

Let’s begin with the facts. Voter fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare. Organizations committed to identifying fraud, such as the Heritage Foundation, have documented that only 1,620 people have been convicted of voter fraud since 1982 across billions of ballots cast. That translates into a statistical rounding error—far less than one hundredth of one percent.

Equally important, the specific concern driving the SAVE Act—non-citizen voting—is already addressed under current law. It is illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections, and doing so carries serious penalties, including fines, imprisonment, and potential deportation. There is no credible evidence that non-citizen voting occurs at any scale that could influence election outcomes.

So, if the problem is negligible, why the urgency?

The answer lies not in election integrity, but in election access.

The SAVE Act requires documentary proof of citizenship—such as a passport or birth certificate—when registering to vote. While that may sound like a simple safeguard, the practical implications are significant. Millions of Americans do not have easy access to these documents. Older citizens, rural residents, lower-income individuals, and even married women whose legal names differ from their birth certificates could face new barriers to registration.

In effect, the burden shifts from the state proving ineligibility to the citizen proving eligibility—with documentation that is not universally available or easy to obtain.

We have seen versions of this dynamic before. Throughout American history, voting restrictions have often been justified in the name of “integrity” while disproportionately affecting participation. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and other barriers were once defended as necessary safeguards. Over time, we recognized them for what they were: obstacles to voting.

Election security is important. Confidence in our electoral system depends on both integrity and access. But those two goals must be balanced with evidence, not fear. They must be balanced with practical reality. When policy is driven by rare or hypothetical risks, it can produce real consequences.

The United States has built a voting system that, while imperfect, is fundamentally secure. The greater risk to that system today is not widespread fraud—it is declining trust and reduced participation. Measures that make it harder for eligible citizens to vote undermine the very democracy they claim to protect.

If we are serious about strengthening our elections, we should focus on improving access, modernizing registration systems, and ensuring that every eligible American can vote easily and confidently. Safeguarding democracy means protecting both the ballot and the voter.

Democracy is not measured by how hard it is to vote. It is measured by how many U.S. citizens are able to do so.

I authored the above with assistance from CHAT GPT

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy stepsThis can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

*************************************************************************************************************

Quote of the Day: That is not strength, it is panic in a necktie. Mary Geddry from the above article on Women

Orchid of the Day: Mary Geddry, for knocking it out of the park today.

Onion of the Day: The Republicans who are trying to sell the Save Act as election security, when it is election suppression.

Question of the Day: The question is not whether we should have secure elections—we must. The question is whether we are willing to solve real problems with real solutions, or whether we will allow the perception of a problem to justify barriers that weaken participation?

Lyrics of the Day: Right now, freedom (freedom)
Oh-oh, freedom (freedom)
Give me some freedom
Oh, freedom! Oh-oh, right now
Hey! Think about it
You! Think about it

There ain’t nothin’ you could ask
I could answer you with “I won’t” (I won’t)
But I was gonna change, but I’m not
If you keep doin’ things I don’t (don’t)

Lyrics of the Day for March 13, 2026. Brother Love Traveling Salvation Show by Neal Diamond

Video of the Day: The Blues Brothers | Aretha Franklin Sings “Think” in 4K HDR - YouTube

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I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

Winter Wonderland

We have received up to 24 inches of snow in the Petoskey area in the last 36 hours. Another 5-6 is on the way. Combined with wind gusts of 30-35 mph, it has been blizzard conditions. The snow is sitting on a layer of ice that hit us on Wednesday and Thursday of last week.

The snow is going to be here for a week or so, as the temperatures are forecasted to reach only the high thirties for the next week. Melting will be slow. Leah and I have hunkered down since Sunday morning. We are safe and warm with a refrigerator full of food.

I was hoping to get to the hot tub today, but that is not going to happen. There is an 18-inch wall of snow up against the sliding door. If I open the door, the snow will be blown on to the new carpeting we just had installed. If I happen to get out the door, the hot tup is almost unrecognizable because of the snow surrounding it.

There will be no hottubbing for me this week.

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A self-inflicted wound

On Saturday, I filled my Taurus SHO with gasoline for the first time since late December. The SHO takes mid-grade and the price was $4.32 per gallon which is $0.82 higher than I paid the last time I filled the tank. Thank you President Trump.

The near-term projections for oil prices are not encouraging.

Per multiple sources, American oil executives delivered a bleak message to Trump officials in recent days: The energy crisis the Iran war has unleashed is likely to get worse.

In response to questions from the officials, Exxon CEO Darren Woods said that oil prices could rise past current elevated levels if speculators unexpectedly bid up prices and that markets could see a supply crunch of refined products. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth and ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance also conveyed their concerns about the scale of the disruption,

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that Americans could get relief from high gas prices, but that it could take a few weeks. “Americans are feeling it right now. Americans will feel it for a few more weeks,” he said on NBC News. “But at the end we will have removed the greatest risk to global energy supplies.”

When asked if gas prices would drop below $3 a gallon before summer, Wright said, “There’s a very good chance that’ll be true.” Still, he said, “there’s no guarantees in war. The time frame’s still not entirely clear but I think that’s certainly a goal of the administration.”

This is a self-inflicted wound brought on by a president who campaigned on staying out of foreign wars.

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You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar

Most of us learned by the time we were five years old that if we didn’t play nice in the sandbox, we would soon be playing alone. Unfortunately, this is a lesson that President Trump doesn’t seem to grasp.

President Trump is pressuring NATO allies to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz. If they don’t, he said yesterday, “I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”

A wise woman once told me, that I will get more bees with honey than I will get with vinegar.

From Heather Cox Richardson: Since he took office more than a year ago, Trump has gone out of his way to antagonize our allies and partners, warning them that the United States will act alone and working to undermine the international alliances the U.S. has shaped since World War II. Now, having sparked a regional war in the Middle East after ignoring what virtually everyone said would be the result of attacking Iran a second time, Trump is begging other countries to come to his aid.

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And the big winner is Vladimir Putin

More from Heather. Despite reports that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence that permits it to target U.S. forces in the Middle East, late last night the Trump administration lifted sanctions on shipments of Russian oil until April 11, permitting it to be sold to buyers around the world for the next month. The U.S., along with the rest of the Group of Seven (G7) nations with advanced economies, has maintained sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has been eager to get those sanctions dropped because oil sales will help the flailing Russian economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the move is necessary to help ease oil prices, which are skyrocketing because Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the attack by the U.S. and Israel. But German chancellor Friedrich Merz said the heads of the G7 had urged Trump not to ease the sanctions, saying “[t]here is currently a price problem, but not a supply problem.” He added that he “would like to know what additional motives led the US government to make this decision.”

Only with this administration will our greatest enemy benefit while we pay an additional $0.75 per gallon of gas. We suffer at the pump while Putin feels like he won the world’s biggest lottery.

You cannot make this stuff up.

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An all-slate room with no windows and no lights has better transparency than our current state government.

From Bridge Michigan. The state’s Freedom of Information Act is supposed to allow citizens to obtain records used by the government to make basic decisions. But the 1976 law, passed after the Watergate scandal, is riddled with holes and exemptions.

Michigan is alone with Massachusetts as states that exempt the governor and Legislature from records requests. Simple requests for information often can take weeks or months and cost thousands of dollars, making the law inaccessible for everyday citizens.

Case in point: Bridge Michigan senior reporter Paula Gardner is still waiting for documents she requested from a state department last August, despite paying a sizable deposit. When she reminded the agency of the law, officials told her they were busy with other requests.

That’s unfortunate. The law specifies that governments need to respond within five or at most 15 days, but it is silent on how long it takes to produce information.

Last week, Bridge Michigan and media partners filed an amicus brief with the Michigan Supreme Court in support of the ACLU’s lawsuit against Grand Rapids. The city took one year to fulfill a records request about police drone policies after initially saying it would take two hours.

Such delays render FOIA useless. That’s not just a problem for journalists. It’s a problem for democracy. Citizens should know how their government operates and have a reasonable expectation of obtaining records that their tax dollars funded.

It’s not complicated. It’s sad. And in these days of distrust of government, it’s long overdue for Michigan to reform its antiquated open-government laws.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican House Speaker Matt Hall have had years to pass FOIA reforms and done nothing. Bridge can only hope their successors running for office this year have the courage and common sense to do the right thing.

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Orchid of the Day

A Michigan high school cross country coach has won the 2026 ASICS Los Angeles Marathon in a close finish.

Nathan Martin, who splits his time between coaching young athletes and competing on the elite marathon circuit, narrowed a 26.2-mile lead to beat Kenya’s Michael Kamau by a mere fraction of a second Sunday, according to the race website.

Martin is the head cross country coach and district’s coach who helps run large events at Jackson High School in Michigan.

Chris Hoover, athletic director at the school, said the school is excited that Martin not only won, but “won in such dramatic fashion, showing grit and determination.”

“He is a top-tier person, not just an elite world-class athlete, he’s also an elite human being,” Hoover said. “He coaches our kids the same way, and we are so lucky to have him in training in Jackson.”

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

*********************************************************************************************************

Quote of the Day: If they don’t, he said yesterday, “I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.” President Trump in response to what will happen if NATO countries do not support the efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Orchid of the Day: Nathan Martin, See the above story and the Video of the Day.

Onion of the Day: The weather in northern Michigan

Question of the Day: When did you learn it was important to play nice in the sandbox?

Lyrics of the Day: Hot August night and the leaves hanging down
And the grass on the ground smelling sweet.
Move up the road to the outside of town And the sound of that good gospel beat.

Sits a ragged tent where there ain’t no trees And that gospel group telling you and me it’s love.

Hint: The artist is a fan favorite at Fenway Park.

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for March 11, 2026. Jungleland by Bruce Springsteen

Video of the Day: Nathan Martin, cross country coach at Jackson High School gives an all-out effort to win the LA Marathon.

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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WSJ Politics

The following two articles appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s daily email entitled WSJ Politics. We know that the WSJ is a bastion of liberal politics, so it is not surprising they are pointing put the problems of President Trumps current military action in Iran that is not a war. I am sure that Trump and his MAGA base will write these articles off as more of the same from liberal fake news.

Are we at War?

President Trump on Saturday said that “we’re winning the war by a lot.” He was returning from Dover Air Force Base, where he had attended the dignified transfer of the bodies of six servicemembers killed as part of the U.S. action against Iran. “It’s a sad part of war,” he said of the deaths.

But ask members of Congress if the U.S. is at war with Iran, and suddenly a reticence to use the word “war” appears.

“No, by definition, we’re not at war,” said Republican Sen. Thom Tillis on CNN on Sunday. Mike Waltz, the U.N. ambassador, tiptoed around the word. “I describe it as Iran’s been at war with us,” he said on NBC.

It’s a classic “only in Washington” moment to see missile exchanges, drone attacks and the resulting deaths divorced from the plain meaning of the word “war.” But the tortured locution speaks to one of the most pressing challenges facing Congress: The Constitution gives lawmakers powers that they aren’t using.

Under the Constitution, Congress holds the power to declare war. Congress hasn’t done so in the case of Iran—so, in that sense, we are not at war. But lawmakers have given presidents wide latitude under the War Powers Act, which allows a president to deploy U.S. forces for 60 days before a vote of Congress is needed to continue the action.

Chances are growing for a new vote that could push lawmakers to affirmatively back or reject the war. (They have voted once to reject limits on Trump in Iran). If the U.S. places troops on the ground, that could bring the War Powers Act into play, Tillis said, by pushing the military engagement beyond 60 days and forcing Congress to hold a vote. That prospect has gained more attention, as Trump this weekend declined to rule out ground troops, as the U.S. and Israeli military campaign tests the limits of air power.

Off Ramp or On Ramp

I’m Dave Brown, filling in for Damian Paletta. At 2:25 p.m. Monday, the Defense Department’s “rapid response” account posted on X that “We have Only Just Begun to Fight.” Less than an hour later, CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang posted that President Trump had just told her that “I think the war is very complete, pretty much.”

And he wasn’t just popping off. He later told an audience that the military operation in Iran was a “very short excursion” and will be over “very soon.” Gone was the tough talk from just last Friday, when he said the only way to make a deal with Iran was “unconditional surrender.”

So what changed over the weekend? For starters, the price of oil shot well past $100 a barrel, and gas prices immediately soared. The war continued to poll poorly. And nervous Republicans were dialing up the White House, saying the war could hurt them in the midterm elections.

Worse yet, Iran’s government tapped hard-line cleric Mojtaba Khamenei—son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—to be its new leader. That choice presented only bad options for Trump. Does he try to make a deal? Does he hope the people rise up and unseat the new leader? Does he keep bombing Iran until they choose someone more palatable?

One thing is certain: Even if Trump says the war might be winding down, his quickly shifting messaging means it could all change later today. Indeed, right after telling reporters on Monday that the war could be over soon, he quickly followed up, saying the U.S. could “go further.”

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Oops, disregard my tweet.

More from that bastion of liberal politics the Wall Street Journal.

For days, the global oil market has swung wildly while traders from New York to London to Singapore have watched footage of drones and missiles flying across the Middle East. Tuesday’s selloff was sparked in part by a social-media post.

A plunge in oil prices intensified in the early afternoon after Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on X that “The U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.” The prospect of a prolonged energy shock momentarily dimmed. Futures for oil, diesel and gasoline slid. Stocks jumped.

But the message vanished within minutes, leaving investors the world over struggling to see through the fog of war emanating from the Trump administration itself. U.S. officials soon after said that the military isn’t currently escorting commercial ships through one of the world’s chokepoints for oil and natural gas.

The since-deleted post was enough to wipe out million-dollar trades. Benchmark U.S. crude futures plunged by as much as 19% at one point. During a roughly 10-minute span when Wright’s post appeared, an exchange-traded fund linked to oil futures saw $84 million of its market capitalization evaporate.

“That’s an unforgivable error right there,” said Robert Yawger, commodity specialist at Mizuho Securities.

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Power Play or Negotiating Strategy on the Save Act?

President Trump says he will not sign any future legislation into law until the Save Act is passed.

From the Blind Spot: On Mar 8, President Donald Trump vowed on Truth Social he would not sign any bills until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, urging Republicans to bypass the filibuster.

The House of Representatives passed the SAVE America Act last month; it stalls in the U.S. Senate where Republicans hold 53 seats and would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote.

Demanding additions, Trump pushed strict voter-ID and proof-of-citizenship rules, limits on mail-in ballots with exceptions for military and voters with illness or disability.

Senate Democrats say they will oppose the SAVE Act and warned Trump’s signature blockade could imperil must-pass Department of Homeland Security funding, with Congress able to counter using veto, pocket veto, and 10-day enactment rules.

With midterms looming, Democratic Party leaders say the SAVE Act would suppress votes for college students, senior citizens, Americans living abroad, and adoptees.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: “High times on Wall Street. Hard times on Main Street.” Bruce Springsteen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in 2009. It applies today.

Orchid of the Day: To an unknown patron at the Bay Side Restaurant in Petoskey. On Sunday morning, just as I was settling into my seat in the restaurant an unknown patron on the other side of the restaurant sneezed. I reacted by saying “bless you”. When I went to pay my bill, I was told the patron who was sitting with his wife, had paid my bill. As I was leaving I went over to thank him and ask why he paid my bill. He said it was because I said “bless you” when he sneezed. I thanked him and told him, I would pay it forward.

There is still kindness out there. I was fortunate enough to be a recipient on Sunday morning.

Onion of the Day: We the people, who are paying more at the pump because of the non-war in Iran.

Question of the Day: Power Play or Negotiating Strategy on the Save Act?

Lyrics of the Day: In the tunnels uptown The Rat’s own dream guns him down As shots echo down them hallways in the night No one watches when the ambulance pulls away

Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light Outside the street’s on fire
In a real death waltz Between what’s flesh and what’s fantasy
And the poets down here Don’t write nothing at all
They just stand back and let it all be

And in the quick of the night They reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand But they wind up wounded
Not even dead

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for March 9, 2026. I still haven’t found what I am looking for by U2

Video of the Day: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Jungleland HD Madison Square Garden, NYC Subtitulado 2009 This goes out to Leah. This was playing as part of my playlist as Leah and I were coming home from the gym today. Leah wanted to know if this was one of Bruce’s B-side songs. I told her no. Please enjoy the last quarter of the video as the Big Man plays the sax.

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I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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A call to conscience

From Elliot Kirschner on Substack which he shared an essay by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago. It is entitled “A Call to Conscience,” and I share it here with you in full.

As more than 1,000 Iranian men, women and children lay dead after days of bombardment from U.S. and Israeli missiles, the official White House X account on Thursday evening posted a video of scenes from popular action movies spliced with actual strike footage from their war on Iran. The clip was captioned: “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY.”

A real war with real death and real suffering being treated like it’s a video game — it’s sickening. Hundreds of people are dead, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, including scores of children who made the fatal mistake of going to school that day. Six U.S. soldiers have been killed. They are also dishonored by that social media post. Hundreds of thousands displaced, and many millions more are terrified across the Middle East.

This horrifying portrayal demonstrates that we now live in an era when the distance between the battlefield and the living room has been drastically reduced. The moral crisis we are facing is not just a matter of the war itself, but also how we, the observers, view violence, for war now has become a spectator sport or strategy game. Indeed, the prediction market Kalshi recently paid a $2.2 million settlement related to users who were unhappy with how the company paid out the $55 million wagered on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s ouster after his was killed.

Journalists now use the term “gamifying” the war to describe this dynamic. What a profound moral failure, for gamifying strips away the humanity of real people. Let’s not forget, a “hit” isn’t putting points on the board; it’s a grieving family whose suffering we ignore when we prioritize entertainment, and profit, over empathy.

Our government is treating the suffering of the Iranian people as a backdrop for our own entertainment, as if it’s just another piece of content to be swiped through while we’re waiting in line at the grocery store. But, in the end, we lose our humanity when we are thrilled by the destructive power of our military. We become addicted to the “spectacle” of explosions. And the price of this habit is almost unnoticeable, as we become desensitized to the true costs of war. But the longer we remain blind to the terrible consequences of war, the more we are risking the most precious gift God gave us: our humanity.

I know that the American people are better than this. We have the good sense to know that what is happening is not entertainment but war, and that Iran is a nation of people, not a video game others play to entertain us.

Now is a time that demands moral clarity, and as Cardinal Cupich writes, a call to our conscience. We must speak out and protest, organize, and vote. We must repudiate the horrific pretenses under which this war is being waged and propagandized in our names.

This war of choice is the height of folly and hubris. And if we do not hold fast to the bonds of our common humanity, we will lose sight of the brutal costs our regime is inflicting upon the world, the rising pain, suffering, and instability that are being repackaged as entertainment.

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MSU vs U of M Men’s Basketball Game

Yesterday’s game lived up to pre-game hype. Both teams left nothing in the tank when the game was finished. In the end, Michigan’s depth was the difference.

Since the game likely had very little bearing on the B1G standings or the teams’ NCAA tournament seeds, it was a game I could just sit back and enjoy.

After the game was over, I reflected on the three referees for the game and how they were probably feeling after the game. My guess is that they were mentally and physically exhausted but extremely satisfied with the job they did.

Michigan’s coach Dusty May said it best when he was interviewed by CBS’s Traci Wolfson eight minutes into the game. May said, “I am hoping a basketball game starts out pretty soon.” This was in reference to all the extracurricular activities that were going on between the two teams.

Fortunately, the game was refereed by three of the best in the game, Ron Groover, D.J. Carstensen, and Jeffrey Anderson who have over 90 years of experience, including over 30 NCAA tournaments. For the first 10 minutes, the refs were willing to let the players try to figure it out. When the players couldn’t figure it out, the refs imposed their will on the players.

At half time the players adjusted, and the refs let the players decide the outcome. This led to one of the most entertaining halves of basketball I have seen all year.

Here are highlights of what the referees had to deal with during the game.

• · At the 14:24 mark of the first half, Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. picked up a technical foul for kicking Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau between the legs.

• · Michigan was called for two separate technical fouls later in the first half, first on freshman guard Trey McKenney for touching the ball when it was being inbounded, and another on Aday Mara for pushing Carson Cooper to the floor on a rebound attempt.

• · At the 15:39 mark of the second half, Mara was called for his third foul of the game, this time being a flagrant foul as Fears looked to start a fast break following a Michigan turnover.

• · In total, 35 fouls called, including three technicals and one flagrant foul.

This game could have gotten out of hand, but the experienced referees took charge and allowed a basketball game to eventually break out. The three referees get my Orchid of the Day.

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It’s the economy, stupid

From The Guardian on March 6.

• · The US lost 92,000 jobs in February

• · The US gained 126,000 jobs in January

• · The US lost 45,000 jobs from July thru December 2025

• · The total job growth in 2025 of 181,000 was the weakest since covid and significantly less than the 2 million added in 2024

• · The unemployment rate edged up to 4.4% in February.

Things are not as rosy as the president wants us to believe.

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Video of the Day-Lou Holtz

Last week Lou Holtz, a hall of fame college football coach passed away at the age of 89. He served as the head football coach at the College of Willam and Mary, North Carolina State, the New York Jets, the University of Arkansas, the University of Minnesota, Notre Dame and University of South Carolina. compiling a career college head coaching record of 249–132–7. In addition, he was an outstanding motivational speaker who I had the opportunity to see live.

I want to share one of his speeches as my Video of the Day. I want to thank my sister Nancy for sharing it with me.

https://www.threads.com/@son_of_larz/post/DVjPysDDInx?xmt=AQF0DO5ib_kmrg3htU6FVm03CR0q4lvVZuE40f7uJCDXq6uSW5CtQ5NXUxhwky0go872qwOY&slof=1

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

********************************************************************************************************

Quote of the Day: “I am hoping a basketball game starts out pretty soon.” Michigan’s men’s basketball coach when being interviewed by CBS’s Traci Wolfson at the 8-minute mark of yesterday’s M/MSU basketball game.

Orchid of the Day: Ron Groover, D.J. Carstensen, and Jeffrey Anderson, the three referees for the M/MSU men’s basketball game.

Onion of the Day: Michigan Medicine and BCBSM for airing their lack of progress in contract negotiations in public, causing major and unnecessary angst for patients who are concerned about their healthcare coverage and access to care starting July 1, 2026.

Question of the Day: Since when is it OK to treat the carnage of war like it is a video game?

Lyrics of the Day: I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of the devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone (mm, mm)

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
But yes, I’m still running

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for March 5, 2026. One by Metallica

Video of the Day: See above by Lou Holtz

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I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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War

From Elliot Kirschner: To be sure, the Iranian regime is murderous, despotic, and a destabilizing force in the world. It deserves to be toppled. But even if we were to grant the most noble rationale for this rash action — that this is about liberating the Iranian people (and we should of course not grant this reasoning) — our recent history alone gives ample evidence that shock and awe is often followed by quagmire and ruin.

Those who know war, who have seen it up close, understand that it is an untamable beast. Sometimes it is necessary and just, as in the defense of freedom against the Nazis. But even those who led the Allies in that conflict understood the costs.

Winston Churchill is famous for his commanding wartime oratory, urging his countrymen on as perhaps the final bulwark against fascist domination. But a decade earlier, he had published a biography of his first three decades titled My Early Life. He had seen a great deal of war and written books on the subject. And in that memoir is a passage that perhaps best captures my sense of foreboding today:

“Let us learn our lessons. Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.”

This leads to my Question of the Day: What happened to the president who campaigned against nation building and foreign wars?

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Protests and letters to congress have worked. Noem is history at DHS

The protests and the letters to congress have worked. The over-the-top actions by ICE and Border Patrol in Minneapolis have led to the ouster of Greg Bovino earlier in the year and now Noem.

Per multiple sources, President Trump on Thursday announced he was replacing Kristi Noem as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, capping weeks of bipartisan complaints about her leadership after immigration agents killed two US citizens and reports emerged that she was involved in a personal relationship with a top deputy.

Noem’s firing was the first major personnel shake-up of Trump’s second term. The president made it public in a post on Truth Social, in which he said Markwayne Mullin, a Republican Oklahoma senator, would take over from Noem starting on 31 March.

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This might be the quote of the year, “The Supreme Court told you what your position is.”

From Mary Geddry: Judge Richard K. Eaton of the United States Court of International Trade, on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to take the first steps toward issuing more than $100 billion in potential tariff refunds, ratcheting up a legal battle over a roster of sky-high duties that the Supreme Court deemed illegal.

Judge Eaton was clearly not in the mood for excuses. When a Justice Department lawyer suggested the government had not yet finalized its position on refunds, Eaton responded with a line that should probably be framed and hung in every federal courtroom:

“The Supreme Court told you what your position is.” It is definitely my Quote of the Day.

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Putin is loving Trump right now.

For over a week, I have heard nothing about the Russia attack on Ukraine. Trump and Netanyahu have taken over the spotlight as world aggressors. Putin must be loving it.

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Voter Fraud

I received the following from a subscriber following my post last week about the fallacies of our elections being wrought with voter fraud.

“I have worked the voting poles for years and everything is double checked, and on the up and up, and I can’t believe people would think that there is a way to cheat.”

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

***********************************************************************************************************

Quote of the Day: “The Supreme Court told you what your position is.” Judge Richard K. Eaton to Justice Department attorneys.

Orchid of the Day: Fifty and sunny today in Petoskey. It was a good day for a bike ride. See my Image of Day.

Onion of the Day: War powers resolution of 1973. What good does it do to have a law if Congress is not willing to enforce it?

Question of the Day: What happened to the president who campaigned against nation building and foreign wars?

Lyrics of the Day: Land mine has taken my sight
Taken my speech, taken my hearing
Taken my arms, taken my legs
Taken my soul
Leaving me with a life in Hell
Oh, please God, help me
Help me

Hint: Heavy metal group that is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for March 3, 2026. War, performed by Edwin Starr

Video of the Day: On my bike ride today in Petoskey

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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Iran

On February 19, more than a week before the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran, a subscriber of Thoughts for the Day sent me the following question. I have included my response.

Question: What is your position on Iran before any event occurs?

My response: As far as Iran goes. As long as Iran stays within their boundaries. I would leave them be and sanction the shit out of them. Iran is a lose/lose situation for us. Have we not learned from Iraq and Afghanistan?

Two weeks later I stand by my answer.

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The Genie is out of the bottle

Every time Trump stomps on the Constitution and the Republican majority in Congress allows him to get away with it, they are setting a precedent they (or future members of congress) are going to live to regret.

Our founding fathers created three equal branches of government to make sure there would never be a ‘king” or an all-powerful president. They specifically gave congress the power to make laws, the power of the purse and the power to declare war.

The current congress under the leadership of House Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thume have allowed Trump to expand his powers because Johnson and Thume will not challenge him in public or in a vote of Congress. This works well for the Republicans now. How are they going to feel the next time the Democrats control the presidency and both chambers of congress?

Trump and project 2025 have laid out a plan that expands the power of the president which all succeeding presidents, including Democrat presidents, will use to their advantage. Future presidents regardless of party are going to strengthen the executive branch to the detriment of congress, which the founding fathers designated as the “people’s representatives”.

The short-term thinking of Trump, Speaker Johnson, and Majority Leader Thume is weakening the voice of the people by their current action. The Republicans will realize their mistake when Democrats control the presidency and congress, and the Democrat members of congress allow the Democrat president to expand the powers of the presidency even more.

The genie is out of the bottle, and the people are the biggest losers because the current Republican members of congress are not willing to stand up to a rogue president who continues to run roughshod over the Constitution. The people’s representatives are giving away their power to the president, contrary to the desires of our founding fathers.

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“No stupid rules of engagement. No nation-building quagmire. No politically correct wars.”

The above is my Quote of the Day. As Pete Hegseth said this in his speech on Monday, my stomach was churning as I thought about the 165-180 young Iranian elementary school girls who were killed because of the bombing. I thought about the three members of our military who were killed in retaliatory strikes. I thought of the other Iranian non-military citizens who were killed, not because they were a threat to the U.S. but because they were citizens of Iran.

As I listened to Hegseth, I couldn’t help but think that loss of innocent lives meant nothing to him. The loss of innocent lives is collateral damage that is a necessity of the mission.

This is the way it will be when there are “No stupid rules of engagement. No nation-building quagmire. No politically correct wars.”

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Back in Petoskey

Leah and I returned to Petoskey late Monday after being gone since December 29, 2025. It is good to be back.

As we were driving up Crooked Tree Drive, we saw over 10 deer roaming the golf course. Our backyard has nearly 18 inches of snow. Our driveway is loaded with ice which I will need to address.

It was good to get back to our gym and our post gym breakfast at Julienne Tomatoes this morning even though we were later than normal because our bodies were still on central time. This led to me getting a parking ticket.

We love Gulf Shores, but we love Petoskey more.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: “No stupid rules of engagement. No nation-building quagmire. No politically correct wars.” Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth during his briefing on Monday.

Orchid of the Day: Michigan Men’s basketball team for winning the B1G championship with the victory over Illinois on Friday.

Onion of the Day: We the people for the loss of our representation in Congress because the current congress is not willing to stand up to a president who is running roughshod over the constitution.

Question of the Day: How long will the war in Iran last? One month? Two months? Six months? Or more?

Lyrics of the Day: Listen to me. Ooh war, I despise
‘Cause it means destruction of innocent lives
War means tears, to thousands of mother’s eyes
When their sons go off to fight and lose their lives
I said, war (h’uh) Good God, y’all! (What is it good for?)

Hint: It was performed by a Starr.

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for February 25, 2026. Pink Houses by John Mellencamp

Video of the Day: What’s Going On (Marvin Gaye) Feat. Sara Bareilles | Playing For Change | Song Around The World

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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State of the Union

No, I did not watch the State of the Union address on Tuesday. Just like I did not watch the last 20 or so state of the union addresses. I stopped watching because I find them disgusting.

Here is the purpose of the state of the union.

Article II, Section 3 states that the president: “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”

In simple terms, the purpose is to:

1. Inform Congress about the condition of the country (economy, security, domestic issues, foreign affairs, etc.).

2. Propose legislative priorities and policy recommendations.

3. Set the national agenda for the coming year.

Constitutionally, the State of the Union is meant to ensure communication between the executive branch and Congress about the nation’s condition and plans.

The State of the Union has lost its purpose. It is now a circus where the party in charge pumps itself up beyond reality and denigrates the minority party. The minority party does everything in its power to publicly disagree with the majority by behaving in childish ways that would get them reprimanded by their teacher if they were fifth grade students in a school assembly.

Everything is about the party and following the party line. Democrats do not cheer for Republicans and Republicans do not cheer for Democrats.

I have better things to do with my time. Reading about the state of the union the next day is a much more productive use of my time without the circus acts and poor behavior by our alleged national leaders.

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For the People

Yesterday, I was having a conversation with a friend about the State of the Union address. I was expressing my frustration about what the state of the union address has become. This led to a discussion about how the politicians have forgot that their priorities should be “for the people” rather than their party. Furthermore, “for the people”, means all people not just those that are members of your party or those that agree with you. Both of us agreed that the last time we felt that our politicians worked for the people was when President Clinton had to work with a Republican congress to get things done. Which was over 26 years ago.

Here is what “for the people” means.

The phrase “for the People” reflects one of the core principles of the United States Constitution — that government exists to serve the citizens, not rulers, monarchs, or a small elite.

It comes from the Constitution’s Preamble, which begins:

“We the People of the United States…”

What it means:

1. Government derives its power from the people
Authority doesn’t come from a king or inherited power — it comes from the citizens.

2. Government exists to serve the public interest
Laws and policies are supposed to benefit the nation as a whole.

3. The people are the ultimate source of sovereignty
Through voting, participation, and civic involvement, citizens choose representatives and influence laws.

4. Accountability to citizens
Elected officials are meant to act on behalf of — and answer to — the people.

This idea is often summarized in the famous phrase from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address:

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

So, “for the People” means the Constitution establishes a government designed to work in the interests of its citizens and grounded in their consent.

Next to integrity and a moral compass, this is what you should be looking for in candidates during the mid-terms.

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Voter Fraud-The myth, the legend

From the Washington Post: The Justice Department has struggled to meet White House demands to prosecute noncitizen voters as conspiracy theories that President Donald Trump and his allies have pushed in public fail to hold up legally.

The president has grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of results, advisers said, leading to his public pronouncements about nationalizing elections and requiring voter ID, which he lacks the authority to do unilaterally.

Top Justice Department officials regularly meet with officials from Homeland Security Investigations — the law enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security that works with prosecutors to bring cases against undocumented immigrants — about tracking down instances of voter fraud. The meetings include at least one aide to Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and the architect of the president’s aggressive immigration policies, according to two people familiar with the matter who, like several others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly…

…The efforts so far haven’t yielded results, in large part because the types of rampant voter fraud that the Trump administration describes have never been found.

Last month, law enforcement officials closed an investigation into voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election in Nevada, which Trump lost by more than 33,000 votes. A Justice Department official familiar with the investigation said that FBI agents identified fewer than 40 potential instances of noncitizens voting. Prosecutors had previously decided not to proceed with cases against those people, likely because such cases are hard to win in court. The statute of limitations for any such prosecution stemming from the 2020 election has expired.

Despite the rhetoric that has existed for as long as I have lived, voter fraud is mostly a myth. As a reminder President Trump lost 61 of 62 court cases he filed following the 2020 presidential election.

The Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud Database, the same organization that brought us Project 2025, is the most-cited public compilation of voter fraud. It lists only 286 people have been convicted of voting fraudulently from 2020 through 2025. You can bet if there was systematic voter fraud, the Heritage Foundation would be singing from the mountain top.

Voter fraud is a mythical issue that losers of elections use to justify their failure to win.

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The President’s solution to the non-existent voter fraud.

Per the Washington Post: Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly previewed a plan to mandate voter ID and ban mail ballots in November’s midterm elections, and the activists expect their draft will figure into Trump’s promised executive order on the issue. The White House declined to elaborate on Trump’s plans.

“Under the Constitution, it’s the legislatures and states that really control how a state conducts its elections, and the president doesn’t have any power to do that. But here we have a situation where the president is aware that there are foreign interests that are interfering in our election processes, that causes a national emergency where the president has to be able to deal with it. The emergency would empower the president to ban mail ballots and voting machines as the vectors of foreign interference” said Peter Ticktin, a Florida lawyer who is advocating for the draft executive order. Ticktin attended the New York Military Academy with Trump….

The idea of claiming emergency executive powers based on allegations of foreign interference attaches new significance to the administration’s actions to reinvestigate the 2020 election. Trump has never accepted defeat, while never finding evidence of widespread fraud.

“I have searched the depths of Legal Arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject and will be presenting an irrefutable one in the very near future,” Trump said on social media Feb. 13. “I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order,” he added the same day.

“President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of elections, and that includes totally accurate and up-to-date voter rolls free of errors and unlawfully registered non-citizen voters,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “The President has urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting.”

Trump has said that if the bill fails, he will act unilaterally to impose the changes for the midterms.

Trump’s threat should not be taken lightly. As he showed on January 6, 2021, he is more than willing to do whatever it takes to stay in power, including taking over the elections.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

**********************************************************************************************************

Quote of the Day: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.” President Abraham Lincoln

Orchid of the Day: Saturday’s game Michigan vs Duke basketball game – a 68-63 Duke win – marked ESPN’s most-watched game in seven years and the network’s seventh-most watched game on record.

Onion of the Day: Those who tried to politicize the winning of the Olympic gold medal by the men’s and women’s hockey teams.

Question of the Day: Do you believe there is widespread voter fraud in the U.S.? in our states? In our counties? In our cities?

Lyrics of the Day: Well, there’s a young man in a t-shirt
Listenin’ to a rockin’ rollin’ station
He’s got greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, “Lord this must be my destination”
‘Cause they told me when I was younger
Said, “Boy, you’re gonna be president”
But just like everything else those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went.

Hint: He grew up in a small town

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for February 23, 2026. Psychedelic Shack by The Temptations

Video of the Day: Update from Lindsey Vonn

https://youtube.com/shorts/wg4EQYS4acE?si=fktOQqX7vRLupV6P

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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Olympics: USA vs Canada Gold Medal Game

Last week, after the quarterfinal games of the Men’s Olympic hockey I said there are few better sporting events than Olympic hockey. After watching the gold medal game Sunday morning between the U.S. and Canada, I am doubling down on the statement.

Yesterday’s 2-1 overtime win by the U.S. was as fine of hockey game as I have seen in my lifetime. On the biggest world stage, both teams brought their A-games from the opening puck drop to the golden goal at 1:49 of overtime.

Within the first minutes of the game, Leah couldn’t believe how fast the players were skating as she compared them to speed skaters. I said, I have never seen two teams fly around like they were flying around. NBC broadcaster and former NHL player Brian Boucher said he had never seen such speed and intensity on the ice as he saw in the first few minutes of the game.

The U.S. carried the play in the first period as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead. The last two periods, Team Canada showed why they were the greatest team in the world as the ice seemed to be tilted in their favor. Fortunately, the U.S. had Connor Hellebuyck, the best goaltender in the world, in goal for them. Hellebuyck singlehandedly won the gold medal for the U.S. as he made spectacular save after spectacular save throughout the last two periods. A couple were of the “how did he do that” variety.

U.S. forward Matt Baldy scored the first goal for the U.S. when he passed the puck to himself not once but twice as he used his speed to split two defenders and sneak the puck past the goalie. The winning “golden goal” was a great play by Zach Werenski who split two defenders and hit teammate Jack Hughes with a perfect pass who buried a shot through the “five-hole” of the Canadian goalie. Earlier in the game Hughes had two front teeth knocked out as he took a high stick straight to the mouth.

The U.S. was able to get to OT by killing off a 5 on 3 penalty advantage for Canada for one minute and 33 seconds mid-way through the second period.

The U.S. Men’s hockey team, gets my Second Orchid of the Day

See my Video of the Day

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Not a dry eye in the house

Following the gold medal ceremony, the U.S. men’s hockey team was preparing for the official gold medal picture. After the first picture, posed for a second picture, but this picture included the jersey of Johnny “Hockey” Gaudreau, who was a member of the U.S. team until Johnny and his brother Matthew, were killed by a drunk driver while cycling in New Jersey on August 29, 2024.

Prior to the picture being taken, U.S team members Dylan Larkin (Red Wings) and Zach Werenski went into the stands to bring Gaudreau’s two young children, Noa and Johnny, Jr. to be included in the team picture. Gaudreau’s family made the trip to Milan to provide support for the U.S. team. My eyes started watering immediately when I saw Larkin and Werenski carrying the two kids onto the ice. There are special moments that will stick with you for the remainder of one’s life. This is one of those moments.

The U.S. Men’s hockey team gets my Orchid of the Day for this special moment. Note the Gaudreau 13 jersey and Noa and Johnny Jr. in the front row.

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Shades of Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini

From NY Times: Large banners of President Trump now hang from multiple federal buildings in Washington, including the nation’s top law enforcement branch, in a bold statement of power and influence over the government.

A long blue banner with Mr. Trump’s visage was draped on the exterior of the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, making it the latest federal building to have a banner with the president’s face. The banner’s lower border says “Make America Safe Again” in capital letters.

The signage is a strikingly prominent indication of how Mr. Trump has eroded the separation that has long existed between the Justice Department and the White House to protect the department from political influence. That careful distance has been dissolving since the beginning of Mr. Trump’s second term.

When I first saw the picture of Trump’s banner on the Justice Department building, all I could think of was the images I remember from films from WWII of Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini and how they put pictures of themselves on government buildings. It was pure propaganda. I couldn’t believe it was now happening in my country, the U.S.A.

It makes me sick to my stomach that our president, the leader of the free world, is doing things that Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini did as part of their personal propaganda campaign.

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Per the WSJ Trump owes SCOTUS an apology

The following comments were made by President Trump after the Supreme Court ruled against his using the “emergency” act to charge tariffs without approval of Congress. The Walls Street Journal Editorial Board came out strongly against Trump’s personal attack on SCOTUS. Here are Trump’s comments about SCOTUS followed by excerpts from the WSJ Editorial Board.

The Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing, and I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country.

The Democrats on the court are thrilled, but they will automatically vote no. They’re an automatic no, just like in Congress, they’re an automatic no. They’re against anything that makes America, strong, healthy and great again. They also are a, frankly, disgrace to our nation, those justices.

Others think they’re being politically correct, which has happened before far too often with certain members of this court, and it’s happened so often with this court — what a shame — having to do with voting in particular, when in fact they’re just being fools and lapdogs for the RINOs and the radical left Democrats and, not that this should have anything at all to do with it, they’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution.

It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think. It’s a small movement. I won by millions of votes, we won in a landslide. With all the cheating that went on, there was a lot of it, we still won in a landslide. Too big to rig.

But these people are obnoxious, ignorant and loud. They’re very loud. And I think certain justices are afraid of that. They don’t want to do the right thing. They’re afraid of it.

I know the people that brought the lawsuit and, you know, they’re sleazebags, major sleazebags. But I know them, and they’re foreign country-centric. They were sending things into our country, and the people representing them knew full well, but they were sending things into our country, and they were beneficial to other countries, but very, very bad for us. And I stopped it. And we’ll just keep it going.

A reporter asked the president if he regrets nominating dissenting justices Barrett and Gorsuch. The president said he didn’t want to say that, but lobbed personal insults at the justices.

“I don’t want to say whether or not I regret. I think their decision was terrible,” he said, pausing before continuing. “I think it’s an embarrassment to their families, you want to know the truth, the two of them.”

Barrett and her husband have seven children, while Gorsuch and his wife have two.

In response to Trump’s comments the WSJ Editorial Board said Trump owed SCOTUS an apology. Here are excerpts from the WSJ Editorial Board.

President Trump owes the Supreme Court an apology—to the individual Justices he smeared on Friday and the institution itself. Mr. Trump doubtless won’t offer one, but his rant in response to his tariff defeat at the Court was arguably the worst moment of his Presidency.

Granted Mr. Trump is angry that the Court voted 6-3 to overturn his signature “emergency” tariff policy. Other Presidents have criticized the Court when they didn’t like a ruling. But Mr. Trump lit into the Justices who voted against him as traitors bought by foreign interests.

This is ugly even by Mr. Trump’s standards. He’s accusing them of betraying the U.S. at the behest of nefarious interests he didn’t identify, no doubt because they don’t exist. Asked about Justices Gorsuch and Barrett, whom he appointed, Mr. Trump called them “an embarrassment to their families.”

…This is rhetoric that could cause some deranged Trump acolyte to turn to violence against a Justice. It’s as bad as Sen. Chuck Schumer’s threat in 2020 that Justices Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh had “released the whirlwind and you will pay the price!” Recall the nut who stalked Justice Kavanaugh’s home in 2022, after the leak of the Court’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. We hope all nine Justices appear next week at the State of the Union address as a show of self-protective solidarity.

This is the same Court that ruled Mr. Trump’s way on presidential immunity, which was more personally consequential for this President. Mr. Trump shouldn’t have been surprised by the Court. We warned from the start that this would be the result of his unlawful resort to IEEPA. The fault doesn’t lie with the Justices but with his own tariff obsessions.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

Quote of the Day: “They knocked his teeth out.” Leah after seeing Jack Hughes holding his mouth after taking a high stick to the mouth which resulted in the loss of two teeth.

Orchid of the Day: The U.S. Men’s Hockey Team for including the jersey of Johnny Gaudreau and his two young children in the team picture following their gold medal win

Second Orchid of the Day: The U.S. Men’s Hockey Team for their first gold medal since the Miracle of 1980.

Onion of the Day: No Onion of the Day when I give two Orchids of the Day

Question of the Day: Has anyone seen a better goaltending performance than that which Connor Hellebuyck put on yesterday for the U.S. men’s team?

Lyrics of the Day: People, let me tell you about a place I know
To get in it don’t take much dough
Where you can really do your thing, oh yeah
It’s got a neon sign outside that says
“Come in and take a look at your mind”
You’d be surprised what you might find, yeah.

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for February 18, 2026. What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye

Video of the Day:

(2077) U.S. wins men’s hockey gold in dramatic OT game vs. Canada - YouTube

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I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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Whatever happened to the isolationist Trump?

To quote Marvin Gaye, “What’s going on? What’s going on?”

In June Trump said he obliterated Iran’s nuclear capability. Yet now he is threatening to attack Iran within 10 days (from February 12) if they do not make a nuclear deal with the U.S. Trump said, “bad things will happen”.

I share excerpts from an article by Dan Rather who has covered more wars than one can imagine.

Trump could deplete his isolationist MAGA base, which tolerated the Maduro capture and the one-and-done strike on Iran. An unprovoked and prolonged campaign in Iran would not go over well with folks who backed Trump because he promised not to get involved in foreign wars.

This is the largest military buildup in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It could sustain a prolonged air war, unlike the one-and-done attack on Iran’s nuclear facility in June. “The number of fighter planes, aerial refuelers and surveillance planes that have arrived over the past three to four days is immense… It’s staggering,” Politico’s Paul McLeary wrote.

Unlike the one-day strike on Iran’s nuclear facility in June or the quick capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, a war with Iran could escalate into a protracted regional conflict. Russia and China are allied with Iran and militia groups throughout the Middle East have long been financed by Tehran. Think Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hamas in Gaza.

War would mean a high likelihood of American casualties and the capture of U.S. service members. Faced with those realities, how long would Americans stomach a conflict with an unexplained purpose?

If an American strike results in the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, what is the plan? Who would replace him? It could leave a power vacuum that potentially would be worse than Khamenei.

Before a shot is fired, markets are already jittery at the prospect of war in the oil-rich region, with crude oil prices spiking. A rise in gasoline prices won’t be far behind.

Trump’s massive naval buildup could result in one particularly worrisome unintended consequence. The fleet is so large and the possibility of catastrophic damage so great, the Iranians could decide they have nothing to lose. A desperate opponent has little incentive to show restraint.

Iran, of course, is not Venezuela. The country has a strategic and sizable arsenal of small and medium-range missiles that could cause serious damage to US bases, ships, and allies.

Khamenei took to social media to saber-rattle himself. “The US President constantly says that the US has sent a warship toward Iran. Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware. However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea.” This post was accompanied by an AI-generated image of the USS Gerald R. Ford in an ocean grave.

Iran could also close the Strait of Hormuz, which would cripple the movement of oil in the Persian Gulf. Additionally, it could activate proxy terrorist cells across the globe.

“Iran’s military would likely shift into a form of suicidal aggression, launching whatever capabilities remain at its disposal before they are destroyed,” wrote Ali Bakir, a professor of international affairs at Qatar University.

Trump’s opaque approach to war may protect him in the short run from having to explain himself. In the long run, what he does about Iran and how he does it will weigh heavily on his legacy… and on our future.

This leads to my Question of the Day. Have we not learned from the mistakes of Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan about waging war in a country’s homeland? Don’t 1.2 million dead Russian soldiers from the war in Ukraine hit home?

Again, I ask, what’s going on? Attacking Iran makes no sense to me. The leaders of Iran have hated the U.S. since 1980 when the Shah was overturned. Nothing Trump does will change that.

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Let’s not forget the effort to marginalize voter turnout.

From Mary Geddry: The war over elections is heating up just in time for midterms. House Republicans have already pushed through a strict proof-of-citizenship bill. Next up is what one member is calling the Save America Act “on steroids,” banning universal vote-by-mail, prohibiting the counting of ballots received after Election Day, outlawing ranked-choice voting, tightening voter ID requirements, and expanding DHS access to voter rolls. Representative Tim Burchett was unusually blunt about the stakes: “If we don’t, we lose the midterms and we lose the country.” Bryan Steil insists that “elections should end on Election Day,” echoing Trump’s post-2020 fixation on ballots counted after the fact. And Speaker Mike Johnson has made clear this isn’t a passing concern but a permanent drumbeat: “That is something that’s going to be a continuing theme here; it’s something we’ll continue to push.” All of it is justified by the evergreen claim of widespread noncitizen voting, a problem Democrats note is “almost nonexistent.” The strategy is not subtle. If you fear losses, reshape the electorate. If you can’t reshape it enough, question its legitimacy.

I must admit the MAGA crowd is consistent. No matter what the facts they continue to send the message that elections are filled with fraud, and it is important that they make it harder to vote. This is a message that Trump continues to push because of his loss in 2020, even though it was not mentioned in 2024 when he won.

I am confident the informed public is not buying the MAGA lies. As a reminder MAGA lost 62 of 63 court cases when they challenged election results in 2020. Trump’s closest advisors kept reminding him that he lost the election in 2020, which is why they are not part of his team in 2026.

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MSU and U of M men’s hockey.

Heading into the final weeks of the NCAA college hockey season the MSU team is ranked number one, and the U of M team is ranked number two. In the B1G U of M holds a one game lead on MSU but the Spartans can win the B1G regular season championship by winning their last six games. The Spartans hold the tiebreaker over U of M.

I do not recall, MSU and Michigan ever being ranked one and two this late in the season.

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Contact your election official

Presidents do not get to dictate the rules in our elections. But to ensure this election is free and fair, it appears that state election officials, along with federal judges, will have to keep the president in check. They will have to keep him for usurping power that is not properly his, as he has done on so many other occasions. Do you know who your secretary of state (they have different titles in some states) is?

Here is a list of election officials in every state. If you aren’t already, get familiar with yours. And make sure they know you’ll be watching how they handle the meeting on February 25. Call them or send them a letter in the next day or two, letting them know that you know Donald Trump isn’t entitled to “nationalize” our elections and you expect them to uphold the law.

**********************************************************************************************************

Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative”

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: “The number of fighter planes, aerial refuelers and surveillance planes that have arrived over the past three to four days is immense… It’s staggering,” Politico’s Paul McLeary wrote.

Orchid of the Day: The United States Women’s Hockey Team for their 2-1 overtime win in the gold medal game against Canada. The U.S. was trailing 1-0 when they pulled their goalie for a sixth attacker and scored to tie it up 1-1 with just over two minutes left in regulation. The winning goal was scored by Meagan Keller of Farmington, MI. See my Video of the Day

Onion of the Day: The isolationist MAGA congressman who allowing Trump attack foreign countries with no known plan or no known justification. The Bush administration spent days making the case in front of congress before attacking Iraq. What’s changed?

Question of the Day: Have we not learned from the mistakes of Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan about waging war in a country’s homeland? Don’t 1.2 million dead Russian soldiers from the war in Ukraine hit home?

Lyrics of the Day: Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today.

Hint. One of Motown’s first protest song.

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for February 1, 2026. Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone

Video of the Day: A gold medal winning goal.

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I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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It is the economy. It’s the deficit.

Per The Guardian: Washington is at war over immigration policy. Foreign policy. Tech policy. Even Kennedy Center policy. Shockingly, few people are talking about the incredible exploding budget deficit that could swallow everything else.

The Congressional Budget Office (remember them?) last week put out an “are you sitting down?” report that projected the U.S. government will spend $1 trillion on interest payments for its debt this year. One. Trillion. Dollars. To finance its gigantic and growing debt. And it only gets worse.

It also projected that the U.S. government will spend $1.853 trillion more than it brings in through revenue this year (that’s the budget deficit) and have an even wider gap in 2027. Talks of slashing spending and making difficult choices last year have given way to election-year spending-increase promises in 2026. Perhaps complicating matters more, DOGE never really caught on in 2025, and Republicans seem reluctant to repeat that experiment any time soon.

This is Trump’s and the Republicans’ problem. They promised to improve the economy, bring prices down on day one, and reduce the deficit. They are going to own this in 2026 and 2028.

Unfortunately, we are all stuck paying the price. This is just a reminder, that when it comes to reducing the deficit, Trump and his Republican followers are all talk and no action.

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Jesse Jackson

I cannot begin to come close to saying what needs to be said about Reverend Jesse Jackson and his contribution to the United States of America. The best thing I can say is that I voted for him in Michigan’s presidential primaries of 1984 and 1988 and was proud to do it.

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I am not responsible for Trump’s decisions. Wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been sitting on this for a few days contemplating how to respond to the following opinion article by Nicole Russell an Opinion writer for the USA Today. Here are excerpts from her article.

Critics from the right and left slammed President Donald Trump for a racist video posted on his social media on Feb. 5. The post was deleted, but it prompted some denouncements from across the political spectrum and put supporters back in the hot seat.

I watched the video…I think Trump should have apologized. The fact that the video exists at all is awful.

I’m a conservative who voted for Trump. I don’t like everything he says and does. I wrestle with why and how Trump chooses to act the way he does. ……Social media is Trump’s playground, and he is the 8-year-old immature bully.

But if the election were held today, I’d vote for him again, and so would millions of other Americans. That doesn’t make us racist, bigots, weird or stupid. I reject the notion that this means we are complicit in his poor choices or mistakes.

Trump is no paragon of virtue. Whether it’s his 2024 conviction on felony charges related to falsifying business records tied to hush money payments, or smearing slain director Rob Reiner on social media, Trump’s character is questionable and off-putting, and at times immoral and unethical.

Of course, I wish Trump’s actions and words were always moral, ethical and wise. ..Still, conservatives like me often feel the need to apologize for him, defend our vote and explain our support of Trump. Although I understand the need to blame voters, it’s frustrating. I don’t think I’m responsible for every choice he makes just because I voted for him to lead the country.

But we aren’t choosing a spouse to marry when we vote. We are choosing a leader for just four years in an essentially binary system... An election is a transactional relationship, not a covenant marriage. We chose Trump, for better or worse. I think it’s ultimately for the better.

I’d vote for Trump again because he was the best choice to implement policies I value that really matter. More than 77 million Americans agreed with me then, and many still do now

As a Christian and conservative,…I have also made peace with the fact that democracy is imperfect and that politicians are flawed. Maybe next cycle we’ll get to choose between two incredible people. But for now, Trump’s improving America more than Harris ever could have. That’s why I’d vote for him again, even if I keep having to defend it.

The above is what happens when people value policy and ideology over moral character in a leader. Once you vote for someone, you own that vote. You cannot say you only voted for this part of the person and not the other part of the person you don’t like. This is why moral character should be the number one characteristic we look for in a leader.

As I said in Thoughts for the Day on February 5, The Gospels are clear: Jesus..standard wasn’t ideology. It was integrity.

Nicole and many like her are embarrassed by the actions of the leader of the free world that they voted for. They are learning that his actions go against most of the Christian values they have been taught. They are looking for ways to justify their poor choice in prioritizing policy over character. Ideology over integrity.

The fact that Nicole says she is a Christian and conservative and yet she will vote for Trump again tells me everything I need to know about how much value she puts on her Christian beliefs when compared to her support of Trump’s policies. She puts ideology over integrity.

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Let’s talk about some sports

Since I have been under the weather the last two days, I have been able to watch more sporting events than I usually watch.

As a lifelong hockey fan, there are very few things better than Olympic hockey. Today was a perfect example as three of the four quarterfinal games went into sudden-death overtime, as the U.S., Canada, Finland and Slovakia advanced to the semifinals. The level of play is exceptional. It is especially fun watching NHL teammates go against each other when there is so much at stake.

In today’s game between the U.S. and Sweden, it was Detroit Redwing players who starred for both teams as Dylan Larkin scored the first goal for the U.S. and Lucas Raymond set up the tying goal with 1:30 left in regulation for Sweden. The winning goal was scored by Quinn Hughes (Canton) and Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce Township) made 28 saves for the U.S

Basketball is king again in Michigan. Going into Thursday’s game against the Knicks, the Pistons have the best winning percentage in the NBA. The Michigan men’s team is ranked number one in the country and has a two-game lead for the B1G title with four games left. The Michigan women are ranked number six in the country. The Spartans men’s and women’s teams are ranked numbers fifteen and eighteen. I do not recall a time when all five teams were ranked this high at the same time.

The Michigan men’s team will be tested on Saturday as it takes on number three Duke in a neutral site game in Washington D.C.

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Onion of the Day, Orchid of the Day, Quote of the Day and Video of the Day are the result of one play that occurred in the UCLA/MSU basketball game.

With 4:26 on the clock in what became a blowout, 82-59 win for No. 15 Michigan State, UCLA forward Steven Jamerson II chased down a breaking Carson Cooper and tried to block a shot. The play sent Cooper sprawling to the foot of the basket in a dangerous sequence, and the two stood toe to toe with each other on the baseline when Cooper got to his feet. Michigan State teammate Coen Carr had to hold back Cooper amid the fracas.

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin ejected Jamerson himself. With a pointed finger and what one can only assume was some choice language, Cronin sent Jamerson up the Breslin Center tunnel. That was before referees gave Jamerson a flagrant 1 foul for the play and added a technical for both Jamerson and Cooper.

Cronin gets my Orchid of the Day for his actions and Steven Jammerson gets my Onion of the Day for his totally unnecessary actions in which a fellow competitor could have been seriously injured. This play also contributes to my Quote of the Day and Video of the Day

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Nationalizing elections

From Joyce Vance: Trump said it as part and parcel of his stab at getting Republicans to take over state elections—Trump said they should be “nationalized.” I don’t know why the federal government doesn’t do them anyway,” he said, adding that it’s a “disgrace” how “horribly” some states run elections. Anyone who has been watching knows what this is about. It’s more of the same from the candidate who asked state officials in Georgia to find him 11,780 votes so he could overturn the result in an election that he lost.

The Election Assistance Commission “invited” election officials from across the country to a briefing on “preparations” for the midterms. The call is being organized for February 25. The email invite is signed off on by Kellie M. Hardiman, who identifies her role as “FBI Election Executive.

Hardiman wrote to state election officials that the FBI and other federal agencies “would like to invite you to a call where we can discuss our preparations for the cycle, as well as updates and resources we can provide to you and your staff.” State officials are concerned.

Following the execution of a search warrant on election officials in Fulton County, Georgia, based on old, disproven claims of elections fraud, a bipartisan group of “more than a dozen election officials” told Politico “they fear Trump is laying the groundwork to undermine results still months away.”

Trump has said that Atlanta and other cities with Democratic strongholds as seeing “horrible corruption on elections.” “The federal government should not allow that,” he said Tuesday. “The federal government should get involved. These are agents of the federal government to count the votes. If they can’t count the votes legally and honestly, then somebody else should take over.”

Presidents do not get to dictate the rules in our elections. But to ensure this election is free and fair, it appears that state election officials, along with federal judges, will have to keep the president in check. They will have to keep him for usurping power that is not properly his, as he has done on so many other occasions. Do you know who your secretary of state (they have different titles in some states) is?

Here is a list of election officials in every state. If you aren’t already, get familiar with yours. And make sure they know you’ll be watching how they handle the meeting on February 25. Call them or send them a letter in the next day or two, letting them know that you know Donald Trump isn’t entitled to “nationalize” our elections and you expect them to uphold the law.

Trump wants us to ignore that the Constitution expresses that states are responsible for elections.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative”

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: “True toughness is how you compete and how you go to work every day. Steve’s a good kid. He made a bad decision. But if you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game. For a block out, for a rebound. ... I know Steve’s trying to block the shot, but the game’s a 25-point game. You don’t do that.” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin

Orchid of the Day: UCLA head coach Mick Cronin- See above

Onion of the Day: UCLA basketball player, Steven Jammerson-See above

Question of the Day: Did you realize the deficit was so out of control? Did you forget about the deficit?

Lyrics of the Day: I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do
You love me, you hate me, you know me and then
You can’t figure out the bag I’m in.

There is a long hair that doesn’t like the short hair
For bein’ such a rich one, that will not help the poor one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and Scooby-Dooby-Doo

Hint: The group was never on time for a concert.

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for February 16, 2026. Under Pressure by David Bowie and Queen

Video of the Day:

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

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Screw Climate Control. Screw the future of the Earth.

I have never considered myself an environmentalist. However, I have always believed we have a responsibility to take care of our planet for future generations.

When Trump announced today that he was erasing the scientific finding that climate change endangers human health and the environment, ending the federal government’s legal authority to control the pollution that is dangerously heating the planet, I was pissed at Trump’s total disregard for the environment and his blatant kowtowing to the fossil fuel industry.

As a child growing up in River Rouge in the 1950s and 60s, I lived in an environment that was so polluted by industry the area had the highest density of childhood asthma of any area of the country. It was an area where snow turned orange after two days. Unwashed cars were covered with small metal filings from the various industries in the area. Home windows were impossible to keep clean. I am a lifetime asthmatic. Thousands suffer just like me because of growing up in the unregulated era of the 50’s and 60’s

The Rouge River was so polluted and filled with oil and gas film that ducks were known to land on the river, but none were known to fly off the river.

The Detroit River was not much better, and there was concern that Lake Erie was going to be a dead lake because of the pollution that was flowing into the lake from the Detroit, Raisin, Maumee and Cuyahoga Rivers.

When the Cuyahoga River caught fire in the late 60s it was a wake-up call to the government and environmentalists. With cooperation of government, environmentalists and businesses, the EPA was created in 1970 to oversee the protection of our environment.

I may not agree with everything that the EPA has done over the last 50 years, but I cannot argue with the results. Things have improved substantially. The rivers I mentioned above are cleaner now than they have ever been in my lifetime. Lake Erie has recovered extremely well and is now a fisherman’s paradise.

The air is much cleaner, but there is still much more that needs to be done.

Trump’s action will wipe out most of the gains from the last 50 years if we are not careful. His action is a key step in removing limits on carbon dioxide, methane and four other greenhouse gases that scientists say are supercharging heat waves, droughts, wildfires and other extreme weather.

His action is a rejection of fact that had been accepted for decades by presidents of both parties, including first President George H.W. Bush, who signed an international climate treaty.

There is no reason to eliminate the EPA and its important regulations that have contributed to a cleaner environment and climate. There is no reason that a bipartisan group of congress couldn’t come up with a reasonable environmental policy and energy policy that the EPA should be responsible for enforcing.

A 21st-century energy and environmental strategy must reconcile two critical imperatives: maintaining a secure, reliable energy system and protecting the environment for future generations. A practical approach recognizes that economic growth, national security, and ecological stewardship are not competing priorities—they are interdependent goals. A practical energy and environmental policy does not view sustainability and growth as opposing goals—it integrates clean energy development with sustainable environmental practices,

With thoughtful federal leadership the federal government can lead a transition to a more resilient, equitable, and prosperous future, and the United States can achieve energy independence, combat climate change, foster innovation, and build a cleaner, fairer, and more secure future.

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Pressure

The pressure on athletes competing in individual sports is different than the pressure on the athletes competing in a team sport. In individual sports, there is no one who can pick you up or cover for you when you are not performing at your best. The pressure can be overwhelming. The pressure can be debilitating and paralyzing.

We have seen it happen time and time again in individual sports. No one is immune. It is especially overwhelming when it comes to Olympic sports because of the four years in between competition. We saw it happen to Nathan Chen in 2018. We saw it happen to Simone Biles in 2021. We saw Jean Van de Velde blow a three-shot lead on the final hole of the British Open in 1999.

We see it on the face of the basketball player who is on the foul line with a chance to win or tie the game in the closing seconds of NCAA tournament games when the millions of basketball fans are watching. When his success or failure means the difference between advancing or going home. It is just him. His teammates cannot help. Being an 80% free throw shooter does not matter in the moment. Having made 100 free throws during the season doesn’t matter. He knows that he will be remembered for his success or failure in making or missing the shots. The pressure is his and his alone to bear.

When U.S.’s gold medal favorite Ilia Malinin, failed to win a medal it was not because he choked. It was because he is a 21-year-old who was being asked to perform at the highest level under the brightest of all spotlights with no experience in dealing with the pressure. Like Michael Chen in 2018, the pressure of the being the gold medal favorite in his first Olympics was greater than anything Malinin had experienced. Like Michael Chen who went on to record the greatest performances in figure skating history at the 2022 Olympics, I am confident that Malinin will be back in 2030 better than ever, and will be well prepared as a 25-year-old to handle the pressure that comes with being the “quad king”.

Per ESPN. Ilia Malinin’s face said it all.

As he stood on the center of the ice on Friday following his free skate, he couldn’t hide his angst and confusion, his frustration -- and sheer heartbreak.

The gold medal, which just moments before had felt like a near-certainty, was now completely out of reach. Everything he had worked for over the past four years, and a lifetime really, was over in four disastrous minutes.

Malinin, the two-time reigning world champion with an unbeaten streak dating back to 2023, finished in a staggering eighth place. There would be no medal, no place on the podium, just questions from dozens of reporters about what went wrong.

“I thought that all I needed to do was go out there and trust the process that I’ve always been doing with every competition,” Malinin, 21, said. “But of course it’s not like any other competition. It’s the Olympics. It was really just something that overwhelmed me, and I just felt like I had no control.” This is my Quote of the Day.

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Trust is a terrible thing to lose

Once again, we are learning the initial story being told by ICE agents and supported by DHS Director Christi Noem and her staff does not let the facts get in the way of their story. It has gotten so bad that I no longer believe anything that Noem or her team say about incidents involving ICE. Trust is a terrible thing to lose.

Per the NY Times, two federal agents have been suspended for shooting Julio C. Sosa-Celis in the leg one. The assault charges brought against Sosa-Celis have been dropped, after a prosecutor in Minnesota revealed that the story those agents told about the shooting was not true.

The suspensions and dismissal followed an extraordinary court filing on Thursday, in which Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor, Daniel N. Rosen, asked a judge to dismiss charges against the Sosa-Celis who was wounded in that shooting, as well as another man who had been accused of attacking the agent who opened fire.

Mr. Rosen wrote that “newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations” that federal officials made in a charging document and in courtroom testimony.

By Friday, the case had been dismissed with prejudice, meaning the men cannot be recharged. The two agents had been suspended and were being investigated, Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement.

“Video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements,” Mr. Lyons said. “Both officers have been immediately placed on administrative leave pending the completion of a thorough internal investigation.”

Unfortunately, Noem and her staff initially supported the stories of the agents as Noem said both men were from Venezuela and are in the United States illegally and accused them of trying to kill the agent. Noem continues to find people guilty and tries to convict them in the media before the facts are confirmed. She has done this consistently, without consequences. Trust is a terrible thing to lose.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative”

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

*******************************************************************************************************

Quote of the Day: “I thought that all I needed to do was go out there and trust the process that I’ve always been doing with every competition, but of course it’s not like any other competition. It’s the Olympics. It was really just something that overwhelmed me, and I just felt like I had no control.” Ilia Malinin

Orchid of the Day: My former neighbor in Ypsilanti, Gordon Cahours, turned 106 on Sunday. He is still living in his own home, where an aid comes to assist him six to eight hours per day. I talked to Gordon on Friday wishing him Happy Birthday. As usual, Gordon was articulate and well informed about what is going on in the world. I am amazed at how easy it is to talk to him on the phone. No asking me to repeat what I said. No struggling to get words out on his part. No repeating the same thing. My phone calls with Gordon are something that I treasure. The fact that Gordon and Leah’s mom Florence were cousins just adds to my appreciation of Gordon. I am blessed to be able to talk to Gordon on regular basis.

Onion of the Day: Kristi Noem. Her premature comments before gathering all the facts are an embarrassment to her, ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the White House administration. Trust is a terrible thing to lose.

Question of the Day: Yesterday was the Daytona 500, the super bowl of NASCAR. It is the first NASCAR event of the year and it is also the biggest NASCAR event of the year. Why does NASCAR have their first event of the year, be their biggest event of the year?

Lyrics of the Day:

Can’t we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can’t we give love that one more chance?
Why can’t we give love, give love, give love, give love
Give love, give love, give love, give love, give love?
‘Cause love’s such an old-fashioned word
And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for February 10, 2026. Time of My Life by David Cook

Video of the Day:

Ben Verlander on X: “This is awesome. Clemson baseball has a tradition of players going up in the stands during the 4th inning to shake hands with Veterans. Today, on opening day, the Army baseball team joined in with them @ClemsonBaseball 🤝 @ArmyWP_Baseball https://t.co/Te1wIk11pe” / X

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

Kacy, 43-years old, is a wife, a mother and a grandmother. Unfortunately, Kacy has a rare genetic condition called polycystic kidney disease which has no cure.

Kacy has handled her condition with amazing strength and grace. Her health and ability to be herself and to enjoy life are becoming severely impacted by the effects of disease. She has been listed on the University of Michigan cadaver donor transplant list for nearly three years. Her best chances for living a normal life are through a successful live donor transplant.

Until she receives a successful kidney transplant, Kacy’s treatment options will be dialysis treatments 3-4 times per week

I am asking for your help. Kacy and her family have been working with the University of Michigan Living Donor Outreach Program to assist with the search for a live donor. I have attached the information needed by anyone who is interested in taking the next steps in helping Kacy find a live donor.

The next steps can be

1. Reach out to others on Kacy’s behalf

2. Share this message with others

3. Contact the Brandon Michigan Living Donor Transplant Outreach Program for more information about becoming an organ donor.

4. Sign up for testing to become a live donor by contacting the Michigan Living Donor Outreach Program

If you do not live in Michigan, you can still help. The staff at Michigan Donor Outreach Program have answers on how you can help.

Contact Brandon Hays at bhays@givetolivehealth.com

Tigers sign soon to be forty-three-year-old Justin Verlander, 21 years after Verlander first debuted with the Tigers in 2005.

I didn’t see this coming. I am still trying to make sense of it.

Per the Detroit News, The Tigers have shocked the baseball world for the second time in as many weeks Tuesday, signing Verlander to a one-year deal worth $13 million, with $11 million being deferred.

The Tigers now boast a pitching staff that includes the MLB active leader in wins (266) and strikeouts (2,553) in Verlander and the active saves leader in recently signed Kenley Jansen. It includes a three-time Cy Young award winner in Verlander, and two two-time Cy Young winners in Tarik Skubal and recently signed Framber Valdez.

The Tigers appear to be going all in to win in 2026, knowing that Skubal will be a free agent at the end of the season, and the Tigers will not be able to afford him in 2027

With Skubal and Valdez at the top of the starting pitching lineup, Jack Flaherty and all-star Casey Mize, holding down the 3 and 4 spots, and Verlander as the fifth starter, there will be very few teams who can match the Tigers projected starting pitching rotation. The Tigers have also significantly enhanced their bullpen with the signing of Kenley Jansen who along with Will Vest and Kyle Finnegan will give the Tigers three pitchers who recorded more than 20 saves last year. Tiger manager A.J. Hinch must be drooling at the opportunities this pitching staff will provide during the season.

This leads to my Question of the Day. What right-handed hitter on the Tiger roster is going to punish left-handed pitchers? This will be the Tiger’s Achillies heel.

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That was then. This is now. Don’t mess with the Gordie Howe Bridge.

From multiple sources. In his first term, Mr. Trump had promoted the Gordie Howe Bridge in a joint statement with Canadian officials as a symbol of the countries’ deep ties and as “a vital economic link between our two countries.”

That was then, this is now.

Matthew Moroun, whose family has operated the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, for decades, met on Monday with Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, in Washington. After that meeting Secretary Lutnick spoke with Mr. Trump by phone about the matter. Shortly afterward, Mr. Trump threatened to block the planned opening of a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, which would take away toll revenue from Mr. Moroun’s crossing, if Canadian officials did not address a long list of grievances.

The Moroun family has for decades mounted legal challenges to block or delay the building of Gordie Howe International Bridge. One of the challenges reached the Canadian Supreme Court.

In a social media post on Monday evening, Mr. Trump threatened to stop the bridge from its scheduled opening later this year, saying that he wants to punish Canada for exploiting the United States and for reviving its trade relationship with China, among other purported transgressions. Mr. Trump on Monday suggested in a post that the United States might seek to acquire “at least one half” of the new bridge and take a cut of the tolls.

“The fact that Canada will control what crosses the Gordie Howe bridge, and owns the land on both sides, is unacceptable to the president,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s also unacceptable that more of this bridge isn’t being built with more American-made materials.”

She added: “This is just another example of President Trump putting America’s interest first.”

All of this sounds great, except that the facts tell another story.

The new bridge was fully paid for by Canada but is owned in part by Michigan and is expected to ease congestion in the busiest trade corridor between the United States and Canada.

Anyone who knows anything about the history of the Maroun ownership of the Ambassador bridge and the area surrounding it on the Detroit side of the Detroit River, knows that the Marouns were not much better than slum landlords. It was only after expensive legal battles did the Marouns comply with agreements to maintain the area around the entrance of the Ambassador Bridge. In 2012 Matty Maroun and the President of the Ambassador Bridge Company, Dan Stamper were sent to jail for contempt for failing to comply with multiple court orders surrounding an agreement to complete connections from the bridge to nearby expressways.

These are the same Marouns who let one of Detroit’s landmarks, the Michigan Central Railway Station, deteriorate to the point it was a major eyesore for thirty years until it was purchased by Ford Motor Company, who spent $950 renovating the building back to its original splendor.

The frustrations of federal, state, local officials in the U.S. and Canada in dealing with the Marouns led to the agreement to build the Gordie Howe International Bridge more than eight years ago.

Trump’s threat is a slap in the face to the people of Michigan who have worked hard to make the Gordie Howe International Bridge a reality.

Here are excerpts from Trump’s joint statement with Canadian officials on February 13, 2017. It is my Quote of the Day

“Given our shared focus on infrastructure investments, we will encourage opportunities for companies in both countries to create jobs through those investments. In particular, we look forward to the expeditious completion of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will serve as a vital economic link between our two countries.”

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Onion of the Day

The Eastern Conference leading Detroit Pistons were taking on the red-hot Charlotte Hornets, who had won nine games in a row prior to the game last night in Charlotte. The Piston’s prevailed 110-104

As expected, the game was extremely physical. Physicality peaked at the 7-minute mark of the third quarter following a hard foul by Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate on Detroit’s Jalen Duren. After a brief stare-down, the two players butted heads followed by swinging fists. As the coaches and refs were finally getting things under control, Charlotte’s Miles Bridges decided to go after Duren. This led to the Piston’s Isaiah Stewart jumping of the bench and taking on Bridges in a major scuffle. The four players involved in the two scuffles were ejected and will face additional punishments from the league. Stewart will most likely get the stiffest punishment for leaving the bench and because of Stewart’s previous history of similar issues.

Later in the game, the Hornets head coach was ejected for running onto the court to argue a offensive foul called against Charlotte.

The Pistons and Hornets get my Onion of the Day. There is no place in sports for fighting.

See my Video of the Day.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative”

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email Me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: “Given our shared focus on infrastructure investments, we will encourage opportunities for companies in both countries to create jobs through those investments. In particular, we look forward to the expeditious completion of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will serve as a vital economic link between our two countries.” President Trump and Canadian Officials in a joint statement in February 2017

Orchid of the Day: Plymouth’s Kirsten Simms, 21, scored her first goal in her first Olympics in a goalmouth scramble in the second period during the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team’s 5-0 victory over Canada on Monday.

Onion of the Day: The Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets for their fight last night in Charlotte. See my Video of the Day

Question of the Day: What right-handed hitter on the Tiger roster is going to punish left-handed pitchers? This will be the Tiger’s Achillies heel.

Lyrics of the Day: Ready to run I’m keeping my feet on the ground
My arms open wide My face to the sun

I’ll taste every moment And live it out loud
I know this is the time This is the time to be
More than a name Or a face in the crowd
I know this is the time This is the time of my life
My life More than a name Or a face in the crowd
I know This is the time

Hint: Think American Idol, Oprah 2008 Olympic Tribute.

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for February 9, 2026. Our House was written by Graham Nash and performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. The song was written while Nash was living with fellow singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell.

Video of the Day: The Pistons and the Hornets scuffle from last night.

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.

Lindsey Vonn

Lindsey Vonn, like so many athletes who are generational performers, is driven in ways that people like me do not understand. Athletes, like Vonn, who have achieved world class greatness and world class status but continue to perform when they are well past their prime. Vonn is not alone. We saw it in Tiger Woods. We saw it in Michael Jordan. We saw it in Miguel Cabrera. We saw it in Tom Brady. We are currently seeing it in Justin Verlander, Aaron Rogers, and Max Scherzer.

I had many discussions today about why Vonn was allowed to participate in yesterday’s Olympic downhill, knowing she had torn her ACL two weeks ago. Why didn’t doctors prevent it from happening?

After seeing videos of her crash yesterday in which she suffered serious injuries and had to be airlifted to a local hospital, I wish someone would have told her no, it wasn’t safe. I wish someone had told her she has accomplished enough and she has nothing more to prove.

However. after reading her response from her hospital bed, I don’t think anything was going to stop her. Athletes like Vonn are driven beyond normal human comprehension. This is my Quote of the Day.

lindseyvonn

Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches.

I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.

Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.

While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.

And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is the also the beauty of life; we can try.

I tried. I dreamt. I jumped.

I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying.

I believe in you, just as you believed in me.

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Follow-up

In the February 5, Thoughts for the Day, I asked the following question to CHAT GPT.

The current administration continues to receive strong support from many Evangelical Christians. If Jesus were alive today, how would Jesus evaluate our political leaders today? A copy of the entire blog is available in this link: (3) Thoughts for the Day, February 5, 2026: I am going out on a limb like never before by asking a tough question. What Would Jesus Think About Today’s Politics?

Coincidentally to my writing the above blog, on February 6, 2026, Peter Wehner, of The Atlantic wrote an article explaining why Evangelical Christians are so supportive of Donald Trump. Here are excerpts from the article.

It is testimony to the marketing genius of Donald Trump that he never sold himself to Christians as one of them—pious, devoted, merciful, forgiving, irenic, biblically literate, a faithful husband and father, a man of high moral standards. Instead, he sold himself as their protector. He didn’t hide his cruelty or his belief that the ends justify the means; doing so would have been impossible for him because they are central features of his personality. So, he did the opposite: He presented himself to Christians as a fierce, even ruthless, warrior on their behalf. It worked. He built a huge, loyal, fanatical following.

At the National Prayer Breakfast on February 5, 2026, Trump recounted comments made about him by Robert Jeffress, the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas and a stalwart Trump ally for a decade.

According to Trump, the case Jeffress made on his behalf in 2016 went like this: “He may not have ever read the Bible, but he will be a much stronger messenger for us.” It was Jeffress who said at the time, “I want the meanest, toughest SOB I can find to protect this nation.”

Jerry Falwell Jr., then the president of Liberty University, put it this way in a 2018 tweet: “Conservatives & Christians need to stop electing ‘nice guys’. They might make great Christian leaders but the US needs street fighters like @realDonaldTrump at every level of government b/c the liberal fascists Dems are playing for keeps & many Repub leaders are a bunch of wimps!”

Tony Perkins, an ordained Southern Baptist minister and the president of the Family Research Council, a prominent evangelical activist group, admitted in 2018 that he and other evangelicals gave Trump a “mulligan” on his multiple affairs and hush-money payments to a porn star for a simple reason: Evangelicals “were tired of being kicked around by Barack Obama and his leftists. And I think they are finally glad that there’s somebody on the playground that is willing to punch the bully.” When asked what happened to turning the other cheek, Perkins replied, “You know, you only have two cheeks. Look, Christianity is not all about being a welcome mat which people can just stomp their feet on.”

Much of today’s evangelical world sees Trump’s viciousness not as a vice but as a virtue, so long as it is employed against those they perceive as their enemies, against those whom they resent and for whom they have a seething hatred. Unless you’ve spent time in the evangelical world, fully appreciating the level of antipathy that exists toward Democrats and progressives is difficult. The only thing that exceeds it is the loathing reserved for the Christians and conservatives who broke with Trump because their commitment to their faith, and to cherished moral truths, required them to speak out against him.

In successive blogs, I have learned why the teaching of Jesus and Evangelical Christians have such opposing views of the policies and practices of the Trump administration.

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He is making Nixon look like a saint.

Late Friday morning I was talking to some close friends, who are subscribers to my blog. They were telling me about Trump’s post Thursday evening on Truth Social in which he overlayed the Obamas’ faces on monkeys. When I finished talking to them, I immediately tried to find it, but it had been taken down so it was no longer available. After doing some research, I found the original video from posting on X in October that included not just the Obamas, but many other Democrats whose faces had been superimposed on animals who then bowed down to Trump as he walked by with his face on a lion, implying that Trump was the King of the Jungle and that the Dems were having to bow down to him.

When I read, that Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokesperson, said that the post was made in error by a staffer and it was not Trump who posted it, I pushed the posting into the background, and I got on with my day. Toward evening, I kept going back to 2008 when Obama was elected president and I received terrible racist emails from acquaintances who opposed Obama. The feeling that Trump deliberately posted the video on Truth Social as a racist statement was taking hold with me and that Karoline Leavitt was covering for Trump.

Late Friday night, I received a text from a very close friend who was particularly upset about Trump’s post. My friend said he didn’t know why this one was bothering him so much since he understands who Trump is, but this post had gotten to him. My friend asked me to pray for him. I did.

On Saturday, I talked to another friend about Trump’s post. He was surprised I didn’t see the post for what it was. He told me it was Trump’s way of recognizing Black History Month. In the old days of the KKK, black people were referred to as “Jungle Bunnies” and Trump used the image to play to his racist base of followers. At this point, I was angry.

On Sunday, Trump admitted he was the one who posted it, and he was not going to apologize for the post.

This gets to my Question of the Day: How does Trump’s post fit into the teachings of Jesus?

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative”

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: See the above from Lindey Vonn

Orchid of the Day: Seatle Seahawks for one of the most dominant defensive performances in the history of the Super Bowl. It was clear that New England had no answers for Seatle’s defense.

Onion of the Day: The New England’s offensive game plan. They had two weeks to prepare for the game, yet they had no answers to anything the Seahawks defense did.

Question of the Day: How does Trump’s post fit into the teachings of Jesus?

Lyrics of the Day:

I’ll light the fire
You place the flowers in the vase
That you bought today

Staring at the fire
For hours and hours while I listen to you
Play your love songs all night long for me
Only for me

Hint: They could harmonize with the best of them.

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for February 5, 2026. One Shining Moment by Ann Arbor’s own David Barrett. It was written in a bar in East Lansing after watching Larry Bird in 1986. Since 1987 it has been played at the end of every NCAA Men’s basketball championship as part of a montage of highlights of the tournament while the championship team is cutting down the nets.

Video of the Day: Johnson wins downhill for first U.S. gold of Milan Cortina

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.