We remember The Marshall Plan 1948

By April 1945, VP Harry Truman had been on the job for a couple of months when he learned that President Roosevelt suddenly died.   

We remember him as a man who faced many challenges and met them well:  the two bombs against Japan that ended the war, economic and military aid to Turkey and Greece, the Berlin airlift (the candy bombers), the creation of NATO to resist Soviet expansion, and the war in Korea that cost over 30,000 U.S. lives.   

Another one of those challenges was the Marshall Plan, announced on this day in 1948.   

There were 17 nations that participated or received assistance through the Plan:   The UK, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Sweden, Iceland, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and West Germany.    

To say the least, the plan saved Europe. Most countries were devastated and vulnerable to communist intervention.   The Plan, plus the US's commitment to defend European borders, gave Europe the time to get back on its feet.

Along the way, he surprised the experts by beating Governor Wilkie in 1948. 

By 1952, President Truman was so unpopular that he did not seek another term. He left the presidency with low approval ratings but is regarded today as a consequential president by most historians.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

1948: We remember President Truman and The Marshall Plan

By April 1945, VP Harry Truman had been on the job for a couple of months when he learned that President Roosevelt suddenly died.  

We remember him as a man who faced many challenges and met them well:  the two bombs against Japan that ended the war, economic and military aid to Turkey and Greece, the Berlin airlift (the candy bombers), the creation of NATO to resist Soviet expansion, and the war in Korea that cost over 30,000 U.S. lives.   

Another one of those challenges was the Marshall Plan, announced on this day in 1948.   

There were 17 nations that participated or recieved assistance through the Plan:   The UK, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Sweden, Iceland, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and West Germany.    

To say the least, the plan saved Europe. Most countries were devastated and vulnerable to communist intervention.   The Plan, plus the US's commitment to defend European borders, gave Europe the time to get back on its feet.

Along the way, he surprised the experts by beating Governor Wilkie in 1948. 

By 1952, Preident Truman was so unpopular that he did not seek another term. He left the presidency with low approval ratings but is regarded today as a consequential president by most historians.

You can read more about The Plan in this great book about President Truman.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

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Trump & tariffs plus more

Trump tariffs, Senator Booker speaks plus Pope John Paul II died in 2005 and more stories......

Give Trump a chance

Give Trump a chance: My sense is that too many people are talking about tariffs from a political perspective or looking at everything as if we were in an Economics 101 class. It may turn out differently when we actually implement tariffs. Maybe President Trump will turn ...

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/04/give_trump_a_chance.html

So let's give Trump a chance. Maybe he is right. I'd like to find out because we don't have a level playing field now.

Give Trump a chance - American Thinker https://t.co/apPpj15BuY

— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) April 2, 2025

My sense is that too many people are talking about tariffs from a political perspective or looking at everything as if we were in an Economics 101 class. It may turn out differently when we actually implement tariffs. Maybe President Trump will turn out to be right, as he has in so many other issues. Maybe he will succeed because he holds the big cards: the largest GDP and market in the world. In other words, everybody wants to sell here and will likely adjust to whatever we demand. 
Let’s check this from Peter Navarro in a post written by Jeff Croure:

Inflation is not a concern, Navarro claimed because “foreigners” will “cut their prices” to “absorb” most of the additional cost because “we’re the biggest market in the world… and they have to be here.”

According to Navarro, the automobile tariffs will generate “$100 billion,” while the other tariffs will generate “$600 billion.” He maintained that it would lead to “The biggest tax cut in American history for the middle class.”

As Navarro explained, one of the major goals of the Trump administration will be to encourage American consumers to buy vehicles made in this country. He said there will be “tax benefits, tax credits to people who buy American cars.”

That sounds right to me. If a European car maker wants to sell in the U.S. he will have to persuade his government to treat the U.S. car maker equally. What other options does he have? Sell to another market? Shut down his plant because the cars cannot be sold in the U.S.? What about a winemaker? He can sell his wine in another market, have his countrymen consume the wine, or persuade his government to treat California wine the same way.

My guess is that tariffs will force other countries to negotiate with the Trump administration. The net result could be the “free trade” environment that many of us love to see. I supported NAFTA because I wanted free trade, but it hasn’t really turned out that way. Maybe tariffs will do what we always wanted to do.

So let’s give Trump a chance. Maybe he is right. I’d like to find out because we don’t have a level playing field now.

Once upon a time, we financed most of the federal government with tariffs. I’m not saying that we will return to that, but I do feel that we should give tariffs a chance. If it works then we will find out. If it does not then election night 2026 will be rough on the GOP.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Happy # 61 to Pete Incaviglia

We say happy birthday to Pete Incaviglia, who was born on this day in Long Beach, CA in 1964.

Pete jumped from Oklahoma State to the Texas Rangers in 1986 and hit 30 HR & 88 RBI as a rookie.   Pete became a real fan favorite on that Texas team that challenged the Angels to the AL West title.

He hit another 27 the next year and 124 HR in 5 seasons with Texas.   Pete was traded to Detroit and bounced around a few teams.  In 1993, Pete hit 24 HR with the NL champion Phillies.

As I recall, he hit long home runs.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

1976: The year that Reggie Jackson was an Oriole

On April 2, 1976, the Orioles and A's swapped some big name players:   Reggie Jackson & Ken Holtzman to Baltimore and Don Baylor & Mike Torrez to Oakland.   It was big!

Reggie had a good season but the Orioles fell short in the AL East:  .277, 27 HR, 82 RBI & 28 stolen bases.      After the season, Jackson signed a big contract with the Yankees and you know the rest of the story.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

We remember Jim Fregosi (1942-2014)

We remember Jim Fregosi who was born on this day in 1942.  He died in 2014.

Fregosi was a shortstop who could hit a home run and turn the double play.  He averaged 14 HRs and 62 RBI's between 1964-70.  

Fregosi is also the answer to a great trivia question.  He was the man traded for Nolan Ryan after the 1971 season.  The Mets did not think that Ryan would be ever be a consistent major league pitcher. 

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

We remember Bobby Avila (1924-2004)

Roberto Francisco (Gonzales) Avila was born on this day in Veracruz in 1924.     

We remember him as Bobby Avila, the first Mexican to win a major league batting title.  

Bobby broke with the Indians in 1949 and became Cleveland's regular second baseman in 1951:   .304 average, 10 HR & 58 RBI.

In 1954, Bobby led the AL in batting (.341) and was a key part of the Cleveland team that won 111 games but lost to the Giants in the World Series.

Overall, he hit .284 in 10 seasons with the Indians with 1,236 hits in 1,207 games.   

After baseball, Bobby went back to Veracruz, ran a baseball team and was elected Mayor in 1982.

He was ranked # 26 among the 100 greatest Indians ever.      He died in 2004.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

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We remember Mike Cuellar, 1937-2010

Oriole great Mike Cuellar died in Florida on this day in 2010. He had been ill for a few months.

Mike was the greatest Cuban lefthander in major league history.

All together, he won 185 games, shared the 1969 Cy Young with Denny McClain and pitched the complete game that won the 1970 World Series.

Cuellar was a 20-game winner in 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1974. He represented the AL in 4 All Star games.

My favorite Cuellar memory was the 1974 season. The O's won 28 of the last 34 and Cuellar was in the middle of it all. At one point, he pitched back to back complete games on 2-days rest. It was awesome!

Beyond the numbers, he was a family friend and very nice man.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Remember The Supremes!

Our family came to the US in 1964. It didn't take long for my brother and I to get into Top 40 radio, which is what they used to call AM radio stations back then.

Between 1964 and 1967, the US music charts were dominated by British bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark 5, The Animals and so on.   It was called "The British Invasion"!

Who stood up for the US during that period?  What US group battled the British for the top of the charts?

The answer was The Supremes from Detroit with 12 # 1 songs, many gold records and regular TV appearances.  They were huge! 

Who else but The Beatles had that many # 1 songs? Again, it was The Supremes.

They were Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard. They used to call it "The Motown Sound"! 

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).