Monday Musings - March 29, 2021

 1. It is the last Monday of March 2021. It is the lucky 13th Monday of the year and there are 39 Mondays remaining. 

2. The big ship moved and was partially freed, but remains blocking the Suez Canal as this morning begins. 

3. Ferocious rain battered the land yesterday. It was a good day to remain inside and watch movies. 

Opening Day 2018
OPACY
March 29, 2018

4. I am amazed at how green the grass has become. I know that some places have already begun mowing, and I am a bit envious--but, the lawn care season is nevertheless underway.

5. It is Holy Week. Sunday is Easter.

6. Chris and I enjoyed another Saturday afternoon baseball game. It was good to be outside in the sun enjoying baseball.

7. MLB begins on Thursday. Here in my prediction for the Orioles: 75-87. I did not attend Spring Training this year and so I do not have any special insight into the team. But, I will attend games at Camden Yards, a/k/a OPACY. The last time I attended Opening Day was during the 2018 season and I unfortunately will also miss this year's Opening Day game.

8. Today in History. March 29, 1973, Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam as Hanoi frees the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. America’s direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end. In Saigon, some 7,000 U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees remained behind to aid South Vietnam in conducting what looked to be a fierce and ongoing war with communist North Vietnam.

U.S. Not Ready to Lift China Tariffs, Trade Representative Says - The Wall Street Journal

Pandemic Accelerates Retirements, Threatening Economic Growth - The Wall Street Journal

As U.S. vaccination rates trend upward, more people are traveling or planning to. Here’s how to do so safely. - The New York Times

Birx Lashes Trump’s Pandemic Response, Citing Needless Deaths - The New York Times

Former Trump officials offer stark assessment of previous administration’s coronavirus response - The Washington Post

At least four dead in Nashville after powerful storm triggers flash flooding - The Washington Post

Oil slumps as Suez Canal container ship starts to move - Reuters

Backlogs from Suez stranding could take months to clear, Maersk says - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

As I said, America's program for economic recovery is designed not merely to solve an internal problem; it is viewed by my administration as part of an essential effort to restore the confidence of our friends and allies in what we're doing. When we gain control of our inflation, we can once again contribute more helpfully to the health of the world economy. We believe that confidence will rise, interest rates will decline, and investment will increase. As our inflation is reduced, your citizens and other world citizens will have to import less inflation from us.

As we begin to expand our economy once again and as our people begin to keep more control of their own money, we'll be better trading partners. Our growth will help fuel the steady prosperity of our friends. The control we regain over our tax and regulatory structures will have the effect of restoring steady growth in U.S. productivity. Our goods will go into markets not laden down with the drag of regulatory baggage or punitive levies, but with a competitive edge that helps us and those who trade with us.
Address of the President and Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau of Canada Before a Joint Session of the Parliament in Ottawa
March 11, 1981

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge ,MD