Thoughts for the Day, March 30, 2026: One Shining Moment for Michigan

Since when are we in the business of selling people to other countries?

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.

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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.