Wednesday, November 04, 2026

Happy birthday # 77 to Laura Bush

We say happy birthday to Laura Bush.  She was our First Lady (2001-09) and First Lady of Texas, (1995-2001).    

Back in Texas, she's been an active member of our community and friend of women's rights in the Middle East.

Happy birthday!

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1842: Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd





We remember that Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd on this day in 1842.    

Molly, as she was known by family and friends, met Lincoln in 1840 when she was 21 and he was 31. They fell in love and accepted his proposal of marriage.

She endured the loss of a baby child and then Willie who died in The White House at age 12.    

Of course, President Lincoln was assassinated when they were watching a play at Ford's in Washington DC.      

She died in 1882 at age 63.   Only Robert, their first son, was alive when she died.



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November 1993: "Size isn't everything", great CD by Bee Gees




The Bee Gees released "Size isn't everything", one of their best CDs, on this day in 1993.

It was their best studio LP since "One" from 1989.  It featured some good tunes, like "Blue Island", "Paying the price of love", "Kiss of life" and "For whom the bell tolls".

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November 1970: "Lonely Days" by Bee Gees



The Brothers Gibb's story has a few chapters.  We've enjoyed each one of them!

Chapter 1 took place in Australia circa 1964-66 where they sang as kids and even recorded a few songs.

Chapter 2 is when they exploded on the US and world charts in 1967.  They recorded international hits like "Massachusetts", "I started a joke" and "To love somebody". (My favorite is still "Holiday")

Chapter 3 is when they split up. Thankfully, it was very short!

Chapter 4 was the "reunion" of late 1970.  It started with "Lonely Days" and a very interesting "Two years on" album. Shortly after, it was followed by "How can you mend a broken heart" and "Run to me".

Chapter 5 is everything from "Jive Talkin", to "Too much heaven" and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in between.  It was their most successful chapter.  It certainly sold a lot of records!

Chapter 6 were the solo efforts of the 1980's. It also included the songs and production of albums for Barbra Streisand ("Guilty"), Kenny Rogers ("Islands in the stream") and Dionne Warwick ("Heartbreaker').

Chapter 7 was a collection of nice albums up to Maurice's unfortunate death in 2003 and Robin dying in 2012.

"Lonely Days" is from Chapter 4 and released in November 1970.   It was one of the best harmonies in rock music.

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

Election today and some elections past


 Election today and some elections past......

When ICE doesn't make the news




When ICE doesn't make the news:

Federal, state, and local cooperation led to more than 4,000 arrests in Texas without reported incidents.

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We’ve had our share of anti-ICE stories lately, from the lie of masked men terrorizing communities to references to GESTAPO. What happens when ICE does its job and we don’t hear much about it? Let’s check this from Bethany Blankley of The Center Square, published by Just the News:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement working with Texas law enforcement arrested more than 4,000 illegal foreign nationals in 10 days in Texas without incident.

The news comes as an ICE officer was indicted Friday on a charge of aggravated assault in Houston.

Through Lone Star Mission, five ICE-Enforcement and Removal Operations field office staff working with law enforcement partners arrested 4,170 foreign nationals illegally living in Texas. They had removal orders, criminal histories including murder, sexual assault, human smuggling, and multiple illegal entry and illegal reentry charges.

The operation took place statewide between Oct. 19 and 29. ICE ERO field offices involved are based in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso and Harlingen.

“When we have cooperation, we as a federal government, from the state, to the county, to the local law enforcement, we can go after the worst of the worst” illegal foreign nationals, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at an event in Dallas. “We can get them off our streets, our job is to protect the homeland.”

He also said the “Lone Star Mission has been an incredible success,” thanking Texas law enforcement and federal partners. Their efforts led to the arrest of “murderers, sexual assailants, drunk drivers, and alien smugglers. This operation shows exactly how important our state and local partnerships are for protecting American communities.”

State and local partnerships? What a concept.

To a large extent, ICE is on the ballot on Tuesday. I mean, many Democrats have made irresponsible comments about ICE and its mission. They point to Minneapolis but forget to say that there was no local or state partnership there. On the contrary, the local police allowed protesters to get close to ICE agents, yell in their faces and even try to interrupt their work. What happened? Well, two dead in Minneapolis. What happens when the local police keep order? Bad people are arrested and communities are safer.

State and local partnership is the key, as we’ve seen here in Texas. Vote today for candidates who understand that reality. Reject the demagogues who demonize ICE.

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1957: Let's remember Laika (the first dog in space)

laika
She was Laika a part Siberian husky,  Unfortunately, she died during the flight when the batteries failed.    
Eventually man flew into space (Yuri Gagarin in 1961) and landed on the moon (Apollo 11 in 1969).  
However, we remember Laika today! 

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We remember Ken Holtzman (1945-2024)


Image result for ken holtzman images
Ken Holtzman was born on this day in 1945.   He died in April 2024.

At 19, he made his debut with the Chicago Cubs and became one of the best lefties in the National League.   He was 80-81 with a 3.76 ERA over 9 seasons in Chicago.  The Cubs did not have a lot of winning seasons back then.

In 1972, Ken joined the Oakland A's and was a key part of that amazing team that won 3 consecutive World Series titles.   He was 77-55 with a 2.92 ERA for the A's!

In the post season, Holtzman was superb with the A's:  6-4 with a 2.30 ERA.

Overall, he won 174, completed 129 and 31 shutouts.   

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1975: The Bee Gees and "Nights on Broadway"



"Nights on Broadway" was the second single from "Main Course", my favorite Bee Gees' album from the 1970's.

It was released in September, entered the Billboard Top 100 in early October and the US Top 10 in mid-November, or many years ago.

Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb were just spectacular in this one. This is one of their best vocal efforts ever!

Barry and Robin share the lead. Maurice is just superb in the middle with some amazing harmony.   Enjoy it because I really do!

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1964: LBJ beat Goldwater

On this day in 1964, Americans voted for president.  It was our first election in the U.S., and I recall watching the results with my father on television.  My father always said President Johnson would be elected but told me to keep an open mind to what Senator Goldwater was saying.  

At the end of the night, the results were a landslide for President Lyndon Johnson, who had succeeded President Kennedy the year before.   The numbers went like this: LBJ got 61% of the popular vote and 486 electoral votes!  

In a couple of years, the great landslide of 1964 fell apart because of Vietnam.  LBJ avoided the subject of Vietnam in 1964 and promised not to send troops.   Senator Goldwater, on the other hand, called for a decisive victory.   At one point, he said something about using atomic weapons to defoliate the jungle covering the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  In retrospect, I wonder how many of the 58,000 G.I.s lost in Vietnam would have been saved if we had hit the “Trail” hard in 1964–65?  

President Johnson ran an effective campaign against Senator Goldwater by painting him as dangerous and unfit to be president.  

The GOP made a huge comeback in the 1966 midterms, and the Democrats were in disarray by 1968.  LBJ did not seek re-election and was followed by Richard Nixon.   In the end, LBJ won big, but the GOP went on to win seven of the next ten elections.  

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