1989: Remembering Romania and the fall of Ceausescu

We remember that the government of Nicolae Ceausescu fell on this day in 1989.  It was the end of 4 decades of ruthless communist rule in that country.

Our friend Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh is from Romania.  She is an author & economist.   Her book "Echoes of communism" is a must read for young people, specially those born after the collapse of the USSR in 1991.     

It is definitely "a good read" for those young people caught up in "Sandersmania"!  

We can not forget the brutality of communism or allow the left to rewrite the story of  "the evil ideology" that murdered millions in the 20th century.  

I should add that the brutality of communism continues in Cuba, Venezuela, China and North Korea!

 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.

1989: East Germany opens The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a symbol of tyranny and repression.  It was built by East Germany to keep people from going West, or looking for freedom.  

Thankfully, it came down on this day in 1989.

Unlike 1956 (Hungary) and 1968 (Czechoslovakia), Soviet tanks did not crush this event.  

On the contrary, the whole world saw people crack the wall and celebrate its collapse.
It was quite a day!

 

 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.

October 17, 1989: The San Francisco earthquake......

On this day in 1989, I was listening to The World Series pre-game show on the English radio station in Mexico City.  The signal disappeared and the the announcer came back saying that an earthquake had hit the area.

It turned out to be a bad one.  I remember watching the TV scenes later that night.

The series was anti-climatic and the A's swept the Giants.  We recall that moment when the signal went off the air and wondered what had happened in the Bay Area.

 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.

1989: Rose out of baseball

On this day in 1989, we got the news that Pete Rose had been kicked out of baseball.     It was not a shock but still hit many of us between the eyes.  After all, we grew up watching Pete dive into third base.   No matter what, it was a horrible ending to a great baseball career.

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.

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.

We remember Lucy (1911-1989)

We remember Lucille Désirée Ball who was born on this day in 1911.  She died in 1989.   

For my money, Lucille Ball is the funniest lady around.

Lucy and Desi gave us "I love Lucy", perhaps the greatest TV show ever.    You can now purchase the entire series here.    As I've heard, the show is seen in over 70 countries and many languages.   Can you imagine Lucy dubbed in Japanese?  

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.

1989: Mike Schmidt retired

  

(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.)

Mike Schmidt closed the books on a great career with the Phillies on this day in 1989.   He was one of the very best third basemen in baseball history. 

His numbers were awesome:  548 HR & 1, 595 RBI.   Schmidt was the last guy in the world that you wanted to face with the game on the line!

He played for several Phillies championship teams, including the 1980 World Series champs and the 1983 NL champs.   

Along the way, he hit four home runs in one game on April 17, 1976, won six Silver Slugger Awards, including five consecutive (1980 through 1984, then one more in 1986) & won ten Gold Glove Awards.

Last, but not least, he ranked 28th by The Sporting News when they released their 100 Greatest Baseball Players in the history of baseball:

World War II: The great military leaders with Barry Jacobsen

CLICK TO LISTEN:

World War II: The great military leaders with Barry Jacobsen 07/22 by Silvio Canto Jr | News Podcasts:

Guest:

Barry Jacobsen, military historian and blogger.......we will remember the Allied and Axis commanders: Ike, MacArthur, Nimitz, Monty, Zukov; and on the Axis side, Von Manstein, Guderian, Rommel, Kesselring, Adm. Yamamoto, General Yamashita.......

and other stories of the war...........

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Friday's video: We remember President Reagan's farewell speech 1989

Friday's video:   

We remember President Reagan's farewell speech 1989

Reagan farewell speech 1989: https://t.co/xNuN9WaLMt via @YouTube

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 11, 2019

January 11, 1989: President Reagan's farewell speech

Most of us remember reading about presidential farewell speeches in our U.S. history class. I remember my high school U.S. history teacher discussing President Washington’s farewell address and the line about staying out of “foreign entanglements.”

The other memorable farewell speech was President Eisenhower and the reference to “the military-industrial complex.”  By the way, that speech is often misunderstood.  President Eisenhower was warning us about corruption, not having a strong military.

On this day in 1989, we watched President Reagan’s speech.  It was probably more emotional than political for those of us who got involved in politics because of the Reagan candidacy.  (I still have Reagan ’76 bumper stickers!)

He did say something that night that we should think about, as Steven F. Hayward reminded us:

“Reagan bestowed full credit on the American people rather than himself.”

Frankly, that’s the lesson future presidents could learn from President Reagan’s speech.  Accept responsibility for your mistakes, but give the people all of the credit.. We still love President Reagan so many years later.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

1989: Bench and Yaz went into The Hall of Fame

Johnny Bench, perhaps the greatest catcher ever, and Carl Yastrzemski, who had 3,419 career hits, went into The Hall of Fame on this day in 1989.    

Yaz and Bench played against each other in the legendary 1975 World Series.

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.