Leave 'The Duck' alone

(My new American Thinker post)

In the interest of full disclosure, I do not watch "The Duck Dynasty" show. I have never seen an episode and couldn't tell you a thing about these bearded guys and their ladies. In fact, I always thought that it was a show about an Alaska family because those long beards must be "hot as you know what" in the Louisiana humidity.

I am not a fan or follower of the show However, I am a big fan of The First Amendment and common sense.

"The Duck Dynasty" has touched a nerve in the country.  It's kind of a 2013 version of "The Waltons" from the 1970s. We used to watch "The Waltons" and see one of our own family members on that series. 

The show emphasizes family and sitting down for dinner. These are values that play very well in the country, especially all of those red counties between New York City and San Francisco.

I agree with Senator Cruz:   

"The reason that so many Americans love Duck Dynasty is because it represents the America usually ignored or mocked by liberal elites: a family that loves and cares for each other, believes in God, and speaks openly about their faith."


Have we reached the point where people can not express themselves? "Grandpa Duck" (or I believe his name is Mr. Robertson) was talking about homosexuality in the context of the bible. Frankly, thousands of people do that every Wednesday night across the country. Are all of these people bigots? 

No one is forcing anyone to watch this show anymore than I have to watch MSNBC or something else.

We have choices and the freedom to choose.  We all have this little clicker thing that switches channels.  I'd wish that more people would use it and stop lecturing the rest of us about what is wrong with what we watch or believe.

Last, but not least, let's not overlook what is happening on the left. They are watching with horror how ObamaCare may be destroying liberalism or how little has been done to change the Bush anti-terror policies that they all criticized so much at "the yes we can" rally.

They see disillusionment in the ranks, from young people tuning out ObamaCare to growing income inequality after 5 years of "hope ahd change".

The "Duck" feud may be the first of many more to come. The left needs something to get excited about because Obama is boring them to tears.    

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

More Politics Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Silvio Canto Jr on BlogTalkRadio

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Dear Mr Hayden: My “octogenarian Cuban mother” wants to give you a “bofetada”

(My new Babalu post)

It's easy to get angry and throw Tom Hayden's column in the trash and move on to happier thoughts in this season of "Navidad".

After all, Mr Hayden has very little influence. He's been irrelevant since Chicago 1968, or when he was running with other misguided fools waving Viet Cong flags!

We also remember Tom and Jane Fonda in North Vietnam in 1972!  This is the picture that Jane Fonda apologized for later, specially when she was selling her "work out" videos.  Jane was forced to apologize because a lot of ladies with military connections found her aforementioned 1972 performance in Hanoi just a bit too much to take.

We also remind you that Mr Hayden has been involved with most left wing movements over the years.

However, I had to respond to Mr Hayden's column because the men and women executed in Castro's political prisons deserve it. Their families in Miami elsewhere must know that they didn't die in vain. The Cubans sitting in Castro's prisons have to know that we are willing to fight for them.

Like a few others, Tom Hayden has been overwhelmed by the Castro-Obama handshake. He explains it in glowing terms. He sees it as a historically transforming moment, such as the day that man landed on the moon or Columbus discovered the New World, or something like that!

Let's just say that Mr Hayden was really impressed!   

This is a bit of what Tom Hayden is writing these days about US-Cuba policies and those "....octogenarian Cuban immigrants from the Bay of Pigs generation" opposing any changes toward the island's regime:

"The Cubans are moving toward market socialism, with a strong state protecting its widely admired health care, education and social programs."
"When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, devastating Cuba’s economy, it was widely predicted that a popular anti-Castro revolution would quickly follow, as happened in Eastern Europe. But that was almost 25 years ago, and it never happened — not because Cuba is a perfect police state but because the Cuban people deeply prefer a peaceful transition to a future they themselves choose. Vain attempts to return to the past, or plunge into civil war, are not real alternatives compared with gradual evolution. "
"Cuba should release the American contractor Alan Gross, who sits in prison after taking prohibited advanced communications equipment into Cuba on multiple occasions. The United States should release four imprisoned members of the so-called Cuban Five back to Cuba. The men were convicted in Miami of conspiracy to commit espionage and other charges after the Cuban air force shot down two planes carrying anti-Castro Cuban exiles."

There is a lot more to this column but let's try these for now:

First, Cuba is not moving toward any kind of "market socialism". It is a failed state desperately looking for someone to bail them out. Mr Hayden should talk to the people who escape the system constantly or the countries that the Castro regime owes money to!

Second, the only ones who admire Cuba's health care system are the people, like Mr Hayden, who get their care somewhere else.

Third, the Cuban people have not chosen anything, unless Mr Hayden is familiar with some multi-party election that I missed since the Soviet flag come down in 1991.

Last, but not least, comparing the case of Mr Gross and "the Cuban 5" just confirms that Mr Hayden is totally out of touch with reality.  How can Mr Hayden compare the two cases?  Wondering if he understands that Mr Gross never got a fair trial and "The Cuban 5" did?

I'll be happy to debate Mr Hayden anytime he wants.  Just contact me and we will go one and one on this topic.

I'll even introduce Mr Hayden to my "octogenarian Cuban" mother who will probably yell at him for knowing so little about Cuba!

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“La agencia Los Hermanos Castro” has a big car sale in the island!

(My Babalu post)  

The Castro dictatorship has just announced "la ultima reforma":

"The Communist Party newspaper, Granma, said the Council of Ministers approved new regulations on Wednesday that "eliminate existing mechanisms of approval for the purchase of motor vehicles from the state."As a result, Granma said, "the retail sale of new and used motorcycles, cars, vans, small trucks and mini buses for Cubans and foreign residents, companies and diplomats is freed up."The Cuban state maintains a monopoly on the retail sale of cars."

So la "nueva reforma" means that the rules have been relaxed but you still have to buy your car from "La Agencia de los Hermanos Castro"?

I guess that every "reforma" always has a connection to the pockets of the Castro brothers.

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