Abdul should read about Lennon and Jesus

Abdul should read about Lennon and Jesus:

A much bigger star than El-Sayed discovered that the American public dislikes seeing people compare themselves to Jesus.

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/abdul-should-read-about-lennon-and-jesus/

August 22, 1938: Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers on the cover of LIFE

On this day in 1938, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers were on the cover of LIFE.

Fred & Ginger danced a lot in the 1930's or a time when The Depression was hitting most Americans very hard.

They were a major and very pleasant distraction for people at that time, as Bob Mondello wrote.

Here is a suggestion: Check out one of their many films. 

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.

August 22, 1989: Where were you the night that Nolan Ryan got his 5,000th strikeout?

It happened here at the old Arlington Stadium:  Nolan Ryan got his 5,000th strikeout and set a record that will probably last forever.  

Ryan followed up his historic performance with no hitters in 1990 and 1991.  

“The Ryan Express” retired in 1993 and pursued business interests including turning into a very successful baseball executive.  The Rangers won the AL pennant in 2010 and 2011 and made the post-season in 2012 and 2013.

Ryan left the Rangers after the 2013 season and became a consultant with the Houston Astros, although he spends most of his time these days at the ranch with Ruth. 

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.

1914: Austria's Archduke Ferdinand assassinated

Back in 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

On August 1, 1914, World War I began to take shape:   

".....four days after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, two more great European powers—Russia and Germany—declare war on each other; the same day, France orders a general mobilization. 
The so-called “Great War” that ensued would be one of unprecedented destruction and loss of life, resulting in the deaths of some 20 million soldiers and civilians and the physical devastation of much of the European continent."

We started this series with Barry Jacobsen in 2014, or the 100th anniversary of World War I.

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.

Listen to "The origins and causes of World War I with Barry Jacobsen" on Spreaker.

Prague 1968, Natalie &WNBA

August 1968 and the history of communism

August 1968 and the history of communism:

The Prague Spring was a shocking reminder to an increasingly complacent West that the Soviet Union was a brutal totalitarian regime.

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/august-1968-and-the-history-of-communism/

We remember Kenny Rogers (1938-2020)

Kenny Rogers was born in Houston, Texas on this day in 1938 and died in March 2020.    Kenny became one of the biggest recording starts of the last 50 years.    His songs are heard daily on pop and country radio.   

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.

Hawaii made it 50 in 1959

We remember that Hawaii made it 50 on this day in 1959.   Alaska became a state in January 1959 and it was followed by Hawaii months later.

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.

Prague 1968 and memories of the old USSR

(My new American Thinker post)

We read about Putin and Russian troops threatening neighbors.   It's enough to remind us of another time when the then USSR invaded the then country of Czechoslovakia.   It happened this weekend in 1968: 

On the night of August 20, 1968, approximately 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring”–a brief period of liberalization in the communist country. Czechoslovakians protested the invasion with public demonstrations and other non-violent tactics, but they were no match for the Soviet tanks. The liberal reforms of First Secretary Alexander Dubcek were repealed and “normalization” began under his successor Gustav Husak. 

It was the second time that USSR tanks under the banner of The Warsaw Pact had crushed democratic impulses in Eastern Europe.    It also happened in Hungary in 1956 when Soviet tanks actually fought with people in the streets.

As a kid, we heard the stories of Cuban political prisoners.  Our family dinner table was a classroom with my parents telling us about communism or reading the latest letter from Cuba.

I grew up admiring the men and women who risked their lives to fight for freedom. Some of these men were Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary, those who tried to cross the Berlin Wall, the guerrillas who fought Castro in The Escambray Mountains and those who tried reforms inside the Soviet bloc.

On August 21, 1968, the Rascals were riding high with a song called "People got to be free". 

It was a pop hit in the US.  It was reality in the streets of Prague.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

A chat with Frank Burke about Wisconsin politics

 

A chat with Frank Burke about Wisconsin politics....