Hello, Daikin

NEWS FLASH FROM THE CHRON, THIS IS CONFIRMED:

The Astros scheduled a major announcement for Monday morning, but one intrepid social media user may have beaten the franchise to the punch. According to what looks to be a leaked photo of inside Minute Maid Park, shared Sunday evening on X by user @DinoLord05, the Astros home ballpark is set to change names from Minute Maid Park to Daikin Park.

The photo shows that the Daikin Park name change would take place in January, though the year isn’t clear. Juice Box Journal writer Michael Schwab reported in October that he heard the name change to Daikin Park would start in 2025.

Daikin is in the AC business. I think it is a Japanese owned company.

Going from the Juice Box to the Ice Box.

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I ran across this over the weekend on Newsweek:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) launched a blistering critique of former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel‘s potential bid for Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair, slamming the Democratic establishment’s donor-focused approach.

“There is a disease in Washington of Democrats who spend more time listening to the donor class than working people,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “If you want to know the seed of the party’s political crisis, that’s it.”

The sharp rebuke from the progressive congresswoman came after veteran Democratic strategist David Axelrod publicly pitched Emanuel, the current U.S. Ambassador to Japan, to lead the DNC when current chairman Jaime Harrison‘s term concludes in March.

Newsweek contacted AOC’s press contact and Emanuel’s office via email on Saturday for comment.

“If they said, ‘Well, what should we do? Who should lead the party?’ I would take Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, and I would bring him back from Japan and I would appoint him chairman of the Democratic National Committee,” Axelrod said on his Hacks on Tap podcast. “He is the most skillful, political kind of infighter in the Democratic Party. He’s been a member of Congress, he’s been White House chief of staff, he’s been the mayor of Chicago.”

According to sources familiar with the situation, Emanuel has begun exploring a potential run for the chairmanship, fielding calls from Democrats encouraging his candidacy and inquiring about the selection process. The former White House chief of staff has told associates he plans to leave his Tokyo post in November.

Emanuel’s potential bid comes at a critical juncture for the Democratic Party. In response to suggestions about bringing back Obama-era veterans for party leadership, Ocasio-Cortez offered pointed criticism on social media. “While those folks ran successful presidential campaigns, they also oversaw some of the largest downballot losses in modern times,” she posted on X. “Party building is different. Look to people w/ recent successes.”

The New York representative further emphasized her opposition, writing that the DNC needs “an organizer who gets people. Not someone who sends fish heads in the mail,” referencing Emanuel’s notorious aggressive political tactics.

Here is the entire read: AOC Blasts Rumored DNC Chair Contender: ‘Disease’.

I wholeheartedly agree with AOC. There are a lot of folks within the Democratic Party who don’t think much of Emanuel, including Commentary. Guys like Axelrod need to stop recycling these insiders. In fact, all the Beltway Democratic Party consultants, talking heads, and interest groups need to take a step back and take some deep breaths and look outside of their recycling bin for innovative Democratic Party leadership.

Here are some individuals being bandied about for Chair on the internet.

Wisconsin Democratic Party leader Ben Wikler, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, ex-White House infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu, and Michael Blake, a former vice chair of the party.

Commentary would like to see Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, consider running for DNC Chair. She did a great job this election year in North Carolina.

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On “What’s Your Point” yesterday, GOP panelist April Aguirre said President Barack Obama, deported a record number of undocumented folks and Democrats never complained about it. Excuse me, President Obama was labeled “Deporter-in-Chief” by immigration activists, many of whom were Democrats. Get your facts straight, please.

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“Today” tweeted this Saturday:

The highly-anticipated fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul is over and fans are not too happy with the results.

I wonder why fans are not happy watching a 58-year-old fella fight.

As P.T. Barnum said, “there’s a sucker born every minute.”

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I get billed for my Chronicle subscription every four weeks. My subscription just went up by $7. They didn’t give me a heads up. I now pay $104 every four weeks to support local journalism. These days, the Sunday edition comes in at $5 as in the featured photo.