March Madness
It’s back. The hiatus created last spring, when the ravages of the Wuhan Flu shut down every sporting event, large and small, are behind us. Thanks to three effective vaccines developed in record time under the Trump Administration’s stewardship, the madness is upon us.
This year’s NCAA championship will be played entirely in the state of Indiana, with the players tested daily for the pandemic and ensconced in their hotel bubbles. Fan attendance will be limited at the various venues in deference to the virus. Indiana is a fitting place to conduct the entirety of the tournament as the state has always been known as a hotbed of basketball. Even the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, where the final game, played by the Hickory Huskers in the beloved film “Hoosiers”, is the site of playoff games.
Bracketologists have offered endless advice as to who will advance to the finals, and office pools will once again return, a welcome diversion form the continuing pandemic madness. For a couple of weeks, the thrills and heartbreak inherit in the contests will integrate the Nation as fans focus on their teams. A long-awaited break from the “madness” emanating from the Capitol and found in some locales. Unfortunately, that foolishness is still with us.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced that 3 feet is now an acceptable distance for humans to be separated. Despite this semi-return to sanity, the nuttiness resident in the nation’s largest teacher’s union has not stopped. In Los Angeles, the Union wants Medicare for all and defunding the police as a condition for teachers to return to the classroom. This is as dumb as a team whining that they’re lost a game because there wasn’t a sushi bar at their hotel.
Cruella de Vil, aka Nancy Pelosi, expressed confidence in Biden’s handling of the illegal invasion at the southern border, saying he's got it "under control”. During her Friday news conference Speaker Pelosi said that Biden is approaching the migrants, especially the unaccompanied minors, in a more "humane" way than Trump, and the transition will take some time. She said, “The Biden Administration has this under control…It is change and it will take some time, but it is values-based, humanitarian…pragmatic with a plan to get things done." In basketball, this is known as an “air ball”. Not surprising that she is missing what’s actually happening.
The Democrats are pressing ahead to end the Senate filibuster, thus making the Senate function like the House, where current majority rule is fostering a style of legislative psychosis that is out of step with what is best for the country. Indications are that the Dems are “over the moon” about Biden’s proposed tax increases. Most sagacious economists believe this is injurious to businesses and individuals recovering from the pandemic damage. But the Dems and Joe will press ahead like a team, licking their chops, because their first-round opponent is Little Sisters of the Poor.
The lugubrious looking John Kerry was busted for not wearing a mask on an American Airlines flight from Boston to DC. Others who have violated this rule have been banned from future flights by some airlines. Poor John may have to go back to flying in his private jet. The madness surrounding the wearing of masks or not wearing masks, makes life as an elitist certainly tough. That confusion is hard on Kerry since he’s been relegated to the bench for years as a Presidential player.
Madness nimiety is evident in the world of women’s athletics this Spring. Ever since Biden executed the stupid executive order mandating that males who identify as female should be allowed to participate in women’s athletic events, the controversy has grown. Some governors and state legislatures have correctly passed laws that declare biological males banned from female sports activities. Great. Nobody wants to watch the Women’s NCAA Basketball tournament populated by a bunch of guys, who have denied young women scholarships and an opportunity to play. No amount of hormone blockers will make a biological male a female.
You can choose your own madness in a free society, but not to the point where you make your fellow citizens sacrifice theirs. So, enjoy the contests but look logically, realistically at the factual madness pervasive in today’s world. (Go Bruins!)