Sunday, January 31, 2016

A chat with Sylvia Guzman, President of Denton LULAC.




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Snow storms in the Northeasts with Bob Parks & Frank Burke



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Doing business in Cuba and Latin America stories of the week




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Iowa 2016 plus other issues with Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda



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‘Hope and change’ meets 4th-quarter GDP



We’ve been focused on lots of issues this week, from Trump to the GOP debate to the Clinton emails to the mess in the Middle East and other things.  
However, there is a big story brewing, and it may be the one that people are talking about at the family kitchen table.
This is from The Washington Post and the fourth-quarter GDP results:
The U.S. economy slowed to a crawl in the last three months of 2015, new government data showed Friday, an indication of how tepid global growth is exposing new weaknesses in the nation’s long and sluggish recovery.
Gross domestic product, a measure of overall output, expanded at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.7 percent between the months of October and December — just the second time in seven quarters that the nation has registered growth less than 1 percent.
That pace shows an economy that is being driven by steady consumer spending but weighed down by powerful trends in currency market, where the strong dollar is raising the cost of America’s exported goods — everything from cars to iPhones — while trimming profits for manufacturers.
The anemic growth could drive new concerns about the U.S.’s ability to fight off a series of major headwinds, including downturns in China and other major economies. Though the U.S. labor market remains strong, the nation is struggling to push back against two realities: Consumers across the world are buying less, and American products are becoming more expensive for them.
What a way to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the stimulus.  Go, summer of recovery!
What happens now?   
On the political field, this is bad news for Mrs. Clinton, or whoever the Democrat nominee is.  It’s hard to blame all of this on Bush, or the guy living in Dallas since 2009.
On the GOP side, it offers the nominee an opportunity to propose a “growth agenda” calling for tax reform and smaller government.
To be fair, we don’t know if the fourth quarter was an aberration or the beginning of a recession.  Either way, expect a lot of Americans to be talking about the economy around the proverbial kitchen table! 
Americans may be confused about the emails controversy, but they won’t be confused about an economic slowdown!
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

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The last Iowa poll is confusing

The last Iowa poll has good news for Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton.    They lead although the Clinton lead over Sanders is 3 points or within the margin of error.  Trump is up by 5 points over Cruz.    
More than half—55 percent—say their mind is made up, while 45 percent say they either don't have a first-choice candidate or could still be persuaded to pick someone else.
In the final Iowa Poll before the 2012 Republican caucuses, 51 percent say they had their minds made up.
My point is that there may be a surprise on Tuesday night.   Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me!

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.


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Iowa 2016 is around the corner



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Saturday, January 30, 2016

A good night for the GOP


(My new American Thinker post)
Did anyone watch Mr Trump last night? I didn’t because I found the GOP debate extremely interesting. It reminded me of how strong the field is, or what we used to say last summer before Mr. Trump turned everything into a show about him.
My scorecard looks like this:  
Senator Rubio was smooth but not slick. I love the way he talks about the U.S. He is not rattled on his feet and his focus on national security is very smart at this time. By the way, a Luntz focus group liked him too.
Senator Cruz is very intelligent but the brainy kid often stays home on Prom Night. In other words, I don’t see him connecting with a general election audience as well as he does in a primary.
Senator Paul had a good night but he lost me months ago with his libertarian stuff.   
Governor Christie was excellent. I love the way that he speaks directly to the audience. It’s effective. He grows on you and putting New Jersey in play is a big deal.   
Governor Bush had his best night. I am not writing him off yet because we hear that he has a strong ground game in South Carolina. 
Governor Kasich was good. I understand now why he continues to gain endorsements in New Hampshire. Winning Ohio is a must so he may be on the ticket one way or another. 
Dr. Carson is a wonderful man but this debate format is not for him. He is not finished but it’s hard to see where he goes from here.  
Did I miss anyone? The early debate was good and it’s a shame that Huckabee was down there. I wish that Paul and Huckabee had traded places.
What about the Trump impact? I appreciate that he put important issues on the table and his attack on PC attitudes was long overdue. At the same time, last night’s debate proved that the GOP has a strong bench without him.  
Furthermore, will a President Trump treat the press like this? Wait until the liberal media jumps on the Clinton bandwagon and goes after him. It will make Megyn Kelly’s question look rather benign.
Who won?  Rubio probably did but this is a long season. Don’t put all of your eggs in any basket just yet.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

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Iowa 2016 and the GOP debate





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Friday, January 29, 2016

U.S. companies not finding many consumers in Cuba



Over the last couple of months, U.S. delegations have traveled to Cuba looking for markets. They have seen pretty beaches, heard a lot of promises but found few markets or consumers. This is not your grandfather’s Cuba, or the island nation that had a prosperous economy in 1959:
  • In the 1950’s Cuba was, socially and economically, a relatively advanced country, certainly by Latin American standards and, in some areas, by world standards.
  • Cuba’s infant mortality rate was the best in Latin America — and the 13th lowest in the world.
  • Cuba also had an excellent educational system and impressive literacy rates in the 1950’s.
  • Pre-Castro Cuba ranked third in Latin America in per capita food consumption.
  • Cuba ranked first in Latin America and fifth in the world in television sets per capita.
  • Pre-Castro Cuba had 58 daily newspapers of differing political hues and ranked eighth in the world in number of radio stations. 
Unfortunately, the Cuban economy today is a disaster, specially for the Cuban people. Who is going to buy auto parts? Or shop at retail stores? Or buy computers? Not the Cuban people on government-dictated salaries.
My friend Jason Poblete nailed it by calling it “irrational exuberance”:
Cuba is far from being an emerging economy; because of political and economic immaturity, they are more akin to an underdeveloped nation.
No matter how hard the Obama administration tries to subvert U.S. law through the regulatory process, and make no mistake about it, they have been doing so,
Cuba remains a frontier market that also happens to be subject to comprehensive U.S. sanctions.
It is time that the Congress end their slumber on U.S.-Cuba policy and initiate a series of oversight hearings to expose the lawlessness of recent regulatory changes. U.S. taxpayers are already owed billions of dollars by the Cuba regime. Let’s not make it billions more.
As I shared with the Wall Street Journal in February 2015, and believe it even more so today, certain sectors in Washington, D.C., when it comes to Cuba, are suffering from a severe case of “irrational exuberance”.
Among other things, it is irrational to get excited about engaging with a police state and command economy whose total GDP is less than 1/10 or so that of the GDP of South Florida.
Where are the customers? They are not in Cuba, with the legacy of 50-plus years of communism and a total disregard for property law.   
Here is the bottom line: Cuba will not be prosperous again until the Castro family lifts the embargo on freedom that they’ve had on the island. It’s a shame that the Obama administration does not see the connection between freedom and prosperity.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

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The GOP debate tonight and other thoughts



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Thursday, January 28, 2016


Image result for schumer cartoons
President Trump has a message to “dreamers”:  a path to citizenship plus security & changes to outdated immigration laws.   It is an incredibly fair offer.   It allows more than the 800,000 to stay in the US.
As expected, Democrats say no.    Why?   Because they want marches not solutions!   Senator Schumer and Rep, Pelosi do not want President Trump to sign the law that accomplishes what Democrat majorities never did.
Let’s remember that President Obama & Democrat majorities never passed immigration reform or The Dream Act.
The Democrats will lose this battle more decisively than they lost the shutdown debate last week.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
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Mom & Clydesdales baby are doing fine.......




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Chris and the two Cuban guys

Last night, I got a tweet from a friend. He was asking my reaction to Chris Matthews’ remarks about the two Cuban guys.    Mr. Matthews said it in the context of Mr. Trump skipping the GOP debate:
“Who’s going to watch a debate between the two Cuban guys?” he asked during Tuesday night’s episode of “Hardball.” “Who’s gonna watch a debate between Rubio, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz? Who cares?”
First, I am not a liberal. In other words, I am not a modern liberal who rushes to the racism corner every time that someone makes a stupid statement.   
Second, Matthews is doing what many liberals do with respect to Cuban-Americans. They don’t think that we are Hispanics, a rather bizarre conclusion.   
Not Hispanic? Think again Chris Matthews. Or does Mr. Matthews think that “Hispanic” is a synonym for “liberal”?
Third, what would the liberal corner be saying if some conservative commentator had said something like this but replace Cuban with African American? 
Finally, the fact is that millions will watch the debate without Trump.   After all, there are many of us who are interested in what the different candidates have to say.   Mr. Trump is leading the national polls but more than half are not supporting him.
Will anyone watch “the Cuban guys”? Yes.
Will anyone watch Matthews and “Hardball”? Well, the numbers tell us that few do.
 
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. 

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Doing business in Cuba plus US-Latin America stories of the week




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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Andy Pettitte will be inducted in Texas sports Hall of Fame


Andy Pettitte won 256 games over a very successful pitching career.   He played 15 years with the Yankees and the other 3 with the Astros.    He went 19-11 in the post season.

 We learned today that Andy will be inducted to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.   He was born in Deer Park, Texas and attended San Jacinto College in Houston.

 Congratulations to Andy Pettitte.   I hope that he is given serious consideration for Cooperstown.   After all, how many guys with 256 wins are not in the HOF?
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This dog is going to heaven


I believe that President Truman once said something about dogs and friends in Washington D.C. Let me paraphrase the 33rd president allegedly said: If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog!
Let me add this: If you want a faithful partner or one willing to die for you then get a dog, too.
Down in Colombia, an Army dog was buried with full military honors. It brought a tear to my eye.    
Here is the report:
An explosives detection dog of the Colombian Military died after saving 30 soldiers from being victims of an anti-personnel mine in a rural area of the municipality of Suarez, in the southwest of the country, according to military sources.
Azabache, a trained canine taking part in various operations of the Third Army Division over the past three years, was severely injured by the explosion of a mine Wednesday while moving alongside a group of soldiers in the small village Patio Bonito, in the department of Cauca.
The explosion alerted the soldiers, who immediately rushed to aid Azabache and provided first-aid before he was taken by helicopter to a veterinary center in Cali.
According to veterinarians of the Third Army Division, the explosion caused internal injuries which led to the death of the canine, who was two years short of reaching his retirement and ending his military career.
“As for any of our soldiers, we feel great remorse over the death of Azabache, who had managed to locate a great quantity of explosives during his three years of work in the institution,” said the commander of the Third Division, General Luis Rojas.
The general noted that the team which Azabache belonged to was in an area where drug gangs have influence.
[snip]
Azabache’s funeral this Thursday was held with a military ceremony and he was buried by the soldiers he protected in the vicinity of the command post of the Apolo Task Force in Cauca.
What a story.
We’ve all heard reports of how dogs work with our armed forces in places like Afghanistan. The dog and soldier become one, as I’ve seen often when meeting returning soldiers and their dogs.
Up here, we walk our dogs and they become family. We even have a “pet’s night” at the Rangers’ ball park, i.e. Bark at the park!(They probably didn’t have one at the Cowboys’ games for fear that barking would turn into growling!)
In other places, dogs protect men from mines and other dangers, as in Colombia. They do the dirty and dangerous work that saves lives.
All dogs go to heaven, and this one definitely will find a special spot waiting.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
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The snow storms in the Northeast plus more confusing talk about climate change



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Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Whatever happened to all of those people who were going to sign up for Obama Care?


The latest numbers are not good for Obama Care, according to California Healthline:
 "Last year, CBO estimated that about 21 million people would be enrolled in ACA plans in 2016 (California Healthline, 1/27/15).
Meanwhile, the Obama administration has estimated that about 10 million U.S. residents will be enrolled in health coverage purchased through the ACA's exchanges by the end of 2016 (California Healthline, 12/23/15).
The ACA's current open enrollment period launched Nov. 1, 2015, and is scheduled to end Jan. 31 (Hensch, The Hill, 1/23)." 
So what's going on? My guess is that people are looking at the options and deciding to go without insurance and paying the penalty.
The result is that fewer enrollments means serous cash problems for Obama Care. The AHCA was based on young people and the healthy signing up to pay for the old and unhealthy.
It's not turning out that way.

P. S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.





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RIP Abe Vigoda (1921-2016)


We learned that Abe Givoda passed away.   He was 94.

 Most of us remember him in "The Godfather" as Tessio and then Detective Fish in "Barney Miller".   He also appeared on "The Godfather II".

 He was born Abraham Charles Vigoda in 1921, or when President Harding was in the White House.   He was the son of a tailor and both of his parents were Russian immigrants.

 Before playing Tessio in "The Godfather", Mr Givoda played several roles in Broadway and movies.   

 RIP Abe Givoda

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.
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It’s not climate change… it’s the confusion

It’s enough to drive you to drink. Thank God that I don’t! I drink water when I get mad.
On one hand, we get a story that 2015 was the warmest in 135 years or since records were kept. Isn’t it a bit misleading to say warmest ever? What happened to the world before 1881?  Don’t we teach history from that period?
On the other hand, we see a story today that maybe it’s not so according to Patrick J Michaels:
Surface temperatures are indeed increasing slightly: They’ve been going up, in fits and starts, for more than 150 years, or since a miserably cold and pestilential period known as the Little Ice Age. 
Before carbon dioxide from economic activity could have warmed us up, temperatures rose three-quarters of a degree Fahrenheit between 1910 and World War II. 
They then cooled down a bit, only to warm again from the mid-1970s to the late ’90s, about the same amount as earlier in the century.
Again, it’s all enough to drive a person like me crazy.    
Look at that Time magazine cover about the cooling age. The man on the cover looked like he was present at the Packers-Cowboys game known as “The Ice Bowl” or the 1966 NFL Championship Game.   
Then there is other Time cover about global warming with the poor little penguin wondering about his future.
Add to this that President Obama keeps calling “climate change” our biggest threat but has never addressed the nation or couldn’t get Senate Democrat majorities to give him anything.    
So here is a suggestion for the next president: Get to the bottom of climate change or the controversy.
Form a blue ribbon committee with enough smart people from both sides. Tell them to go into a room and come back with a report that addresses the problem without the alarmist tone of recent years.   
Are we cold or are we warm? Tell me the truth.
After that, tell us what the remedy is.      
Tell me what all of this alternative energy is going to cost? Is it going to drive a lot of manufacturing to China or elsewhere?   
We need a serious discussion of climate change because today’s back and forth has me lost.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.


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A chat with Sylvia Guzman, new president of Denton LULAC.



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Monday, January 25, 2016

Cheers for the heating repairman!

This is a great story.    A lady called a repairman because the home heater was not working.   During the “house call”, the repairman learned that the lady’s husband is deployed with the US Army.
At the end of the job, he charged her $ 1, or a huge “deployment” discount.
I guess that there are great people out there.   I wish we would hear more about them.  
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Who stole the cheese in Wisconsin?

This is one of those stories that hits you between the eyes.    

 According to news reports, two trucks with $160,000 of cheese were stolen this month:
"Someone might be stocking up for the Super Bowl.Wisconsin police said a semi-trailer packed with $70,000 worth of cheese product was stolen early Friday morning, less than a week after a similar cheese theft.The Germantown Police Department said on its Facebook page that the trailer was found about 10 hours after it disappeared – but the cheese was gone.“We have recovered the trailer, minus the cheese,” Lt. Todd Grenier told WTMJ. “This was not a one- or two-person job.”A week earlier, another cheese heist occurred less than 200 miles away.“Approximately $90,000 worth of parmesan cheese was missing from a logistics or storage facility here in Marshfield,” Marshfield Police Lt. Darren Larson told CBS58.Unless the thieves eat it, however, it appears the $160,000 worth of cheese is likely to go to waste.The cheese was sealed inside the truck, and when the bandits opened the truck, they broke the seal, rendering the cheese unlawful for sale, according to federal law, CBS58 reported.
Well, be careful about buying some cheese in an open market!

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Illegal? What about her judgement?

We’ve been getting a lot of opinions and columns about Hillary Clinton’s troubles. The latest opinion comes from Deroy Murdock at National Review:
When the secretary of state swaps e-mails with the president of the United States and the chiefs of the Pentagon, CIA, and NSA, they presumably discuss priorities more sensitive than Downton Abbey.
Clinton first worked on Capitol Hill in 1970. She is a Yale lawyer. So she damn well knows that a “born classified” document is secret “when originated.”
Markings or no markings, she understands that the confidential views of foreign leaders, reports from ambassadors, and updates on arms-control talks are all state secrets.
Mr. Murdock is probably right. She is in deep trouble, but let me leave that to the lawyers and experts who know a lot more than me about classified documents.
My point about Hillary Clinton is that she has failed a huge test, whether she broke the law or didn’t. Mrs. Clinton showed very little judgement, from the moment that she decided to have a private server to having any association with the Clinton Foundation.
We don’t know what she or her husband were thinking in January 2009 when she became secretary of state.
Maybe she did not understand the risk of having a private server and its potential threat to revealing information that could threaten national security. At the same time, the State Department rules are clear — one ambassador was dismissed for communications outside of the official email.
Maybe she thought that she’d get away with it or dance around what the meaning of the word “is ” is like her husband did in the late 1990s.
Again, I don’t know what led her to do this. I do know that it showed incredibly poor judgement. After all, her zeal for controlling communications may have put an American under serious threat. It may have compromised a covert operation. It may have revealed President Obama’s schedule or confidential conversations with others.
How can someone like that aspire to be president of the United States? Legal or illegal, this is a high-risk woman who cannot be trusted with the nation’s highest office.
She is not qualified, even if she selects a Hispanic VP who is desperately taking Spanish lessons.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.


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