We remember Keith Emerson (1941-2016)

We remember Keith Emerson who was born in the UK on this day in 1941 and passed away in 2016.   

Keith was the keyboardist of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, a great band from the 1970's.   

They released several best selling LPs and many good songs.    My favorite after all of these years is "Lucky man".

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The EU is another year older but not wiser

The EU is another year older and not wiser:

"The Maastricht Treaty comes into effect, formally establishing the European Union (EU). The treaty was drafted in 1991 by delegates from the European Community meeting at Maastricht in the Netherlands and signed in 1992.

The agreement called for a strengthened European parliament, the creation of a central European bank, and common foreign and security policies. The treaty also laid the groundwork for the establishment of a single European currency, to be known as the "euro."

By 1993, 12 nations had ratified the Maastricht Treaty on European Union: Great Britain, France, Germany, the Irish Republic, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Austria, Finland, and Sweden became members of the EU in 1995.   (History)

In reality, the EU has been a disaster.  It has forced everyone to use the same currency rather than manage their own economies. 

It has centralized power in the hands of bureaucrats rather than elected legislatures.

It has been, and continues to be, a disaster.   Check these headlines from today's front pages:

The UK is now complaining that the EU is costing them jobs. 

Spain continues to be a disaster.

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Happy # 84 Stephanie Powers

Happy birthday to Stephanie Powers, who was born in Los Angeles, CA. on this day in 1942.

Most of us met her on "Hart to Hart" where she played the sexy Mrs. Hart.   

Before that, she was "The girl from UNCLE" for a couple of seasons.

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We remember Burt Lancaster (1913-1994)

Burt Lancaster was born in New York on this day in 1913.    He died in 1994.

During his career, he worked on a bunch of movies, from "The Kentuckian", to "Seven days in May" to "From here to eternity" to playing Wyatt Earp in "Gunfight at the OK corral" to his great role as Moonlight Graham in "Fields of dreams".    

It's amazing how his movies dealt with such a variety of subjects, from the frontier days, to fears of a military takeover of the US government, to the most famous shootout of the Old West to a movie about a man who built a baseball field in Iowa.    

Let's just say that he left a wonderful legacy of movies.  

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1948: Truman beat Dewey

This is a good time to remember another anniversary of Truman vs Dewey, the biggest upset in presidential election history.   Or should I say, the biggest upset until Trump in 2016.  

On election day 1948, most experts picked Governor Thomas Dewey of New York over President Harry Truman.  It turned out to be different.   Let’s see if this sounds familiar:  

He traveled to America’s cities and towns, fighting to win over undecided voters by portraying himself as an outsider contending with a “do-nothing” Congress. 

It was a shock, an upset!  I’ve heard stories that people went to bed thinking that it was over and woke up to the shocker.

The Chicago Tribune was so certain that they went to print with the headline: “Dewey beats Truman.”  It produced one of the greatest photos of the 20th century.

What is the lesson of 1948?  I see a few:

First, wait until all of the votes are counted.  It sounds silly but it’s true;

Second, there is something about a man who works hard and goes from rally to rally asking people for their votes.  I admire that.  

Will it happen?  Yes.  I do believe that the American voters will deliver the biggest surprise in this year of surprises.

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A look at Texas politics with George Rodriguez from South Texas

 A look at Texas politics with George Rodriguez from South Texas................We will look at the elections on Tuesday....

CANTO TALK podcasts from last week

This is a summary of our podcasts from last week...........

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The socialism bill is finally due

The socialism bill is finally due:

And it’s bigger than anyone thought.

November 1967 and The Bee Gees's "Massachusetts"

We continue our series of posts about the wonderful music of 1967. 

Today, we remember "Massachusetts", one of The Bee Gees' greatest songs.

It was always a very popular selection at every Bee Gees' concert, such as the big one in Las Vegas in 1997.

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1512: The Sistine Chapel

On this day in 1512, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo’s finest works, was exhibited to the public for the first time. 

We remember the story in a great book by Irving Stone and a wonderful movie with Charlton Heston as Michelangelo.

 

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